Chapter 27

"Damn, Cheng Zhiyu is awesome!" someone exclaimed excitedly as they snapped to attention.

Cheng Zhiyu’s expression remained unchanged. The fight with the zombie had drained a lot of his energy, and now that he had a moment to catch his breath, he felt pretty drained.

After all, the speed he had just used wasn’t normal—it was incredibly taxing on his stamina.

He steadied himself, making sure not to show any signs of exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" While others hadn’t noticed, Little Black was well aware of Cheng Zhiyu’s condition.

Now that Little Black had lightning-based abilities, his strength had greatly increased. He could have handled the speed-type zombie himself, but he hesitated and ultimately didn’t intervene.

Cheng Zhiyu needed real combat experience to grow stronger.

Although he didn’t step in, Little Black kept a close watch on the battle. Had Cheng Zhiyu shown even the slightest sign of trouble, he would have acted immediately.

But Cheng Zhiyu was clearly much stronger than he had imagined. Still, Little Black felt weirdly annoyed. "You’re exhausted—why didn’t you ask for my help?"

Cheng Zhiyu was taken aback. He tried to pet Little Black through his clothes, but Little Black pushed his hand away with a paw.

He was sulking.

"Don’t be angry," Cheng Zhiyu said softly. He glanced around—this wasn’t a good place to talk. "I’ll explain later."

Little Black’s ears twitched, but he remained silent.

Cheng Zhiyu turned his attention to Li Renyi, who was now trussed up. Since Li Renyi’s ability required him to speak, his mouth had been gagged with a rag.

Cheng Zhiyu coldly averted his gaze. Li Renyi wasn’t his problem anymore—the other Superhumans wouldn’t go easy on him.

They brought Li Renyi back to the small villa. Humiliated yet still clinging to unrealistic hopes, Li Renyi thought that if he could convince the other Superhumans in the villa to listen to him, he might still have a chance to turn things around.

When they arrived, the other ordinary people saw Li Renyi bound and gagged. Though they didn’t know the full story, they didn’t dare say a word.

The Superhumans, however, rushed forward angrily as soon as they saw Li Renyi tied up.

Seeing hope, Li Renyi grunted desperately through his gag, pleading for someone to save him.

But the next moment, a familiar scene unfolded.

One by one, the Superhumans rushed forward, only to be zapped by electricity. They fell silent, then turned to glare furiously at Li Renyi.

Tian Qiao watched from the side, rubbing his head ruefully. It suddenly occurred to him that Brother Black had been relatively kind to him—at least he only swatted him with a paw instead of electrocuting him like this.

He felt strangely touched. Clearly, in Brother Black’s eyes, he was different from these other Superhumans.

If Little Black knew what he was thinking, he would have been speechless.

Seeing this, Li Renyi felt a chill run down his spine. He took a step back, trying to hide.

But the Superhumans he had controlled for so long weren’t about to let him go. They surrounded him, kicking and punching him relentlessly. Everyone nearby could clearly hear Li Renyi’s agonized screams.

The ordinary people who didn’t know what was happening still kept quiet, though they were a little confused. Why were they beating Li Renyi? After all, it was Li Renyi who had taken them in.

Soon, they learned Li Renyi’s true motives for sheltering them.

Unsurprisingly, the ordinary people were even angrier than the Superhumans. While Li Renyi had only wanted to control the Superhumans to dominate others, he had been willing to let ordinary people die!

Disgusting! He deserved to be beaten! They wouldn’t rest easy until he was dead!

Those who had joined the group with family members, only to be told later that their loved ones had died on missions, now realized the truth—their relatives hadn’t died accidentally; they had been fed to zombies!

They cursed Li Renyi through tears of grief.

When they learned that Cheng Zhiyu had exposed the truth and freed the Superhumans from control, they thanked him profusely, some even kneeling and bowing.

Cheng Zhiyu felt uncomfortable—he had no desire to see people kneel and bow to him.

He urged them to stop and changed the subject. "What are your plans now?"

The ordinary people exchanged uncertain glances. Their loved ones were gone, and there was nothing they could do to change that. All they could do now was focus on surviving. "I... I want to go to Bread Base."

"Me too. No matter how hard or exhausting it is, I’ve had enough of living in constant fear."

It wasn’t just the ordinary people—the Superhumans also wanted to go to Bread Base. As Superhumans, they would be treated well there no matter what.

Moreover, after encountering Cheng Zhiyu, they realized how weak they truly were. If they had to face an ability-type zombie on their own, they would die without even knowing what hit them.

No matter how they looked at it, going to the base was the best choice.

"Then I wish you a safe journey to the base," Cheng Zhiyu said with a nod.

Hearing this, one of the Superhumans couldn’t help but ask, "Cheng Zhiyu, aren’t you planning to go to Bread Base?"

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head. He really had no intention of going. For one, he had a system to keep hidden, and it wasn’t safe to reveal it. He wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he could defend himself if his secret were exposed.

He could handle one Superhuman, maybe even two, but what about a whole group?

The plants the system provided were far too overpowered. He couldn’t guarantee that others wouldn’t turn on him if they discovered his abilities.

That was also why he hadn’t let Xiao Er appear at all during this time.

If he traveled with such a large group, he wouldn’t be able to enter his system space. It had been days since he last checked on Big Strong, and he couldn’t delay any longer.

Besides, there was another reason—he needed to go home, and Bread Base wasn’t on the way.

When everyone heard that Cheng Zhiyu wouldn’t be joining them, they were disappointed. One particularly clueless person even complained, "If you’re not coming, what are we supposed to do?"

Someone immediately snapped back, "Are you stupid? Does he owe you something? Didn’t you hear him say he has to go home?"

"Ugh, there’s always an idiot everywhere you go."

Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t bothered by the complaints. The Superhumans were also heading to Bread Base. Perhaps out of guilt for their past actions and a desire to make amends, they agreed to bring the ordinary people along.

Hearing this, the ordinary people, who had been anxious, felt slightly reassured.

Cheng Zhiyu knew that not every Superhuman was willing to protect ordinary people, but he could tell that there were kind-hearted individuals among them. The distance to Bread Base wasn’t too far, and with their help, these people should be able to reach the base safely.

Moreover, Sister Hong was also going. "Don’t worry," she said. "As long as they behave, I’ll help as much as I can on the way."

As for those who caused trouble, Sister Hong’s meaning was clear—her daughter’s safety came first.

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. It was best that Sister Hong felt this way. If she didn’t put her safety first, he would have been worried—especially for Yan Yan.

Yan Yan was a good kid. Cheng Zhiyu knew that Sister Hong had agreed to go only because Yan Yan insisted on following. If Yan Yan hadn’t volunteered, as a mother, Sister Hong would never have let her daughter take such risks.

Yan Yan thought he was an ordinary person without abilities and wanted to protect him. The thought made Cheng Zhiyu’s heart soften. He felt he hadn’t done anything special, yet this young child was willing to risk her life for him.

Cheng Zhiyu looked at Yan Yan's gaunt little face and felt like doing something for her.

He discussed it with Tian Qiao and decided not to rush off, staying there for another two days.

The next day, Cheng Zhiyu secretively invited Sister Hong and Yan Yan over. The mother and daughter were curious about what he was up to, and upon entering, they saw a table full of a feast.

In Cheng Zhiyu's eyes, it wasn't anything special. With limited supplies in his space, he had stir-fried red cabbage, braised fish, fish head with chopped peppers, country-style chicken stew, Dongpo pork, a fish soup, and a large pot of steamed rice.

Before the apocalypse, this would have been an ordinary meal, but now, it was undeniably extravagant.

As soon as Yan Yan and Sister Hong entered, they were captivated by the rich aroma. They couldn't help but swallow hard—it was just too enticing, and they could literally hardly tear their eyes away.

Sister Hong said awkwardly, "Cheng, this…"

Cheng Zhiyu smiled. "Sit down. Consider this meal our farewell dinner."

Sister Hong quickly waved her hand, struggling to refuse. "No, no, how could we accept this? These foods are far too valuable."

"Aw, Sister Hong, don't refuse. This is for Yan Yan, right, Yan Yan?" Tian Qiao swallowed hard, but since everyone else was doing the same, he didn't feel embarrassed.

Hadn't they noticed Brother Black hadn't taken his eyes off the table, his tail swishing impatiently?

"It's not that precious. Food is meant to be eaten, isn't it?" Cheng Zhiyu pulled chairs out and urged them to sit.

Yan Yan said softly, "Brother Cheng, it smells so good. Can I really eat it?"

Cheng Zhiyu gently stroked the child's fine, soft hair, smiling warmly. "Of course! Today, Yan Yan can eat as much as she wants. We've got plenty."

Though Yan Yan was a thin little girl, she was still a Superhuman, so her appetite was certainly not small.

They all had big appetites, so even though there weren't many dishes on the table, the portions were large—served in large bowls, along with rice—enough to satisfy them.

Seeing her daughter's eager expression, Sister Hong could no longer bring herself to refuse. Her eyes glistening, she smiled and said, "Yan Yan, sit down quickly. Remember to thank the two brothers, okay?"

Yan Yan nodded hurriedly, thanking each of the brothers in turn, which even made Tian Qiao break into an affectionate smile.

After sitting down, noticing Sister Hong seemed a bit reserved, Cheng Zhiyu served them fish soup, worried that after going so long without a proper meal, they might not be used to it.

After serving the soup, he noticed Little Black glancing over almost imperceptibly. Suppressing a laugh, Cheng Zhiyu also served Little Black some fish soup. Since Little Black couldn't easily serve himself, he added some of his favorite meat to the bowl and took the opportunity to ruffle Little Black's fur. "Go ahead and eat."

Little Black had gradually grown accustomed to Cheng Zhiyu's occasional physical affection and didn't react much, eagerly taking a sip of the fish soup. Half the bowl disappeared in an instant, and Little Black squinted with enjoyment, his tail swishing behind him.

Sister Hong and her daughter also started on the soup, both so engrossed they couldn't lift their heads.

Tian Qiao said, "Orange~, I want some soup too."

Cheng Zhiyu was visibly annoyed by his tone and replied bluntly, "Don't you have hands? Serve yourself!"

Tian Qiao: "..." So this is favoritism?

But he didn't mind—he had hands and could serve himself.

At first, Sister Hong and her daughter were somewhat reserved, but as they ate, they relaxed more. Mainly, the food was just too delicious—they hadn't had such a good meal in a long time and couldn't focus on anything else, just eating with their heads down.

Cheng Zhiyu didn't force conversation either. Eating was something to be enjoyed, so he let them savor the moment.

In the end, every dish on the table, including the pot of steamed rice, was finally completely finished. Yan Yan's appetite was indeed quite large, much bigger than Sister Hong's, but that was normal—Superhumans had high energy needs.

After eating, Yan Yan belatedly felt embarrassed and quickly thanked the two brothers again.

Cheng Zhiyu gently patted Yan Yan's fine, soft hair and then took out a black knife.

The knife was somewhat heavy, entirely crafted from the shell of a black cabbage. Cheng Zhiyu had spent the past two days working on it.

The best gift he could think of for Yan Yan was a weapon. In the apocalypse, the ability to protect oneself was undoubtedly the most important. Since the knife was made from black cabbage shell, it was very sharp overall, and its hardness was second only to Little Iron.

Forging this knife had taken Cheng Zhiyu a lot of effort. First, he used Big Strong to melt the black cabbage shell and poured it into a mold he had prepared.

But that alone wasn't enough. After letting it cool slightly in the mold while the metal was still soft, he started hammering it. Even though he was very strong now, by the time he finished, he was drenched in sweat.

The knife wasn't particularly good-looking either, with hammer marks visible on it. But despite its appearance, it didn't hinder its sharpness—it could easily split a zombie's skull.

He handed the knife to Yan Yan and said apologetically, "It's a bit ugly, but it works quite well."

Yan Yan shook her head politely. "It's not ugly. It's very pretty."

She asked in disbelief, "Is this for Yan Yan?"

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. "Yan Yan, you must protect yourself and your mother."

Yan Yan took the knife, which was longer than her arm, and lifted it effortlessly. Her eyes curved into a smile. "Thank you, Brother Cheng. I'll protect Brother Cheng too!"

Cheng Zhiyu felt warmth in his heart and said gently, "Then thank you, Yan Yan."

Of course, he wouldn't actually rely on a child for protection, but Yan Yan's words were truly touching.

Sister Hong watched as Cheng Zhiyu gave the knife to Yan Yan, momentarily at a loss for words. She had received too much kindness from him, and it made her somewhat sad. If she were also a Superhuman, little Yan Yan wouldn't have to pick up a knife.

But there were no "ifs." Sister Hong clearly understood that Cheng Zhiyu's approach was right—in these times, nothing was more important than survival.

After giving Yan Yan the knife, Cheng Zhiyu taught her a few moves. Yan Yan was very clever and picked them up quickly. Moreover, she was extremely strong—ordinary people were no match for her.

With Sister Hong by Yan Yan's side—given how she had quietly survived in Li Renyi's team—it was clear Sister Hong was very shrewd. With her around, ordinary people couldn't play any tricks.

As for Li Renyi, the Superhuman who had been manipulated into turning against him and causing his relatives' death had sobered up. How could he not hate Li Renyi? Cheng Zhiyu watched as Li Renyi's abilities were stripped of his powers. As for his final fate, Cheng didn't bother following up, but it certainly wouldn't be good.

Thinking this, Cheng Zhiyu felt much more at ease.

The Superhuman team had mostly rested and recovered. They were heading to the Bread Base, so it was time to say goodbye.

Under the glow of the setting sun, Yan Yan looked up at the big brother before her and asked hopefully, "Brother Cheng, will we see each other again?"

Cheng Zhiyu replied, "Of course."

He smiled warmly. They definitely would.

—

Big Strong's vitality was currently stuck at 7%, progressing far too slowly. Cheng Zhiyu decided to add fertilizer.

"Fertilizer? I wonder if there's a synthetic fertilizer plant or something around here," Tian Qiao said. Having grown up in the countryside, he knew a bit and understood that synthetic fertilizer could be used.

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head. He didn't plan to use synthetic fertilizer. For one, he didn't know where to find any—it wasn't practical to actually go searching for a fertilizer plant. For another, he already had an idea.

"We can make our own fertilizer," Cheng Zhiyu said.

Tian Qiao rubbed his head. Though he had a general idea, when it came down to it, he was clueless. "Compost? How do we make it? I only know we can use manure. Are we supposed to go to a public restroom?"

Hearing this, Little Black gave Cheng Zhiyu a quizzical look.

Cheng Zhiyu: "...No, if there's a pond nearby, we can go there. The pond silt can be used as fertilizer after sun-drying or crushing."

After hearing this, Tian Qiao heaved a huge sigh of relief: "Great, as long as we don’t have to go to a public toilet."

"...Let’s think about where there might be a pond. I’m not very familiar with this area," Cheng Zhiyu said.

Tian Qiao thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead: "You know what? You know what? I actually came here before the apocalypse! Back then, we came to eat crayfish together. There’s a village not far from here—I heard someone was raising crayfish... Crayfish are raised in ponds, aren’t they?"

Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes lit up: "Do you still remember the way?"

Tian Qiao: "I have a rough idea where the village is. The place where we ate back then was close to the village."

Find the village, and they’d find the pond.

Little Black’s focus was always a little odd: "What are crayfish? Are they tasty?"

Cheng Zhiyu chuckled: "So good."

Little Black immediately jumped onto Cheng Zhiyu’s shoulder, pawing eagerly: "When do we head out?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "We’ll leave tonight."

They went to find another motorcycle, dug out the one Cheng Zhiyu had stashed earlier, and set off together.

Little Black, curled in Cheng Zhiyu’s arms, didn’t sleep but peeked out, his eyes wide and round, watching the dark road ahead.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said: "We won’t get there that fast. You’re not getting tired like that, are you, sweetie?"

Little Black stiffened. Cheng Zhiyu, really—why did he have to call him that again? It was fine before, but now there were others around.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Tian Qiao not far away. Tian Qiao didn’t seem to have heard Cheng Zhiyu’s words. Little Black gave a flick of his tail, his ears felt hot. He uncomfortably rubbed them with his paw, it felt... weird.

The village wasn’t far from there. Before the apocalypse, they could have reached it by motorcycle that very night. But now, with zombies inevitably run into along the way, it naturally wouldn’t be that fast.

It took them two days to finally spot in the distance the village Tian Qiao had mentioned.

Tian Qiao: "Should we go straight there now?"

Cheng Zhiyu thought for a moment and said: "Let’s go early tomorrow morning. Just in case there are still people in the village..."

Hearing this, Tian Qiao immediately nodded. So they camped out for the night just outside the village.

Early the next morning, the two set off for the village.

The village was on the outskirts of the city. As soon as they entered, they spotted some wandering zombies. After taking them out quickly, their hearts sank.

Zombies were here, roaming around freely. Were there any survivors left in this village?

Their worries were justified. After entering the village, aside from zombies, there wasn’t a soul. Most houses looked desolate, covered with fallen leaves, which made the place feel bleak.

Both Cheng Zhiyu and Tian Qiao felt a heaviness in their hearts. Having come from rural backgrounds themselves, it was hard not to feel for the place.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Little Black glanced at Cheng Zhiyu’s expression, frowned, thought for a bit, then somewhat clumsily imitating Cheng Zhiyu’s usual manner, raised a paw to stroke his ear.

Cheng Zhiyu snapped back to reality. Looking down, he met Little Black’s concerned gaze and felt a warmth in his heart. He lowered his head to nuzzle him: "I’m fine, thanks, Little Black."

The warm breath made Little Black’s fur stand on end. He abruptly stretched out a paw, pressing it against Cheng Zhiyu’s mouth.

Cheng Zhiyu mumbled in protest.

Little Black’s paw felt like it was burning, and he quickly retracted his paw, jumping out of Cheng Zhiyu’s arms.

"Hey! Little Black!" Cheng Zhiyu was startled, forgetting his sadness, and hurried after Little Black.

Tian Qiao called from behind: "Wait for me!"

The two followed Little Black as he ran. Along the way, they could see zombies lying on the ground, probably taken out by Little Black on the way.

Little Black stopped in front of a pond, sticking his burning paw into the water. His tail swished anxiously as he mentally scolded himself for being so flustered—was it just because he’d touched Cheng Zhiyu’s mouth?

Perhaps it was because he had never been this intimate with any human or creature before, so... it felt very unfamiliar.

Seeing Little Black stop by the pond, Cheng Zhiyu let out a sigh of relief. He crouched beside Little Black, scolding him under his breath: "Little Black! Why’d you run off without saying anything? Do you have any idea how scared I was? What if you ran into danger?"

Tian Qiao also added: "Brother Black, you run pretty fast."

Little Black retorted stubbornly: "You should worry about the zombies running into danger."

Cheng Zhiyu was stunned, almost laughing out of frustration. Little Black had been so well-behaved before—what’s with him today? A sudden rebellious phase?

As he was thinking this, Little Black let out a sudden yelp. Cheng Zhiyu jumped, worried: "Little Black? What’s wrong?"

Then, he saw Little Black jerk his paw back from the pond. Clamped onto his small paw was a red creature almost as big as a small dog, snapping its large claws wildly.

Before Cheng Zhiyu could react, Little Black angrily slammed the thing into mush. Cheng Zhiyu: "...C-crayfish?"

Tian Qiao’s jaw dropped in disbelief: "That’s a crayfish? How’d it get so big?"

It couldn’t be a lobster, could it? Since when do lobsters live in ponds?

Cheng Zhiyu was stunned: "Must be...?"

Little Black, displeased, deliberately held his paw right in front of Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes, his expression clearly asking: Which is more important, the crayfish or my paw?

Cheng Zhiyu quickly, with a strong sense of self-preservation, cupped Little Black’s unharmed paw, fretted: "Aww, let me see. Is Little Black’s paw okay? That damn crayfish, attacking our Little Black! How vile! If you hadn’t acted fast, I would’ve smashed it flat myself!"

Little Black’s ears twitched. He said awkwardly: "’S fine, didn’t hurt much."

Cheng Zhiyu said seriously: "Here, let me blow on it for you."

Then he lowered his head and blew gently on Little Black’s paw.

Little Black jerked his paw back, cleared his throat, and abruptly changed the subject. He circled the dead crayfish: "So this is a crayfish?"

He looked somewhat disdainful, thinking the crayfish was kinda ugly. Could it really be tasty?

Cheng Zhiyu pondered: "...Well, it might have undergone some kind of mutation?"

Tian Qiao licked his lips: "It’s a good thing it’s dead. I can’t even imagine how delicious such a big crayfish would be!"

Cheng Zhiyu also started craving it: "These huge crayfish, running rampant in the pond—let’s do a good deed and take care of them, shall we?"

This suggestion was met with unanimous agreement.

"How do we catch them?" Tian Qiao rubbed his chin: "Use a net? But these mutant crayfish seem really fierce—they even dared to bite Brother Black’s paw! I suspect they’d just bite through any net we use."

This was a pond specifically for raising crayfish. One could imagine there were absolutely plenty of crayfish inside. Combined with their huge size, using a net was unrealistic.

They could try catching them by hand, but that would be too inefficient.

"Actually, crayfish prefer clearer water. I’ve heard of the flushing method before. Why don’t we try it?" Cheng Zhiyu suggested.

Tian Qiao: "How do we try it?"

"We’ll need Little Black’s help for this." Cheng Zhiyu grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Little Black~, can you pump out half the water from the pond?"

Little Black glanced at Cheng Zhiyu’s smiling face and nodded calmly. "Yes."

Cheng Zhiyu clapped his hands. "Perfect."

So they got to work, finding several large buckets and having Little Black pump out half the water from the pond. Then, they slowly added fresh water from the inlet while draining water from the outlet.

Before long, mutant crayfish swarmed to swim toward the fresh water. Cheng Zhiyu and Tian Qiao quickly scooped these mutant crayfish into the large buckets.

The buckets were half a person’s height and as wide as two people could reach. Normally, they shouldn’t fill up so fast, but the mutant crayfish were huge. In no time, the buckets were full.

Cheng Zhiyu: "That’s enough for now. We won’t be able to finish them all, and they won’t stay fresh if we keep them too long. We can keep the rest in the pond for now."

They still needed to dig out mud for compost, so they wouldn’t be leaving this place anytime soon.

Cheng Zhiyu was a good cook, so he was tasked with cooking the crayfish. Meanwhile, Tian Qiao busied himself scooping mud out of the pond.

While digging, Tian Qiao also caught several yellow eels, the largest as big around as his arm, looking particularly plump.

Yellow eels were also a delicacy, so naturally, they had to be eaten. Tian Qiao skillfully tossed the eels into a bucket.

The mud they dug up was placed directly on the shore because Cheng Zhiyu said it couldn’t be used right away—it needed to be disinfected. The simplest method was drying it in the sun. The weather was scorching hot, so a couple of days in the sun would probably do the trick. Once dried, it could be broken down and used as fertilizer for Big Strong.

Of course, Xiao Er and the others could use it too, but Big Strong needed it more.

While Tian Qiao was busy, Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t slacking either. He started cooking the mutant crayfish.

Apart from being much larger than ordinary crayfish, these mutant crayfish were pretty much the same.

Considering their size made it hard to season evenly, he didn’t use traditional methods. Instead, he made steamed mutant crayfish, garlic and vermicelli crayfish, and spicy mutant crayfish.

As for the yellow eels, Cheng Zhiyu simply made a simple stir-fry.

After removing the bones from the eels, he cut them into sections, marinated them for ten minutes, and then steamed them.

Cheng Zhiyu found an old-fashioned stove in one of the houses with an especially large pot that could steam a lot at once.

After steaming the crayfish, he steamed the eels. Then, he cleaned the large pot, heated oil, and added dried chili peppers, doubanjiang, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger slices, and scallions for stir-frying.

These ingredients were all found in the farmer’s house. As for the scallions, there were plenty growing in the yard.

Soon, the kitchen was filled with a rich, spicy aroma. At first, Little Black didn’t pay much attention because both ingredients looked unappealing. He stayed outside the door, not really wanting to look.

However, his nose soon twitched, and his claws pawed restlessly on the ground. He felt it would be kind of embarrassing to go in now—Cheng Zhiyu would laugh at him.

But after hesitating for two seconds, he couldn’t resist any longer. He hurried into the kitchen with eager steps, only to be hit by the strong smell and sneeze twice in a row.

Cheng Zhiyu’s unrestrained laughter came from beside him.

Little Black: He knew it.

"It’s too smoky in here, Little Black. You should wait outside," Cheng Zhiyu said sympathetically.

Little Black flicked his tail, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, and jumped onto a nearby stool, sitting there to watch Cheng Zhiyu cook.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Fine, it’s almost done anyway.

Soon, Tian Qiao was also lured by the smell. He could hardly focus on his work anymore, so he quickly dug a few more baskets of mud to dry and scurried to the kitchen door. "Brother Black, could you rinse the mud off me?"

Little Black gave him a calm glance, and soon Tian Qiao was hosed down completely from head to toe.

Tian Qiao: "Refreshing!" So cool.

Little Black’s tail swished as he looked at Cheng Zhiyu, who was stir-frying in front of the large pot. With the daytime heat, sweat covered his forehead.

A moment later, Cheng Zhiyu suddenly felt the temperature drop significantly, and a layer of mist enveloped his body. He didn’t need to guess whose doing it was.

Wow, his Little Black was like a magic dog. Cheng Zhiyu’s lips curled into a wide smile, and he stirred even more energetically.

Little Black lowered his head, resting it on his front paws.

A moment later, a heavenly sound rang out: "Time to eat! Tian Qiao, come get the rice."

Tian Qiao quickly replied: "Coming!"

After busily bringing various flavors of mutant crayfish and several plates of stir-fried eel to the table, Cheng Zhiyu also stir-fried a plate of cabbage—peeled black cabbage, as red cabbage wasn’t suitable for daytime eating.

Tian Qiao had somehow found several large bottles of cola, which he had iced down with his power. They were still sweaty with condensation.

The two humans and one dog sat at the table. Cheng Zhiyu took a sip of iced cola and asked Little Black, "Which one do you want to try first?"

Little Black pointed to the stir-fried eel. Cheng Zhiyu served him some rice and added some stir-fried eel. This dish was great over rice and was especially delicious.

Little Black took a big bite, his tail wagging unconsciously.

Tian Qiao also tried a bite of the stir-fried eel and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "So good, so good!"

Then, he eagerly reached for a garlic and vermicelli crayfish. Prepared similarly to lobster, it had been split open, and a large piece of meat mixed with garlic and vermicelli was stuffed into his mouth. Tian Qiao felt like he was over the moon.

Cheng Zhiyu took a bite and found it even more delicious than he had imagined. The sweetness of the crayfish meat paired with garlic and vermicelli was simply a perfect match.

The spicy and steamed ones were also tasty, but Cheng Zhiyu preferred the garlic and vermicelli version. It was so delicious that even the vermicelli became exceptionally flavorful with the mutant crayfish meat.

While eating himself, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t forget Little Black. Seeing him focused solely on the stir-fried eel, he said, "Try the mutant crayfish. It’s really good."

Little Black glanced at the ugly mutant crayfish, hesitated for a moment, but decided to give Cheng Zhiyu face and try a couple of bites.

Seeing his expression, Cheng Zhiyu was also worried he might not like it, so he only picked a small piece for him to try.

To his surprise, after one bite, Little Black looked up abruptly and said, "Get me one."

Who would have thought such an ugly mutant crayfish could be so delicious!

Cheng Zhiyu tried hard to hold back his laughter, not daring to laugh out loud. After all, his Little Black cared about saving face. He removed the meat from the whole crayfish and placed it in front of Little Black. "Eat up."

A big mouthful of mutant crayfish meat brought immense satisfaction. Little Black’s tail wagged incessantly, showing how pleased he was.

Aside from a plate of eel, Cheng Zhiyu had cooked a total of ten mutant crayfish. Yes, they were counted individually—some were almost as long as Cheng Zhiyu’s forearm.

He had made so much, initially worried they wouldn’t finish it, but he soon realized he had overthought it. The ten mutant crayfish and the stir-fried eel were completely devoured by the three of them. The only thing was... they were a bit too full.

Thinking about it, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t know what to say. In the apocalypse, even feeling full was a kind of happiness.

They caught a whole bucket of mutant crayfish, cooked ten of them, which was about half a bucket, and kept the other half alive in water for tomorrow.

Speaking of which, Cheng Zhiyu looked at the shells of these mutant crayfish and remembered they could also be used as fertilizer, but it was just a passing thought—he quickly dismissed the idea.

For one, the shells of mutant crayfish are very hard, making composting difficult, as you'd expect. Secondly, even if composted, the resulting fertilizer would be limited in nutrients and unable to fully meet the growth needs of plants.

So, it wasn’t worth the effort.

After the meal, Cheng Zhiyu headed to his system space to check on the plants. Tian Qiao cleaned up the kitchen and washed the dishes, while Little Black sat nearby playing supervisor.

Though he was supposed to be supervising, he couldn’t even be bothered to keep an eye on things. He lay on a chair not far away, eyes closed, fast asleep.

In the system space, Cheng Zhiyu came in intending to harvest both the red cabbage and black cabbage. Cabbage is a relatively hardy vegetable that can be stored for a while after harvesting.

Of course, he had a storage space with preservation capabilities, so he didn’t have to worry about the cabbage spoiling. In fact, if left growing in the ground, these cabbages would start to flower.

Once cabbage flowers, nutrients are diverted to the flower buds, and the cabbage itself loses much of its moisture and texture. It’s not that it becomes inedible, but the taste isn’t very good, and no one would want to eat it.

So Cheng Zhiyu busied himself harvesting both types of cabbage. He counted them—over thirty total, enough to last them for a while.

He wasn't planning to plant more cabbage for now and intended to grow something else instead.

He had found several types of seeds earlier and planned to plant a few of each.

After leaving the system space, he took stock of the seeds he had.

Currently, he had lettuce, green beans, lettuce, eggplant, radish, cucumber, tomato, and surprisingly, even fruit seeds—apple, watermelon, orange, and cherry.

Cheng Zhiyu was craving fruit. After the apocalypse, he hadn’t eaten much fruit, mainly because it’s hard to preserve. Now, with all systems everywhere having collapsed and no human intervention, many fruits had spoiled.

But apples, oranges, and cherries wouldn’t fruit right away after planting. Even though the growth rate is faster in the system space, it would still take some time.

The system space’s land is currently too cramped and not suitable for fruit trees that can’t yield results soon. So, although he really wanted to eat them, he had to temporarily set these aside and planned to plant them later when the space expanded.

Cheng Zhiyu complained to the system, "System, you only add such a tiny amount of space each time, it’s really too small. I feel sorry for Xiao Er and the others."

After saying this, he asked the more lively Xiao Er and Little Iron, "Don’t you think so?"

Xiao Er shook its leaves vigorously in agreement, and Little Iron also swayed a bit.

The system remained silent.

Cheng Zhiyu talked for a while, but the system didn’t respond, so he had no choice but to give up.

Getting back to the topic, he decided to plant watermelons for fruit. The space was too small, and since he also wanted to grow other vegetables, he only planned to plant two, asking Xiao Huang’s opinion and planting them around it.

As for vegetables, Cheng Zhiyu discussed with Tian Qiao and Little Black to get their opinions.

"Plant vegetables? I just found a few sprouted potatoes. Do you want to plant them?" Tian Qiao hadn’t been sitting around either; he had been looking around and was quite happy when he found the potatoes, only to be disappointed to find they'd sprouted.

Hearing that Cheng Zhiyu planned to grow vegetables, he immediately brought over the sprouted potatoes.

Cheng Zhiyu also wanted to eat potatoes and decided to plant five plants. For the remaining vegetables, Little Black chose tomatoes, and after some thought, Cheng Zhiyu felt like having cucumbers and decided to plant a few.

After making the decisions, he busied himself planting the vegetables and watermelons. The soil in the system space is particularly fertile, so Cheng Zhiyu didn’t plan to start seedlings separately—planting them directly would suffice. There was no need for seedling cultivation since it essentially just increases seed germination rates.

He didn’t plan to plant wheat or rice for now. Although he would definitely plant them later, it was for the same reason—the space is too small now, and planting them wouldn’t make much sense. These two would require planting in larger quantities.

Besides, there was still plenty of rice and flour in the storage space, enough to last for quite a while.

The total number of vegetables and watermelons planted wasn’t much. Cheng Zhiyu planted around all the plants except Big Strong. Looking at the obedient Xiao Er and the others, he felt a bit guilty. While planting, he took the opportunity to water Xiao Er and the others. Xiao Er happily nuzzled him gratefully, Little Iron shook its branches cheerfully, but Xiao Huang remained aloof and didn’t react.

Each plant has its own personality.

Then he looked at Big Strong, whose vitality was only at 10%—it was growing too slowly. Cheng Zhiyu hoped the fertilizer would be ready soon. If the fertilizer worked and Big Strong grew faster, both the system space and storage space could expand.

He really needed both the storage and planting spaces right now.

But there was no use in rushing. Cheng Zhiyu carefully watered Big Strong, but seeing no change in its vitality, he let out a small sigh.

After finishing his work and leaving the system space, Cheng Zhiyu thought about pickling some of the harvested red and black cabbage into sauerkraut. He missed the taste of sauerkraut.

Moreover, with sauerkraut, he could make many dishes he hadn't been able to make before.

After mentioning it to Little Black and Tian Qiao, he got straight to work. Cheng Zhiyu found a clean large bucket and planned to pickle all twelve heads of black cabbage. He layered cabbage and salt, filling the bucket about halfway.

After packing it, he needed to weight it down with something heavy. Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t entirely sure why, but he had seen his parents do this when pickling sauerkraut, so he just followed suit.

He didn’t put it in the storage space because the storage space has a preservation effect—things stay exactly as they are when stored, making pickling impossible. It had to be kept outside. Since they were staying here while they made fertilizer, it worked out.

Although he was eager to return home, some things couldn’t be rushed.

After pickling the sauerkraut, by evening, they had dinner and planned to sleep. After a day of traveling and working, even though their endurance was much better than before the apocalypse, they were exhausted.

However, not long after they lay down, they heard a tremendous noise outside.

Zombies? But that couldn’t be—they had clearly cleared the village.