this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
The tension in Zhou Xiong and his group immediately eased, and faint smiles appeared on their faces. “It’s you guys. Are you all okay? Thank you so much for earlier.”
The newcomers were none other than the Cheetah Squad led by Song Jinchuan, who had saved Zhou Xiong and his group. Despite having just gone through two battles, Song Jinchuan and his team looked no different from before.
“Can we come in to take shelter from the rain? It’s pouring outside.”
Jiang Ci glanced up at the pitch-black night sky. The sound of the rain had grown louder since Zhou Xiong arrived, resembling someone pouring water from a bucket overhead.
Jiang Ci quickly stepped back and moved aside to let Song Jinchuan and his team in. “Come in, hurry.”
The warm yellow light inside the small hotpot restaurant made the place feel cozy, but as soon as everyone entered, the already cramped space became even more crowded. Zhou Xiong and his group, who had already finished their meal, moved to sit on the floor in an open area.
It was only then that Jiang Ci noticed the squad consisted of eight people—two women and six men—all of whom looked highly capable.
The man who had locked eyes with Jiang Ci at the door was none other than the squad leader, Song Jinchuan. He was tall and well-built, but unlike the exaggerated muscles of most ability users, his physique was lean and athletic. His face had a wild handsomeness, somewhat resembling a male celebrity Jiang Ci had once liked, so she couldn’t help but steal a few more glances.
Song Jinchuan caught Jiang Ci’s gaze, raised an eyebrow slightly, and then nodded politely at her.
At that moment, Zhou Xiong and his group were still savoring the aftertaste of their hotpot meal. The pots hadn’t been cleared yet, so the aroma of food still naturally lingered in the air.
One of the survivors sniffed the air and couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“What’s that? And why does it smell like hotpot?” a male member of the squad with a baby-face said, looking puzzled.
The man with a baby-face seemed lively, but the weapon he carried—a spiked spherical hammer—contrasted sharply with his youthful appearance, creating a sense of dissonance.
“We were eating hotpot. This is a hotpot restaurant,” Zhou Xiong replied.
The survivors glanced at the two pots, which were now completely empty, leaving no clue as to what kind of hotpot had been served.
“That’s the boss,” someone said.
In the next moment, Jiang Ci could feel more than half the eyes in the room turn toward her. After all, she was the most distinctive person in the room. Jiang Ci had recently grown accustomed to being stared at like an exhibit in a zoo, so she simply smiled and pointed to the small blackboard beside her, indicating they should check the price list.
“Brother Chuan, I’m hungry,” the baby-faced man said after looking at the menu, turning to Song Jinchuan with an expectant expression.
“Order whatever you want. I’ll cover the crystal cores,” Zhou Xiong quickly offered.
“No, we’ll pay for ourselves,” a square-faced man firmly refused.
“You saved so many of us. A few crystal cores can’t even begin to repay you. We’ll feel better if you accept,” Zhou Xiong’s survivors nodded in agreement, clearly sharing their leader’s sentiment.
“Alright,” Song Jinchuan nodded. “Everyone, go ahead and order.”
With his approval, the members of the Cheetah Squad began to order their favorite dishes.
Jiang Ci had just cleared the hotpot bases from the two tables into the kitchen dishwasher. Now, she was holding a notebook, jotting down their orders.
Twenty plates of fatty beef, twenty plates of pork belly, five plates of potato slices, and rice for eight people.
In their team, there was a melancholic young man with long hair covering his eyes, who was a water-type ability user. Since they usually didn’t lack drinking water, they didn’t buy any mineral water.
“Pork belly? It wasn’t available when we ordered earlier,” Zhou Xiong and others said with some regret.
“It just arrived from the back, so I added it to the menu,” Jiang Ci explained truthfully, as it had indeed been unlocked after completing a recent task.
The pork belly slices looked fresh, with a perfect balance of fat and lean meat, classic three-layered pork belly, coated in a fragrant sauce that made the survivors’ mouths water.
Survivors who hadn’t tasted meat in a long time couldn’t take their eyes off the fatty pork. If they weren’t already full, Zhou Xiong and the others would have ordered another hot pot base to try the pork belly.
“Why isn’t there a spicy soup base? I really want something spicy,” a short-haired girl muttered.
“Come on, having hotpot is already great. Don’t be so picky. Where else can you get hot pot?” the baby-faced man retorted.
“Next time you come, there should be a spicy soup base,” Jiang Ci said as she placed the hotpot base on their table. She thought that by the next time they visited, the task would be completed, and she explained this, successfully seeing the short-haired girl’s eyes light up.
“Really? Will it be beef tallow soup base? Beef tallow soup base is so fragrant.”
“Yes, it’ll be a beef tallow soup base, and it will definitely taste great. Everyone can come and try it then,” Jiang Ci said with a smile.
The group’s excitement grew a bit more. Although they didn’t know what the next visit would be like, having such a connection was still nice.
Song Jinchuan looked up, his gaze passing through the crowd to Jiang Ci, who was smiling sweetly. He thought that this shop and its boss were quite special.
As the hotpot base boiled, the ingredients inside continued to float and sink in the pot, releasing a rich aroma of food.
The survivors couldn’t be bothered with talking anymore and immediately dug in.
While Song Jinchuan and the others were eating hotpot, Zhou Xiong and his team sat on the ground nearby, resting.
“Captain Zhou, have you noticed that after eating the hotpot, our stamina has recovered quite a bit?” a survivor sitting next to Zhou Xiong whispered.
Zhou Xiong moved his body around and indeed felt much lighter than when they first arrived.
Normally, after several fights, injuries, and the exhausting of their stamina, it would take at least a day of rest at the base to recover. But today, they had recovered about seventy to eighty percent in such a short time.
Zhou Xiong pondered for a moment before speaking calmly, “Since the Boss hasn’t mentioned this effect, let’s just act as if we don’t know about it. We shouldn’t cause any trouble for others.”
The survivor also nodded, feeling quite moved. He never expected the hotpot here to have such an effect. If those various bases found out, this place would likely be swarmed with people.
After finishing their first round of dishes, Song Jinchuan and his group ordered ten more plates of fatty beef and ten plates of pork belly, indulging themselves to the fullest.
In the end, they spent one level-four crystal core, three level-three crystal cores, and five level-one crystal cores at Jiang Ci’s place, totaling 13,050 points.
Jiang Ci’s points surged significantly, reaching 34,450.
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:
After Song Jinchuan and his group finished their meal, Jiang Ci asked for their feedback on the hotpot restaurant.
The eight of them were very cooperative, understanding Jiang Ci’s intention, and took turns praising the hotpot restaurant in various ways.
With their compliments, Jiang Ci’s task progress instantly jumped to (22/50).
After the meal, they even helped Jiang Ci clean up the tables before sitting together to chat and wait for the rain to stop.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the relatively quiet woman from the Cheetah Squad used her healing ability to treat everyone.
After healing her own team, she also treated two severely injured survivors from Zhou Xiong’s squad.
The two teams got along exceptionally well and learned about the conflict between Song Jinchuan and Zong Tao.
Their conflict had actually started before the apocalypse. Zong Tao was a vicious criminal back then, and it was Song Jinchuan who had captured him. So, after the apocalypse began, the moment Zong Tao saw Song Jinchuan, he wanted to kill him for revenge.
But he hadn’t expected Song Jinchuan to be so strong. Although their battles had mostly ended in draws, Zong Tao could feel the increasing pressure.
That’s why he had gone to blow up the giant tortoise’s lair, hoping to quickly enhance his abilities.
“So, who won in the end?” one of the survivors from Zhou Xiong’s squad couldn’t help but ask, curious about the outcome.
“I won narrowly. He was injured and escaped with the help of his teammates,” Song Jinchuan replied in his usual steady tone, neither boasting nor expressing regret.
Zhou Xiong gave him a thumbs-up. Being able to injure Zong Tao was already quite an achievement.
Zong Tao not only was an ability user, but also carried small weapons hidden all over his body, making his attacks unpredictable and cunning.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ci absorbed all the information and details from their conversation.
As dawn approached, the rain outside finally stopped.
Jiang Ci, unable to stay awake any longer, had already fallen asleep on the table. The hotpot restaurant was now silent, with everyone else also sleeping deeply.
When Jiang Ci opened her eyes, she saw Song Jinchuan sitting across the counter. He hadn’t slept and was staring out the window, deftly twirling a small black knife between his fingers.
Jiang Ci pushed open the window, and the post-rain air rushed in, fresh and cool with a faint hint of bitterness.
“Would you like some hot water?” Jiang Ci asked.
This was the first time survivors had spent the night in her shop, and for Jiang Ci, it felt quite novel.
“No need to trouble yourself. We’ll be leaving soon. Thank you for yesterday. Our Cheetah Squad owes you a favor. If you ever need anything, come find me at Bright Base. Just mention my name,” Song Jinchuan said.
Jiang Ci waved her hand, “It was nothing. If you really want to thank me, just bring more people here for hotpot in the future.”
As they spoke, the survivors gradually woke up.
It had been a long time since the survivors had slept so soundly. The hotpot restaurant offered a rare warmth and tranquility. Except for the slightly hard floor, everything else was perfect.
After bidding farewell to Jiang Ci, the Cheetah Squad and Zhou Xiong’s team left together.
Only after they had traveled a considerable distance from the hotpot restaurant did zombies and mutated beasts begin to swarm in. At this moment, the miraculous nature of the hotpot restaurant became even more vivid and tangible in everyone’s eyes.
The survivors glanced back; under the grey and gloomy sky, the hotpot restaurant seemed to be their only sanctuary in this apocalyptic world.
After seeing off the survivors, Jiang Ci yawned and rubbed her sore neck. Sleeping like that for a night was really unbearable. Although she was awake now, her spirits were not high.
After washing up, Jiang Ci ordered herself a bowl of twice-cooked pork noodles.
The noodles were firm and smooth, and the twice-cooked pork was fatty but not greasy. Due to the special cooking method, it also had a slightly crispy and tender texture.
After finishing the bowl of noodles, Jiang Ci felt like she had come back to life.
the translator has nothing to say ◡̈
