The spatula danced in the air, a race against time.
The orange-level task didn’t require him to consume all the ingredients; Lin Xia only needed to prepare five recipes that met the requirements to submit them to the system.
He quickly ran through his options in his mind. To be safe, he decided to stick to the methods that had earned “Excellent” ratings in the previous customer feedback, striving to pass on his first submission.
Seconds ticked away, and the durability displayed on the light screen continued to drop. Lin Xia could even hear the sound of the stall cart’s outer shell being corroded by the acidic liquid.
Chi Zheng remained unconscious, sweating profusely as if he had been soaked in water. Afraid he might become dehydrated, Lin Xia fed him some purified water during the breaks in his cooking. His breathing, however, had become much steadier than before, and with no immediate signs of life-threatening danger, Lin Xia didn’t dwell on it further.
As the durability count neared its end, Lin Xia finally finished cooking the big-headed lizard.
He took a deep breath, placed the neatly plated dishes into the testing box one by one, and pressed the submit button.
Please, succeed.
Lin Xia prayed silently.
There was no more time. Once the stall cart’s durability hit zero, he would have no choice but to carry Chi Xiaozheng and wade through the corrosive liquid himself. Surviving the exit probably wouldn’t be a problem, but his ability would essentially be useless, and zero durability meant the stall cart would be completely destroyed.
It has to be all “Excellent”!
Beep—Beep—Beep—Beep—
The countdown alarm sounded inside the car.
In less than half a minute, the stall cart’s durability would reach zero. The final barrier would vanish, and Lin Xia would be left to face the acid head-on.
Doo—doo—doo—doo—
This was the noise of the testing box running. Its volume was lower than Lin Xia’s own heartbeat, yet it held his entire focus, making every second feel like torture.
Finally, the cabinet door opened. The plates of food vanished, replaced by a thin stack of cards.
Lin Xia’s heart was in his throat. He almost couldn’t wait to open the task panel, his hands shaking as he swiped to the orange-level task page.
Footsteps could already be heard downstairs—slightly staggering, suggesting the other team had also been affected by the aurora.
Lin Xia guessed that they had all fallen unconscious as well, but they should be awake by now, preparing to head upstairs to investigate.
Holding his breath, Lin Xia dragged the cursor directly to the bottom of the task page.
He saw a small notification window:
—Dear Host, it has been detected that you have completed the orange-level task. Would you like to start the red-level enhancement task?
Note: The red-level enhancement task carries risks, and the system does not guarantee the host’s personal safety. However, the host may return to the current space-time at any time during the task; returning ends the task by default. Please consider your personal strength carefully. Failure of the red-level enhancement task will not affect the rewards for the high-level task.
Lin Xia was overjoyed.
The countdown alarm stopped. The state of the stall cart refreshed, and the battered vehicle became brand new!
There was now an extra chair in the car, and the folding bed had a mattress. There was no need to mention the purified water; the stall cart had directly upgraded to a water tank with a capacity of 50 liters, providing water for the entire vehicle. The stall cart’s attribute panel was also refreshed:
—Initial Version: An ordinary stall cart, made of thick sheet metal, Defense 80, can withstand 16 attacks from a Level 1 mutated beast; the glass is Level 4 explosion-proof glass, Defense 40, can withstand 8 attacks from a Level 1 mutated beast.
Thermal insulation Level 2, built-in set of gas stoves, some basic seasonings, can cook simple food.
Current ingredient stock: 150 catties.
150 kilograms.
Lin Xia checked the stock first.
The requirement for the red-level enhancement task was to sell all the finished products and gain the approval of over 50% of the customers. He wasn’t naive enough to think he could finish the task by selling just one dish; he would likely have to clear out the entire stock on the cart.
Fortunately, he only had 150 kilograms of ingredients left. He had already consumed 350 catties of ingredients in the previous 24 hours, so using up the stock wouldn’t be an issue. The problem was whether he could sell all the food he had prepared and gain the approval of over 50% of the customers.
However, he had no time to hesitate. Although the stall cart’s attributes had refreshed, it still lacked a power system. It could only remain parked in front of the warehouse door, which was filled with corrosive liquid, and for Chi Zheng’s safety, Lin Xia couldn’t retract it just yet.
The footsteps downstairs grew closer. Lin Xia could even hear the voices of the men and women, meaning the other team could walk onto the third floor at any moment.
—They would immediately discover the stall cart and then find Chi Zheng in his coma.
Lin Xia had grown up struggling in the Fourth District, and his experience living on the streets made him understand human nature better than anyone. He didn’t want to test people’s hearts.
Regardless, the power module was something he absolutely had to have, and regardless, he could return at any time.
With that thought, Lin Xia gritted his teeth and pressed the start button for the red-level enhancement task.
A white light flashed, and the stall cart that had been standing outside the warehouse instantly vanished without a trace. Chen Song, who had just stepped onto the landing of the third floor, felt a blur before his eyes—something had flashed past so quickly that he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of it before the target was lost.
“Brother Song? What’s wrong?” asked the yellow-haired man behind him.
“I think there’s a situation!” Chen Song frowned, lowering his voice to warn them. “Don’t come up yet; I’ll go up and check first.”
“Brother Song, is there another team on the third floor?” asked Chang Xinxin, who was in the middle of the team, suddenly. “Everyone passed out earlier; they must have been affected too, right? I wonder if they need help?”
“We are all residents of the Fourth District. Now is the time to help each other. If they have any difficulties, we can’t just stand by. My storage space has plenty of medicine that I can give them!”
She said this with a coy, nasal tone—slow and delicate, the kind of voice that attracted men. Chen Mei glanced at Chang Xinxin and said nothing, but she knew in her heart that this person was trying to ingratiate herself with the other team.
She probably wouldn’t stay in their team for much longer.
Chen Song, however, didn’t think that much. He was a rough man; before the Great Cataclysm, he had run a second-hand car dealership. He was skilled at repairing cars and estimating prices, but his ability to deal with people was lacking, relying entirely on his sister, Chen Mei, for help.
At this moment, he didn’t notice that Chang Xinxin had developed a double heart; he was still immersed in the overly tragic battle on the third floor, his jaw dropping in shock.
The warehouse door was wide open, and the floor was littered with the carcasses of large moths. These bodies were soaking in a liquid that emitted a pungent odor, being corroded at a visible rate; some had already turned into mottled fragments of meat.
Only one spot in the entire hall was surprisingly clean—a rectangular area of about ten square meters where something had clearly been blocking the acid, preventing it from touching the floor.
“Brother, what’s the situation?” The monkey peeked out from the stairwell.
He was a physical enhancement type with a focus on jumping. He had passed out inexplicably earlier, and upon waking, he realized his jumping ability had improved slightly. As long as he mastered the angle and speed, jumping into the third-floor warehouse was achievable.
“Shall I take a look?”
“No, I’ll do it.”
When Chen Song said this, two flames ignited on his arms. But this time, he felt a bit powerless. Not only were the veins bulging on his forehead, but every muscle in his body was straining. It took about five minutes before the flames in his hands gradually expanded into a wall of fire, pushing slowly toward the corrosive liquid on the ground.
Puff—whoosh—!
Wherever the fire passed, the corrosive liquid evaporated rapidly, and the corridor was filled with a pungent smell.
Soon, a path was burned into the floor. Chen Song retracted the wall of fire, gasping for breath, feeling as if his body had been hollowed out.
He had lost consciousness earlier, and upon waking, he also felt an enhancement in his ability’s power. But before he could be happy, he realized his physical strength and focus had significantly declined. Previously, a single thought was enough to produce flames; now, it required effort—even total exhaustion—and the flames didn’t last as long.
It was the opposite for his sister, Chen Mei. Chen Mei was a water-type ability user. Previously, she could only produce a stream of water the thickness of a little finger. After fainting, she could now rapidly cool and condense water, turning a stream the thickness of a finger into ice spikes.
Her example made Chen Song realize that abilities were not fixed—they could evolve in many different directions.
But what about him? Why did his body become weak after his ability grew stronger? He was the last of the five to wake up, and the other four didn’t have this problem. Could it be related to this inexplicable collective fainting?
Chen Song really wanted to talk to someone—not that terrifying existence he couldn’t bear to look at, but that refined and beautiful youth. He looked much easier to talk to than his companion.
Unfortunately, after finally walking into the third-floor warehouse, all he saw were empty containers. These containers bore the Zenith Star Company logo, and some documents were scattered about, corroded beyond recognition.
There was no one inside. Could those two have left?
“Brother Song, their car is still here!” The yellow-haired man ran back from the rooftop parking lot. “It still has half its energy; they definitely haven’t left!”
They hadn’t left, but where could they have gone?
—Ah—choo—!
Lin Xia rubbed his nose. He first placed Chi Zheng on the wooden bed with the mattress, then cautiously observed his surroundings.
After pressing the start button for the red-level task, he and the cart had been transported into this strange alleyway. Everything around him was shrouded in an impenetrable black fog; he could only vaguely see some ethereal lights, flickering in and out, near and far, sending chills down his spine.
The stall cart’s light sign lit up, but Lin Xia didn’t dare get out, so he had no way of knowing what was written on it.
But from the moment the sign lit up, the previously locked display window of the stall cart also opened. Lin Xia could now place some prepared food into the window, set a price for each dish, and collect payment through the energy conversion slot on the stall cart.
The window currently had only three display slots, and each slot could only hold one type of dish and could not be changed. So, Lin Xia had to carefully consider what to sell during these 24 hours of business.
Thump-thump—thump-thump—thump-thump—
Footsteps could be heard coming from the distance.