Chapter 14: Tomato and Egg Rice Bowl

“Everyone, go back and rest first. Tonight, I will prepare a celebration banquet to commemorate the gains from this trip!”
The town mayor resumed his cheerful demeanor as if his earlier stern expression had never existed.
Lin Weiran forced a smile. “The matter is settled. May I ask when the mayor plans to send us off?”
In truth, they could leave anytime they wished.
But the supplies the mayor promised, along with today’s acquisitions, had to be secured first.
“Tonight. Everything will be completely resolved by then,” the mayor said with a faint smile. “Afterward, whether you want to leave immediately through the night or rest for a couple of days before departing, it’s entirely up to you.”
The group exchanged glances, momentarily pacified.
Su Su, carrying her backpack, lagged behind unnoticed as she headed to her room.
Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her backpack.
Zhao Zhenyu circled around from behind, glaring fiercely at her. “Don’t think I don’t know you did that on purpose just now!”
He was referring to Su Su’s deliberate insinuation that the accident involving Zhang Da and Zhang Er was closely tied to him.
“Do you really think that tattling to the mayor will get you any favors?”
Zhao Zhenyu flicked the backpack strap with a vicious look. “No way. That old fox talks a good game, but when trouble really hits, he’ll just play dumb.”
Su Su pressed her lips tightly. “What’s it to you? Let go!”
“Hah, what can you do if I don’t? And if I decided to mess with you, do you think you could get away?”
Zhao Zhenyu appraised Su Su with malice.
Fair-skinned and pretty, with a non-threatening appearance that easily invited bullying.
“Look at you. So beautiful. If only you’d been sensible and hooked up with Wu Zhi earlier, you wouldn’t have so many problems now.”
Su Su struggled to retrieve her backpack.
“Who I’m with is my business. Don’t touch my stuff!”
“You think I care about touching you?” Zhao Zhenyu insinuated, “That backpack is heavy. The mayor must have given you some perks, right? How did you seduce him? Did you sleep with him?”
His words grew increasingly offensive. Su Su took a deep breath.
Just as Zhao Zhenyu thought he had struck a nerve, she unexpectedly fired back with an unrelated question.
“And you? What did Lin Weiran and Si Zhe give you?”
Zhao Zhenyu frowned. “What are you trying to say?”
Su Su looked at him sympathetically but spoke with sharp cruelty.
“You risked your life fighting those third-tier zombies for them, yet the mayor only gave you two third-tier crystals.”
“Have you ever thought about it? If you really got those two crystals, would they be given to you? Si Zhe has the strongest abilities; he’d surely take one. The other—do you think he’d give it to Lin Weiran or to you?”
“Luckily, you let a zombie escape and only got one crystal. No need for you and Lin Weiran to fight over it. Everyone’s happy.”
“Otherwise, even though you’re such hardworking teammates, Si Zhe would never consider you.”
It’s not the lack but the unfairness that bothers. In their previous life, those two third-tier crystals ultimately ended up with Si Zhe and Lin Weiran, propelling them to third-tier ability status.
As for Zhao Zhenyu… no one knew what was on his mind.
Su Su was curious—did Zhao Zhenyu truly accept this distribution without resentment?
Clearly, he and Lin Weiran were both second-tier ability users and had contributed greatly in fighting zombies. Si Zhe taking a crystal was understandable, but Lin Weiran? What did she deserve?
Su Su hadn’t intended to dwell on this, but Zhao Zhenyu kept provoking her.
“Shut up!” Zhao Zhenyu snapped after a brief pause, his face darkening instantly. “Are you trying to sow discord?!”
Su Su smiled.
Yes, she was deliberately stirring trouble.

Like the story of the two peaches that killed three warriors, Zhao Zhenyu’s intention to make things difficult for her was better spent reflecting on whether his contributions to the team were truly worth it.
“Think whatever you want.”
With that, Su Su slammed her door shut.
“Damn you, you bitch!” Zhao Zhenyu pounded on the door fiercely. “Come out here!”
No one answered.
His expression fluctuated wildly for a long moment before he finally retreated to his own room in a huff.
Once the door closed, Su Su exhaled sharply.
“Hiss~”
An impatient snake hiss immediately caught her full attention.
She suddenly remembered… there was still a “transformed” giant python inside her backpack.
The defiant posture she’d shown toward Zhao Zhenyu vanished at once. Trembling, she shakily unzipped her bag.
A python as thick as an arm sprang out instantly, its heavy head fixated on the human before it, the crimson tongue flicking with impatience.
Su Su fought her instinct to flee but her eyes revealed a flicker of fear.
“Xiao Hei…”
The black snake wriggled free from the backpack, revealing its two-meter-long body, even more terrifying and imposing.
This weight—fortunately, Su Su’s physical strength had improved somewhat after awakening her abilities; otherwise, carrying it a few steps would have bent her over.
Facing such a cold-blooded predator, Su Su’s legs trembled. “How did you get so big?”
She had barely gotten used to Xiao Hei when it was small enough to hold in her arms without fear.
Who would have guessed that swallowing a single third-tier crystal could make it grow to the terrifying size of an Amazonian python!
“Hiss!”
Xiao Hei seemed to sense Su Su’s fear and resistance. Its pupil, usually emotionless, suddenly turned cold and hard.
It slid down from the table and inched toward the human.
Su Su tried to back away quietly, instinctively wanting to escape.
“Xiao Hei, can you… just stay there for a bit?”
The snake ignored her entirely, quickly cornering Su Su by the door.
Imagine a two-meter-long python suddenly appearing in your room, its gaze fixed unwaveringly on you—99% of people would scream in terror.
Su Su held back her scream, her voice trembling more and more. “I need a little time to get used to this. Can you… ah!!!”
Before she could finish, the black python lunged at her, coiling around her body layer by layer.
“Hiss~”
Its head circled around the back of Su Su’s skull, flicking its tongue by her ear.
Damn humans, how dare she despise it!
Perhaps because it had swallowed a third-tier crystal, its walnut-sized brain surprisingly gained a humanlike streak.
It deliberately flicked its tongue, gently licking the human’s cheek.
Its vertical pupils fixed unblinkingly on her expression, as if the more frightened and trembling she became, the more excited and entertained it was.
Even its body involuntarily tightened a little.
Su Su trembled more violently, inevitably recalling the news she’d seen before the apocalypse—pythons strangling humans alive.
What about Xiao Hei?
Was it treating her like prey?

Su Su hurriedly activated her abilities.
A familiar white light flowed into the black python’s body, warm energy making it lazily close its eyes. The crystal residue within gradually expelled itself, filling the snake with a feeling of lightness.
Xiao Hei finally calmed down somewhat.
But its tongue continued to lazily brush against Su Su’s neck.
Even its tail quietly curled around her ankle.
“Xiao Hei…” Su Su mustered courage and gently stroked its head. “Can you let me go? I can help you cleanse the impurities so you won’t feel uncomfortable anymore.”
The black snake opened its eyes.
Before today, it couldn’t understand human speech, only vaguely sensing emotions.
Now, it understood.
Let go?
Let go of this human who belonged to it?
Those chilling vertical pupils rotated once, then mercifully loosened their grip on Su Su.
This timid human was somewhat useful after all—not to be bitten or strangled to death.
In appreciation of her efforts to please it, the black python climbed back onto the table.
The dangerous cold-blooded creature finally left her alone.
Seeing it willing to listen eased Su Su’s hidden anxiety, and her fear diminished slightly.
“Xiao Hei, you haven’t eaten much today. There’s still some…”
Su Su rummaged through her backpack, turning it upside down. The half-eaten smoked rabbit and the large piece of soft bread the mayor had given her had vanished without a trace.
The black snake coiled on the table, silently watching her search.
But the small table couldn’t support its full length; a segment of its tail dangled in midair, the tip sweeping back and forth on the floor.
“Xiao Hei, have you seen my food?”
Only when Su Su asked did the snake reluctantly open its mouth and, right before her eyes—
It spat out a plastic bag containing smoked rabbit meat and a bag of soft bread.
Wait!
Su Su’s eyes widened. “Xiao Hei! How did you swallow those?”
Both items were quite large; even for a python, swallowing them whole should have produced a big bulge.
Yet the way it spat them out seemed to make them appear out of thin air.
Su Su held the smoked rabbit and bread in a daze. “What… what is going on?”
The black snake hissed and flicked its tongue, offering no answers.
Su Su’s gaze fixed steadily on its body.
“Xiao Hei?”
Perhaps tired of being stared at, the black python generously slid down from the table and then opened its mouth—
Swallowing the table itself!
The table disappeared without a trace!
Su Su covered her mouth, shocked as she stared at the black python. “You… you don’t mean to say…”
Could it have spatial abilities?