Chapter 173: Snow-Furred Beast Meat, A Night of Feasting!
Zhou Kai and Zhou Zhen were brothers who had evacuated together with the Kou family, along with Zheng Xiang and Wang Chang.
Although the brothers weren’t known for their combat prowess, they possessed remarkable skills in support roles—skills that far exceeded the average person.
Their task was to handle the corpses of the long-haired beasts. Kou Dingshan explained to Su Ning and the others,
“These snow-furred beasts may be mutated creatures, but their fur has extremely high thermal value. In Shelter No. 5, it can be traded for all sorts of useful supplies.”
Each brother took a snow-furred beast and swiftly drew out a dagger. In their hands, the blades moved like nimble snakes. Within moments, the beasts were dismembered into just two or three large chunks.
The fur was peeled off just as quickly, falling away like autumn leaves.
Zhao Fuqing, still a young boy, watched the scene unfold, mouth wide open in astonishment.
He couldn’t help but exclaim,
“That’s amazing!”
The Zhou brothers gave modest smiles, clearly used to this kind of attention. In the face of Zhao Fuqing’s admiration, they simply smiled politely.
Kou Dingshan chuckled and said,
“Before the cataclysm, these two were the best workers in the slaughterhouse. This level of butchering skill is second nature to them.”
The brothers carefully brought over the sorted parts.
One part was the fur, and the other—the meat—prompted Kou Dingshan to ask Su Ning a critical question:
“Su Ning, I need you to confirm something. Do you think this snow-furred beast meat is edible?”
Kou Dingshan looked at Su Ning with hopeful eyes, filled with anticipation.
In fact, everyone present knew what Su Ning’s job was before she left Shelter No. 6. Because of this, they placed their hopes in her ability to assess whether this meat was safe to eat.
Su Ning understood their expectations, and a pang of emotion stirred in her heart.
In this disaster-ravaged world, food was extremely scarce. Without her planting space to rely on, she too would be staring hungrily at any chunk of meat in sight.
Before the disaster, meat was an everyday commodity. But now, just seeing meat made people salivate.
Under the gaze of the eager crowd, Su Ning carefully examined the meat.
She activated her scavenger ability—Scavenger’s Eye—to analyze the materials in detail.
After a thorough inspection, Su Ning’s lips curled slightly into a smile. She turned to everyone and said,
“Don’t worry. It’s safe to eat.”
The moment she confirmed it, the group erupted in excitement.
Kou Dinghe was particularly thrilled.
“That’s awesome! We finally get to eat meat again!”
Seeing his younger brother so elated, Kou Dingshan rolled his eyes.
“What, you act like I never let you eat meat or something?”
Kou Dinghe shook his head and explained,
“It’s not the same! I didn’t dare eat much of the rations back at home. But now it’s different—I helped kill one of those beasts. You’re definitely going to give me my share, right? With my own meat in hand, I can do whatever I want!”
Kou Dingshan, exasperated, pointed at him in frustration.
Their parents, however, looked at Kou Dinghe with warm, doting smiles.
Kou Dingshan then began dividing up the meat.
Su Ning received her portion as well.
But when she glanced at the others’ portions, she noticed hers was significantly larger.
Su Ning raised an eyebrow.
She was about to refuse the extra amount, but Kou Dingshan insisted she take it.
He looked at her sincerely and said,
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to evacuate with us. Maybe this meat isn’t important to you—but for us, it represents our gratitude. I hope you’ll keep looking out for us during the journey ahead.”
Kou Dingshan knew Su Ning was powerful, but he also understood that you can’t expect help without offering something in return.
So he offered food as a gesture of goodwill.
Jiang Nana chimed in,
“Exactly! Su Ning, if you hadn’t sensed the snow-furred beasts ahead of time, we wouldn’t have reacted fast enough. This meat is well-earned.”
Su Ning had no choice but to accept it.
Zhao Fuqing stared at the meat in his hand, unable to resist swallowing hard.
Zhang Li saw his expression and couldn’t hold back her laughter. Then she began cooking the snow-furred beast meat with practiced ease.
Seeing this, Kou Dinghe couldn’t help but ask his mom,
“Can you cook me some too? I want meat!”
His mother replied with a sigh and a smile,
“You’re impossible—but fine, fine, I’ll make some for you!”
The warm, lively atmosphere spread to everyone, and any lingering fatigue vanished.
Wang Chang hadn’t tasted meat in a long time, so he eagerly joined the cooking team.
Meanwhile, Youyou, the mysterious creature, quietly watched everyone prepare the food. Its mouth twitched as it instinctively licked its lips—it was clearly tempted.
With light footsteps and a touch of playfulness, Youyou walked over to Su Ning and snuggled against her leg.
It let out soft, cooing noises.
Su Ning found it adorable and smiled.
“What is it? Do you want me to cook something for you too?”
Youyou nodded eagerly.
“Alright, alright… You’re really too much,” Su Ning said affectionately.
“But since you performed so well today, I’ll make you a delicious dinner as a reward.”
She gently patted Youyou on the head.
Since awakening its powers from the Starfruit, Youyou’s Earth Spike skill wasn’t the flashiest or most powerful move—but its real value came from how well it worked in battle.
Especially when paired with the Earth Echo talent, it could strike targets with pinpoint precision, often producing unexpected results.
That kind of coordination made Youyou an indispensable part of the team.
No one could’ve imagined that, after such an intense battle, no one wanted to sleep—instead, everyone threw themselves into cooking with enthusiasm.
Then Zhao Fuqing came over and asked shyly,
“Big Sister Su, can I pet your pet?”
His eyes sparkled with admiration. He had been completely awestruck by Youyou’s performance in the earlier fight.
Su Ning smiled and said,
“Youyou doesn’t like being touched by people other than me—but you can observe it up close. If you want to pet it, you’ll have to get its permission first.”
Zhao Fuqing nodded seriously.
“Got it!”
Meanwhile, Jiang Nana glanced at her own little Fire Meow and stuck a piece of snow-furred beast meat onto a skewer. She then commanded Fire Meow to cook it with its flames.
“Oh, little Fire Meow… When will you be as strong as Su Ning’s pet?”
Fire Meow (in its own mind):
“What do you mean I’m not strong? I can cook meat for you, can that black-and-white cat do that? I’m clearly the better one!”
Who would’ve thought that even among feline creatures, a rivalry would begin to brew—one big, one small, both eager to prove their worth?
