Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Half a day into their journey, they were hit by a blizzard so severe it was impossible to travel.

And so, they had no choice but to stop.

Their convoy consisted of one large RV, several smaller ones, and a few military trucks.

This time, Song Yiguo was prepared for a confrontation with the leader of the North, so he had brought a large contingent of men.

As soon as they stopped, they abandoned the military trucks at the rear of the convoy, and everyone took shelter in the RVs.

But… there simply wasn’t enough space.

With no other choice, they had to use the military trucks as well, and everyone took turns sleeping.

Of course, Chen Xing, Song Yiguo, and Vice General Du were better off, staying in the massive RV the entire time.

Even so, other Superpower Users were left to sleep on the floor and wherever else they could find space.

The delay lasted for two days.

Chen Xing remembered that just before her death, the temperature here would fluctuate wildly throughout the day. She hadn’t expected it to gradually stabilize again.

She was extremely anxious.

She worried the auction would end early and Cheng Fang would disappear.

Those anxious days finally passed, and they were at last able to set off again.

On the afternoon of the second day, they arrived at Green City, where the auction was being held.

It was even the same city.

It seemed that aside from being far more dilapidated, Green City was still in decent shape.

The lodgings they were assigned to looked dilapidated on the outside but were actually quite nice inside.

However, this time, thanks to Song Yiguo, Chen Xing also got to stay on the top floor of the hotel.

Although Yu Laosan didn’t come to greet them in person, he sent a trusted subordinate. The reception was so thoughtful that an outsider would have assumed he and Song Yiguo were the best of friends.

Due to the unpredictable weather, most of the buyers had already arrived ahead of schedule.

The United States was represented by Cadar, who was still in Huaxia, acting on behalf of Blake.

This time, Cadar was nowhere near as polite as their last encounter.

Ever since losing her emerald earrings, she had been acting completely unhinged.

She looked at everyone as if they were the one who had stolen her earrings.

She wanted to march up to everyone she saw and interrogate them about her earrings.

When she heard that Green Gemstone Jewelry was up for sale in the North, she was the first one to arrive.

What a coincidence. Right after she lost her emerald earrings, someone was selling Green Gemstone Jewelry.

She was convinced that the item up for auction was her own precious earrings.

If it really was them, she wouldn’t mind paying a high price to buy them back.

“The auction isn’t for another two days. Are you plotting something by arriving so early?” Cadar even suspected Song Yiguo of being the one who had stolen her earrings.

“Weren’t you here even earlier?” Chen Xing said, smiling at Cadar.

The mockery in her eyes stabbed into Cadar’s heart like a knife.

She believed that losing her emerald earrings was the only reason these people dared to treat her with such contempt.

‘No matter what, I have to get my emerald earrings back!’

“You just wait and see!” Cadar spat, brushing past Chen Xing.

There were four rooms on the top floor.

She and Song Yiguo were assigned to one, and Cadar to another. There was no word yet on who occupied the remaining two.

Fortunately, it was a suite.

Chen Xing tactfully gave the bedroom to Song Yiguo, opting to sleep on the sofa herself.

Chen Xing refused the invitation to join him for dinner at the restaurant, saying, “I brought my own food. I’m not used to eating things from just anywhere.”

Song Yiguo didn’t press the issue, simply thinking to himself that she was truly unique.

‘In this day and age, who would refuse food, especially when it’s free?’

‘Her refusal was so decisive, which proved she wasn’t short on food.’

‘Then again, it made sense.’

‘She carries Advanced Crystal Cores on her—enough to trade for more food than she could ever need—yet she uses them all to absorb and enhance her superpower.’

No sooner had Song Yiguo left than there was a knock on Chen Xing’s door.

‘Probably someone looking for trouble.’ Chen Xing didn’t move.

But the person outside was relentless and kept knocking.

Chen Xing had no choice but to go and open the door.

Outside stood Lu Haoran.

He looked at her with a curious expression and said something he often said, “I feel like we’ve met before.”

‘Of course we have.’

‘We were quite close back then.’

‘And we should have seen each other at the Research Institute here, too.’

“Can I help you?” ‘Even if Lu Haoran wasn’t the one who decided to make a move against Song Yiguo,’ she thought, ‘given Song Yiguo’s current mindset, it would be bad for me to act too friendly toward him.’

“I saw you in the lobby earlier,” Lu Haoran said, looking troubled. “You just looked so familiar, but I can’t for the life of me remember where we’ve met.”

Chen Xing brushed off his comment. “If Song Yiguo sees you here, I doubt he’ll let you leave peacefully.”

“He knows I wasn’t involved in the move against him.” Lu Haoran had already contacted Song Yiguo privately and had amicably passed on information about the Situ family. “He also knows I’m not really part of the Lu Family, just an adopted son.”

The only reason he had left the Capital City with the other families was because of Xu Anguo.

Xu Anguo believed that staying in the National Capital Safety Zone would only weaken the Lu Family’s power, so he had used Lu Yanran to force Lu Haoran to leave.

Chen Xing found it all very strange.

‘Even though the timeline feels off, the events playing out are remarkably similar to what happened back then.’

‘The only difference is the timing.’

“So?” Chen Xing’s tone was cold and dismissive.

Lu Haoran hadn’t expected such a cold reception. “I just wanted to say that despite this feeling of familiarity, I mean you no harm. Sorry to have disturbed you.”

With a gentlemanly nod to Chen Xing, he turned and left.

Chen Xing watched him head for the stairwell. Just as she was about to close her door, the door to the adjacent suite suddenly opened.

‘I didn’t realize someone had moved in already.’

‘Well, it’s not my business. I’m not the curious type.’

So she started to close the door again.

“Lady Xing Yue…” Just as Chen Xing’s door was about to swing shut, a voice from the other suite stopped her.

Chen Xing paused. ‘That voice is unfamiliar.’

‘In any of her lives, she’d never heard it before.’

She opened her door again and looked toward the neighboring suite.

A foreign bodyguard at the doorway gestured for Chen Xing to enter. “Please,” he said. The person who had called her name was nowhere in sight.

Chen Xing wasn’t about to just walk into a stranger’s suite. She replied coolly, “I’m sorry, but Young Master Song instructed me not to leave the room while he’s out. If you need something, please wait for him to return and then come to my suite to talk.”

Without giving them a chance to respond, she shut the door.

‘Anyone who acts that mysterious can’t be up to any good.’

Apparently, the person on the other side hadn’t expected her to be so firm.

At a time like this, when summoned by someone of high status, most ordinary people would have eagerly and humbly complied.

It wasn’t long before there was another knock on Chen Xing’s door.

Chen Xing pulled the door open.

Standing outside was a Western man in his thirties with an incredibly captivating gaze.

It was as if he could charm anyone he looked at.

Chen Xing said nothing, simply watching him.

‘If he’s the one who needs something, he can be the first to speak.’

After staring at Chen Xing for a moment, he seemed to realize his rudeness. “My sincerest apologies… Hello, my name is Lou.” As he spoke, he held out a business card to her.

‘A business card?’

‘Hardly anyone used these in the apocalypse.’

‘I suppose the true aristocrats are just built differently.’

Chen Xing took the card.

On it, alongside a script she couldn’t read, was a line written in Huaxian.

Bishop of the XX Holy Hall…