Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 215: Chapter 212: Little Grass

The two sites were only dozens of meters apart, but trees blocked the view, making it hard to see clearly.

Getting closer, Chen Xing saw bodies strewn about. Even the friendly Harle from the previous night was dead. They were all dead.

By the looks of it, they had also died in the early morning.

’We were so close. How could we possibly not have heard a thing from their side?’

’Even if the monster was formidable enough to move silently, what about all these people? Would none of them have made a sound?’

There were long drag marks on the ground.

But... there were no signs of a struggle.

This meant Xiao Long’s guess was right. Harle and his people had indeed been paralyzed before being killed.

The drag marks were heavy and deep; the killer didn’t seem to be small.

Xiao Long and Wen Yan had already run over to investigate with her.

”Our camps weren’t far apart, but we’re fine... Did the electric fence do its job?” Xiao Long felt this was the only explanation for the current situation.

Their team of three, plus the tiger, was unharmed, while everyone just a short distance away was dead.

”By the way, Brother Xiao Long, Sister Xing... have you noticed? We’ve been wandering for two days, but we haven’t seen a single animal. Or... not even one mutated animal!”

It was as if these mountains only contained plants and trees.

Now that Wen Yan mentioned it, Chen Xing realized it too.

Forget animals; they hadn’t even seen a single ant or insect.

Although the temperature had plummeted, and it was likely that bugs and ants had frozen to death, it was still relatively warm beneath the layer of snow.

”No birds, either!” The entire forest was like a forest of the dead.

People were dead, but the living still had to eat.

The three of them gnawed on steamed buns with a side of pickled olives, and each had a bowl of soup made from dried vegetables.

Suddenly, Chen Xing pointed to a small blade of grass about ten meters away and said, ”Do you guys think that thing is moving?”

Xiao Long and Wen Yan shook their heads. They looked in the direction Chen Xing was pointing and indeed saw a lone blade of grass swaying back and forth in the wind.

”A moment ago, it was over there. When I wasn’t paying attention, it got closer to us!” Chen Xing wasn’t entirely sure, or else she wouldn’t have asked them.

But it was undeniably strange.

She rarely made mistakes like this.

’But a blade of grass moving?’

’I saw killer plants back at the seed base, but a little blade of grass is a bit too weak, isn’t it?’

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the three of them continued to eat.

Suddenly, Meng Hu let out a ROAR and leaped forward.

Chen Xing looked in Meng Hu’s direction and saw that the small blade of grass was now several meters closer.

This time, Xiao Long and Wen Yan had no choice but to believe it.

But Meng Hu, who had dashed up to the blade of grass to tear at it, suddenly went limp and collapsed with a THUMP.

Shit!

”Quick, get the electric fence up!” Chen Xing seemed to realize something. She threw down her food, dug into her bag, and pulled out a rope. She immediately wrapped it around Meng Hu and started pulling him back.

The two young men moved quickly, swiftly setting up the electric fence.

Chen Xing immediately switched on the power.

The three of them deliberately ignored the blade of grass. Soon, it reached the electric fence. After a SIZZLE, it vanished as if into thin air.

’So... the thing that disappeared after being electrocuted last night was this Little Grass?’

’This thing is afraid of electricity!’

’But... we didn’t have the power on the first night. Why didn’t it attack us then?’

What they didn’t know was... after Chen Xing fell asleep, though she was unconscious, every nerve in her body remained on high alert.

When the Little Grass approached, her body had an instinctive reaction, naturally releasing an electric current.

In addition, there was another team not far from them, which became the Little Grass’s target.

”We were attacked by Little Grass?” Wen Yan was a little speechless.

He had also been to the seed base last time, but the plants there had been terrifyingly large.

And this Little Grass, which looked so frail, how many people had it killed?

It was far more formidable than the plants from that seed base.

After just a few minutes, Meng Hu woke up.

Fortunately, the Little Grass didn’t keep its victims unconscious for long.

”Let’s not go out today. We’ll observe the situation first,” Chen Xing said, not wanting to venture out rashly.

This Little Grass looked ordinary, but its lethality was too high.

It took down a creature as large as Meng Hu in an instant. If they were careless and got entangled by it, it wouldn’t be worth the risk.

For the rest of the day, they didn’t leave the electric fence except to relieve themselves.

Before nightfall, while taking a bathroom break, Chen Xing went over to Harle’s former campsite to check on the situation.

Seeing the ground covered in bodies that had, over the course of a single day, turned into desiccated corpses, her brow furrowed tightly.

’So... after killing these people, it also drains their life force?’

’That’s similar to the plants at the seed base.’

’I can’t stay here long!’

’But I haven’t found the rare species yet. If I go back now, will they still send the helicopter?’

’I’ll just have to wait and see for now.’

Her electric fence didn’t use much power overnight, and she had enough stored to last for several years without issue.

After returning, she told them about the bodies turning into desiccated corpses. After all, the two of them didn’t need to take such risks. ”If you want to go back, I can escort you out of the forest!”

”We’re here on a mission. We won’t go back until it’s complete!” Despite his young age, Wen Yan was determined to carry out Song Yiguo’s orders to the death.

Xiao Long was a veteran; naturally, he wouldn’t give up halfway.

And so, without hesitation, all three decided to stay.

As for moving during the day from now on, they could avoid danger as long as they were careful.

Nothing else happened that night.

The next two days were the same. They didn’t encounter the Little Grass monster, nor did they meet any other people, though they came across plenty of desiccated corpses.

On this day, after lunch, they continued their search for the rare species.

Suddenly, they saw something stirring in the dense forest ahead.

Meng Hu was the first to bolt forward.

By the time Chen Xing arrived, she was once again greeted by a scene of bodies on the ground.

And coiling around the bodies was a nameless green plant.

Its vines, as thick as a person’s thigh, were dragging the corpses.

However... they weren’t all corpses. About ten people were still just unconscious.

”Set up the electric fence!” Chen Xing shouted, then threw out her rope and began pulling back the paralyzed people.

Meng Hu tore at the main vine, but it didn’t do much damage.

But the vines seemed to have a mind of their own. Seeing a living creature saving people, they thrashed about a couple of times, then retracted and retreated swiftly.

How could Chen Xing dare to give chase in this situation?

’If we split up without the protection of the electric fence, what if the plant monster comes back to kill us?’

Not long after the electric fence was up, the few people who had been rescued woke up.

At first, they were still dazed and were wary of Chen Xing and her team.

Only after Chen Xing explained the situation and pointed to the corpses did they suddenly recall that their bodies had abruptly gone numb.

After expressing their thanks, they asked, ”Did you see the thing that paralyzed us instantly? What was it?”

Chen Xing: ”...” ’So, the thing everyone is looking for this time is that seemingly unremarkable Little Grass?’