Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 224: Chapter 221: After Dark, I’ll Rob You

She hadn’t gotten much out of this trip, aside from a single mutated Little Grass.

It felt like a raw deal.

’Maybe... I should just rob this place while I’m at it!’

Chen Xing scanned the city.

Most of the buildings were low-rise. It must have been a beautiful city before the apocalypse.

Greenery wound around the front of every house, making it look like a cozy, countryside town.

If she hadn’t seen those plants kill without batting an eye, she might have actually thought they were perfect for cultivating one’s temperament or something.

But now, for them, none of the greenery was safe.

The three of them wandered through the city and, at its lowest point, spotted a young boy.

He looked to be about twelve or thirteen, skinny, with very pale skin.

He was coming out of a dilapidated supermarket when he came face-to-face with them. Startled, he immediately darted back inside to hide.

A moment later, however, he poked his head out and stared curiously at Meng Hu.

Chen Xing reached out and stroked Meng Hu, hoping to put the boy at ease.

The trick seemed to work. A look of wonder appeared on the boy’s face, but he still didn’t come out.

”It’s very well-behaved. It won’t hurt anyone!” Chen Xing said in a rare, gentle tone.

The boy thought for a moment before slowly stepping out. He then cautiously approached, reaching out a hand but not daring to touch the tiger.

Meng Hu immediately ambled over and gave the boy’s leg a friendly rub.

The boy’s eyes practically lit up. He finally mustered the courage to reach out and give Meng Hu a pat.

Then, both excited and timid, he immediately took a few steps back.

”Where are the adults around here?” Chen Xing asked, trying her best to sound friendly.

The boy grew wary again and took a few more steps back.

Seeing how wary the boy was, Wen Yan took a ham-filled bread roll from his backpack and offered it to him with a smile. ”We’re not bad people, just passing through. Can you tell me where everyone went?”

The boy swallowed at the sight of the bread but didn’t reach out to take it.

After a moment, he pointed around in various directions, making guttural ”ooh” and ”ah” sounds.

It turned out he was mute.

It would be impossible to get any information from him.

Wen Yan pressed the bread into the boy’s hand.

The moment he took the bread, the boy’s face twisted in terror. He gestured frantically at Wen Yan, then bolted into a nearby dilapidated building and vanished.

Chen Xing whipped her head around to look behind them.

She considered her hearing far more sensitive than an ordinary person’s, yet she heard nothing.

A few seconds later, she heard them too—footsteps.

Chen Xing immediately led Wen Yan and Xiao Long into a dilapidated building.

It was a small, four-story building with three units per floor.

Not long after they ducked inside, they heard people follow them into the building.

When a dozen or so armed people found them, they obediently raised their hands and surrendered.

Even Meng Hu acted like a timid little kitten, looking as if it desperately wanted to raise its paws in surrender like its master.

’After dark, I’ll rob you all blind!’

That was Chen Xing’s plan.

The three of them were blindfolded and led away on a long walk.

The entire time, Chen Xing used her spatial ability to watch her surroundings.

They were led from a building next to the city’s tallest skyscraper into an underground facility.

The underground area was well-constructed. Starting from the entrance, a wide corridor stretched out before them.

The corridor was very wide, presumably to allow vehicles to pass through freely.

The floor was paved with non-slip tiles, and the walls were decorated with marble, giving it an air of luxury.

At the far end was a golden glass door.

After going through the door, the three of them and Meng Hu were shoved into a room. The large iron door was like a prison cell’s, complete with a small, square window.

Not long after, a cheer erupted from outside.

’What are they cheering about?’

While they were wondering, someone opened the door and said to Wen Yan, ”You, come out!”

Wen Yan: ”...” ’This is definitely not good!’

Chen Xing pulled Wen Yan back as he was about to step out. ”I’ll go!”

She was dressed in thick, bulky clothes, so there was nothing particularly fetching about her appearance.

But now that she had spoken, several of the men’s eyes roved over her face.

”Don’t be in such a hurry! You’re too skinny. We’ll come looking for you tonight!” With that, they moved to grab Wen Yan.

’Too skinny?’

’This was the first time anyone had ever called him fat.’

’Isn’t this all muscle?’

”Sister Xing, don’t worry. I can handle things out there!” Wen Yan said to Chen Xing in Chinese.

But Chen Xing stopped him and said to the men at the door, ”If you wanted something plump, you should’ve said so earlier. How about this one?” She patted the fat tiger.

The fat tiger: ”...”

’Is it really okay for you to do this, Master?’

’You loved me yesterday!’

Of course, the men were interested in the plump tiger.

Killing one would feed them for several days.

They were just afraid that if it decided to act like a real tiger, they wouldn’t be able to control it.

But seeing Meng Hu’s docile appearance, they looped a thick rope around its head and led it away.

Once it was quiet outside, Chen Xing started discussing the plan to steal supplies with Wen Yan and Xiao Long.

Wen Yan and Xiao Long: ”...” ’So we let ourselves get captured just so we could steal their supplies?’

’But we’re soldiers!’

Chen Xing saw their hesitation. ”Didn’t you hear them? They caught us to eat us! People like that will only harm others if they’re left alive. Since we’ve run into them, we have to wipe them out so they can’t hurt anyone else!”

”Sister Xing, do people really eat other people?” Wen Yan asked, finding it hard to believe.

’Even in the apocalypse, how could anyone eat their own kind?’

Xiao Long was also repulsed by the idea. To think they’d actually run into something like this.

”If the apocalypse continues, things like this will only become more common!”

Just then, the door of the adjacent cell opened.

A man started begging for his life, struggling in terror as he was dragged out. ”Please, don’t kill me... I’ve been starving for days, there’s not much meat on my bones! Don’t kill me...”

”Can’t be helped! That tiger meat is probably tough and needs to cook for a while. We’ll just have to make do with you for this meal!” one of them said, as casually as if they were talking about eating pork.

Xiao Long glanced at Wen Yan, then nodded. ”We’ll do what Sister Xing says!”

Since they had witnessed this, they couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

”I’m begging you... I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go!” The cries from outside were laced with despair.

Chen Xing went to the door and knocked. ”Hey, take me instead! Let him go!”

”You know where you’d be going, and you still want to go?”

”Not really, but I can’t stand to see a man cry. I’ll take his place!” Chen Xing was quickly losing her patience.

Just then, a message came from Meng Hu: the fight had started.

”Take me instead!” Wen Yan also stuck his head toward the door, puffing out his cheeks to look plumper.

”These morons are fighting to be the first to die!” one of the captors muttered. In any case, it didn’t matter which one they killed.

The crying man was too much of a hassle, so they threw him back into his cell and came over to open the door to Chen Xing’s room.

The moment the door opened, Chen Xing unleashed a bolt of electricity, felling several of them instantly.

Wen Yan and Xiao Long were just as fast, taking down two more with their superpowers.

The last few were about to shout for help when Chen Xing’s second blast of electricity shot out.

She had originally planned to rob them after dark.

But with a life on the line, she had to act ahead of schedule.