Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Taking It for Oneself

Chen Xing could tell it was the roar of a wild beast.

This wild forest had a wildlife area, home to everything from herbivores to carnivores.

It teemed with life, from the largest beasts to the smallest birds.

She had heard that before the apocalypse, there had even been accidents where tigers mauled people to death due to negligence.

Chen Xing didn’t stop walking.

Once she was past this mountain path, she’d reach the road where she could drive. Even a ferocious tiger wouldn’t be a threat then.

She hadn’t gone much further when another earth-shattering roar echoed out, even louder than the last. The entire forest seemed to tremble with it.

’This thing must be huge,’ Chen Xing’s imagination ran wild.

It was immediately followed by another deafening roar.

Perhaps because she was closer, she could hear something else roaring as well.

’Zombies?’

Seeing that she was about to exit the forest, Chen Xing quickened her pace.

Right at the edge of the forest, where it met the road, a horde of zombies was clustered together, snarling.

Every so often, she could see a tiger with particularly distinct stripes leaping more than two meters into the air, its fangs bared, and biting the head off a zombie in one go.

Its stripes were well-defined and its fur was exquisite. Its four limbs were graceful yet powerful, and the character for "king" was clearly visible on its forehead. Even with a few wounds on its body, they did nothing to diminish its regal air.

Facing dozens of zombies, the tiger’s eyes were still bright and full of spirit.

The moment she saw it, Chen Xing felt an urge to make it her own.

’But that’s just a thought. Even if I could kill all these zombies, how could a tiger several times my size possibly become my cute little pet?’

Ignoring the scene, Chen Xing ran around them, heading toward her destination.

Unexpectedly, the tiger, which had disappeared from her line of sight, suddenly leaped out of the zombie horde and lunged toward her.

Chen Xing’s first instinct was to dodge, and the tiger shot past her.

Seeing that its pounce had missed, the tiger twisted its massive body and swung its head viciously at Chen Xing.

Chen Xing knew that while wild animals were large, they were incredibly agile. She had anticipated a follow-up attack and was already prepared to dodge again.

But as she dodged, a crazy idea flashed through her mind, and as if guided by an unseen force, she stretched out her hand.

In an instant... the mountain of a tiger vanished before her eyes.

Worried it would wreak havoc inside her space, she entered the dimension while continuing to run forward.

The previously ferocious tiger instantly turned into a docile, obedient kitten upon entering the space, looking like it was begging to be petted.

Since it wasn’t a threat to her space, Chen Xing didn’t have time to deal with it. She got to the main road, started her car, shook off the zombies, and sped straight for the natural gas station.

In the gas station’s inventory hall, several hundred household gas canisters were lined up. On the other side, there were also over two hundred large canisters for restaurant use.

This alone was more than enough for her.

Satisfied, she walked out of the natural gas station and saw a large truck driving toward her.

Because it was a straight road, she had no way to hide.

She had no choice but to walk out openly, planning to get in her car and leave.

But the truck honked its horn repeatedly, forcing her to stop.

It was a vehicle designed for transporting hazardous materials, with a rounded tanker that was at least a dozen meters long.

The truck stopped, and two men got out from either side of the cab.

They wore green military uniforms and held long rifles, but their faces were friendly. "Miss, how did you end up here all by yourself?"

"My GPS is out. I just drove and ended up here," Chen Xing said, glancing behind the large truck.

In the distance, another truck was approaching. It had the same cab, so it was probably also transporting natural gas.

After that, they came one by one—a total of six trucks, all looking more or less the same.

Although it was hard to make out the details on each truck, Chen Xing could still see that the logos on their chassis were different.

The first and second were for natural gas, followed by gasoline tankers and diesel tankers.

’So that’s why all the gas and diesel were gone in my past life. It wasn’t a natural shortage; the state started collecting these precious resources right at the beginning of the apocalypse.’

’Good thing I acted fast. I’ve already cleaned out a few gas stations and have enough natural gas. Otherwise, I’d never be able to find any later.’

"Where are you trying to go?" The soldier was very polite, looking concerned that a young girl like her might run into danger. "It’s so chaotic out there right now, you really shouldn’t be wandering around! Are your parents still around? If you’re on your own, we can make an exception and take you to the nearest safety zone!"

"I just came out to find some supplies to bring back. I won’t trouble you!" Chen Xing did her best to look like a naive young girl who didn’t know any better.

"Come on, let me tell you about the benefits of the safety zone..." the soldier said as he led Chen Xing toward the other side of the truck. "If you live in a safety zone, you won’t have to risk your life coming out to find supplies. Food is distributed every day, and you’ll have soldiers like us to protect you. It’s completely safe!"

’They distribute food, sure, and there are people to protect you, but... if you want to eat, you have to work twice as hard for it!’

It wasn’t like Chen Xing had never lived in one before.

In her past life, aside from the National Capital Safety Zone, she had lived in dozens of safety zones, both large and small.

The official state-run safety zones were better; at least you wouldn’t starve to death.

The private ones were unreliable. They either exploited you until you had nothing left, or they were just fattening you up to be eaten.

"My mom and dad are waiting for me at home. I can’t just abandon them!" Chen Xing made an excuse.

But her intuition told her that these men had no intention of letting her leave.

Sure enough, the soldier’s tone became harsher than before. "As soldiers, we have a duty to protect civilians. It’s too dangerous for a young girl like you to be out here with zombies and monsters everywhere! You will come with us to the safety zone. As long as you can give us your parents’ exact address, we’ll find a way to bring them to the safety zone as well! At the very least, your safety will be guaranteed!"

"Okay, then!" Chen Xing pretended not to see the men emptying the natural gas supply and obediently followed the soldier who had been talking to her toward the already-loaded truck.

’How could she not know their real reason for taking her?’

So many state assets were disappearing, and she had seen them with several large trucks.

They were worried she might run her mouth about what she’d seen, so they would take her to a safety zone first.

’As for what would happen after that...’

’They’d either try to ’re-educate’ me, and if I remained stubborn, there would only be one way out: death.’

"The safety zone isn’t far, just over an hour’s drive." The soldier, perhaps worried Chen Xing would get bored, handed her a small bag of snacks. "We still have some work to do, so you’ll have to wait a little longer!"

"Oh!" Chen Xing obediently took the snacks.

’If it’s over an hour away, it must be the Hualai City Safety Zone.’

Although Hualai City was one of the country’s few first-tier cities, its safety zone wasn’t well-fortified. In her past life, it seemed the safety zone had been overrun by zombies just a few days after it was established, resulting in heavy casualties.

’I can’t be that unlucky, can I? To run right into it?’

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