Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 159: Chapter 156: ’Old Friend

The girl’s kick packed quite a punch.

Even Chen Xing was rattled by it.

A strange force immediately took hold, binding her as if she were chained, and she briefly lost the ability to move.

Fortunately, she could move again in the blink of an eye.

It wasn’t just her. Hao Wenli and the others were frozen in place too, and for longer than she had been.

Even the charging zombie dogs were stuck in a paralyzed state.

Chen Xing was speechless.

’If that girl had any ill intent, this would have been really dangerous!’

A wave of retrospective fear washed over her.

’If all those people from the Research Institute have mysterious powers, and they were all released, and some of them had malicious intentions... this world would only descend further into chaos.’

While everyone else was stunned, the girl’s deathly pale face showed a mix of astonishment and pride.

She had thought she was useless, but it turned out she had an amazing ability. Maybe now she wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore.

But just as a look of joy crept onto her face, Chen Xing watched her collapse in an instant, like sand running out of an hourglass.

The liquid that flowed from her immediately formed a puddle on the ground.

Chen Xing was speechless.

’What the hell is going on?’

The man who had escaped with the girl was even more horrified now.

He was terrified. Absolutely terrified.

He had no idea what was happening to the world, he had no memories, and he had watched his companions die. Now, seeing his last remaining partner die in such a way left him feeling helpless and afraid.

’Will I end up like that too?’

In the dim light, Chen Xing noticed a small metal plate in the puddle of blood.

It was barely visible, almost completely submerged in the bloody fluid.

She crouched down and picked up the metal plate.

A string of numbers was on it: 10989.

Chen Xing suddenly remembered that she had been called Number 00007.

’Could this have been the girl’s designation?’

She turned her gaze to the man.

’If he dissolves like that and also leaves behind a numbered tag, then I can be pretty much certain.’

The man got creeped out by her stare and took a few steps back, hiding behind Xiao Nan.

Chen Xing had no choice but to look away.

It was unclear if it was because of Number 10989’s power, but it seemed to have an especially strong restraining effect on creatures like the zombie dogs.

Her group had been able to move for quite a while now, but the dogs still hadn’t budged.

Chen Xing wasted no more time talking to the others. She put away the tag and started killing the zombie dogs.

She focused only on carving a path forward.

Xiao Nan and his remaining male companion led the others, who were not very combat-effective, as they followed her.

They had no idea how long they’d been walking when they finally came to an upward slope.

When they finally emerged from the total darkness, they were met with the sight of Hualai City engulfed in a raging inferno.

Not a single skyscraper was left standing in the entire city. There was nothing but endless ruins.

Fires still burned across the rubble, illuminating the night sky.

Once she was on higher ground, Chen Xing received a call from Brother Xiao. "You’re okay! That’s great! We were worried sick!"

His concern was genuine.

It wasn’t just him; many others in the factory district were worried about Chen Xing too.

Because Chen Xing had just returned, they knew she was likely living in Hualai City.

At first, her phone wouldn’t connect, and everyone was frantic. When the call finally went through, they could all breathe a sigh of relief.

"As long as you’re okay! You can’t stay in Hualai City, so come to the factory district for now!"

Against the backdrop of the blazing inferno, Chen Xing’s expression was unreadable. "Don’t worry, I have a place to stay."

’How could I possibly go to the factory district?’

’Bringing Hao Wenli there would be like bringing a ticking time bomb.’

She didn’t want to expose the factory district to any risk.

After hanging up, she didn’t say a word to the others and just went off on her own to find a place.

The residential complex where she traded supplies was a good spot, but she wanted to keep it reserved as a trading location.

As for a place to live, any random spot would do.

She now felt that not parking her RV in Song Yiguo’s underground garage had been an incredibly wise decision.

Otherwise, if her RV had been blown up, she would have lost her mind.

Although Hao Wenli despised Chen Xing with every fiber of her being, she had no choice but to stick close to her for the sake of her mission.

She believed her boss wasn’t dead and would definitely find her.

"Why are you still following me?" Chen Xing’s tone was laced with sarcasm.

’Didn’t she say earlier that this whole mess was my fault for leading them into the Research Institute?’

Hao Wenli was speechless.

While she wasn’t about to thank Chen Xing, she was truly glad she had followed her.

She was terrified now, thinking that if she hadn’t followed Chen Xing into the Research Institute, they would have been blown to bits by now.

"We’re all old friends, why bring that up now?" Hao Wenli hated Chen Xing’s attitude, but she was powerless. "Where are we going next?"

Now that their nest in Hualai City was gone, it wouldn’t be easy to find Chen Xing again if they separated.

So, no matter how reluctant she was, she had to stick to her like glue.

’Old friends?’

’What a joke.’

’Ever since our last life...’

Chen Xing let Hao Wenli follow.

For one, she did feel that Hao Wenli was hiding some kind of secret.

For another, it was because of the man—the sole survivor who had escaped from the Research Institute with them.

As for his number, that remained a mystery for now.

In her mind, Chen Xing gave him the codename Number 00001.

The group walked for over half an hour.

Number 00001, who had no shoes, had worn his feet raw.

The two women, Hao Wenli and Cui Ying, were complaining nonstop.

"Where are we going? I’m so tired, I can’t walk anymore!"

"How much longer do we have to walk? It’s the middle of the night, and this place is terrifying!"

"Can’t we just rest for a bit?"

"..."

The two of them complained frequently, but no one responded.

Just as they were nearing despair, Chen Xing finally stopped walking.

"What is this dump? Don’t tell me you expect us to sleep here?" Cui Ying was the first to object.

Although it wasn’t as dilapidated as a rural shack, it wasn’t much better.

How could someone as delicate as her sleep in a place like this?

Even Xiao Nan, who had been quiet until now, couldn’t help but frown.

The house was falling apart, and it looked like it didn’t even have water or electricity.

"You made us walk all this way just to find a dump like this?" Cui Ying complained again.

"Did I ask you to follow me?" Chen Xing shot her a look before picking the best-looking house and going inside.

They could stay wherever they wanted.

But before Chen Xing could even close the door, Cui Ying followed her in.

Seeing this, Xiao Nan had no choice but to follow as well.

After looking around, Cui Ying announced arrogantly, "I’ve taken a liking to this room. Xiao Nan and I will be staying here!"

Chen Xing scoffed.

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that I like it!" After speaking, she tugged on Xiao Nan’s arm. "Xiao Nan, I like it here, don’t you?"

Xiao Nan was at a loss for words. He also felt this was the best room available.

"Yingying..." He couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.

Because he was used to a comfortable life.

"See? My Xiao Nan likes it here too, so just get out of the way!" Cui Ying reached out to shove Chen Xing.

Chen Xing’s dagger flashed out, pressing against her neck before stabbing forward.

A stream of blood sprayed out.

Xiao Nan froze in terror.

Cui Ying stared in a mixture of pain and disbelief.

"How could you just attack someone like that?" Xiao Nan stammered, his voice filled with panicked accusation.