this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
The soup base packet was torn open and mixed into the boiling water. Soon, a rich aroma began to waft from the kitchen, filling the entire wooden cabin.
The long-haired girl, Wei Yue, sniffed the air and blurted out, “What smells so good?”
“Oh, it’s our hotpot base,” Jiang Ci happened to come out of the kitchen and responded.
The aroma continuously seeped into the noses of the three, making their already hungry stomachs growl.
They silently cursed the proprietress for being too cunning, using such a fragrant bomb—who could resist it?
Even though they knew it was a beautifully packaged hook designed to tempt them, they couldn’t help but bite the bait. After all, the smell was just too enticing, too nostalgic.
In the end, the three gritted their teeth, took out their crystal cores, placed them on the table, and ordered the hotpot base and some dishes.
One plate of potato slices, three plates of fatty beef slices, and rice for the three of them, totaling nine second-level crystal cores, five first-level crystal cores, and one third-level crystal core.
Compared to vegetables, survivors naturally preferred meat. The fatty beef slices prominently displayed on the blackboard made the survivors order three portions without hesitation.
After placing their orders, the three were still a bit anxious. If this shop turned out to be a scam, their crystal cores would be wasted.
But their worries didn’t come true. Jiang Ci quickly brought the hotpot base and bowls to their table.
Next came the uniformly sliced potatoes and the beautifully marbled fatty beef slices.
The unique aroma of fresh food continuously challenged their previous perceptions. They stood there in shock, and it took them a while to react before they got up to get sauces and rice from the sauce station.
Now, the sauce station had soy sauce and vinegar, both of which had become extinct in the apocalypse. Even if a small amount existed, it was often sold at exorbitant prices.
Each of them took a bowl of soy sauce, a bowl of vinegar, and a large bowl of rice.
While waiting for the food to cook, the survivors dipped their chopsticks into the sauce and tasted them. The soy sauce was fresh, and the vinegar was authentically sour with a hint of sweetness, making them nod in approval.
The bright red fatty beef slices were placed into the hot pot base, and within seconds, they turned a light brown with white streaks, emitting an irresistible aroma.
Each plate of fatty beef slices had about ten pieces, each quite large, providing a substantial portion.
The survivors hadn’t eaten such normal food in ten years, and they were already eager to dig in even before the beef was fully cooked.
The ingredients were devoured clean, but the three still felt unsatisfied. In the end, they asked Jiang Ci to pack up the remaining soup base.
The shop always had takeout boxes ready, made of a material Jiang Ci had never seen before—lightweight, convenient, and capable of retaining heat and insulation.
Not long after the three left, two more groups arrived at the hotpot restaurant.
Everyone looked disheveled, with tattered clothes and a mix of dust and blood on their bodies, resembling refugees fleeing from disaster.
There were two teams in total, one with three people and the other with five.
Upon seeing the hotpot restaurant and Jiang Ci, the reactions of the survivors were quite similar. As everyone stood there in shock and disbelief, a tall, thin man suddenly clapped his hands, breaking the silence. “I’ve heard about this hotpot restaurant! A friend told me there’s a rather magical hotpot place in the city center of City C, with great flavors and unlimited rice!”
As he spoke, the tall, thin man’s gaze towards Jiang Ci became fervent.
If it weren’t for the fact that they had fought their way here together, the other survivors might have thought he was an accomplice of this hotpot restaurant. How could such a place exist? They hadn’t seen normal food in years. Every city, village, and even the supplies in residents’ homes had long been emptied.
But when they stepped into the hotpot restaurant, smelled the lingering aroma of hotpot, and saw the bottled water in the fridge by the entrance, their certainty wavered.
Could this really be a hotpot restaurant?
A significant reason they chose to stay here was because it was safe. For some reason, zombies and mutated plants and animals didn’t come near.
However, everyone remained cautious, as the ability to repel these creatures itself was already an incredible feat.
“Can we just rest here without eating hotpot?” one of the survivors, Jiang He, asked warily.
“Of course, you can rest as long as you need before leaving,” Jiang Ci replied without much hesitation. Since the apocalypse began, the restaurant had at most two tables occupied daily, so letting them sit for a while wouldn’t make much difference.
“We can’t hold on any longer. We ran out of rations yesterday. If we don’t eat something soon, we’ll starve. We’ll have a clear soup base, two plates of fatty beef, three plates of potato slices, and rice for three people,” said Peng Yu, the tall, thin man who had mentioned knowing about the restaurant.
He slapped a third-level crystal core, eight second-level cores, and five first-level cores on the table.
Jiang Ci collected the cores and headed to the kitchen.
The group of five at the next table had been observing, waiting to see if it was real before deciding whether to order.
As they waited, they began to chat. All of them had made their way through the dense hordes of zombies in the city, and their conversation was filled with obvious confusion.
“There were never so many zombies here before because of the Level 9 Giant Tortoise that used to dominate this area. The high-level zombies and mutated plants and animals all have their own territories. This area has always been the giant tortoise’s domain. Its high level and lack of malice towards humans made this a relatively safe place.”
“Didn’t we hear that the giant tortoise’s lair was blown up? Maybe that’s why things have changed.”
In the kitchen, Jiang Ci overheard the survivors’ conversation and couldn’t help but glance at the box in the corner. Inside, Hui Hui seemed to sense Jiang Ci’s gaze and slightly raised its head.
“Whoa, you scared me! Why is there a tortoise here?” One of the survivors, a tall and thin man, happened to be facing the counter. His gaze swept past and he was startled by Hui Hui beside him.
The attention of the others was drawn over, all landing on Hui Hui.
“Don’t be scared, Hui Hui isn’t a mutated animal. She’s very gentle,” Jiang Ci called out from the kitchen.
They weren’t exactly afraid; Hui Hui’s size clearly didn’t fit the profile of a mutated animal. But there was something eerily familiar about this turtle.
Just then, the aroma suddenly intensified, pulling everyone’s attention back. They all fell silent in unison, their eager eyes fixed on the direction of the kitchen.
Soon, Jiang Ci emerged carrying the hotpot base. As she approached, the fragrance became even more pronounced, and the ingredients floating in the pot looked particularly enticing.
Everyone involuntarily swallowed their saliva.
After setting down the hotpot base, Jiang Ci brought over the dishes they had ordered, placing them on the nearby dish rack.
The five people at the next table were practically gawking. They hadn’t expected the food to actually be served.
One of them almost leaned over their fatty beef, but Peng Yu blocked him with his hand.
“Be careful, don’t let your drool drip on my fatty beef.”
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
With that, Peng Yu dumped the entire plate of fatty beef into the bubbling pot, as if afraid someone would snatch it away.
The slices of beef rolled around in the pot, changing color.
The man awkwardly pulled his head back, instinctively wiping the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t his fault for being tempted; the aroma was simply irresistible.
The other four clearly couldn’t withstand this olfactory assault either. The five of them huddled together, whispering for a moment, and finally ordered five plates of fatty beef and two plates of potato slices. After spotting the bottled water in the fridge by the entrance, they each grabbed one.
Including the hotpot base and rice, they needed to pay two third-level crystal cores and seven second-level crystal cores.
While preparing the food, Jiang Ci took a moment to check her points, which had already reached 15,220.
The task of selling twenty plates of fatty beef was also half complete, lifting Jiang Ci’s spirits considerably.
By now, the food at Peng Yu’s table was ready. The three of them each scooped a large bowl of rice, heaping it high before beginning to eat the fragrant ingredients from the pot. A bite of marbled beef, a mouthful of rice, a slice of potato, and then another mouthful of rice.
Jiang Ci came out quickly this time. She had previously sliced extra plates of fatty beef as backup, and sure enough, they came in handy.
The five eagerly dumped their dishes into the pot, then went to prepare their dipping sauces and scoop rice. By the time they returned, the pot was already bubbling away.
The two tables were silent, each group focused on their own pot, devouring the food with such intensity that they almost wanted to cry. But there was no time for tears; their hands and mouths worked in perfect harmony, barely stopping.
When they finally came to their senses from the culinary impact, the pot in front of them was empty.
They set down their bowls and chopsticks, momentarily speechless, clearly still processing the shock.
The group next to them, including Peng Yu, had also finished eating. They couldn’t stop praising the hotpot restaurant, “No wonder my friend kept raving about it. It’s truly amazing. They managed to get all these ingredients, and they still taste incredibly fresh.”
The others chimed in with agreement.
As everyone was enjoying the hot pot, the commotion outside gradually subsided. The hordes of zombies, having lost track of the humans, slowly retreated.
The survivors mentioned that they had received a mission from the base, which stated that there was significant activity of zombies and mutated animals in this area. Other bases must have also received this information. The recent calm in the city meant that Jiang Ci’s business would likely soon be thriving.
After the survivors left one by one, no other survivors appeared that day. However, Jiang Ci did hear sounds of fighting, emanating from different locations at different times, some near and some far, creating quite a lively atmosphere.
Jiang Ci was eager to see what was happening, but she couldn’t see anything. The area around the hotpot restaurant was unusually quiet, not just because of the system, but also due to the intimidating presence of the giant tortoise.
Although Hui Hui had little presence in the hotpot restaurant, she was still a high-level mutated beast that struck fear into the hearts of many in the post-apocalyptic world.
Only in front of Jiang Ci and the system did she behave like a harmless little animal.
