Apocalyptic Crazy Kitty

Chapter 20: The Most Expensive Campfire

Purple eggplant, green chili peppers, and glossy minced meat—when the freshly cooked minced meat and eggplant dish was served, the entire warehouse was filled with the sound of people gasping in anticipation. At Zuo Chen’s instruction, Erzi divided the large pot of minced pork and eggplant into three portions. Meanwhile, the rice was ready, and Erzi served it into several large bowls. Zuo Chen speared a piece of eggplant with his fork, paired it with some rice, and took a bite. Hmm, it tastes great—this method really does let the flavors soak in! He’d prepared this minced pork and eggplant dish based on the memories stored in the zombie chef’s brain—and now it was clear that the guy really was a renowned chef! Seeing the Orange Cat eating, the bandits around them were practically going wild! Erzi was sitting nearby as well. He lifted his rice bowl, picked up a piece of eggplant smothered in ground meat, and wore a blissful smile on his face. Xiaohei, however, didn’t receive the same treatment this time; like the other bandits, he could only stand by and watch longingly. Zuo Chen cast a meaningful glance around the group, raised the fork in his hand, and asked, “Want some?” The bandits nodded frantically, with no time to speak—they could only answer with the sound of swallowing. Something they never could have imagined in their wildest dreams happened: at Zuo Chen’s signal, Erzi picked up one of the plates of minced-meat eggplant and began serving it to the bandits present. There was only one plate of minced pork and eggplant, so each person could only get a single bite. Moreover, since the bandits had no utensils, they had to eat it with their hands. But even so, feeling the warmth in their palms and breathing in the intoxicating aroma, they felt as if they were dreaming. The Orange Cat nodded and said, “Not bad.” The bandits immediately popped the precious dish into their mouths and began to chew it slowly. It had been far too long since they’d tasted this flavor; many instantly shed hot tears, and some even dropped to their knees and wept uncontrollably. The delicious food evoked their memories of peaceful times, touching the softest part of everyone’s heart. When they thought of how, in the post-apocalyptic world, they went hungry every day—even resorting to eating human flesh to stave off starvation—and had become living beasts, these dishes became all the more precious. At the same time, in Zuo Chen’s mind, the voice of the Culinary System began to ring incessantly. “Beep… Host detected cooking food. Detecting diners’ pleasure levels… Diners No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 all have a pleasure level of 8. Diners No. 4…Eater No. 15’s pleasure level is Level 9… Eater No. 27’s pleasure level is Level 9… Eater No. 35’s pleasure level is Level 8… Based on the highest level—exceeding Level 5—the conditions for reward distribution are met. Recording the molecular composition of the food; beginning random distribution of Level 9 rewards.” Success! Zuo Chen happily clenched his paw. The main reason he had each of these bandits take a bite of the dish was to expand the pool of eaters and thereby maximize the reward level. After all, everyone’s circumstances are different, and their perception of taste varies greatly. Only in this way could he maximize the rewards and ensure that not a single dish went to waste. After all, each dish offered only one chance to win a prize. A Level 9 reward! This was the highest reward Zuo Chen had ever unlocked. The two previous Level 8 rewards—one was a spatial storage device, and the other a multidimensional information link—were both incredibly advanced black technologies. If this Level 9 reward actually appeared, just how amazing would it be!? The Orange Cat’s whiskers were even trembling slightly from the tension and excitement. The void wormhole appeared once more, and amid the puzzled stares of the crowd, the reward finally emerged! Stacks of 100-yuan bills flew out of the void wormhole in neat rows, piling up in front of the Orange Cat. There was even a faint, rousing melody in the air—it sounded just like an athletes’ march! The Orange Cat’s face was contorted with rage; he knew it was completely over this time. Holding his bowl, he glared viciously at the void wormhole, as if he wanted to tear it apart. Erzi, who was already used to this, immediately lowered his head to eat his meal, not daring to even breathe a sigh. His days of serving the cat had taught him that what his feline master hated most was money falling from the sky—he got angry just seeing banknotes. At times like this, it was best to make himself invisible and avoid getting in the line of fire at all costs. Meanwhile, the bandits surrounding them hadn’t yet recovered from the intense mental shock caused by the minced meat and eggplant. Seeing money materialize out of thin air, they all froze in astonishment. In peacetime, seeing so much money would have driven them mad, but now they realized it was worth less than scrap paper. In today’s human society, traditional currency had long since been abandoned in favor of electronic currency and gold-based trade. Once the ten million in paper bills was piled up, another ten million appeared immediately, and soon the pile reached one hundred million, forming a massive heap of money. But it wasn’t over yet; the bills kept flying out, lining up in neat rows. Two hundred million… three hundred million… five hundred million… eight hundred million… one billion! Finally, a full one billion yuan in cash flew out of the void wormhole, forming a rectangular prism in front of Zuo Chen that was nearly 3 meters wide, 4 meters long, and 1 meter high. It still gave off the faint, fresh scent of ink and paper, and a huge red flower made of silk was placed on top… “The one-billion cash reward has been distributed!” Streamers and glitter shot out of the void wormhole, covering Zuo Chen from head to toe, while the background music of the Athletes’ March grew even more rousing. This is way too much, System! After glaring fiercely at the stack of bills for a moment, Zuo Chen fought off the urge to tear off the bell. He wolfed down a plate of minced pork with eggplant and rice, and only then did he feel a little better. Then, upon reflection, he felt more at ease—after all, with lotteries, it all comes down to probability, and the odds of winning something great are still pretty low. Besides, if this weren’t the end of the world but a time of peace, to be fair, this food system would actually be pretty great. Life is long, and he has to eat every day—if he didn’t win anything good this time, there’s always the next meal. To the bandits, the Beast King conjuring up a billion in cash out of thin air seemed nothing short of a miracle—though for some reason, he didn’t seem very happy about it. What happened next, however, deeply moved them. The Beast King actually conjured up a pile of canned meat out of thin air once again, then handed one to each of them. Although the cans were decorated with a kitten, and some recognized them as cat food, to them, cat food actually contained more fat and protein—making it the perfect meat can! That bite of minced meat with eggplant had thoroughly whetted their appetites, so they immediately opened the cans and began devouring the contents. The taste of the meat drove them wild! Before long, the bandits had polished off every last bit of their canned meat, even licking the grease from the inside of the cans clean. Meanwhile, Zuo Chen had also finished his meal. He licked his paws, stroked his whiskers, and walked over to the pile of bills. He pulled out a windproof lighter, struck a flame against the bills, picked up a bundle of brand-new bills, set them alight, and casually tossed them back onto the pile. The fire began to smolder slowly, then grew larger and larger; in the blink of an eye, the massive pile of bills was completely engulfed in flames! The burning bills flew in all directions, as if a shower of fire had appeared out of thin air, setting every corner of the warehouse ablaze! Seeing this, the bandits all froze in shock, yet dared not put out the fire. Zuo Chen pulled out another stack of cat food cans and said, “Follow my lead, and you’ll get a can; don’t, and you’ll die.” These bandits were no better than criminals to begin with; even if driven by the struggle for survival, many of their deeds could be described as deserving of death. The carrot-and-stick approach—combining kindness with authority—is undoubtedly the most effective strategy in any situation. The bandits exchanged glances and all made their choice. Erzi immediately ordered the bandits to grab their weapons and prepare to follow Zuo Chen out of there. Zuo Chen rode on Erzi’s head at the very front, while more than thirty bandits behind him picked up their weapons and the remaining food, following closely behind. In their hands, they held their newly earned reward—a precious can of cat food. Behind them, the warehouse they’d long inhabited burst into a raging inferno, completely engulfed by the ten billion in cash inside, turning into a sea of fire. Countless burning banknotes danced through the air, creating a spectacular sight. In peacetime, this would have been the most expensive bonfire imaginable, but now, it was nothing more than a pretty fire. “Everyone, remember: six with the left hand, seven with the right, take three steps forward, then kick backward once.” On the open space in front of the warehouse, Erzi began teaching them the tricks of pretending to be a zombie. His gaze was unfocused, his lips tightly pressed together, and his head tilted to one side. With six steps in his left hand and seven in his right, he took three steps forward, then took a small step back, before kicking forward—he looked exactly like a zombie that had been around for years… Even the bandits, who had previously looked down on Erzi, now began to take this scrawny, blond-haired kid seriously. To have survived the apocalypse and become a human retainer to a Beast King—he clearly had some real skills. The group gathered bedsheets and overcoats, smeared them with blood to mask the scent, and only then set off in a large procession toward the Biological Research Institute. Nearly two hours later, a group of blood-stained “zombies” staggered into view outside the Biological Research Institute. At the very front was a blond-haired “zombie” with an Orange Cat perched on its head—none other than Zuo Chen and Erzi. As Zuo Chen and Erzi charged through the main gate of the Biological Research Institute, the “zombies” behind them hurried to follow. Upon entering the lobby, they were met head-on by a zombie wearing a janitor’s uniform. Zuo Chen swiped his tail, taking the zombie down. Behind him, the “zombies” who had followed him all reverted to their normal human forms, removed the weapons from their backs, and gathered around Zuo Chen. Of the original thirty-five bandits, only thirty-two remained. Although they had cleverly disguised themselves as zombies along the way, taken shortcuts to evade the attention of most of the zombies, and benefited from Zuo Chen’s protection, they had still lost three men. However, for them, making it through tens of thousands of zombies to reach this spot with only three casualties was nothing short of a miracle. “Block the door,” Orange Cat ordered. The main gate of the Biological Research Institute was immediately blocked with heavy furniture and sandbags, turning it into a dead end. The zombies outside couldn’t get in, and neither the humans nor the zombies inside could get out. They had to kill every single zombie inside before they could make it out alive! “Go to the second floor. Grab your guns.”