Chapter 24: Stir-Fried Broccoli with Shrimp

"I really want to..." Pang Cancan stared at the group in the distance, grinding her teeth fiercely.

"Want to what?"

"I really want to kill those bastards!"

Su Su followed her gaze for a moment, seriously contemplating the feasibility of the idea. Two seconds later, she suggested in a low voice, "It might not be possible right now. Those first-rank ability users who betrayed you would be easy to deal with, but Zhao Zhenyu would certainly intervene..."

As she said this, Su Su subconsciously glanced at the little black snake coiled around her leg. With him, dealing with Zhao Zhenyu would actually be quite simple.

"But if we push them too far, they might just open the gates and try to take everyone down with them."

"Perhaps we could wait until the zombie tide moves on, and then we can quietly follow them..."

Pang Cancan rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Su Su, who was offering suggestions so earnestly. Her lips were slightly parted, her skin was flawless, and her beautiful eyes were fixed steadily on her, making it easy to lose oneself in her gaze.

And that serious expression... Pang Cancan felt her heart melting. She was just venting, not actually intending to seek revenge on those scoundrels at this juncture. Yet, Su Su was genuinely considering it for her!

"Sister Su Su, how can you be so cute?" Pang Cancan leaned closer, even boldly puckering her lips. "Give me a kiss, Sister. If not on the lips, then on the cheek is fine, mwah, mwah, mwah... Ouch!!!"

Su Su’s face turned bright red instantly. Before she could react, a thick, muscular snake tail lashed out, sending the bold Pang Cancan flying two meters away.

"Little Black! Come back! Don't bite anyone!"

For once, the black snake ignored its human's command. It reared up furiously and slithered rapidly toward Pang Cancan, its mouth opening in a menacing display... it bit down on Pang Cancan’s sleeve, crushing a venomous insect hidden inside to shreds. It hadn't bitten the person, after all, just the creature on her.

Pang Cancan wailed, "My baby!"

Su Su was exasperated: "Little Black!!!"

The black snake hissed.

For a moment, the scene was chaotic. This caught the attention of Zhao Zhenyu, who was quite some distance away; he turned his head and stared at the two women for a long time.

"Why does that person with her back to me... look so familiar?"

Lin Wenzong, the original captain of this squad, also turned his head, but after one glance, his expression turned sour.

"What is it?"

Facing Zhao Zhenyu’s inquiry, Lin Wenzong carefully chose his words: "That woman with the braids is a former companion of ours. Her ability is raising venomous insects; she couldn't handle zombies, only her own teammates. Later, when an opportunity arose, we abandoned her. She probably still thinks we betrayed her."

Zhao Zhenyu didn't commit to a response. He kept staring at the woman with her back to him. As he watched, she suddenly turned her head, revealing a side profile that was extremely familiar.

"It's her!"

She had actually made it out of that town! And she had found another equally pathetic female teammate!

Zhao Zhenyu immediately believed every word of Lin Wenzong's story. A familiar restlessness was ignited, and it needed an outlet. It was her own fault for falling into his hands. Without her, it would be difficult for Zhao Zhenyu to find someone so weak and suitable for bullying. Other commoners surrendered too quickly, lacking that sense of accomplishment, and they couldn't bear the malice he had cultivated in this apocalypse.

Zhao Zhenyu smiled coldly.

***

"Little Black!"

Su Su was quick to grab the black snake, which was in the middle of "hunting down" her companion, successfully preventing it from devouring all of Pang Cancan's insects.

"If you don't behave, I won't like you anymore!"

This blatant threat caused the black snake, which had still been baring its fangs at Pang Cancan, to freeze instantly. After it registered the words, it turned its head in a rage and lunged viciously toward Su Su’s neck.

This bold human! How dare she threaten it! She was its servant; how dare she say she didn't like it! The black snake was furious; it felt its dignity had been offended, and its two sharp fangs were ready to strike.

"Sister Su Su!"

Pang Cancan had just stopped moving when she saw this terrifying scene, wishing she could throw herself in front of Su Su to take the bite.

"It's fine."

Su Su’s tone was calm. She didn't even dodge, leaving her fair, slender neck exposed, letting the petty venomous snake bite... or rather, lick her.

Indeed, a second before those fangs could sink in, it retracted them, leaving only a forked tongue to give a frustrated lick. *Detestable human,* the black snake thought coldly. *It has been too indulgent with her. Next time, it will make sure she learns her lesson.*

Su Su exhaled silently. No matter how much she acted as if she had the upper hand, she was never truly certain. After all, Little Black was a cold-blooded animal. If it were truly provoked one day, it might actually kill her.

"Alright, it's my fault," Su Su coaxed it in a gentle voice. "I'll cook some meat for you, okay?"

The black snake accepted this begrudgingly. It retreated back into her arms, staring coldly at the other human who seemingly had too long a life, its tongue flicking in and out, as if aiming at prey on its food chain.

Pang Cancan sat back down, trembling, and took the initiative to keep half a meter of distance from Su Su.

"Sister Su Su, if I said I'm not a lesbian, that I just like kissing, would you believe me?"

Su Su pursed her lips and smiled: "Yes, I believe you."

Pang Cancan was only eighteen, with a lively and mischievous personality; nothing she did was surprising. It was Little Black, rather, who was too domineering and easily angered. Su Su quietly tugged at the tip of Little Black’s tail.

*Thwack.*

The snake tail gently patted her hand. The black snake didn't care about such a light touch at all.

"I don't know how long we'll have to wait, so let's eat something."

At the mention of food, Pang Cancan’s stomach growled instantly: "Okay!"

While Pang Cancan rummaged through her backpack, Su Su pulled her own over. "Little Black, food."

The human's soft voice reached the snake's ears; it lifted its tail and scratched its itching head. The next second, a mountain of miscellaneous food appeared out of thin air in the bag. Su Su picked out a smoked chicken, two packs of snail rice noodles, two sausages, and five raw eggs.

Pang Cancan, still digging through her bag, looked at the items in Su Su's hands, then at her own hoard of expired bread... she tossed the bread aside and leaned in shamelessly. "Sister Su Su, is there a portion for me too?"

"There is."

"Ahhhhh, Sister Su Su, you're the best! From now on, all the dirty, tiring work is on me!"

The food scavenged in the town hadn't been finished yet, and the supplies looted from the supermarket were quite abundant, so Su Su wasn't stingy. She set up a pot, also from the supermarket, opened the noodles, and poured in mineral water.

The only flaw was the lack of firewood. Pang Cancan suddenly remembered and scurried off toward the lounge. Before long, she returned with a pile of dusty clothes. "Burn these!"

Since these were the only flammable materials, Su Su borrowed a spark from Little Black and successfully ignited the pile of clothes. The water in the pot began to boil, and the noodles gradually softened, turning a milky white. Su Su methodically added the seasoning packets one by one.

Immediately, a pungent odor permeated half of the stadium. Su Su didn't care if anyone else smelled it. She only knew that in her past life, she had eaten enough of those dry, throat-scratching coarse grain cakes. In this life, if she had the means, she would rather go through the trouble of having a proper hot meal.

The smoked chicken and eggs for Little Black were already cooked. The snail rice noodles were soft and tender, the sausages soaked in the flavorful broth, and each bowl topped with a plump egg... it was practically a "Manchu Han Imperial Feast."

Not far away, Lin Weiran smelled the pungent odor and suddenly recalled a few scenes that shouldn't have been remembered.

—On the highway, she and her teammates drank thin porridge and ate wild vegetables, while the commoners behind them mindlessly gnawed on dry, bitter greens.

—In the town's guest house, she and her teammates were invited by the mayor to the head table, eating a fragrant hot pot, while the commoners in the corner stared over with longing and envy.

And now, she could only pull the last two packs of instant noodles from her bag. She had a pot and fire, but having lost the water-based ability user that Zhao Zhenyu had, she couldn't make a proper soup. These two blocks of noodles were eventually broken into five portions and handed to each of her teammates. It was the most miserable and meager meal they had had since hitting the road.

The atmosphere grew heavy. Lin Weiran wanted to boost morale, but her nose was filled with the distinct stench of the snail rice noodles, and her mind was inevitably drawn away.

"Weiran, I have no appetite. You eat this piece."

Sizhe’s words pulled Lin Weiran back to reality. She looked at the piece of noodle block handed to her; it was larger than the others, a portion she had intentionally set aside for Sizhe. Now, it was being handed back.

The sweetness that had just risen in Lin Weiran’s heart was instantly crushed to the bottom by bitterness.

"I've had enough," she said, shoving the noodle block into Sizhe’s mouth without argument. "Your injuries aren't healed yet. If you don't eat, what will you do if you can't go on? We're all counting on you!"

Sizhe gazed deeply at Lin Weiran: "Weiran, I won't fall."

"Yes, I believe you."

After Sizhe slowly finished the noodles, Lin Weiran spoke up: "Sizhe, did you see the python next to Su Su?"

"I saw it."

Sizhe looked toward the python, which had finished its food and was now lazily dozing. Back at the clinic, he hadn't been fully unconscious and had heard the entire confrontation between Weiran and Su Su. Naturally, he knew of the snake's existence.

Sizhe’s gaze flickered: "I didn't expect... animals could have abilities too."

Lin Weiran pursed her lips: "I don't know how Su Su makes it so obedient."

At the mention of this, Sizhe’s expression turned icy, and his tone carried a faint, high-and-mighty judgment.

"Just a person groveling to serve a beast. Weiran, don't waste so much thought on an irrelevant person. Some people are willing to live like worms, but you are different from them. You will never need to understand their desperate, groveling ways."