this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Most of the benefits went to Deng Dashan, Yang Yan, and that survivor who was brought in from outside, Fang Dong. Now, because of Yang Yan’s stupidity, they had even offended such a powerful figure. They didn’t want to admit it, but they were starting to regret their choices.
On their way back, they were attacked by mutated beasts. They had no choice but to abandon their car and flee, taking refuge in a nearby building. There, they encountered a survivor who looked quite weak.
This survivor’s arms were both covered in intricate tattoos, which looked quite intimidating. However, he sat in the corner with his eyes closed, pretending to sleep, neither speaking nor looking at them. Gradually, Yang Yan and her group let down their guard.
As they spoke, they started arguing again and again over various issues from before.
The argument escalated, with Yang Yan and Deng Dashan starting to fight physically as well. Their combat skills had improved after the apocalypse, and coupled with the changes in their bodies, it was hard to tell who would win.
“How annoying,” a slightly hoarse male voice rang out.
Everyone present was stunned. There were so many of them here, and yet this lone man dared to be so arrogant.
The anger they had bottled up from the hotpot restaurant finally found an outlet. But within just a few minutes, Yang Yan and her group watched in horror as a black mist began to spread towards them. It bore down on them like a tidal wave, leaving them no choice but to scream and flee.
Wherever the black mist passed, regardless if it was people or objects, they were all immediately disintegrated and devoured.
By the time they reached the gate, the only humans left alive were Yang Yan and Deng Dashan.
As the black mist closed in behind them, Deng Dashan suddenly pushed Yang Yan to the ground.
Yang Yan looked at her husband of decades in disbelief. He didn’t even spare a glance back, desperately running out of the building.
Yang Yan could only watch as the black mist engulfed her. The moment it touched her skin, an excruciating pain shot through her body, forcing her to cry out in agony.
Her vision darkened as she was about to be completely devoured by the mist. But in the next second, the pain suddenly vanished.
By now, half of Yang Yan’s body had turned to bone. She was barely clinging to life, with only her last breath left.
“Tsk tsk, how pitiful,” a male voice echoed in the darkness. “Judging by that look in your eyes, you must be filled with resentment, right? You must want to kill that heartless husband of yours, right?”
The voice in the darkness coaxed out the bitterness and hatred in Yang Yan’s heart.
“Who the hell are you?” an impatient voice growled in the dark. It was Tie Niu, who had been hiding here to recover from the injuries Song Jinchuan had inflicted on him. He was already annoyed, and now, one after another, these people kept showing up to annoy him.
He angrily hurled the black mist towards the man, yet there was no expected scream of pain.
“Oh? Interesting, a special ability. Hey, why don’t you join my team?” The man’s voice, now filled with curiosity, seemingly unharmed by his attack.
“Why should I?” Tie Niu sneered, launching another attack at him with the black mist. But it was like a mere drop in the sea—no reaction at all.
In the next moment, Tie Niu felt an overwhelming force strike his body. He had no strength to resist, and with a spurt of blood, he passed out.
Looking at the two people on the ground, both barely alive, the man clicked his tongue. “What a hassle, I’ll have to take them back myself.”
He extended a hand that had been hidden in his sleeve. Under the moonlight, the shadow revealed that it wasn’t a human hand at all.
The hand was enormous, sharp, and grotesque—seemingly more like the claw of a beast!
*
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:
When Lin Fei returned to the hotpot restaurant, she almost thought she had walked into the wrong place. How could the restaurant have changed so much in such a short time? It had not only expanded in size, but there were also so many people now.
What had happened while she was away?
“Lin Fei!” Jiang Ci’s head popped out from the window of the pot helmet stall, waving at her.
Lin Fei waved back with a smile. Then, she saw Jiang Ci beckoning her to come inside.
Lin Fei glanced at the long line of survivors still waiting, tugged at the hood of her coat, and walked in with her head down.
The gazes of those around her indeed fell upon her, curious to see who had caught the eye of Boss Jiang. However, no matter what thoughts they harbored, they only dared to mutter a few words in their hearts. After all, they certainly didn’t want to provoke Jiang Ci and risk being blacklisted from the hotpot restaurant.
Lin Fei walked up to the entrance of the pot helmet stall but didn’t go inside. She simply stood there and spoke with Jiang Ci.
After that hotpot meal, their group had gone their separate ways. Lin Fei had finished her business in that city and had returned directly to City C.
She realized that in the moments when she was on the brink of death after being captured, what she missed the most was actually this small shop with its warm, yellow lighting.
Jiang Ci asked about the purpose of her trip to that city. She had heard a bit about the feud between Lin Fei and Li Na but didn’t fully understand the details. Lin Fei didn’t hold back and told her about Wang Dong.
When Jiang Ci heard how Lin Fei had tortured Wang Dong to death in the end, she felt like she had just watched a satisfying end to a drama. Indeed, she hadn’t misjudged—Lin Fei was truly the epitome of a strong female lead.
“Boss, don’t get so excited that you knock over my pot helmet,” one of the survivors outside teased as Jiang Ci grew more excited.
Jiang Ci waved her spatula, signaling to him to that he could be rest assured.
After a busy day, Jiang Ci finally had time to sit down and have a proper conversation with Lin Fei.
Seeing that it was already very late, Jiang Ci simply invited Lin Fei to stay the night at the shop.
Although Jiang Ci’s bed could fit two people, Lin Fei considerately took out her sleeping bag and laid it out on the floor of Jiang Ci’s room.
That night, the two of them chatted for a long time. It was mostly Lin Fei speaking, with Jiang Ci listening and occasionally chiming in with a few sarcastic remarks. Jiang Ci didn’t have much to say about herself—saying too much might expose the system after all. Thankfully, Lin Fei seemed to understand this and didn’t ask any questions.
Jiang Ci thought that Lin Fei was not only cool but also thoughtful and considerate. Being friends with her was quite comfortable and relaxing.
Lin Fei mentioned that she planned to stay in City C for a while longer to sell the items she had brought back this time. Since she was a lone wolf, Jiang Ci simply invited her to stay at the hotpot restaurant.
After a few polite refusals, Lin Fei accepted the offer. Despite the fact that she had only been here a couple of times, she also liked and had a sense of attachment to this place already.
Just like the friendship between her and Jiang Ci—sometimes it came about in the most inexplicable way.
Now, the secrets of the shop were more or less out in the open. The hotpot restaurant that could expand overnight, and the fresh ingredients that seemed to be made daily had all witnessed by the survivors.
Some had asked about it before, but Jiang Ci hadn’t answered them. Eventually, people stopped asking.
The ingredients exchanged in the system also created the illusion that they were being sourced from the backyard. As long as the core of the secret wasn’t touched, Jiang Ci wasn’t worried about Lin Fei discovering anything else.
Upon learning that Lin Fei would be staying for a while, Song Jinchuan naturally reduced his time spent lingering outside, mostly staying in his room.
Jiang Ci also took the opportunity to deliver takeout with Lin Fei.
Watching the two of them leave together, Song Jinchuan, who stayed behind in the shop, inexplicably felt a pitiful sense of being abandoned.
This time, there weren’t any red dots on Jiang Ci’s map, since red orders didn’t appear every single day.
She directly chose a base where four survivors had ordered takeout.
The base wasn’t in their city, but it wasn’t too far either, located in a village in another city.
Because the village was only connected to the outside world by a suspension bridge and surrounded by mountains on three sides, the entire village had been turned into a base.
In addition to the original villagers, the base had also absorbed many outside survivors in recent years, and its scale was now quite large.
When Jiang Ci and the others arrived, they saw that another bridge had been built next to the original suspension bridge, with guards stationed at both ends of each bridge.
When they approached, they were asked to register their information.
Upon learning that they were delivering takeout, the survivors’ eyes lit up with eagerness. The people here were close to City C and knew about the hotpot restaurant Most of them had even eaten there before, but takeout wasn’t yet widely available, so not many knew about it.
“You can deliver takeout too?” the survivor at the gate asked with envy.
“Yes, but there aren’t any slots available for now. Too many people are ordering takeout, and the shop is already short-staffed,” Jiang Ci explained.
The man could only watch regretfully as Jiang Ci and the others walked away.
When Jiang Ci reached the suspension bridge, she noticed it had been repaired multiple times. It looked sturdy, but she could still see the abyss below through the gaps.
Jiang Ci was afraid of heights and had to hold onto Lin Fei to dare to move forward. It took them over ten minutes to cross the bridge.
Jiang Ci felt that Lin Fei was very reliable at this moment. Even though she had slowed them down considerably, Lin Fei didn’t get angry at all and instead comforted her the whole way, as gentle as the emotionally stable capybara.
After successfully crossing the bridge, the village slowly unfolded before Jiang Ci.
The village retained its original buildings and roads, but some of its borders had been reinforced to prevent zombie attacks.
It was clear that many new houses had also been added to the original structures, now crowded together, creating a lively atmosphere.
When Jiang Ci reached the takeout address marked on the map, she found it was a newly built single-story house. Upon hearing the knock, a child who looked like a little girl opened the door. Seeing Jiang Ci through the crack, she quickly went inside to call her parents, her voice filled with excitement.
Soon, the door opened from the inside, and a couple with three children stood at the entrance, smiling warmly to welcome Jiang Ci.
“Thank you for your hard work, Boss Jiang. We didn’t expect you to deliver it personally,” they said as they ushered Jiang Ci and Lin Fei into the house.
Jiang Ci took a look around in the dim light. The interior was simple, with plain walls and floors, and a few pieces of basic furniture made of wood and metal.
Though simple, it was still heartwarming to see a family living together like this.
It was a rare sight for Jiang Ci to see such a warm family in the apocalypse.
“The last time we had hotpot was a month ago. Since then, we haven’t had much time. Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday, so we ordered some takeout,” the lady of the house said with a smile as she cleared a wooden table while speaking to Jiang Ci.
i forgot that there was a tiny hint of an antagonist in this novel LMAOOO that should tell u how minor of a character he is
