Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 291: Chapter 288: Future Spacetime

It was summertime, and everything was lush and green.

But in the summer she was used to, while things were indeed green, the trees weren’t this docile.

’Docile to the point that they just seem a little bigger than before the apocalypse? They seem to lack any aggression?’

This road was the main route to the Capital City, and for safety, Brother Xiao had cleared out the surrounding area.

It wasn’t cluttered like this, with cars blocking the road in some places.

Chen Xing had seen cars this dilapidated—so ruined they could barely be called cars—toward the end of her previous life.

Amid her surprise and unease, Chen Xing drew closer and closer to Hualai City.

When the full panorama of Hualai City came into view, Chen Xing gasped.

Because... Hualai City stood there, completely intact.

The towering skyscrapers, the luxurious structures, and especially the spherical landmark that symbolized Hualai City...

’Does this mean that the devastating explosion that nearly killed me never happened?’

’How is that possible?’

’Did I somehow go back to before the explosion?’

’Impossible!’

The zombies had already evolved into Advanced Zombies, a level she had never even encountered in her previous life.

’What in the world is wrong?’

Chen Xing desperately wanted to figure it out, but she hadn’t encountered a single person, let alone an animal or a zombie, on her journey so far.

It was so lonely. She really missed the days when Meng Hu was by her side.

Regardless, Hualai City was right there in front of her. She had to go in and see for herself.

Before entering, she decided to detour to the factory district first. She wanted to know if the factory was still there, if Brother Xiao and the others were still there.

After seeing the factory district, she was certain this was not the world she had come from.

The factory was still there, but it hadn’t been expanded.

It looked about the same as it did at the beginning of the apocalypse. It seemed no one lived there anymore; the main gate was wide open.

’That makes sense.’

’The zombies are already High Level. If they hadn’t expanded and reinforced the defenses, they would have just been slaughtered by Advanced Zombies.’

Without the factory, if she couldn’t go back, she would have to start everything all over again.

She reached back and patted her backpack preciously.

’From now on, this is what I’ll have to rely on to survive.’

Having seen the desolate state of the factory district, Chen Xing’s only option was to enter Hualai City.

The buildings in Hualai City were all still standing, but their level of decay could only be described as abysmal.

Almost no building was in good condition; they had all become condemned structures.

Chen Xing, carrying her pack, walked very slowly.

About half an hour later, she arrived in front of the Xingguang Research Institute building.

Like the other buildings, it was dilapidated and stained, the marks of time clearly visible.

However, it was still standing strong.

She stood below, looking up for a long time, a little hesitant. ’Should I go in?’

After more than ten minutes, she finally walked toward the Research Institute’s main entrance.

The main doors, however, were unexpectedly locked tight.

It took some effort, but Chen Xing managed to pull the doors open.

The lobby was filled with a strong smell of dampness and mold. Not a trace of white could be seen on the walls anymore.

’The basement is very dangerous!’

’Without my Jiezhi Space, it’s best not to take the risk.’

Her objective was clear: the director’s office on the top floor.

She went straight to the top floor in one go. When she opened the door to the director’s office, she found the furnishings were mostly unchanged, but the window had been sealed shut, plunging the room into darkness.

The weather was already hot, and upon entering the room, the stuffy heat made her breath quicken.

The more uncomfortable she felt, the more she missed the days when she had her space.

Inside the space, the temperature was always comfortable, adjusting to her body heat.

’Great. Now I have to get used to this fickle weather all over again.’

Everything in the room was old, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Chen Xing picked up a file from the filing cabinet, where they were still neatly arranged.

They were filled with names she didn’t recognize and reports on their parents’ conditions.

After looking through more than half of them, she finally saw a familiar name.

Cheng Xiaonan, Male, Born (XX/XX/XXXX), Age thirty-two. Father: Cheng Xiao (Xingguang Research Institute, Level One Doctor). Mother: Yin Linghua (Xingguang Research Institute, Level Two Researcher).

When she saw Xiao Nan’s date of birth, Chen Xing’s hand began to tremble involuntarily.

She remembered Cheng Xiaonan being only twenty-two.

This stack of files hadn’t been touched for at least a year.

’But looking at this date of birth and calculating his age, this must be more than eleven years after the apocalypse began?’

’If you add the minimum of one year that no one has been here, it’s been at least twelve years.’

’Does this mean I’ve come to the future?’

’No!’

’Even if I had come to the future, how could Hualai City, which was originally destroyed by an explosion, have been rebuilt?’

’The only possibility is... I’ve come to the future of another dimension?’

That would explain it.

The Advanced Zombies she’d never seen before, and a Hualai City that hadn’t been destroyed.

The thought made her clamp a hand over her mouth.

She was afraid she would cry out in shock.

After all, it was getting late.

If her calculations were correct, the zombies now were far more ferocious than any she had ever known.

It took a long while for Chen Xing to recover from her astonishment and slowly regain her composure.

’In that case, is it possible that the Cheng Fang of this world is still alive?’

’Or... that many of the people I killed are still alive?’

’Maybe even Hao Wenli is still alive.’

’Heh... What a feeling of powerlessness.’

’Does this mean everything I did after my rebirth is useless here?’

’What revenge? It was all for nothing.’

Her enemies could all be alive and well.

Chen Xing looked at Cheng Xiaonan’s information again. The last column read: National Capital Research Institute.

She immediately left the director’s office, wanting to find a car to go to the Capital City.

But when she stepped out of the office, she realized that in just that short time, it had already grown dark outside.

Zombies at night were far more ferocious than during the day.

Besides, the weather could change at any moment.

It wouldn’t be too late to rest here for the night and set out in the morning.

She went to the adjacent room, which had a window. It was slightly cooler, and she could see what was happening outside.

While there was still some light, she took out some instant food from her backpack, ate it, and rehydrated. By the time she was done, the sky was completely dark.

She stood by the window, looking out at the world.

This was a completely strange world, one she had never experienced.

She had to be careful. Extremely careful.

Before long, she saw zombies crawling out from underground, one after another.

Compared to the zombies she had seen during the day near the millstone, the movements of these zombies could only be described as lightning-fast.

They moved on all fours and had sharp instincts and astonishing hearing.

They could even catch the faintest sounds from a distance and would immediately head in that direction.

Chen Xing was glad she hadn’t rushed to leave.

Otherwise, being targeted by so many of these zombie monstrosities would have meant a world of hurt.

She tiptoed back to the director’s office and gently closed the door.

After spreading a row of files on the floor, she lay down to rest.

But before sleepiness could take hold, a chill swept over her.

It seemed the weather was changing.