Chapter 43: Warmth Amid the Zombie Tide
As the Ning Wu family was hurrying toward Su Ning, she had just finished a delicious meal.
Just as Su Ning was about to pack up the remaining chicken hot pot into her backpack, the culinary zombie, who had been quietly staying to the side, suddenly stirred.
Su Ning immediately stood up alertly, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Of course, she also noticed someone approaching.
She quickly stored the culinary zombie back into her backpack and kept a vigilant eye on the front.
However, just as she was about to put away the rest of the food, she heard an excited child’s voice, “It’s here, Mom! The smell of food is coming from here!”
The sudden voice made Su Ning frown slightly, but she remained calm and observant, ready to deal with whatever might happen.
She realized she had let her guard down a bit—she hadn’t sent the sensory zombie to check for nearby humans.
“Seems I’ve grown overconfident.”
Having the special ability of being unafraid of zombies, Su Ning admitted she’d started taking the “Corpse Hell” instance too lightly.
“Arrogance is a deadly mistake!”
She must not continue like this, or she might end up being killed without even realizing it.
When Ning Wu smelled the aroma, even Zhang Feifei was surprised.
In an environment full of zombie threats, someone was calmly making gourmet food? Was this person too relaxed in this instance?
Despite the doubts, the two couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
The scent in the air was simply too enticing to resist.
Ning Wu couldn’t remember the last time he’d smelled such an alluring aroma. Since the natural disasters began, his family hadn’t had meat in a long time.
Now, unexpectedly, in the instance world, he encountered this smell—and it awakened his deep craving for good food.
Even someone as calm as Zhang Feifei was now drawn by the scent.
“Honey, someone really is cooking here.”
Ning Wu nodded. He definitely smelled it.
But as the head of the family, he didn’t lower his guard—what if it was a trap?
The three cautiously entered the showroom where Su Ning was, and Su Ning also saw the family of three appear before her.
Ning Wu froze, then said: “Hello, we didn’t mean to intrude—it’s just that the smell was too strong…”
He hadn’t expected it to be a young girl cooking here.
Ning Tao Tao stared straight at the still unfinished chicken hot pot.
His innate sharp sense of smell was now almost overwhelmed by the aroma.
Since awakening, he hadn’t been this happy—especially after entering this instance. The stench of zombies had been giving him constant headaches.
Right now, in his little eyes, nothing else existed. There was only one thought: eat!
Su Ning awkwardly looked at the family drawn by her cooking. She hadn’t expected her carefully controlled aroma to still be discovered.
She didn’t know there were players with a smell-sensitivity talent—so sharp it was scary.
Looking at the little boy whose eyes hadn’t moved from the food since entering—
“Do you want to eat?”
Su Ning broke the awkward silence.
Ning Tao Tao’s eyes lit up, “Can I?”
But before Su Ning could respond, Ning Wu sternly scolded, “Tao Tao, that food belongs to this young lady. We can’t do that!”
Tao Tao’s happy expression immediately turned dejected. Though young, he understood how rare and precious food was these days.
Seeing his son’s eager longing, Ning Wu was filled with guilt. As a father, he felt ashamed he couldn’t even feed his wife and child.
Zhang Feifei gently patted Tao Tao’s head and said kindly, “We have to be polite, okay?”
Tao Tao hugged the little black cat in his arms tightly and murmured sadly, “I understand…”
Su Ning quietly watched this heartwarming family scene. A wave of sorrow surged in her heart.
She thought of her own parents. If they were still alive, she’d be living under their care. Even if a disaster struck, they would have protected her with all their strength.
Su Ning silently picked up the still mostly untouched chicken hot pot and handed it to the boy, saying gently, “Eat. This is from me.”
In her heart, she told herself, “Just this once, Su Ning. Consider it in memory of your parents.”
“Really?” Tao Tao was overjoyed.
Zhang Feifei wanted to decline, but seeing her son so happy, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
She pulled out a bottle of water from her backpack and handed it to Su Ning.
“I know this water isn’t equal to your food, but I hope you’ll accept it.”
Su Ning accepted it without objection.
Meanwhile, Ning Wu remained observant. He didn’t underestimate Su Ning.
To walk alone in a zombie-infested area and still have the means to cook—this person was definitely not weak.
Taotao, having received the food, first gave a bite to his mother and father.
“First bite for Mom, because she takes care of me.”
Zhang Feifei’s eyes shimmered with emotion.
Then Taotao gave some to his father, “Thanks for protecting us, Dad. This big bite is all yours.”
His dad wanted to refuse, but Taotao didn’t give him the chance.
Then Tao Tao took a bite himself, and afterwards tried to feed the little kitten in his arms.
The kitten, clearly starving, devoured it quickly.
At that moment, both Su Ning and the Ning Wu family were deeply touched by the scene.
Su Ning had originally planned to rest alone, but now that her location was exposed, she decided to move on.
Just as she was about to leave, the little boy suddenly turned to her, “Sister, are you going to leave?”
Su Ning was puzzled, “Little guy, why do you ask that?”
Taotao, “I’m not a little guy. My name is Taotao. Right now, it’s best if you don’t leave, because I smell a strong zombie odor gathering.”
Hearing this, Ning Wu immediately became alert.
“Taotao, are you sure?”
Taotao nodded seriously, “The smell of Sister’s cooking is already being covered up by the stench of zombies.”
Seeing Su Ning’s confused face, Zhang Feifei explained, “Our Taotao has an extremely sensitive sense of smell. We found this safe place because he detected fewer zombie odors in this area. But now it seems we have to leave—zombie scent is growing stronger, which means a large horde is heading this way.”
Su Ning now understood how they had found this place—it was thanks to the sharp-nosed little guy.
After hearing Taotao’s warning, Su Ning walked to the window. She was on the fifth floor of a furniture mall. Looking out and using her Scavenger’s Eye, she spotted a black line in the distance—a moving mass of zombies.
“It’s a zombie tide!” Su Ning exclaimed.
Ning Wu’s family immediately became nervous.
“How can there be a zombie tide?!”
“This place isn’t safe anymore—we must leave before they arrive.”
(End of chapter)
