Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 364: Chapter 362: This is Pretty Useless

”I was worried they would pose a threat to the safety zone, so I didn’t dare let them in!” Song Yiguo couldn’t take the risk.

What Chen Xing feared had finally happened.

’She had a feeling Xu Anguo wasn’t dead.’

The longer time went on, the more certain she became.

Even if Chen Dingbang were alive, he could still stir up trouble, but his capabilities were likely no match for Xu Anguo’s.

He wasn’t as cunning as Xu Anguo, who could meticulously plan out every single step.

’To vanish for so many years and then suddenly reappear... He must have made thorough preparations.’

It hadn’t been easy for the safety zone to survive this long. She didn’t want to see the National Capital Safety Zone put at risk.

”Chen Xing...” Lu Haoran pushed the door open and entered, the ardor in his eyes burning even more intensely than before.

He had heard Chen Xing had arrived and immediately dropped what he was doing to rush over.

Seeing her again rekindled the feelings he had suppressed for so many years.

Chen Xing knew that since staying behind in the Capital City, Lu Haoran had been a great help to Song Yiguo.

She nodded, her expression remaining impassive.

Song Yiguo could tell at a glance that Chen Xing had never harbored any romantic feelings for Lu Haoran.

’This woman was exceptional in every other way, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was denser than the average person.’

”Should we go see those people first?” Noticing Lu Haoran’s slight disappointment, Song Yiguo quickly changed the subject.

’Of course, they had to see those people first!’

Before long, Chen Xing was at the camp outside the safety zone.

There were over a hundred people, mostly men, with a few women.

Only... they were no longer in their naive and innocent youth; they were now in their thirties, on the cusp of middle age.

From a lack of care, faint wrinkles had already appeared at the corners of their eyes.

And yet, their eyes were all uniformly clear, showing no sign of having experienced the hardships of the world.

They looked uneasy when they saw Chen Xing and the others enter.

”They don’t remember where they came from. When they woke up, they were on an empty field several miles outside the National Capital Safety Zone. They have no idea how they found their way here!” Vice General Du explained.

Chen Xing knew questioning them would be fruitless, so she decided then and there to take all one hundred-plus of them and leave the vicinity of the National Capital Safety Zone.

The last time, the test subjects had self-destructed, and their blast radius was several kilometers.

’After all these years of progress, who knew if this distance was still safe?’

So, driving a double-decker bus arranged by Vice General Du, Chen Xing left the Capital City’s vicinity.

However... she had just left when she received a call from Lu Haoran.

Right after Chen Xing and her group left, a force had suddenly launched an attack on the National Capital Safety Zone.

Their leader’s name was Fan Kexin.

Chen Xing was somewhat taken aback by this.

’From the looks of it, Fan Kexin wasn’t cooperating with the Research Institute.’

’So why would she choose this exact moment to attack the Capital City?’

Chen Xing had no choice. She had to save the National Capital Safety Zone first.

So, she immediately drove back.

By the time she drove back to the outskirts of the National Capital Safety Zone, she realized just how timely her return was.

Outside the safety zone, there was a sea of people.

Chen Xing couldn’t even remember how long it had been since she had seen so many people.

’To think that in just a few years, the rebel army had managed to assemble so many people again.’

And what’s more, a massive horde of zombies was following behind them.

The zombie horde moved in an orderly fashion, protecting the rebel army in their midst and propelling them forward.

Chen Xing parked the bus at a distance, watching the procession draw ever closer to the National Capital Safety Zone.

”How can those zombies be together with humans?” one of the test subjects asked in terror, staring at the scene ahead.

They had also encountered zombies and knew how terrifying they were.

”These zombies are being controlled by someone!” Worried they might overthink it, Chen Xing explained, ”There’s a type of Spiritual Ability that can control people or zombies. As long as your level is higher than the target’s, control is easy! It’s possible some of you have Spiritual Abilities, too...”

Hearing this, the test subjects looked at one another, then began trying to see if they had Spiritual Abilities.

Chen Xing had said it precisely because she wanted them to try.

’People from the Research Institute are inherently capable. Any superpowers they awaken shouldn’t be weak, either.’

”I think I can do it?” a girl said in a timid voice, pointing to a distant zombie that was turning around. ”I tried to control it, and it actually turned back!”

Chen Xing saw the zombie, too.

It was breaking away from the horde and heading in their direction.

’So... she had guessed correctly.’

’People from the Research Institute are inherently stronger than ordinary people once their superpowers awaken. That must be why my own powers are so strong, right?’

”Try to draw a few more over... the more, the better!” Chen Xing said. This could save a lot of trouble, she thought.

The girl did as she was told.

Instantly, dozens of zombies turned and charged toward them.

But... before long, the girl collapsed, clutching her head. ”My head hurts too much...” ’She felt she couldn’t continue.’

The zombies the girl had been controlling all turned back at once and rejoined the rebel army’s ranks.

Chen Xing had no choice but to drive the bus to a more concealed spot. After instructing them to hide inside no matter what, she got out and ran toward the safety zone.

She didn’t know why her Spiritual Ability could control Spiritual Zombies but not regular ones.

’It felt so useless!’

As Chen Xing sprinted forward, a rain of fine needles coalesced above her head and showered down upon the zombie horde behind her.

Wave after wave of the needle rain descended, instantly thinning the zombie horde’s numbers.

At first, Fan Kexin, who was at the front, didn’t notice and simply continued leading the zombie horde forward.

It wasn’t until a huge swathe of her rear guard was gone that she realized the horde was diminishing at an alarming rate.

Over the years, while Chen Xing rarely ventured out except for supply runs, she hadn’t been idle for a single moment.

She had maxed out all her superpowers and trained them daily.

Her needle rain could now kill over a hundred zombies at once, and with considerable accuracy.

It was then that Fan Kexin once again laid eyes on the woman she despised most: Chen Xing.

Her eyes were filled with profound hatred.

She remembered it clearly: years ago, when she had been in a rush to retreat, this was the woman who had annihilated her entire rear guard.

If it weren’t for her Defensive superpower, she would have been in grave danger herself.

Naturally, killing Chen Xing was part of this plan.

’Who would have thought... in just a few years, that damn Chen Xing’s power had grown again.’

’And at a rate she couldn’t possibly hope to match!’

’What was even more infuriating was that after all this time weathering the apocalypse, she hadn’t become haggard at all. In fact, she looked even younger and more beautiful than before?’

The desire to kill this woman instantly consumed her.

’Since she dared to show herself, she must have some confidence in her abilities.’

Fan Kexin ordered the zombie horde to continue its advance, while she turned to face Chen Xing.

Meanwhile, Brother Xiao Jin, who was right behind her, had also noticed Chen Xing.

His eyes lit up, and he stared in shock at the girl in the distance, who seemed to be glowing under the sun.

Fan Kexin, of course, noticed. She let out a resentful huff to grab Brother Xiao Jin’s attention, her superpower already coalescing in her hand.