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Jiang Ci instinctively grabbed onto the clothes at the waist of the person in front of her, only then remembering that she had forgotten to tell Song Jinchuan about the scooter’s powerful engine.
However, Song Jinchuan was a quick learner. With Jiang Ci’s guidance, he soon got the hang of controlling the speed. But at this moment, he found himself somewhat distracted, part of his senses focused on the pair of hands at his waist—warm and soft.
Seeing that the electric scooter was smoothly on its way, the survivors’ car followed closely behind, leaving the hotpot restaurant.
On the way, seeing that the two vehicles were far apart, Jiang Ci thought about revealing some inside information to Song Jinchuan. After all, they would be spending a lot of time together, and it wouldn’t be easy to keep hiding secrets.
Moreover, Song Jinchuan was bound to her by the system, just like Hui Hui, making him someone she could unconditionally trust in this apocalyptic world. To avoid feeling restricted in the future, Jiang Ci decided to share some details with him.
After some thought, Jiang Ci spoke up, “Actually, I came out this time to complete a mission.”
Her voice was scattered by the night wind, and Song Jinchuan didn’t quite catch it. Jiang Ci repeated, “You can think of it as me doing tasks to gain experience points and level up. I might receive such tasks in the future, requiring me to go out. That way, my hotpot restaurant can continue to upgrade and expand. The last time I saved you was because I completed a task, and you were the reward I drew.”
Although Jiang Ci’s explanation wasn’t entirely clear, Song Jinchuan could piece it together and roughly understand the situation. Although he had vaguely sensed that the hotpot restaurant and Jiang Ci were both quite magical, seeing and hearing it firsthand himself was another matter.
“So, I hope you can assist me well in the future. Don’t be too surprised. For instance, when we go back to the hotpot restaurant after this trip, it will definitely look different again.”
Song Jinchuan understood that this was a heads-up for him. Having experienced many ups and downs, he simply sighed inwardly and then nodded calmly, indicating that he understood.
“Don’t worry, nothing that happens to you will surprise me anymore. I’ll definitely cooperate with you fully, no matter what you do, I’ll be with you.” Song Jinchuan’s calm words carried the weight of a solemn promise.
The two of them continued their journey towards the Hummingbird Base. Having shared a small secret, their relationship seemed to have subtly grown closer.
The survivors followed behind the electric scooter in their car, marveling for the fiftieth time at the scooter’s speed.
Even though they were driving a car, they always seemed to lag one step behind the scooter.
The bumps on the road didn’t affect its speed at all, carrying the two of them with remarkable stability.
Moreover, with Hui Hui on Jiang Ci’s back, they didn’t encounter any zombies or mutated beasts, making the journey so quiet that the survivors almost felt uneasy.
Song Jinchuan was also somewhat surprised, but after Jiang Ci’s earlier conversation, he guessed that she must have something on her that could repel zombies and mutated beasts.
Although Jiang Ci had revealed part of her secret, she never disclosed the existence of her system—that was her bottom line.
The journey was long, and the two began chatting about everyday matters. Jiang Ci learned that before the apocalypse, Song Jinchuan was a native of City J who later joined Bright Base. He had no family left; only himself, and his only close friend, Old Li, with whom he had been through life and death with.
Later, he saved some survivors one after another, forming what would become the Cheetah Squad.
As Song Jinchuan spoke of the past, although his emotions remained steady without any fluctuation, Jiang Ci knew deep down that his journey must have been far from easy.
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:
An hour later, the group finally arrived at the Hummingbird Base. The base was still lit up with lights, with the sound of people talking travelling to the outside, indicating that the scene inside was indeed chaotic.
The zombies and mutated beasts that had been lingering at the entrance sensed Hui Hui’s presence and scattered.
The survivors guarding the entrance were fewer than usual, with a few of them having been to the hotpot restaurant, recognising Jiang Ci. They were visibly shocked to see her and quickly opened the gate to let them in.
“Boss Jiang, what brings you here?” The survivors didn’t even bother to ask about the group of survivors pulling supplies behind them.
“We came to see if you need any help,” Jiang Ci said. “What’s the situation inside now?”
“Too many people arrived all at once. Our base leader is trying to arrange accommodations for them, but we don’t have enough nutrient solution to go around. Everyone’s trying to figure it out, but some people are still causing trouble,” the survivor said with a sneer.
“I figured food might be scarce, so I brought some supplies to cook. Is there a spacious area we can use?”
Hearing this, the survivor’s eyes lit up, and they nodded eagerly. “Yes, of course! Boss Jiang, you’re truly a lifesaver. The survivors in our base will be thrilled to see you.”
Cheng Meng and Cheng Jing got out of the car, looking at the base that was now within reach. A feeling akin to homesickness welled up in their hearts.
“Boss Jiang, can we come and help you first, that way we can also look for people along the way?” Cheng Jing asked.
Jiang Ci nodded, “Sure, you can follow me for now.”
“Boss Jiang, we’ll go deliver supplies over there first and come back to help when we’re done,” a survivor driving the car leaned out and said before following the survivors at the gate inside.
Another survivor led Jiang Ci and her group in a different direction.
The closer they got, the clearer the voices became. After walking through a few streets, Jiang Ci saw the densely packed survivors in the base’s square.
The night wind carried the smell of blood along with a thick, complex mix of odours, causing Jiang Ci to instinctively take a step back.
“Are you okay?” Song Jinchuan asked softly, noticing Jiang Ci’s pale complexion.
Jiang Ci shook her head, “I’m fine.”
“Is this spot okay? This is the largest area in our base, and currently, all the survivors from Hope Base are staying here,” the survivor who brought Jiang Ci over said. “We’ve tried our best, but even we can’t guarantee that everyone will get food. That’s why you’ve been a really big help for us, Boss.”
“This spot is fine. I’ll get ready first. Once I’m prepared, you can notify everyone to come over. Tell them not to push or crowd and that they must line up properly. Otherwise, they won’t get any food from me,” Jiang Ci needed to set some rules first. “It would be best if you could get some of your base’s survivors to come over and help maintain order.”
Jiang Ci could almost foresee how frantic the hungry survivors would be when they caught a glimpse of the food.
The survivor nodded eagerly, “Of course, of course. Boss, you go ahead and get busy. I’ll inform the base leader and get some people over soon.”
After giving clear instructions, Jiang Ci began preparing her things. She set down the backpack containing Hui Hui and started pulling out items.
A set of spacious folding tables and chairs, a huge pot, a black flat-bottomed pot specifically for cooking, and several large buckets of drinking water.
In addition to that were various ingredients she had brought along as well.
Cheng Meng and Cheng Jing, who had originally been searching the crowd for their uncle, were now inevitably drawn to Jiang Ci’s series of actions.
What kind of backpack was this? How could it hold so much?!
Soon, they realized that Boss Jiang must be a spatial ability user.
Not long after, Geng Feng, the leader of Hummingbird Base, and Qian Lin, the leader of Hope Base, arrived. Both of them were nearly moved to tears when they saw Jiang Ci, especially Qian Lin, who held Jiang Ci’s hand tightly, unsure how to even begin expressing his gratitude.
“Boss Jiang, don’t worry. I’ll make sure the order is maintained for you today,” Geng Feng waved his hand, and soon, several armed survivors came over to guard Jiang Ci’s temporary stall.
The commotion attracted the attention of many survivors, who slowly gathered around to see what was happening. However, with armed survivors stationed on the periphery, they could only vaguely catch the figures outside.
The two base leaders also pitched in, rolling up their sleeves to wash vegetables and dishes, not putting on any airs at all.
Jiang Ci first boiled a pot of clear broth in the large pot, tossing in some vegetables and meat.
With the help of the clear soup base, a rich aroma soon wafted out, stirring up the survivors who had been hungry for a long time.
Qian Lin stood in front of the crowd and informed them that it was Jiang Ci who had generously offered to cook for them. He also warned everyone not to push or make noise, or else they might drive Boss Jiang away and end up starving again.
After the warning, his tone softened a bit, “Don’t worry, everyone will definitely get a hot meal today.”
These were the exact words Jiang Ci had just told him, and he used them to calm the restless survivors.
While the soup was simmering, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan started frying pot helmets. They unfolded the special pot helmet pan, each standing on one side, pressing the dough into the small round molds in the pan, their movements almost synchronized.
It was Song Jinchuan’s first time helping to fry pot helmets, but the steps were simple and easy to pick up. After a bit of initial clumsiness, his movements soon became smooth.
As the dough hit the pan, it sizzled, and the aroma began to spread.
Not only the survivors but even the base leader and the people he had sent over couldn’t help but salivate.
“Can we eat yet? When will it be ready?” one survivor couldn’t wait and whispered in the crowd.
“Base Leader, we have children here. Can we go first?” a voice suddenly piped up.
Soon after, the sound of a child crying was heard, and the surroundings gradually quieted down, making the voice stand out even more, “Quick, say you’re hungry and ask those uncles and aunts for some food.”
Jiang Ci couldn’t help but glance over, surprised that even in the apocalypse, there were people who shamelessly used their children to get what they wanted.
“Why should you? It’s not like you’re the only one with children,” the other survivors retorted, not letting the speaker get away with it.
“What are you doing, pinching the child? Didn’t Base Leader Qian just say we’ll all get to eat? Why are you in such a hurry? Are you not going to live much longer?”
The crowd quickly spoke up against the parent who was using their child to get food. Soon, the child stopped crying, and the adult fell silent.
bear children have bear parents [forced smile]
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