Everyone stared at the mountain of demon corpses piled before them, their minds completely overwhelmed.
“Chief, can we use this to make dumplings?” Feng Changlan finally broke the silence.
Shen Xingchen counted on his fingers. “We can, I think. Why don’t you try roasting a piece first?”
“I, I’d rather not. What if I turn into a zombie? Then I’ll have to trouble you to bury me, Chief. What if I get your hands dirty?”
Shen Xingchen shot him an exasperated look, pulled a small knife from his robes, and cut a piece of meat from the leg of the nearest demon creature.
He examined it carefully. The meat was tender, fresh, and springy, with a faint, gentle warmth flowing through it. Yet there was none of the violent energy it had contained before.
The more he looked at it, the more astonished he became.
“Changlan, quick, get a fire!”
Feng Changlan realized what Shen Xingchen was thinking as well. He pointed toward the soldier who had stopped Yun Xingwan earlier.
“You, come here and start a fire!”
Niu Zhigang was completely confused, but he still stepped forward. He turned his palm upward, and a ball of flame appeared in his hand.
Shen Xingchen placed the piece of meat over the fire and roasted it. In less than a minute, the rich aroma of meat mixed with a faint, refreshing fragrance and drifted through the surroundings.
The scent entered the noses of the three men, and all of them immediately felt incredibly refreshed.
Feng Changlan swallowed hard. As time passed, the aroma of the meat grew stronger and stronger.
Unable to resist any longer, he snatched the piece of meat hanging from the tip of Shen Xingchen’s knife and stuffed it into his mouth without even caring that it was hot.
His tongue moved eagerly as his teeth sank into the tender meat.
Fragrant.
It was unbelievably delicious!
It was even better than the braised pork he had eaten before the apocalypse, back when he was still a child!
As the meat reached his stomach, there was not the slightest hint of discomfort. Instead, a warm current began flowing through his entire body, healing the hidden injuries he had accumulated over the years of fighting.
Shen Xingchen stared at Feng Changlan’s blissful expression, his heart filling with wild excitement. Yet even though the answer was practically right in front of him, he still dared not believe it.
Ever since the apocalypse descended, food had been in short supply throughout China, and meat had become more precious than diamonds.
It was not that they had never tried eating the flesh of these demon creatures before, but now, it seemed to have become completely different.
Suppressing his excitement, Shen Xingchen asked, “Changlan, how is it?”
“Chief, it’s delicious, absolutely delicious! The hidden injuries in my body are healing, and it seems like my supernatural ability is about to break through too!”
Feng Changlan licked his lips and grinned from ear to ear.
His words were like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, exploding through the minds of everyone nearby and leaving them dizzy with shock.
There was only one thought in everyone’s minds.
This stuff could not only be eaten, it could actually increase their supernatural abilities!
Another miracle!
“Woohoo! We have meat to eat!”
Someone suddenly shouted, and all the soldiers present followed suit, roaring with excitement.
“Shut up!”
Yun Xingchen unclenched his tightly balled fists. The slight trembling of the muscles on his face revealed just how shaken he truly was.
“Someone sealed off the cafeteria! No one is allowed to leak even the slightest bit of this information. Process the immortal meat!”
At this moment, the piles of demon corpses were no longer the poisonous things that everyone had been terrified to even mention. They had become immortal meat after being purified!
If this information reached the ears of anyone with ulterior motives, No. 9 Base would become the target of everyone’s attention.
Although every base belonged to China, there was still competition between them.
The allocation of supplies, the replenishment of personnel, and even the numerous spies hidden among them were all serious concerns. If the people across the ocean learned about this, No. 9 Base would become a thorn in the eyes of everyone.
Dragging the stone coffin along, Yun Xingwan faintly heard the cheers behind her, and the smile at the corners of her lips deepened.
She gently patted her sleeve.
“I’m going home, old friend!”
“Clang!”
The stone coffin seemed to respond to her words, shaking twice.
She walked a few more steps before suddenly remembering that she had gone too quickly and had apparently forgotten where her own home was.
She could not help muttering, “I really am getting old.”
She spread out her divine sense, and the figures of Yun Dequan and Liu Chunhua soon appeared in her mind.
Shelter B Zone, Number 27.
When she reached the door, the hand she had raised to knock paused.
She lowered her head and straightened her clothes, carefully making sure there was not even a speck of dust on them before knocking on the metal door.
“Knock, knock!”
Inside, when Liu Chunhua heard the knocking, the wrinkles on her face tightened so much that they looked capable of trapping a fly. Holding a rolling pin in her hand, she headed toward the door.
Yun Dequan immediately grabbed the large broom beside him and followed closely behind her.
“Bang!”
Liu Chunhua yanked open the metal door.
“Cao Jinyan, how long are you going to keep this up?”
But the moment she saw who was standing outside, her angry scolding came to an abrupt stop.
She stared at Yun Xingwan standing in the doorway.
The wrinkles that had been bunched together on her face instantly relaxed.
“Oh my, old man, our daughter is back from work! Our daughter is home!”
“Bang!”
Yun Dequan hurriedly threw down the broom and pulled the door, which had only been opened a crack, as wide as possible.
“Sweetheart, come in quickly. You must be tired. Hurry and come inside to rest!”
Yun Xingwan smiled.
“Mom, Dad, I’m not tired!”
“Come inside first, come inside!”
Yun Xingwan dragged the stone coffin into the room. Afraid that his daughter might exhaust herself, Yun Dequan hurried over.
“Sweetheart, come on, let Dad help you pull it!”
“Hey, Dad, it’s fine. I can do it myself!”
She quickly refused her elderly father’s help and dragged the stone coffin through the doorway.
The entire room was not very large, only around forty square meters. The furnishings were simple, with just a few tables and chairs.
There was also the damp, musty smell unique to underground shelters lingering in the air.
She was afraid that if her father helped her pull the coffin, he might exhaust himself and something could happen to him. She would feel terrible if that happened.
Pointing toward the pig-like demon creature lying on top of the stone coffin, she said, “Dad, this pig is much heavier than the stone coffin. Why don’t you carry the pig home first?”
The stone coffin had been brought in through the side entrance, so Yun Dequan and Liu Chunhua had only seen one corner of it. They had not noticed what was lying on top.
A pig?
It was the apocalypse now. Where could there possibly be a pig?
Their daughter must have been dreaming about pork so badly that she had started imagining things.
Then again, it made sense.
Twenty years had already passed, and they did not even know where their daughter had been begging for food all those years.
She had always loved braised pork the most.
Ah, it was all because his old bones were useless.
“Sweetheart, don’t worry. Dad will find some work tomorrow, earn some points, and buy you some meat. Good girl, come inside first.”
“Dad, what are you talking about? That pig really is very heavy!”
Yun Xingwan could not understand what her elderly father meant. She thought he still refused to give up on helping her pull the coffin.
Liu Chunhua also assumed her daughter was talking nonsense simply because she did not want the old man to help her.
Her heart was practically blooming with happiness.
Her daughter really was such a filial child.
Those blind fools from the Zhao family had better watch out. She would definitely have a proper talk with her daughter later and get her to break off the engagement with Zhao Jinzhan!
Seeing that her old man still had not moved, she could not help glaring at him.
Their daughter was being considerate and did not want him carrying such a heavy thing, so why could he not simply go along with her wishes?
Why was he still standing there wasting time?
If her daughter went hungry because of him, she would make sure he regretted it!
Seeing the look in his wife’s eyes, Yun Dequan finally understood.
“Oh, oh, all right. I’ll carry that ‘pig’.”
He turned sideways and stepped outside. Before leaving, he even raised both hands slightly, showing that he respected his daughter’s wishes.
Unexpectedly, his eyes swept across the top of the stone coffin.
His entire body froze in place.
“Daughter, daughter…”
His mouth seemed to have stopped obeying him. He opened it wide, but no complete sentence would come out of his throat.
“Old man, did you eat a stone? Why can’t you even speak properly?”
Yun Dequan reached up and supported his nearly falling jaw. At last, he managed to find his voice again.
“My wife, quick, quick, look! The pig, the pig!”