this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Not too long after, she found the last high-level zombie hidden underground. Truly quite clever, even knowing how to hide in a place that wasn’t easy for her to find.
Its hiding place was another underground area. It seemed there were quite a few basements on this island, and judging by the layout as well as the remnants left behind, it’s clear this place must have once been a military facility, with the basements primarily used for storage—whether it be for food or weapons. But now, it has been reduced to nothing more than an empty, cold cellar.
This place was indeed well-hidden, but unfortunately, this time, the zombie had encountered Jiang Ci. Ten minutes later, Jiang Ci held another crystal core in her hand.
With the control of the psychic zombie gone, the survivors could finally catch their breath.
Following the survivors’ directions, Jiang Ci found those who had been imprisoned underground. When the sound of the basement door opening sounded once more, the survivors felt a momentary panic. The previous group had just been captured, so how could someone be coming again so soon?
But the next second, what they heard wasn’t the sound of zombies but human voices.
In the end, quite a few survivors were rescued. Most of them were thin and pale, reduced to skin and bones, their bodies deformed from remaining crouched for so long. Several had already suffered mental breakdowns under the oppressive environment and stress. Jiang Ci could only take them back to get treatment later.
It was unclear how so many zombies had gathered on this small island. Apart from those they had killed on the high platform, the rest were kept in another open area.
When Jiang Ci and the others arrived, they immediately caught sight of the scattered human remains on the ground.
The survivors who had come to help turned their faces away, unable to bear the sight.
The survivors were brought to an open area outside where Jiang Ci set up a makeshift camp. A large pot of plain congee bubbled over the fire.
These people were in poor physical condition and mentally unstable, so for now, they could only manage simple, liquid food—congee with a few side dishes.
Among the survivors, Jiang Ci recognized a familiar face—it was a regular customer of Gourmet City. It seemed they hadn’t been imprisoned for too long. Upon seeing Jiang Ci, they immediately broke down in tears, as if they had just reunited with a long-lost relative.
“How did you end up here?” Jiang Ci asked.
“It’s all because of those traitors!” the survivor exclaimed angrily. “A few humans actually tricked us into coming here. There are actually humans conspiring with these high-level zombies!”
This statement left Jiang Ci momentarily stunned. Various doubts she had that had gone unanswered started to make sense, like how exactly had the zombies brought people to the island? And how had they come up with the idea of keeping low-level zombies in captivity?
High-level zombies possessed intelligence, but they weren’t on the same level of intelligence as humans.
After hearing this survivor’s account, Jiang Ci finally understood the full truth—to think it was all thanks to a fellow human’s assistance.
“What could they possibly gain by helping the zombies?” Jiang Ci wondered.
“The crystal cores of those low-level zombies are taken by those humans. With the high-level zombies leading the way, they can move through malls or other zombie-infested areas as if they were walking on flat ground.”
“He’s right. I’ve been here for a month, and they usually come every half a month to a month,” another survivor added. “Judging by the usual timing, it’s probably about time for them to bring in another batch of people.”
Jiang Ci had originally planned to rest for a while before leaving, but after hearing this, she found herself unable to move for a long time. Although there weren’t any more high-level zombies left here, these humans were still a looming threat.
Having spent so long with her, Song Jinchuan could tell what she was thinking just by seeing her frown.
The survivors had been moved to a sheltered area in the withered forest on the other side, where several large tents were set up for them to rest. Meanwhile, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan set up their own tents closer to the shore, lying in wait.
Due to the terrain, any boats that wanted to dock would have to come to this side, so Jiang Ci patiently kept her eyes trained on that area.
Soon, night fell, and the large tents on the other side soon lapsed into an eerie silence. It seemed that after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they were now catching up on sleep in their tents, as if trying to make up for all the rest they had missed during this time.
Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan sat at the entrance of their tent, watching the moonlight spill down, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.
They waited like this for two days. During this time, the survivors gradually regained their strength, at least enough for them to converse and laugh with their companions. When Jiang Ci cooked, the survivors also came over to help with whatever they could. As for the few survivors who were still mentally unstable, they were unusually quiet and were being watched over by some of the others.
On the evening of the second day, Jiang Ci finally spotted a boat approaching from a distance.
From her vantage point, she could see that there were quite a few people on the boat, with heads bobbing everywhere.
The boat drew closer soon after, and Jiang Ci saw many survivors disembarking. Some of them had their hands and feet bound and their mouths gagged—likely those who had been tricked or kidnapped over here.
Perhaps because the island was unusually quiet today, the survivors at the front seemed to sense something was off and slowed their pace.
A bald man raised his hand to signal the others to stop.
A man with a small braid behind him asked in confusion, “What’s going on? Why haven’t the zombies come out yet?”
Someone behind him chimed in, “Yeah, what’s the deal? Normally, they’d have smelled us and come out by now.”
Jiang Ci put down her binoculars. If she wasn’t mistaken, the man with the braid and the one behind him were all familiar faces to her—it was Chen Hanjiang and his followers, the very ones who had defected from the A City base.
Jiang Ci had later heard from Old Cheng and Fan Zhipeng about the aftermath. The A City base had undergone a major purge, and all of Chen Hanjiang and Sun Yimin’s people had been expelled. Those who needed to be arrested were arrested, and though a few key figures had escaped, they had been on the run ever since. She hadn’t expected them to be the ones who were involved with the zombies.
Once everyone from the boat had disembarked, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan quietly moved in.
What Chen Hanjiang and his group wanted wasn’t just a few crystal cores or the ability to move freely among the zombies. No, their goal was actually to use these mindless zombies to retake the A City base, with even the idea of occupying other bases taking root in their mind.
They didn’t trust the zombies. Although they had temporarily established a cooperative relationship using a psychic ability user in their team, the zombies could still turn feral and attack at any moment, so they had kept a backup plan.
But despite all their schemes, they probably hadn’t expected humans to be lying in ambush here. After all, just dealing with all of the high-level zombies was no easy task.
However, when the abilities were unleashed on them, they realized with shock that this really was an ambush.
They reacted quickly and fought back immediately, but against Song Jinchuan and Jiang Ci, it was to no avail, and they were all quickly subdued.
In the end, Chen Hanjiang, Sun Yimin, and the man with the braid were all tied up by Jiang Ci, while the other survivors all turned into nourishment for the black mist.
Chen Hanjiang also recognized Jiang Ci. The two had previously clashed before, and he hated her to the core, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
There were twenty-three survivors who had been abducted and tied up. After untying them, Jiang Ci took them to the temporary camp.
Since it was already completely dark, it was better for them to stay the night before heading back.
Because C City’s Gourmet City was so famous, many of them knew Jiang Ci, and seeing her brought them a sense of reassurance.
Early the next morning, they all packed up and left the island.
Before leaving, Jiang Ci stored the boat that Chen Hanjiang and his group had used in her space. Although it looked old and worn, it could still be patched up and used again. She now had nearly an entire city to support, so she had to save where she could and only spend where necessary.
The survivors boarded the ship. After a few days of recovery, their spirits were clearly much better. The newly rescued survivors were also filled with lingering fear—if it weren’t for Jiang Ci, they would have surely become food for the zombies.
Just hearing the scenes the other survivors described made them shiver with horror, and they instinctively moved closer in Jiang Ci’s direction in order to seek a sense of security.
Some of the survivors who were physically fine parted ways with Jiang Ci and her group near the train station after disembarking from the ship and taking a bus with them. The rest wanted to follow Jiang Ci to the C City Gourmet City—even if they didn’t eat there, they could at least visit the hospital.
On the way back to C City, Jiang Ci made a detour to A City to hand over Chen Hanjiang and his group, who had been tied up for two days, to Old Cheng and his people.
Seeing the person they had been chasing for so long suddenly thrown in front of them like trash, Old Cheng and Fan Zhipeng were momentarily stunned.
What followed was of course, their gratitude, and they warmly invited Jiang Ci and her group to stay and enjoy themselves.
However, Jiang Ci still had a group of survivors in her bus, some of whom were in poor mental condition, so she could only inform them that they’d visit another time.
Chen Hanjiang’s fate was obvious to everyone and he looked utterly defeated, not even able to muster the energy to curse.
After bidding farewell to Old Cheng and his group, Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan drove back to C City.
Two more days passed before they finally arrived back in C City. Unlike before, they were able to see the massive amusement park with its towering castle as soon as they entered the city.
The survivors were first taken to the hospital for treatment based on their physical conditions, while Jiang Ci prepared to check her mission rewards.
She had already set up the food street while they had been driving back, arranging each snack shop one by one in a way where all the popular snacks she had previously dragged Song Jinchuan to try were included.
Although the food street hadn’t officially opened yet, all the shops were already set up and were just waiting for the staff to be reassigned.
The barbecue and dessert stalls that were originally outside the hotpot restaurant had been relocated here, making the area more organized.
Jiang Ci quickly found staff to man the stalls. Some of them had experience in running snack stalls before the apocalypse, so they quickly got back into the swing of things.
The lively atmosphere of the food street was something all of the survivors loved. Walking from one end to the other, almost everyone ended up holding a snack in their hands, their faces beaming with smiles.
*
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:
Du Chengde and his teammate, John, had come from the distant M Country. Before the apocalypse arrived, Du Chengde had wanted to return to his homeland to see it once more, but he never found the opportunity. It was only recently that he got the chance to board a ship and make the journey back.
Upon setting foot on solid ground, Du Chengde was soon overwhelmed with emotion. It was already the twentieth year of the apocalypse, and he had finally returned.
“Du, your homeland even has a functioning train system. That’s so cool,” John exclaimed from beside him.
Du Chengde turned to look at the train station and the trains, wondering if he was hallucinating.
But soon, the murmurs of other survivors around him confirmed that it wasn’t a hallucination—this was indeed a train station.
“You didn’t know? We came to China this time to purchase supplies from C City,” a blond, blue-eyed foreign survivor said in a foreign language next to Du Chengde. “I heard C City has been transformed into a grand city. We’re also going to broaden our horizons.”
Even as he boarded the train, Du Chengde felt as if he were still dreaming.
When the train arrived in C City, the scenery around them changed completely. Unlike the ruins and debris of the apocalypse, there were skyscrapers, amusement parks, straight and intact roads, as well as green trees lining the sides.
This place had already become a fully functional city; one that was completely out of place in the post-apocalyptic world.
The surrounding crowd was immediately stirred up into gasps of amazement. Even the blond, blue-eyed foreign survivors hadn’t seen such a vibrant city ever since the apocalypse began.
Soon, they arrived at a place called Gourmet City. Regardless of how much the outside environment had changed, Gourmet City remained the backbone of C City. Countless survivors were still coming and going, creating a bustling atmosphere.
At that moment, Du Chengde saw several adults leading a group of children out of the entrance. They were walking in an orderly line, with the teacher at the front saying, “Our first stop today is the botanical garden. After that, we’ll go to the zoo, and finally, the amusement park. These tickets were all sponsored by Boss Jiang…”
The rest of the words gradually faded into the distance as they walked away, but the name “Boss Jiang” wasn’t new to Du Chengde. She seemed to be a beacon of hope for these survivors, with her name being mentioned everywhere he went.
The various shops in Gourmet City felt novel to Du Chengde. It had been nearly twenty years since he last ate such things.
Not only that, but the people living in this city had their own identity cards and phones to communicate with each other. This didn’t just appeal to Du Chengde, but also John and the other foreign survivors, all who were deeply impressed.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ci was in her courtyard, watering the plants with Song Jinchuan.
The two had now been together for almost ten years, yet their relationship remained as strong as when they first got together. To reassure Song Jinchuan, they had even gone to the real world to get a marriage certificate.
Of course, that was just the official story. In reality, one day after they had finished sleeping together, Song Jinchuan had embraced her tightly and suddenly burst into tears. He asked Jiang Ci if her feelings for him were fading and if he was about to be abandoned. Like a drowning puppy, he clung to Jiang Ci and cried for half the night.
Jiang Ci was stunned. Honestly, in the real world, she had rarely seen a man cry like this, especially someone like Song Jinchuan, who had a tough exterior and seemed like the epitome of restraint.
Although she was shocked, she still patiently coaxed him for half the night. Finally, when she was too tired to continue, she agreed to get the marriage certificate to finally calm him down.
Recalling the scene, Jiang Ci still found it both funny and sweet.
The flow of time for the two of them had now synchronized. Spending ten years in this world equated to just over a hundred days in the real world. It had been less than a year over there, so their appearances had barely changed over the years, yet they still had many, many more years to spend together with each other.
“Looks like I’ll be tied to you for the rest of my life,” Jiang Ci said, lifting her head from the flowers with a sigh.
Song Jinchuan wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
At that moment, a ding sounded in Jiang Ci’s mind as the system issued a new mission, [Head to X City to rescue survivors in distress. The mission continues. Host, please keep up the good work in order to create a better world.]
Jiang Ci took Song Jinchuan’s hand and smiled, “Let’s go. Time to complete another mission.”
The road ahead was long, but at least she had someone by her side.
The two of them walked hand in hand, their figures casting a long shadow in the sunlight.
The End.
finally finished! this marks my first completely translated novel (i can finally add the ‘completed’ section to the website header I”M GOING TO CRY LMAO)! this is one of the first novels i ever read so although it isn’t my favourite anymore, it was one of the first post-apocalyptic novels i read so it still holds a special place in my heart TAT
if you’d like to support me or buy the pdf and epub to read online, head over to my kofi shop, and feel free to check that out! any tips are also appreciated! <333
if you’d like to support the author, the link to the novel’s raws are in the table of contents page! if you have the intention of tipping the author but can’t access the website/don’t know how, please let me know, either in the comments or on discord!
once again, i’d like to thank everyone reading for supporting hotpot restaurant’s journey and bearing with me despite my long ass hiatus! hoping we’ll see each other again in one of my other projects! thank you all for your support once again!
⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
check out some of my other translations:
the socially anxious side character is too cute
[fluff, romance, transmigration, entertainment industry, mind reading]
retiring from the entertainment industry to collect rent
[comedy, entertainment industry, wealthy family]
i can hear the inner thoughts of animals
[comedy, animals, live streaming, crime solving, fantasy (hints of cultivation)]
grassland veterinarian [60s]
[slice of life, farming, china period era, animal-rearing, found family]
I’m a bit disappointed in the ending. I feel that it became to big and started to focus to much on going out which didn’t feel interesting due to her being invincible. I think it would have been better to keep the invincibility at home so she had to hire people to do the outside missions. This would have allowed for more tension.
But as a webnovel author myself I know it’s easy to fall into over expanding the scope of the story.
Thanks for translating!
Man Kofi didn’t work on Opera or Chrome for me. I had to use firefox.