this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Soon after, there were the sounds of thudding as people collapsed, followed by a few sharp and panicked cries.
Jiang Ci quickly put down her kitchen knife and rushed out to see what was happening.
As she pushed open the door, she saw twenty to thirty survivors standing outside. They all looked disheveled, their clothes tattered, and their bodies bearing wounds all over their body.
The group resembled refugees fleeing disaster, all crowding around the shop entrance.
At that moment, a few survivors had collapsed for unknown reasons, and the panicked cries Jiang Ci had heard came from the crowd around them.
Just then, the system reminded her in her mind that this was the task Jiang Ci needed to complete.
Jiang Ci was stunned. She hadn’t expected her task to involve not just one person, but an entire group.
Without wasting time, she hurried over to check on the survivors who had collapsed.
“What happened?” Jiang Ci asked.
“They fainted. We haven’t had any nutrient solution for almost three days,” a young woman replied softly.
Jiang Ci noticed that the survivors didn’t seem overly concerned about their collapsed companions. Their faces were mostly numb, much like what the system had described—they seemed to have lost hope in life.
“Rest here for a while. This area is safe. There are no zombies or mutated beasts around. I’ll boil some water and prepare some food for you,” Jiang Ci said to the survivors in front of her.
The shop couldn’t accommodate so many people, so she had to let them stay at the entrance for the time being.
The question now was, what should she prepare to feed so many people and help them regain their hope in life?
No matter how Jiang Ci thought about it, her ingredients were limited. She could only start by preparing the food for the customers outside. She boiled a large pot of water, and once it was ready, she took paper cups from the shop and poured a cup of hot water for each person, distributing them one by one.
Holding the steaming cups, the survivors were still lost in a daze until they felt the warmth from their fingertips.
The survivors, who had initially thought they would die here, felt the chill in their palms gradually dissipating as they held the steaming cups of hot water.
Jiang Ci prepared another large batch of egg fried rice and set up a pot to cook a clear hotpot base, adding plenty of potato slices, meat, and the recently unlocked vegetables.
Because there were so many people, Jiang Ci cooked in two batches, then scooped everything into a large stainless steel basin she usually used for washing vegetables.
The fried rice was also poured into a large iron basin. She set up a table outside and placed both basins on it. Then, she went back to the kitchen to exchange for some disposable bowls and utensils.
Kitchenware could still be exchanged for points, and thankfully, the prices weren’t too high either.
The survivors outside continued to drink water, and with each sip of hot water, their fatigue began to fade. Just then, they suddenly caught the rich aroma of food. Unable to resist, they turned their heads toward the source of the smell and saw the kind shopkeeper who had given them hot water earlier now carrying two basins that were wider than her body.
Jiang Ci arranged the basins and utensils neatly, then turned her gaze to the survivors outside. “Everyone, line up to get your food. No matter what’s happened, what we need to focus on right now is eating and drinking our fill—only then can we keep on living.”
Jiang Ci wasn’t good at comforting people, and after a few awkward words, she ran out of things to say.
However, her words, combined with the earlier hot water and now the food, clearly had a profound effect. Jiang Ci noticed that many of the survivors had tears in their eyes.
At first, everyone seemed a bit hesitant, but soon, hunger got the better of them, and they began to line up.
They had expected something like ordinary nutrient solution, but they were stunned by the feast before them. The first survivor in line nearly had their eyes pop out of their head. This… this was clearly the kind of expensive food that ordinary survivors in the base couldn’t afford.
“We… we don’t have any crystal cores. We lost them all along the way,” the woman in front stammered in explanation.
“It’s fine. You’re all in such a state—how could I ask for crystal cores now? We’ll talk about it when things get better,” Jiang Ci said. Truthfully, using so many ingredients without getting paid back was quite painful for Jiang Ci, who had evolved into a bit of a miser because of the system. However, the circumstances called for it. It was all for the mission, and these people were truly pitiful.
The system had told her that they wouldn’t last much longer if she didn’t help them regain their will to live. So she decided to treat it as accumulating good karma for her parents.
“Get better,” the woman in front murmured, repeating the words, “will things really get better?”
“Of course they will. The fact that you’re still alive is the best thing, isn’t it? As long as you’re alive, there’s hope,” Jiang Ci said softly, her tone unusually gentle as she scooped rice into a bowl.
The woman took the steaming, lavish meal in front of her, her nose tingling with emotion as her tears nearly fell into her food.
One by one, the survivors lined up to receive their meals. Those who were unconscious were given some warm water to drink, allowing them to eat once they regained consciousness.
Each person took their food from Jiang Ci and returned to their spot.
Jiang Ci also noticed a pair of siblings in the crowd. They looked very young—the sister was around ten years old, and the brother was about seven or eight. It seemed they had no family left, as the sister held onto her little brother’s hand tightly.
Jiang Ci’s expression softened immediately. Seeing children in the apocalypse was truly a rare sight.
When serving them food, Jiang Ci deliberately gave them a little extra.
“Thank you, sister,” the girl said politely, though she still maintained a hint of caution. She quickly pulled her younger brother to an open spot to sit down.
The portions in the two bowls were just right. After serving the last person, the food was completely finished.
As the survivors began to eat, Jiang Ci’s tasks were being completed one by one.
While the survivors were eating, Jiang Ci learned that they had ended up in this situation because their base had been overrun by zombies.
“It was level eight psychic zombie,” one survivor recalled, still shuddering at the memory of that evening that had seemed like a nightmare. “It led tens of thousands of zombies and toppled the base gates. So many people inside the base died. The base leader was immediately killed with a headshot by that level eight zombie before he could even say a word.”
“It wasn’t just zombies,” another survivor added. “Mutant beasts also took advantage of the chaos and rushed in.” That day was indeed something the survivors would never forget. The screams and the heavy darkness of the night blended together, and even now, the memory still sent chills down their spines.
“Why don’t you all come to our base?” one of the survivors who had been eating inside spoke up. “It’s not far from here. We can explain your situation to our base leader. He’s a good person, and you can owe the crystal cores for now if you don’t have any.”
He went on to describe their base in a few sentences. Although the facilities weren’t particularly advanced or luxurious, it still sounded like a warm welcome to people who had just escaped disaster.
By the time they decided to go to this survivor’s base, Jiang Ci had completed all her tasks.
After resting for a while and regaining some strength from the meal, the survivors prepared to leave with the man who had invited them.
One by one, they came to thank Jiang Ci before dragging their battered bodies out of the hotpot restaurant.
Although this task involved a lot of people and was somewhat tiring, it was completed in just half a day, also unlocking the mushroom platter.
The mushroom platter contained a variety of mushrooms—shiitake, oyster, enoki, matsutake, and tea tree mushrooms, among others—all exuding the unique and earthy fragrance of fungi.
Jiang Ci was quite satisfied with the speed at which she had completed this task on the first day and urged the system to issue the next one.
[Sell twenty vegetable platters and orange juice combos to unlock the lamb rolls,] the system’s voice chimed.
“Got it,” Jiang Ci replied after glancing at the specific task details.
Perhaps because vegetables were nearly extinct in this world, the newly introduced vegetable platter and mushroom platter were both extremely popular.
The mushroom platter, in particular, whether cooked in clear or spicy soup, made the broth even more fragrant and rich.
The orange juice wasn’t the artificial, flavor-enhanced drink from Jiang Ci’s world either, but real juice squeezed directly from fresh fruit.
Inside, there were still some bits of orange pulp, making the drink taste exceptionally good. As soon as it appeared in the store, it immediately caught the attention of the survivors.
Therefore, promoting this combination wasn’t too difficult for Jiang Ci.
In a way, the system had indeed provided her with a bit of a shortcut, as these two tasks were relatively simple to complete. If she had encountered the previous ‘big eater’ task, she might not have been able to complete it in three days.
*
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:
On the other side, Song Jinchuan and his team had expended considerable effort to finally reach the center of the city.
Just this one action had taken them several days, and their team included several survivors, giving an idea of how severe the situation in the city was.
Song Jinchuan and his team were currently taking a temporary rest in a small, unoccupied house. Before long, a dark figure flipped in through the window on the third floor. His movements were light and precise, making no sound that would attract the attention of the zombies or mutated beasts.
“I just went to scout. The survivors are trapped in that building over there, about forty of them,” the man in front whispered. “The path over is blocked by zombies. We might have to go through the rooftops.”
The houses here were relatively low but uneven. Getting across the rooftops to reach that building would be quite a challenge.
The group huddled together and eventually came up with a plan.
Before it got completely dark, they climbed out the window onto the roof and began moving toward the building.
Without any protective measures, with zombies below and their stamina severely depleted after so many days, beads of sweat formed on everyone’s foreheads.
Finally, they reached the building. In the hallway, there were clusters of zombies and some mutated beasts.
After a chaotic battle, they finally arrived at the place where the survivors were hiding.
One of the survivors from Song Jinchuan’s team knocked on the door. After explaining their purpose to the wary eyes inside, the door was opened slightly, and they were let in.
our shop is about to gain it’s first staff member!
