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as translator, proofreader and editor!
As she spoke, she pulled out two portions of food from her bag, one large and one small, each with a generous layer of meat and vegetables covering the rice.
Following Jiang Ci’s instructions, Zhou Xiaoling and Zhou Xiaogang prepared the hotpot broth, opting for the spicy beef tallow base.
As soon as the pot started boiling, the overpowering aroma of the hotpot began to fill the room.
Zhou Xiaoling’s mouth was practically watering. She never expected that a casual joke she made with her brother would actually come true.
Once the water was boiling, they started adding meat to the pot. While the meat was still cooking, Zhou Xiaoling and Zhou Xiaogang each grabbed a pot helmet.
The rich and oily fragrance awakened their deepest memories of delicious food.
With the first bite, the crispy crust was flaky, and the savory meat filling inside, with its unique hint of Sichuan peppercorn, was so delicious it almost brought tears to their eyes.
One pot helmet was gone in just a few bites. Zhou Xiaoling devoured five pot helmets before she and her brother finally started picking the meat from the pot.
The fatty beef rolls practically melted in their mouths, and when paired with the hotpot restaurant’s special chili dipping sauce, it was so delicious they could have swallowed their tongues.
After finishing their meal, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan prepared to head back. Having been out all day, Jiang Ci realized she actually missed her hotpot shop dearly.
“Our shop is in City C. You can come by for more food anytime,” Jiang Ci said before she and Song Jinchuan bid their farewells and left.
As the villa’s gate closed behind them, the sound of their electric scooter faded into the distance, and the villa area returned to its usual quiet. If it weren’t for the abundance of food still on the ground, the two siblings might have thought it was all just a dream.
“They didn’t seem to be in any danger. Why was this considered a red dot order?” Jiang Ci asked curiously once they were out of the villa area.
[Before the host arrived at the order location, a level seven mutated beast was spotted nearby. If the host hadn’t arrived in time, they would have been killed by the beast,] the system’s voice echoed in her mind.
Jiang Ci suddenly understood.
On their way back, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan had to cross the same bridge they had come over on. The sea, which had been calm when they first arrived, now revealed a massive, unknown mutated beast.
It emerged partially from the water, resembling a small mountain in the darkness. If it hadn’t moved occasionally, it would have been hard for them to tell it was a sea creature.
Even after Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan had walked a considerable distance, the enormous mutated beast remained in the same spot.
By the time they returned to the hotpot restaurant, it was almost dawn. When they got there, they happened to run into some survivors who had arrived early, asking if they could open the shop now.
Jiang Ci waved her hand wearily, “Come back this afternoon or tomorrow. I need to catch up on some sleep first.”
The survivors were somewhat disappointed but turned and left the hotpot restaurant. Since they couldn’t eat now, they decided to take advantage of the shop closing to gather more crystal cores.
Previously, they had collected crystal cores to exchange for various supplies, weapons, medicine, and nutrient solutions back at the base. Now, they had another goal: to save up to eat hotpot.
Being able to guarantee having enough to have a hotpot meal every three to five days or even once a week would be ideal. If they couldn’t reach that capability, then even buying a pot helmet every couple of days to satisfy their cravings would suffice too.
Returning to the hotpot restaurant, Jiang Ci felt a particular sense of home upon seeing her small bed.
She slept straight through until noon. When she woke up, Song Jinchuan was already up and had finished a lot of the prep work for the kitchen.
Having such a reliable employee made Jiang Ci feel that the reward she had drawn was incredibly worth it.
As soon as the restaurant door opened, survivors began to arrive one after another. Most of them were curious about the restaurant’s expansion, wondering how it had expanded so much in just a few days.
Yuan Yuan was dutifully cleaning both upstairs and downstairs. After the previous incident, most survivors just watched from a distance with a knowing smile, not daring to touch it.
Yesterday, Jiang Ci had spent the whole day delivering only three orders, completing not even a third of her task.
However, the system explained that this was because they were red orders, which were more time consuming. Green orders, on the other hand, could be completed much faster.
Some green orders were even within the same base, allowing her to deliver to several in a row. Jiang Ci thought that she would need to set aside a few days to solely focus on making deliveries.
In the end, she spent the entire afternoon in the small stall making pot helmets.
Pot helmets were cheap and delicious, making them the second most popular item in the restaurant after hotpot.
With the expansion of the restaurant, Jiang Ci felt that they were still short-handed. She wondered if there would be another recruitment option in the future.
Recently, more bases had started buying mineral water again, some even coming from out of town, reportedly all introduced by other bases.
When they caught sight of the grand hotpot restaurant, the survivors’ astonishment was almost palpable.
Inside the restaurant, members of the Cheetah Squad returned from a mission to visit their former captain, Song Jinchuan. Seeing that he hadn’t suffered at all and had even gained a bit of weight, they marveled at how comfortable it must be to stay at the hotpot restaurant.
Their initial resentment had gradually faded over time. They realized that having acquaintances at the hotpot restaurant was quite beneficial, as it allowed them to enjoy some special treatment in secret.
As long as he remained within the limits allowed by Jiang Ci, Song Jinchuan would often give his former teammates some extra care here and there.
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:
Cheng Meng and Cheng Jing also brought their uncle over once. Their uncle walked in normally, just with a slight limp. The sound of his prosthetic leg hitting the ground was heavier, but he seemed quite accustomed to it already.
They also brought news from the base. The group of children Jiang Ci and the others had encountered had been reported to the Hummingbird Base.
Although Jiang Ci could have handled it herself, she didn’t want to deal with the hassle and simply handed it over to the base.
Now, the Hummingbird Base had merged with the Hope Base, forming a large to medium-sized base with a substantial population, making it easier for them to handle such matters.
Cheng Meng informed Jiang Ci that the base had already sent people to the location they mentioned, and there were indeed quite a few children there. However, when they sensed something was off, they acted exceptionally naive, as if they didn’t understand what the survivors were saying, leveraging the advantages of being children to the fullest, sending chills down their spine.
Fortunately, the survivors knew what sort of children they were dealing with after having listened to Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan. When the children tried to take advantage of the situation to ambush them, the survivors quickly reacted and avoided the attack.
The survivors also found a significant amount of dried human flesh, as well as various looted supplies and weapons at their hideout. Shockingly, there were even several wooden guns.
After a comprehensive evaluation, it was concluded that these children were beyond saving. In the end, they were dealt with by the survivors of the Hummingbird Base.
Encountering such children every time was heartbreaking. These children were supposed to be the hope of the post-apocalyptic world, but unfortunately, their very essence had already been corrupted and tainted black.
At this point, Cheng Meng sighed with deep emotion.
After hearing the entire story, Jiang Ci didn’t know what to say, just feeling a sense of relief. It was fortunate that they had received the punishment they deserved; otherwise, who knows how many more people would have fallen into their trap.
Cheng Meng and Cheng Jing had come not only to deliver the news but also to treat their uncle to a hotpot meal.
Over the years, their uncle had earned quite a few crystal cores but had been saving them for his nieces, reluctant to spend them. Naturally, he had never had the chance to enjoy hotpot.
It seemed the three of them were getting along quite well, with their conversations and actions showing more familiarity and intimacy than before.
Meanwhile, a pickup truck was slowly making its way toward City C. The cabin and the back of the truck were occupied by about ten people.
“Do you think what those people said is true?” asked Yang Yan, the woman in the passenger seat, turning to look at the man driving.
“They’ve already brought the water right to you, so how could it be fake? That water is completely different from what we have now, purified and clean, not bitter at all. Even if only for that reason, we need to stock up on some,” replied Deng Dashan, the man in the driver’s seat. “When we meet that boss later, don’t embarrass me with your petty behavior.”
“I know, I know. How could I be so clueless about something this important?” Yang Yan rolled her eyes.
Yang Yan and Deng Dashan were Cheng Meng and Cheng Jing’s aunt and uncle, the very people who had conspired with outsiders to seize their family’s farm.
“Now, all the ability users on the farm are starting to side with Fang Dong. If we don’t bring back some supplies soon, the farm might end up in his hands,” Deng Dashan said, gripping the steering wheel tightly, his eyes filled with obvious wariness when he mentioned Fang Dong. “That guy is much more troublesome to deal with than those two little brats.”
“Weren’t you the one who brought him in back then? I told you not to be so ruthless in doing things. Now, after finally kicking them out, we’ve got a wolf in sheep’s clothing instead,” Yang Yan complained.
“You say this now, but weren’t you also involved back then?”
The two of them started arguing about this topic right in the car.
Soon, the car entered City C, and they temporarily halted their quarrel, following the route provided by the person earlier.
Before long, a two-story modern building came into view, standing out starkly against the surrounding dilapidated structures.
The building had a grand sign hanging on it, indicating that it was a hotpot restaurant.
Everything matched what the survivor had said, so it seemed they had arrived at the right place. Both of them suddenly felt happy and forgot their previous conflict.
As they drove into the area around the hotpot restaurant, they noticed how different it was—the streets were clean and tidy, and the buildings looked as if they had just been constructed.
Outside the hotpot restaurant was a large open space, which at the moment, was packed with a dense crowd of survivors, the area lively with chatter.
This scene left Yang Yan and Deng Dashan stunned. Was business really this good here?
But then again, considering the kind of supplies they could offer, it made sense that business would be thriving.
On the other side was a designated parking area, already filled with many vehicles—large trucks and pickup trucks like theirs—all presumably here to buy water.
After parking their car, they joined the dozen or so survivors from the back of the vehicle and walked toward the hotpot restaurant.
The crowd in front was so large that they could only stand at the back and observe.
“Are you here for hotpot? You need to go over there and queue up to get a number,” a kind-hearted survivor said to them, noticing their confusion.
i can’t lie, i’m sort of sad about the children, but i also don’t think the base was wrong to kill them.
you could argue that it’s the apocalypse and that the children had no choice — but resorting to cannibalism when (presumably) most bases accept survivors as long as you can pay with crystal cores — which the children clearly are able to obtain as showcased when they trap other survivors, it’s not like they’re without combat abilities; it’s clear they had a choice and repeatedly kept choosing this option.
i still feel bad for them bc they are only children after all, but it’s not like out of the how-many survivors they scammed and killed, not one of them would’ve offered to bring them to a base.
i don’t even know why i’m speculating over this hypothetical situation so much
