Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 179: Chapter 176: Zombie Upgrade

Yu Heng immediately turned and ran toward his RV.

But the moment he moved, he attracted the attention of the zombies.

Two of the zombies that had been surrounding Chen Xing quickly charged toward him.

Chen Xing didn’t dare to be careless.

Although the upgraded zombies were nothing to her, a single moment of carelessness could get her scratched.

And if she was scratched, she would definitely turn into a zombie.

However, she realized that in her previous life, she would have had to fight with all her might to kill these upgraded zombies.

But now, she could clearly see their movements and could dodge them effortlessly.

So, for her, killing the five or six zombies around her was like child’s play.

Yu Heng, on the other hand, was in a miserable state.

The two zombies nearly killed him.

He used his knives, guns, and even his superpower, but he couldn’t kill a single one.

Chen Xing quickly finished off the upgraded zombies and turned to deal with the ones attacking Yu Heng.

”Thanks!” Yu Heng thanked her, though reluctantly.

’Those zombies were originally after Chen Xing. I’m the one who drew two of them away, which is the only reason she could kill them so easily.’

Chen Xing wasn’t looking for his gratitude.

’We’re about to reach the Capital City. He’s still useful.’

After breakfast, the snow still hadn’t stopped.

Chen Xing checked the time. It was almost time for her appointment with Song Yiguo, so she had Meng Hu watch the RV.

After telling 00002 and Li Chen not to open the doors, she left alone.

The meeting point in Deke City, arranged with Song Yiguo, was less than twenty kilometers away.

She transported the livestock and poultry to the location, but the other party hadn’t arrived yet.

So Chen Xing wandered around, looking for intact trucks.

’Trucks will be more useful in the future. I’ll need them not only for trading with Song Yiguo but also for transporting goods to and from Brother Xiao’s side. It’s best to stockpile them while the ones on the road are still usable.’

The time was already approaching noon, but Vice General Du, who was always punctual, hadn’t arrived.

Chen Xing called Song Yiguo, who said they had set out early in the morning.

Even if they were driving an ox cart, the journey shouldn’t have taken two hours.

”I’ll head toward the Capital City then. Let me know if you hear anything from Vice General Du!” Chen Xing said, thinking, ’I’m heading to the Capital City anyway.’

Before returning to where the RV was parked, she stored the trucks in her space, and then the group set off.

Forty or fifty kilometers later, they neared a county-level city, which was on the direct route to the Capital City.

The national highway ran along the edge of the small county town, only a few hundred meters away from it.

Chen Xing, leading the way at the front, noticed a dark, surging mass stretching from the entrance of the small town all the way to the highway.

And amidst that chaos, flashes of superpowers occasionally erupted.

’Vice General Du?’

There were too many zombies for her to see the situation inside clearly.

So she stopped the car from a distance and sent Meng Hu ahead to check things out.

Meng Hu’s power was truly immense; it instantly pounced on and knocked down a large swath of zombies.

Vice General Du and the Superpower Users, who had been completely trapped with no way out, felt a surge of hope the moment they saw Meng Hu.

They, who could only defend before, switched to kill mode.

Chen Xing also knew immediately that the ones trapped over there were old acquaintances.

After driving her convoy as close as possible to the zombie horde, she leaped out of her vehicle, charged into the swarm, and shouted, ”I’ll have Meng Hu clear a path! Run for those vehicles over there as fast as you can!”

Vice General Du’s group of over a dozen people was now down to eight.

They had been fighting here for hours without rest, and every one of them was pale with exhaustion.

They were overjoyed to see Chen Xing arrive, but they didn’t dare to let their guard down for a second.

At that moment, Meng Hu made a vicious leap and pounce, felling a large group of zombies in the middle.

Seeing her chance, Chen Xing shouted again, ”Retreat now!”

Receiving its master’s command, Meng Hu stopped killing indiscriminately and focused on clearing a path toward the RV.

Vice General Du immediately ordered his men to follow behind Meng Hu while he himself stayed back with Chen Xing to cover their retreat.

Fortunately, the Superpower Users’ departure didn’t draw too many zombies after them.

The few that did follow were blocked by Meng Hu.

Chen Xing pulled a grenade from the backpack she was carrying and threw it at the exit of the small county town.

Then she threw several more in quick succession.

The small county town was an ancient one, surrounded by a city wall with a large arched gate in the middle. The gate instantly collapsed from the explosions, blocking the way in and out.

For the time being, the zombies inside couldn’t get out.

But it was clear the bombs didn’t do much damage to the upgraded zombies; most of the ones outside got back on their feet.

Just then, Meng Hu charged back, pouncing on and tearing apart the zombies that were already severely injured.

After making a round, it returned to Chen Xing’s side with its mouth full and spat.

CLATTER. A pile of Crystal Cores fell out, which Chen Xing caught and promptly stuffed into her backpack.

Vice General Du: ”...”

’So... Chen Xing isn’t struggling for her life, she’s just leisurely collecting Crystal Cores?’

With no more zombie hordes pouring out from the small town, Chen Xing and Meng Hu, along with Vice General Du, quickly cleared a path through the ones on the outside.

The RV had already started and was slowly driving over.

Chen Xing’s backpack was already bulging and couldn’t fit any more Crystal Cores. When the RV pulled up, she emptied the Crystal Cores from her backpack into the RV’s cargo compartment, then continued to collect more with Meng Hu.

These upgraded Crystal Cores were extremely valuable.

Meng Hu was incredibly effective. It could make a single sweep around the zombies and gather a mouthful of Crystal Cores.

’How in the world did it learn that skill?’

They passed through without further incident and soon arrived at the National Capital Safety Zone.

Hao Wenli and Yu Heng were stunned into silence.

They had heard that the Duole Safety Zone was the world’s premier post-apocalyptic base.

Most people couldn’t even dream of entering it, let alone get close to its perimeter.

And now they were actually getting to experience something like it for themselves?

Their accommodations were arranged in the common area, in what was originally Cao Guangrong’s house.

After settling Li Chen and 00002 in the house to rest, Chen Xing went to see Song Yiguo.

It hadn’t been long since they last met, but Song Yiguo seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

After listening to Vice General Du’s report, Song Yiguo’s brows furrowed tightly.

’So that heavy snow last night didn’t just make things hard for people, it even upgraded the zombies? Isn’t this just making a bad situation worse? Vice General Du couldn’t even break out with an elite squad. The zombies’ new abilities can’t be underestimated. How will we be able to leave the safety zone in the future?’

Chen Xing immediately perked up. She took a Crystal Core from her backpack and placed it on his desk. ”Don’t be afraid of the zombies upgrading. We can upgrade too! This Crystal Core was just harvested today—it’s still warm. Want it?”

Song Yiguo: ”...” ’I heard what Vice General Du said.’

’So... not only is this woman not afraid of the upgraded zombies, she kills them like it’s a game?’

”How many of these Crystal Cores do you need to eat to upgrade a superpower?” Song Yiguo wasn’t without ideas of his own.

’To survive in the apocalypse, the elite squad must be the strongest. But... I also have to consider if it’s worth it.’

”No idea!” In her past life, Chen Xing had always been poor, so she never had the good fortune to buy Crystal Cores to enhance her superpower.

When she encountered zombies, all she could do was run for her life, let alone try to collect Crystal Cores.

However...

Chen Xing gave Song Yiguo a sly smile.