Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Storeroom

The woman meant no harm. In fact, she spoke to her warmly, "You’re new here, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you around before."

Chen Xing nodded. "I just got here. Have you been here long?"

"I’ve been here almost ten days." The woman had already linked her arm enthusiastically through Chen Xing’s, heading toward the factory. "You’ll figure it out once you’ve been here a while. As long as you follow the boss’s orders, you’ll be fine. But there’s something else you need to watch out for. You can’t just wander around this factory complex, especially the central buildings. They’re very important. Regular people aren’t allowed to set foot in there, or you could end up dead!" She deliberately lowered her voice as she said this.

Chen Xing’s gaze sharpened.

’Almost ten days!’

’Just as I thought. This place was here before the apocalypse started!’

When the woman looked at her, she immediately broke into a smile. "Thanks for the heads-up. I really wouldn’t have known the rules otherwise."

"Don’t mention it. We’re all sisters here. Just behave and do your work, and you’ll be rewarded!" With that, they entered a smaller factory building nearest to the central complex.

Chen Xing assumed this was where the women lived, but they were just passing through. They went through a small door and continued deeper into the complex. "The women’s dorms are way over there, at the very back..." the woman said, pointing toward the far edge.

’Looks like we still have to pass through at least two more sections of the factory.’

"Halt!" Just as they were about to go through the small door, a sharp command barked from behind them. The woman froze in fear, which naturally brought Chen Xing to a stop as well.

Chen Xing thought she had been discovered, her hand already sliding into her pocket.

’I can end his life in an instant.’

"Is something wrong?" The woman pulled Chen Xing around to face him, her tone fawning. "Brother Qi..."

A man in his thirties was leaning on the railing, looking Chen Xing up and down.

From the looks of him, he’d clearly had a lot to drink.

The woman instantly knew what Qi Dongyuan was up to. "Have you taken a fancy to the new girl?" ’The men in the factory are all the same,’ she thought. ’The moment they see a pretty woman, their minds start to wander.’

’Especially when the new girl had such a slender figure, long, shapely legs, and a clear, delicate face. Of course, his dirty mind would kick into gear.’

The man took a step forward, reaching out to touch Chen Xing’s face.

Chen Xing dodged him in a flash.

The woman immediately tugged on her arm, hissing a quiet threat, "Brother Qi is our leader’s cousin..."

’So what?’

’Even if it were Boss Qi himself, I wouldn’t let him lay a finger on me.’

Chen Xing had no intention of compromising, not even in the enemy’s camp.

’If I didn’t have the skills to ensure a safe escape, I wouldn’t have been foolish enough to walk right into the lion’s den.’

The woman, thinking Chen Xing was just a naive newcomer, patiently tried to persuade her. "Stick with Brother Qi, and forget the main camp—you could even get into the underground, which is the most important place here." The warehouse was a restricted area; other than for moving goods, ordinary people were forbidden from setting foot inside.

Qi Dongyuan had been getting angry at Chen Xing’s resistance, but when he saw Wan Fang propping him up, his arrogance swelled. "Thassh right! Fangfang, you’re the one with real vision. In this whole camp, who’s closer to Boss Qi than me? We’re blood brothers, after all. Everyone else is jusht an outsider, no matter how good they are!" His words were slurred from the alcohol.

The prospect of getting underground gave Chen Xing an idea, but there was no way she was letting him touch her. "He’s that drunk. I can’t believe he could take me somewhere so important. Besides, what’s so interesting to see underground, anyway? But Sister Fang, it’s not that I don’t trust *you*. I don’t trust *him*!"

She said the words, but her meaning was clear—she didn’t trust him at all.

Wan Fang’s temper flared. Now she felt she had something to prove. She stepped forward to support Qi Dongyuan. "Brother Qi, let’s take her to see what’s what right now!" In truth, she wanted to get a look inside herself.

’I heard they ’harvested’ a lot of good stuff in the last couple of days,’ she thought. ’Maybe if Qi Dongyuan is in a good mood, he’ll give me something.’

Of course, Qi Dongyuan wasn’t about to refuse. He staggered toward the warehouse, determined to prove himself.

He couldn’t resist copping a feel from Wan Fang on the way.

Chen Xing happily followed behind them.

’I can’t believe it’s this easy to get to the warehouse.’

’If my things are down there, I’m definitely taking them back.’

Getting to the warehouse required passing through the central factory building.

The three of them exited through the main entrance and were heading east when Gundam suddenly emerged from the factory and called out to Qi Dongyuan. "Dongyuan, you’d better watch it, kid. If the boss sees you, he’ll tear you a new one!" His gaze flickered over Chen Xing’s back but didn’t linger.

’Qi Dongyuan is just a show-off,’ Gundam thought. ’When a woman isn’t interested in him, he uses his status as Boss Qi’s cousin to go flaunt his power at the warehouse.’

’Especially after he’s had a few drinks. Then, nobody but Boss Qi himself can stop him.’

’What’s so great about women, anyway? They’re nothing but trouble. At this rate, he’s going to get himself killed over one sooner or later.’

Qi Dongyuan was both irritated by and jealous of Gundam.

’I have no idea what my brother sees in the guy, listening to everything he says.’

"Gundam, you fucking mind your own business!" he snarled, then continued staggering toward the warehouse. "One of these days, I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you," he muttered. The last part was too quiet for Gundam to hear.

Gundam didn’t stoop to his level, simply turning around and heading back inside.

’He is Boss Qi’s cousin, after all, while I’m just an outsider. I know how to pick my battles.’

Chen Xing had been worried that Gundam would call her back, but her fears were clearly unfounded.

When they reached the warehouse entrance, they found four men standing guard.

’So many guards. There must be a lot of stuff inside.’

Inside the warehouse, they took a freight elevator down.

From its construction, it was clearly designed for hauling cargo. It was massive—big enough for a truck to drive into easily.

There was a security camera at the entrance, and another one inside the elevator.

Chen Xing kept her head down the whole time.

’It would be a disaster to get caught before I’ve even found anything. A lot of people saw me when I rescued Song Yiguo and the others. There’s no guarantee someone here won’t recognize me.’

They soon arrived underground.

Even knowing they had recently acquired a great deal of supplies, Chen Xing was still taken aback.

’This underground area is huge. It has to be at least a few hundred meters from east to west. They must have converted the entire space beneath the factory into a warehouse.’

Even though the supplies only took up about half the space, the amount was still staggering.

Wan Fang was also astonished.

’It’s only been two days, but so much more stuff has appeared.’

"See this? See this?" Qi Dongyuan puffed out his belly, preening. "This is all mine... and my bro’s."

"Wow..." Chen Xing feigned astonishment and gave Wan Fang a little shove.

Qi Dongyuan was leaning his full weight on her. The push sent them both toppling over.

Wan Fang ended up on the bottom, completely crushed by Qi Dongyuan’s weight. She felt as if her insides were being scrambled.

Before she could even struggle, a sharp pain shot through her head, and she blacked out.

"Did you just fucking hit her?" Qi Dongyuan had seen Chen Xing’s hand chop down, knocking Wan Fang out.

He started to curse, but immediately sensed the danger. He tried to fight back, but one look at the icy expression on Chen Xing’s face told him it was over.