Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 146: Chapter 143: Natural Cave

The fire inside the house was still burning, proof that they had only recently left.

"If we can’t find their direction, we’ll look for footprints!"

Ouya ordered his men to search for tracks.

In the blink of an eye, the men he’d sent out returned.

Each of them reported finding footprints in the direction they searched.

Admiral Ouya: "..."

’There are about a hundred of them in total. Did they really split up to escape?’

He refused to believe it!

He led his men to inspect the tracks and discovered that there were, in fact, numerous footprints leading in every direction.

These footprints had been created by Chen Xing. As Song Yiguo and the others departed, she and a few speed-type Superpower Users had made them.

They were meant to confuse their pursuers.

Otherwise, a single, long trail of footprints in the snow would be far too conspicuous.

By now, the group was already several miles away from the residential area.

In the vast, white expanse, only a few cold-hardy trees could serve as cover.

"The snow seems to be getting heavier. If this keeps up, I’m afraid our stamina won’t last!" Vice General Du had excellent stamina and could still endure the frigid wind.

However, some of the others with less stamina couldn’t hold out for long.

They had just brought the water to a boil for the dried noodles Chen Xing had provided when the intruders burst in, so they hadn’t even had a chance to cook them.

Now, everyone was starving. Their stamina was naturally lower than usual, and they were facing a great blizzard.

"We have to find shelter fast, or we’ll all die out here!" Wang Si said, noticing Song Yiguo’s complexion looked poor.

But in this vast, white wilderness, there wasn’t so much as a small hut to be seen, let alone a house.

If the soldiers from the United States caught up now, they would be forced to fight; there was nowhere left to hide.

"I’ll go check ahead..." Chen Xing said, and with those few words, she ran off.

Although she was a woman, her speed was in no way inferior to that of a speed-type Superpower User.

Chen Xing ran forward for about three kilometers before she heard a series of roars.

This sound wasn’t being made by just one or two monsters.

Following the sound for another few hundred meters, she came to a downward slope.

Below was what looked like a large natural crater, but the slope was gentle.

In the crater below, countless long-haired monsters were roaring in unison.

They were all facing the same direction.

’Rather than roars,’ Chen Xing thought, ’it sounded more like they were worshiping a leader.’

She couldn’t see what they were facing from her position, so she had no choice but to give up and retreat quickly.

She had to hurry back to prevent Song Yiguo and his team from stumbling in and disturbing the long-haired monsters.

Upon hearing there was a horde of monsters ahead, Song Yiguo and the others naturally changed their course.

Chen Xing once again volunteered to scout the path ahead.

This time, she was in luck. After traveling a kilometer, she discovered a natural cave.

She went in to check it first and found that the cave was very deep, seemingly endless, so she didn’t proceed any further.

Soon, Song Yiguo and the others had all made it into the cave.

At this point, they looked like walking snowmen.

Everything but their eyes was covered in white.

They started a fire to get warm first.

Meanwhile, Chen Xing prepared to cook a meal.

Fortunately, Vice General Du was a thoughtful man; he hadn’t forgotten to carry the large pot on his back, even as they fled.

They made two large pots of noodles sprinkled with instant ramen seasoning, and Chen Xing contributed a few ham sausages.

The crowd of Superpower Users felt like they had never tasted anything more delicious.

After a bowl of noodles, the feeling began to return to their frozen bodies.

Although the cave was damp, it was much warmer than outside. Coupled with the fire they had lit, the temperature gradually began to rise.

After another hot meal of noodles, the tension on everyone’s faces eased considerably.

Just as the group relaxed and began to drift off to sleep, the sound of monstrous roars and chaotic footsteps drew near.

"There’s a cave over there! We’ll find a way to shake these monsters and hide inside!" Admiral Ouya’s voice carried from a distance.

They had been unlucky enough to run straight into the horde of monsters.

They had lost more than half their men fighting and fleeing.

If this continued, forget being killed by monsters—they would freeze to death in the blizzard.

Chen Xing didn’t know if anyone else had heard, but she had heard it crystal clear.

’It looks like we can’t stay in this cave any longer.’

"They’ll be here soon. Should we go deeper in?" As she spoke, Chen Xing’s gaze turned to the dark depths of the cave.

For the moment, it didn’t look dangerous.

"Let’s go," Song Yiguo said, getting up with a sigh of resignation.

What else could they do? Run back out and battle the blizzard?

The blizzard outside showed no sign of stopping; going out there was no different from suicide.

Especially with an unknown number of monsters lurking about.

Then again, the depths of the cave held their own unknown dangers.

They put out the fire, took the dry firewood, and continued their exploration inward.

Though the path inside was dark, it grew wider and wider, and the damp walls became increasingly dry.

The ground was no longer uneven, becoming as smooth as if it had been deliberately paved.

After walking for a few minutes, the area ahead suddenly opened up.

There were even small light bulbs dotting the walls.

"Deputy Du... there are some beds over here!" shouted the soldier who had reached the area first. "And desks! Computers!"

And sure enough, there were beds.

At the far end of the open, circular space, a passageway was blocked by an iron-barred gate.

Several military-style cots were lined up on both sides of the passage, each with an adjacent desk and computer.

However, a layer of dust on everything suggested the area hadn’t been cleaned in quite a few days.

A heavy combination lock hung on the gate.

The Superpower User who specialized in code-breaking successfully opened the lock, and Vice General Du led the way inside.

The passage wasn’t very long. It came to an end after a turn, where another door blocked the way.

This time, however, it wasn’t a barred gate but a large, solid iron door.

A heavy combination lock was fastened to it as well.

Just as they were about to open this lock, a loud impact sound came from the other side of the iron door.

The heavy iron door itself was unaffected.

With her exceptionally keen sense of direction, Chen Xing felt that they were heading toward the seed base.

’It was possible that the vegetation extending from there was right behind this door.’

The moment she thought it might be a passage to the seed base, Chen Xing no longer wanted to go on.

’Those plants could suck a massive long-haired monster completely dry. They would be incredibly difficult to deal with.’

"There are beds to sleep in, and desks and chairs. Let’s just rest here for the night and go back the way we came tomorrow!" Chen Xing felt they could only rest here for now. "I have a feeling that it’s those plants from before on the other side!"

At the mere mention of the plants, everyone, Song Yiguo included, instantly abandoned any thought of continuing forward.

The chances of them losing in a direct confrontation with the United States army weren’t high.

They just hadn’t wanted to waste their stamina earlier.

Now that they had eaten and their bodies had recovered, there was no longer any need to hide.

"Then we’ll rest here!"

Once the order was given, the group of over a hundred people settled down in the passageway. Some half-reclined, others sat, all closing their eyes to rest.

Chen Xing chose to rest in a chair far from the large iron door.

She didn’t know how long had passed when she felt something by her feet and immediately opened her eyes.

She saw that the ground had become overgrown with green plants at some point, and an extending vine was just about to coil around her ankle.