Chapter 195 - 194: The Morning’s Ball Hits the Evening’s Self

Chapter 195: Chapter 194: The Morning’s Ball Hits the Evening’s Self

Chu Zhaozhao woke up just as the first plate of meat went into the pot.

In the end, Ye Qingzhou had stayed.

It wasn’t just that she wanted the meal. Perhaps the aroma from the large pot triggered a visceral disgust for the compressed military rations and energy bars she’d been eating for days. Or perhaps she simply wanted to observe Lin Fan’s life.

"What’s the status of the zombie horde? Who’s on watch now?"

Lin Fan fished out a piece of meat from the pot with his chopsticks, but Chu Zhaozhao snatched half of it. He had no choice but to dip the remaining half in sauce, pop it into his mouth, and ask Ye Qingzhou, who was sitting beside him, as he chewed.

"Their advance speed is normal. Cyan Bird is still at the forefront. Wang Zhong and Jiang Jing also went to switch shifts. The rest are resting at the gas station..."

She ate as if she hadn’t had meat in ages. Despite her small bites, she never stopped picking more from the pot, earning her hostile glares from Chu Zhaozhao on Lin Fan’s other side.

"Are the officers’ rations in your convoy really this bad?"

Seeing her dig in without any hesitation, Lin Fan couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.

"We only brought field rations and protein bars. We gathered some vacuum-sealed food along the way... It wasn’t good."

Ye Qingzhou replied nonchalantly.

"I thought you were the type of person who..."

Before Lin Fan could finish, Ye Qingzhou cut in crisply:

"The type who’s so focused on the mission that she wouldn’t mind eating tree bark?"

"PFFT—COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

Hearing Lin Fan choke was deeply satisfying for Chu Zhaozhao. She couldn’t help but laugh, only to choke on the sesame paste and cough until tears streamed down her face.

"Slow down, no one’s going to fight you for it..."

Su Qing patted her on the back while continuing to eat herself. It was obvious both of them were famished.

The uninvited guest didn’t spoil anyone’s appetite. Even Chu Zhaotian, who was exhausted from a long day’s work, paid the "guest" just enough attention to be polite, all while focusing on devouring his food.

But Lin Fan didn’t react to her words at all. He just frowned, listening intently to something...

All the vehicles had been modified, and the downstairs "mod shop" had packed up for the day. Only the clamor of the crowd eating together in the distance remained.

But amidst the noise, Lin Fan heard a dissonant sound: a faint SNAP... SNAP... like steel being bent or torn apart.

"Shhh—what’s that sound?"

Lin Fan suddenly reached out and turned off the induction cooker, then walked to the window and stared outside.

Chu Zhaozhao, who had been wrestling with a piece of lamb just a second before, abruptly froze. Her mouth was still half-full, but she held perfectly still, afraid to make a sound.

The only sounds left in the room were the lingering hum of the induction cooker’s fan and the scraping of chairs as everyone got to their feet.

It was dark outside. The lights downstairs had been removed and relocated to the supermarket area. In front of the supermarket, people were still gathered in small groups, holding various containers like lunchboxes, eating and chatting.

Everyone at the table was startled by Lin Fan’s expression. They knew he wouldn’t be this vigilant unless something was seriously wrong.

But Lin Fan himself didn’t understand what was happening. The distant sky was pitch black, and only that faint CREAKING... SNAPPING... sound kept coming.

BOOM—RUMBLE—

Lin Fan suddenly felt a faint tremor under his feet, followed by a sound like rolling thunder approaching from the distance—low and unsettling.

"That’s not thunder... Something collapsed."

Surprisingly, the fastest to react was Ye Qingzhou. Standing beside Lin Fan, she gazed at the distant sky and spoke.

Lin Fan was just thinking that this all felt strangely familiar when he was interrupted by the walkie-talkie on Ye Qingzhou’s hip...

"Qingzhou! It’s bad! A building collapsed!"

A man’s voice came through. Lin Fan couldn’t tell who it was.

"Which building?"

Ye Qingzhou asked calmly.

"The burnt-out office building a few hundred meters south, across the road from the gas station!"

"The whole thing came down! It’s cut off the road! Wang Zhong and Cyan Bird are still on the south side monitoring the horde and haven’t come back!"

"I’ll go take a look!"

Before anyone could react, Lin Fan had already vaulted onto the windowsill. His words had barely faded when, with a loud CRACK, the sill shattered, and he landed on the roof of the opposite building.

Immediately after, Su Qing’s walkie-talkie on the coffee table began to crackle.

"Cook the meat. Cook as much of it as you can. Get everything, raw and cooked, into the vehicles. Be ready to move out at any time!"

"And Zhaozhao, don’t follow me! Stay home and eat. You need your strength, so listen to me!"

Hearing Lin Fan’s words, Su Qing, who had stood up in a daze, quickly found another electric pot and turned the original induction cooker back on.

"Zhang Wenyuan, execute today’s planned maneuvers! Now!"

Ye Qingzhou also picked up her walkie-talkie. She knew she wouldn’t be able to reach Ye Qingniao from here.

She was worried about the safety of her people monitoring the horde, but with Lin Fan already on his way to scout the front line, panicking here would do no good.

So, she calmed down and began commanding the people remaining at the gas station. But on second thought, she felt it wasn’t enough. They had planned to rest for another day tomorrow; mobilizing now was too rushed.

"Get yourselves ready. I have to go back!"

Ye Qingzhou threw on her jacket, went downstairs, and ran all the way to the crowd by the supermarket.

"Qingzhou!"

Yu Wentao had been working with Liu Bin to get the vehicles and people ready. His walkie-talkie had also received the news, and seeing Ye Qingzhou running back, he quickly stepped out from the crowd.

Liu Bin and the others, having learned what happened from Yu Wentao, also came forward. Liu Bin had overheard Lin Fan’s orders on the walkie-talkie; since there were no new instructions for him, he would just stick to the original plan and coordinate with Ye Qingzhou’s people.

"You stay here and continue coordinating with Captain Liu..."

She said, looking at Yu Wentao. Then she stopped in her tracks and raised her voice to the crowd:

"All soldiers! Fall in!"

The crowd instantly stirred. A dozen or so people in tactical vests emerged from among the civilians and, without a word, followed her as she ran east.

Back in the room, the others also sprang into organized action. Xu Qian, having the most stamina, simply brought the cutting board into the living room and began slicing the various defrosted meats.

After slicing, he put them into the other electric pot to cook, then scooped them out.

Meanwhile, Su Qing made Chu Zhaozhao stay at the table. She and Chu Zhaotian began to eat heartily.

"You can’t help by going now. The most important thing is to eat and get your strength back... Listen to me! Eat your fill first!"

Su Qing said, comforting the listless Chu Zhaozhao while continuing to eat her own meat.

With that, she dumped an entire plate of meat into the boiling pot of soup...

...

Lin Fan raced eastward along the rooftops. He had crossed these roofs so many times in the past few days that he knew every rise and fall by heart. Within ten-odd seconds, he reached the eastern intersection.

The lights of the distant gas station were still on. In their glow, an immense, swirling cloud of grayish-yellow dust could be seen rising in the distance...