Qi Yue’s tightly strung heart finally relaxed, and he started thinking on his own. This… doesn’t look very easy to get along with. So many little brothers… even though he’s already gotten on the vehicle, what if someday one of them gets unhappy and kicks him off, what then? What to do? Worried.
Han Fei. Han Fei. This name sounds so familiar, where has he heard it before? Where exactly did he hear it? Ai, can’t remember, scratches head…
Looking out, startled: “This isn’t the road to S Base! You guys went the wrong way!”
Qi Yue tilts his head, looking at Han Fei. But the other is leaning back on the seat, not giving him any attention. This… this is way too aloof! Stifled.
“Who said we’re going to S Base?” Chu Yi in the front answers.
“Then where are we going?” he asked, confused. “Right now the biggest one in S Province is S Base. Other places are all small bases.”
“Who told you we’re going to S Province?” Chu Yi turns his head to keep chatting with him.
Why is this kid stuck on S Base? Han Fei is also puzzled.
“Then where are we going?” Qi Yue presses on.
“South. L Base.”
Turns out they’re going to L Base. Then isn’t this route the same as his first life after rebirth? The destination was also L Base. Only now it’s two whole months earlier than that time. Would he run into Liu Yue this time? Qi Yue mused on his own.
If he meets Liu Yue, what should he do to her? Kill her? No, too cheap for her, she harmed him badly! But what if she has people around her helping her, what then? He can’t beat them, either. The only one who might help him, Tang Ke, is nowhere to be seen, he didn’t even know if Tang Ke was still alive. Should’ve ran faster back then and ran together with him, should’ve held hands while running, at least they wouldn’t have gotten separated.
Thinking this way wasn’t good, the homebody brain drifted further and further, gradually off track.
If Tang Ke was alive, then their minibus should still be there, right? There were quite a lot of things left in that car. Still had those buckets of gasoline they grabbed from the gas station. Just thinking about it made him angry. The car and supplies he prepared pre-apocalypse all ended up cheap to those heartless guys.
A sudden hard brake, just hearing—bang—a loud crash, Qi Yue’s tears instantly started streaming down. It hurt so much he’s crying, bleeding!
He had been leaning out the window looking outside, spacing out, and didn’t notice they were about to stop to find a place to rest.
Seeing Qi Yue blinking, head tilted back looking at the sky, with two streams of nosebleed running down, and tears dropping one by one from the corner of his eyes, Han Fei forced back a laugh and turned away, this kid is such a clown!
What kind of driver is this, not even saying something before stopping, and the driving skill is terrible! Qi Yue felt wronged, he’s seeing red!
The car stopped in a rural residence beside the road. It was the afternoon, they planned to stay here, eat dinner, and rest overnight. It was a typical rural small courtyard house, east, west, south, north houses forming a closed inner courtyard.
The main gate was locked. A moment later, one of Han Fei’s men came out.
Qi Yue recognized him, the one who hit his head earlier. He curled his lip, I can open it, but I won’t, go exhaust yourself.
The underling stuck a crowbar through the gate crack, and with one move popped it open easily.
Everyone went inside, searched around, the courtyard was clean, no zombies. Of course, Boss Han Fei didn’t need to go himself, the little brothers did everything. He had no idea what his ability was. Truly idol material! He’s lived so many lifetimes and never had even one underling!
Han Fei walked in front, entering the north-facing main house directly. Qi Yue followed like a tail, and behind them were Chu Yi and the bespectacled driver.
Entering the room, the main house was very big. Han Fei reached into his space and pulled out a luxurious sofa set! Qi Yue’s eyes almost went straight. And if that was not enough, he took out a coffee table, thought a bit, then pulled out a few magazines, flipping through.
Smacking his lips, Qi Yue looked at Han Fei. Compared to him, Qi Yue felt bitter. Look at him, first time facing the apocalypse, living carefree, everything orderly. Think of himself: the first time the apocalypse broke out, he ran out of his house and two streets later was bitten to death. And after so many rebirths, not only was there no improvement, but he lived miserably and pitifully. Look at Han Fei: fully equipped, tons of underlings, he’s more like the one who resurrected thirty-eight times.
Still reading entertainment magazines, huh. Wait until you see the people in the base who look like beggars begging for a piece of steamed bun who used to be international supermodels. Wait until you see the middle-aged women sweeping the streets who used to be pop divas. Wait until you see the streetwalkers soliciting customers who used to be pure film starlets. See if you can still keep reading.
Qi Yue gloated in his heart, eyes smiling.
Reclining on the sofa, Han Fei lifted his eyes from the magazine and ordered Qi Yue: “Go cook. Make more. From now on everyone’s meals are yours to handle.”
These days since the apocalypse, Han Fei’s group has been eating instant noodles, bread, sausages, deli meats, sometimes frozen foods, very few hot meals. His men’s cooking tasted terrible. Now that someone claims he cooked well, naturally he should be used properly.
“I want mushroom and shredded pork, sour spicy cucumber, mala dry pot, spicy shredded pork.” Han Fei massages his forehead with a finger, ordering dishes. “For dim sum, pan-fried lotus root pockets.”
“Let’s just have these, simple.”
This is simple? Not to mention anything else, just making that dim sum takes more time than all other dishes. Qi Yue muttered quietly.
Han Fei finished ordering, then looked at Chu Yi and the glasses guy; both instantly caught on.
Chu Yi: “Boiled sliced pork.”
Glasses guy: “Twice-cooked pork.”
Both responded quickly, calling out dish names. They already thought about it the moment Brother Fei started ordering. When they used to eat together, Brother Fei always let them order what they wanted.
Hmph, this is called simple? But Qi Yue happily agreed. Isn’t there the saying—grab a man’s heart by grabbing his stomach? If his cooking tastes good, once they eat it once, they’ll want it again. With this many men, grab a few casually, and even if Han Fei wants to kick him out later, maybe others will help plead for him on account of the food.
He trotted towards the kitchen in the outer room. At the doorway he remembered something, and backed up.
“Uh… boss, there are no ingredients, how can I cook?” Qi Yue was unwilling to use his own previously prepared meals, those are for emergencies.
Han Fei thought, looking at Qi Yue. The kid wasn’t even an adult, thin, said he had a space dimension, but was probably empty.
Han Fei didn’t want trouble. Since he’ll cook anyway, and seeing that he looked timid and soft, he was probably better than his men’s cooking. He directly took out rice, flour, various vegetables, several huge slabs of meat, enough for a week. He had plenty; along the way they’ve collected tons of materials.
“If you don’t finish these, keep them first. When it’s gone, tell me.”
He planned to bring the kid along next time they collect supplies, having space and not using it was wasteful.
Qi Yue’s face instantly collapsed when he saw the supplies. But he couldn’t show it, forcing himself to hold it in, the corners of his mouth still bent downward.
What to do? Those things piled in the house corner are like a small mountain. His kitchen can’t hold them. He hasn’t even established footing yet, he can’t say his space can’t store these.
Also he can’t casually say that his cooked food can replenish spiritual abilities when low, if he said that, they’d turn him into a tool, cooking day and night to recharge them. If they notice the effect, he just won’t admit it.
Qi Yue now understood the truth: tell one lie, and you need a thousand lies to cover it.
He couldn’t think of what to say. He decided to cook first and think of an excuse later, he’ll only accept ingredients per meal.
With a tragic expression, Qi Yue dragged a sack of rice toward the kitchen.
Han Fei was already lying on the sofa, two men scattered around discussing gang matters. Han Fei listened while watching Qi Yue’s movements. What’s with this kid? Doesn’t know how to store the ingredients in his space? He can take it out when needed, why is he physically hauling it?
After a bit, he entered again, grabbing a large piece of meat, then again carrying a bag of vegetables.
Finally he got all the materials he needed.
Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Chu Yi cleared his throat several times, mouth opening and closing, forgetting what he originally wanted to say. After a long moment he squeezed out: “I’ll go help Qi Yue, don’t want him overwhelmed.” He turned to see what Qi Yue was doing, whether he could cook at all.
Han Fei’s group was actually just teasing him earlier; they named dishes casually, not believing he could actually make them. Inside they truly didn’t think he could. The kid: red lips, white teeth, tender skin, eyes full of charm when he looked up, looks like someone meant to be pressed into bed and cherished, how could he cook those dishes? As long as it tasted better than his men’s, it was enough. In this situation, they couldn’t be picky.
Qi Yue took out all the ingredients from the room, then took out all the specialized cooking tools from his space kitchen.
Different sized pots: stir-fry, steaming, frying. A kneading board, a vegetable chopping board, and a separate meat chopping board. Various knives, big medium small.
These tools must be separated, or the flavors will mix.
Chu Yi stood at the doorway stunned, mouth wide open. This… this is too professional. Even normal chefs aren’t this meticulous. He started to believe this beautiful youth really was a cook.
