Chapter 59: Sweet Soup
“Are you his boss?” Song Yuqing looked at Zhang Lei. Another ‘boss’—could he be running things the same way Lin Han did?
“Yes, they all call me that,” Zhang Lei said with a faint smile.
“What kind of boss?” Liu Xiaona asked, thinking the exact same thing as Song Yuqing. Having spent time at Base No. 27, they were both a bit sensitive to that particular title.
“I am the founder of Base No. 16.”
“Do you have a supermarket there?” Song Yuqing pressed.
“No. If we did, this guy wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Chen Town.”
“Boss…” The black man lowered his head, his voice strained.
Supplies at Base 16 were critically low, and the competition among zombie hunters was cutthroat. Low-level psychics like him stood at the absolute bottom of the food chain at the base; they were constantly marginalized and frequently went hungry. Desperate, he had risked his life to sneak out of Base 16, praying he could find another settlement to take him in.
He had spent three days and three nights on the run, dodging from shadow to shadow and fearfully guarding against zombies. When he neared Chen Town, he crossed paths with a primary zombie and managed to slay it after an exhausting, brutal struggle. Once the creature collapsed, he dug out its core and discovered a slip of paper taped to its back. It read: Zombies for Supplies. God’s Supermarket. Driven by curiosity, he tore it off and found a crude map drawn on the back, with the supermarket’s location marked clearly by an asterisk.
“I won’t punish you for deserting,” Zhang Lei said, his tone flat and his eyes filled with casual contempt. “But now that you’re out, don’t even think about coming back.”
Song Yuqing cut in, interrupting Zhang Lei. “When exactly did your skin turn black?”
“Just now! Right when I found this alley!” the man sniffed, looking thoroughly pitiful. He explained that he had circled the perimeter of Chen Town multiple times before finally tracking down the alley marked on the map. Before he could even celebrate, he noticed he couldn’t see his own hands or his bare ankles. At first, he assumed the darkness of the polar night was playing tricks on his eyes, but when he pulled out a flashlight, he realized his entire body was pitch black. Panic-stricken, he had yanked up his shirt, only to watch the ink-like stain rapidly spread across his fair belly. He had been utterly terrified, convinced he was about to die.
“Do you feel any different physically since it happened?”
“I… I don’t know yet,” the man stammered, caught off guard.
Attempting to steady his breathing, he focused his energy. A small, dark stream of black water oozed from his palm.
“Ahhh!!” The sight threw him into a fresh panic, and he tumbled right off his chair.
“We really are partners in misery,” Liu Xiaona sighed. She helped the man back to his feet, holding his hand in a gesture of shared sorrow.
“You have water-based abilities too?” Song Yuqing raised an eyebrow. Was it really that much of a coincidence?
“Could the polar night be causing all water psychics to turn black?” Ruan Fanfan mused.
“Is the water source polluted?”
“We need a larger sample size to know for sure,” Zhang Lei said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
“Right. You should head over to Base No. 27 and see what’s happening to the water mutants over there,” Song Yuqing said, dropping the polite pleasantries and bluntly assigning Zhang Lei the task.
“I was already planning to go.” Zhang Lei had left his base this time specifically to meet up with Wan Youzhi and Lin Han.
“I’ll go with you,” Ruan Fanfan offered, whistling for Conghui to fly back onto her shoulder.
Song Yuqing watched them, the scattered pieces of the puzzle finally clicking together in her mind. The hidden connection linking Zhang Lei, Lin Han, and Ruan Fanfan was right on the verge of being fully exposed. Her earlier suggestion had been a test, and Zhang Lei’s easy acceptance proved his original destination had always been Base 27. After all, it was the closest stronghold to Chen Town.
“No need to rush off just yet. Since Liu Xiaona and our new friend aren’t in any immediate danger, you two should eat something before you hit the road.” Song Yuqing pulled Liu Xiaona up, giving her a subtle wink.
Catching the signal perfectly, Liu Xiaona turned and walked straight into the kitchen.
Looking down at her stark black hands, she realized the bright red berries offered a glaring contrast. She pursed her lips, placed the Truth Fruits onto the chopping board, and carefully diced them one by one. She soaked the pieces in water, tossed in some rock sugar and wolfberries, and left the mixture to simmer over low heat.
Out in the main shop, Song Yuqing was pumping Zhang Lei for information about Base No. 16.
“What’s your setup like over there? Do you need a supplier for goods?”
“My base is under strict military administration,” Zhang Lei replied coolly. “We have space-type psychics who handle all our logistics and material supplies.”
Song Yuqing let out a soft chuckle. “Are you blind to how stocked my shelves are? I certainly don’t need your business. But multiple suppliers can’t hurt, right?”
Ruan Fanfan blinked, looking at Zhang Lei, but he pointedly avoided her gaze. “I’ll contact you if the need arises,” he maintained in his detached tone.
Song Yuqing stood up and stretched her arms.
Zhang Lei’s eyes shifted to Gaha. “If you let me take Gaha with me, I’ll agree to a partnership right now.”
“Gaha!” the little zombie hissed. Bad guy, bad guy, bad guy! He just wants to turn me into a lab rat!
Gaha lunged forward to attack, but forced himself to hold back. Snorting in frustration, he stomped away and slammed the door to his room.
“Keep talking like that, and you’ll find yourself permanently banned from ordering coffee here,” Song Yuqing warned, her voice dropping to a chill. “We aren’t so desperate that we need a partner like you.”
“Is that so?” Zhang Lei let out a mocking chuckle that made Song Yuqing’s knuckles itch with the urge to punch him.
Beside her, Little Meat Bun bared his tiny teeth at Zhang Lei. This guy was insufferably arrogant.
Finally, Liu Xiaona emerged from the kitchen carrying the food, and Song Yuqing stepped forward to help her set the table.
She laid out the spread: a savory plate of satay beef, a dish of fluffy scrambled eggs, and a large, steaming bowl of sweet soup.
“It’s an apple soup—excellent for strengthening the spleen and stomach, and great for the complexion,” Liu Xiaona added quickly, eager to prevent Ruan Fanfan and Zhang Lei from growing suspicious.
“Sweet soup served with rice?” Ruan Fanfan asked, a hint of distaste in her voice.
“What, you don’t want any?” Liu Xiaona’s internal alarms flared. She grabbed Ruan Fanfan and Zhang Lei’s bowls and aggressively ladled a generous portion into each. “You have to drink it. Refusing my soup means you look down on my cooking, and if you look down on my cooking, you don’t get to eat this meal at all!”
“Then I won’t eat. I’ve always been a picky eater anyway.” Zhang Lei didn’t even reach for the bowl Liu Xiaona shoved toward him. Instead, he simply set his chopsticks down on the table.
“I’m just teasing! Drink it or don’t, it’s up to you,” Liu Xiaona said hastily, trying to smooth things over as she placed the bowl back down.
“Wow, this is incredible! I haven’t had food this good in forever!” the black man managed to sputter out, his mouth crammed full of rice as tears welled in his eyes.
“Here, have some more then.” Ruan Fanfan slid Zhang Lei’s untouched bowl of sweet soup over to the starving hunter.
Liu Xiaona and Song Yuqing exchanged a panicked glance, their eyes screaming: Oh no! The plan is falling apart!
But it wasn’t a total failure yet.
As the hunter drank the sweet soup, his excitement grew. He abandoned the meat entirely, shoveling down rice and gulping the liquid. The moment he finished the bowl, he immediately reached for another ladleful.
“Is it really that good?” Ruan Fanfan asked, her skepticism wavering.
“Yes! It’s the most delicious thing in the entire world!” the man cried out in awe.
Curious to see if it truly tasted that miraculous, Liu Xiaona scooped a small spoonful for herself. It really was spectacular. The initial taste was burst of pure sweetness, but the moment she swallowed, a complex symphony of rich flavors danced across her tongue.
“Wow, this is amazing! I really am a genius chef!”
“It’s just apple soup, how can it possibly taste that good?” Ruan Fanfan murmured, her curiosity finally winning.
“Only one way to find out,” Zhang Lei replied. Unable to resist the allure of a genuine delicacy any longer, he reached out and ladled a portion into his own bowl.
As Song Yuqing and Liu Xiaona watched Zhang Lei and Ruan Fanfan finally take deep gulps of the sweet soup, they turned to each other and shared a triumphant, knowing smile.
“How on earth did you brew this?” Ruan Fanfan asked, completely captivated by the flavor.
“Hehe, the recipe itself is actually quite simple and unpretentious,” Liu Xiaona giggled, taking another sip of her own soup. “But the secret lies in the quality of the ingredients. You see, I used…”
She froze as her own words kept flowing, the potent effects of the Truth Fruit taking hold of her first.
