Chapter 193 - Timeout

<Author's note: The things (racism, s.e.xism, political views, etc.) depicted or mentioned in this story do not reflect the real world and are purely coincidences. If they do, please keep in mind that they are simply for world-building and are only work of fiction. Thank you for your understanding.>

Nathan and Zita were inside a two-story office building seating on a table near an open window for some fresh air and light.

On the table, there were two MRE packs as well as two plates and bottles of water.

The MREs were food items he looted back at Saint Holy Child Hospital in Womania.

Nathan grabbed one of the MREs and read the name printed on its package.

"Menu 6: Beef Stew With Rice, huh…"

He flipped the package.

At the back, there was a list of the items inside the package.

He looked at Zita and asked, "Zita, what's yours?"

Zita grabbed hers and said, "Menu 4: Chicken Stew With Rice."

"Oh, chicken stew. You like chicken?"

"It's fine..."

"Wanna swap with mine? It's beef."

"I'm fine with this..."

"Okay, let's try them, shall we?"

Nathan began to open his MRE and Zita followed suit.

"Okay…" Nathan said as he laid out the items inside his MRE on the table.

And aside from the flameless ration heater, he had…

• A pack of beef stew with rice

• A pack of dried nuts

• A pack of dried cranberries

• A pack of instant coffee

• A pack of instant melon juice

• Two empty packs for the coffee and melon juice

• And other small packs for the tissue, wet wipes, spoon, bubblegum, sugar, toothpick-floss, hot sauce, and matches.

Zita did the same as well with hers.

The items inside her MRE were the same except for two items…

• A pack of chicken stew with rice

• A pack of instant gr.a.p.e juice

"Have you ever tried eating MREs?" said Nathan.

Back in Womania at Burrow City, on their first breakfast together, although some of the food items he used was from the MREs like the slices of bread and a glass of chocolate drink, this was the first time she was going to eat an actual MRE meal.

"No…" Zita said and shook her head.

He grabbed the flameless ration heater and said, "This is where you're going to heat your main dish. You just have to add water but don't overfill it."

He grabbed his beef stew with rice package.

"This is my main dish. Don't unwrap it. Just put it inside the package and then add water. Remember, don't overfill it."

He placed the main dish package inside the flameless ration heater and added water from his bottled water.

"Next, close it. Just fold it and then leave it. It's hot."

About 5 seconds passed, the flameless ration began making sizzling sounds.

Psss…

"How many minutes should I wait?" asked Zita.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Usually about 10 minutes. Just read the instructions on the package of your main dish. There's also a list of instructions at the heating pack."

"Okay," she said and then checked to read the instructions before doing what Nathan did.

Psss…

"While we're at it, let's try some of the other items," he said before grabbing the pack of dried nuts and ripping it open.

Munch…

Munch…

"Hmm… Not too much taste as expected. How about yours?"

Zita grabbed hers and opened it.

Munch…

"How's it?".

"Doesn't have any taste."

"Haha~ True. It needs more salt. Luckily, I have some."

He summoned a bottle of salt from his [Artifact] Gold Spatial Finger and then sprinkled it on his package of dried nuts.

Swish…

Swish…

Munch…

Munch…

"There, the taste has improved… somewhat. Try it."

Swish…

Swish…

Munch…

Munch…

She didn't say anything.

However, looking at her expression, Nathan could tell that for her, the taste didn't improve.

'This kid…'

'She hasn't smiled since then…'

'Did I break her…?'

'Was it too soon…?'

He shook his head mentally.

'It doesn't matter…'

'We're already on the Second Phase and the overall level of the zombies is [Level 4]…'

'Time waits for no one…'

'I had no other choice…'

'Right now I need to make her feel comfortable first before pushing even further…'

'It was her first kill after all…'

He flashed a smile and said, "Let's try the drinks."

This time around, he just grabbed the package for the instant juice and ignored the empty package that's used for mixing the drink.

He summoned two glasses and placed them on the table.

Clink.

Clink.

"I have here instant coffee and melon flavor juice. What about you?"

Zita checked hers.

"Instant coffee and gr.a.p.e juice…"

"Oh, which one do you like? Not the coffee though because you're still young. Just the juice."

Zita pouted her lips and move it slightly to the side, not because of annoyance but because she was thinking.

Seeing her pouting, Nathan couldn't help but let out a smile.

'Heh~ It looks I was worried for nothing…'

'This kid really has unpredictable mood swings…'

'But just to make sure, I have to make her more comfortable first…'

"So which one do you prefer?"

"Umm… I'll just stick with gr.a.p.e juice."

"Okay."

They started mixing their own glass of juice.

And after mixing, they tasted it.

Sip.

Sip.

Clink.

Clink.

Nathan put down his glass and said, "Well, that was sweet. It would've been better if it was cold."

Zita, on the other hand, had a sour face as she put her glass down.

"Hahaha~ What's wrong? Tastes bad?"

In truth, it tasted like those cheap instant juice drinks where you're not even sure if it's even safe to drink.

"It's fine. But I think I'll just stick with water," she said as she grabbed a bottle of water a took a few sips.

"Oh, perfect timing. It's already 10 minutes."

The food packs that they were heating on their respective flameless ration heater were already done.

"Careful, it's hot," Nathan said as he unfolded his flameless ration heater, took out the beef stew with rice package and opened it before pouring it into his plate.

Zita did the same.

"This is it…?" Nathan said as he poked the beef stew with rice on his plate with his spoon.

'Although it smells good, the appearance is like… it looks like poop or some dog food…'

He noticed that Zita was looking at his food and looked like she had the same reaction as he did.

He smiled and said, "Well, at least it smells good so I guess it's good… Probably."

He scooped a bite.

Munch…

"Umm…"

Munch…

Gulp!

'My God, this is poison!'

'The only passable quality is the smell!'

'The appearance and taste is utter crap!'

'I didn't accidentally eat an MRE made for dogs, didn't I?'

He grabbed the beef stew with rice package and also the main package.

'There's no sign here that reads it's made for human or dog…'

'My God… People actually eat this?'

He looked at Zita who was staring at the chicken stew with rice pack on her plate.

'Looks good and also has a good smell.'

Zita scooped a bite.

Munch…

Munch…

Her facial expression was normal.

"How's it?"

"It's fine."

"Eh…? Really?"

"Yeah. But it needs more salt," she said before grabbing the bottle of salt and sprinkling it on her food.

Swish…

Swish…

Munch…

Munch…

Nathan continued to observe her as she scooped another bite.

'Hmm… Looks like she lucked out with her meal…'

'Or maybe because this meal is made for Caucasians?'

Having lived in Womania for 8 months, he couldn't help but notice the difference between Womanian and Muwinian meal.

Yes, each country has its own traditional dishes. But what Nathan is referring to is the taste of the dishes.

In Womania, there are restaurants that offer Asian dishes. However, the Asian dishes that's popular, common and cheap in Womania are made for a Western taste.

And there was no way Nathan was going to waste his hard-earned money on expensive meals.

However, at the same time, he doesn't mind spending money on cigarettes which are quite expensive, especially in first-world countries like Womania.

So go figure.

Nathan looked at his meal.

'Well, I'm a man. I can't be too picky with food…'

He continued eating his meal.

*********************************************

Author's thoughts:

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