82 Make A Snake Soup with the Lake Water

Lin Qiao glanced at the little boy's face, then exited her space. She went to the woods beside the farm to collect a lot of dried wood, then went back in. After that, she thought for a moment, then picked a few pieces of rocks and built a small stove on a clearing by the lake with them. 

She didn't have many things in her space by now, but had everything she needed at the moment, such as pots. Xie Dong broke a pot earlier on, but she had more of them. 

She had also collected many useful things from the flat where the little boy was found, and the store not far away from there. 

Lin Qiao glanced at all the melons that she had piled on the grass, then wrote on the paper—'I'll make him some snake soup.'

Junjun paused briefly, then looked at Lin Qiao with hesitation. Lin Qiao read her mind and learned what she was thinking. 

She was thinking that the snake was mutant, full of viruses. She wondered if it was really edible for the child. What if the child got infected?

Lin Qiao took out the paper and continued writing—'Like I said, the water in the lake can erase the virus. The snake meat has been soaked in the water for a while. Later, I'll blanch it and then boil it. I think the virus would be gone after that.'

After showing the note to Junjun, she began starting a fire on the stone stove. Building a fire in the wilderness wasn't difficult for her. After all, she had done a lot of field training before, and often needed to cook food in the wilderness. More importantly, she had found a working lighter in the store before. 

However, she didn't have any salt, so the soup she made wouldn't be so delicious. But anyhow, it would be better than nothing. 

After the fire was built, she filled a pot with water, then put it on the stove. 

Next, she took a piece of snake meat out of a bucket, and put on a soup plate. Then, she realized that she had no way to cut the meat into small pieces together with the bones, because she didn't have a knife! She had been using a dagger, but it was too small. It could cut the meat, but wouldn't be able to break the bones. 

Therefore, she had no choice but to pick the meat off the bones with that dagger. She first cut off the part which had been cut by her claws, then carefully sliced the meat off. While doing that, she had also been putting some meat into her own mouth. When all the meat was shaved off, she threw the snake bone aside. 

After that, she washed the snake meat with the lake water, then waited for the water on the stove to boil.

Junjun stood by her side, watching her do all this. She wanted to help, but seeing that the other's moves were so quick and smooth, she felt that the latter didn't need her help.

The wood collected by Lin Qiao quickly burst into flames as they were all very dry. She hadn't put too much water in the pot, so before long, the water began steaming. 

When the water began to boil, Lin Qiao poured it into the soup plate to blanch the snake meat, then poured it away. After that, she put the snake meat into the pot along with cool water to boil. 

She broke a lot of dry branches, then put them into the stove to make the fire stronger. 

Lin Qiao and Junjun couldn't see the color of the fire. In their eyes, the fire was transparent. They couldn't feel the temperature of the fire either, but could sense that the fire was filled with a scorching energy.

She blanched the snake meat again, then added more cool water to stew it. Halfway, she peeled a potato and threw it into the pot. When she felt that the soup was almost ready, she picked a few uninfected leafy vegetables, washed them, and then put in the pot. 

Sensing the scent of the snake soup, Lin Qiao lost her interest in the snake meat inside. She was only interested in raw meat!

However, she could tell if the scent contained any virus and the soup was edible for human beings. At last, the snake soup became very thick, because the potato was cooked to a pulp. 

"Whoa…" When Lin Qiao put out the fire and put some soup into a bowl to send it to the little boy along with a small spoon, the boy burst into tears. Her ugly face had again scared that kid. 

Looking at the back of the boy's head and realizing that he was crying because of her ugly face, Lin Qiao felt speechless. 

'Damn! My kindness came to no good…'She thought. Junjun gave her an apologetical smile, then hurriedly took over the soup. 

Lin Qiao expressionlessly watched her take away that bowl of soup, then went out of that small space. After that, she exited her space. She glanced at the farm, then let out the car and continued driving South. 

She soon drove on the highway, heading straight South. Before long, she drove out of Sea City and entered Zhe Province. 

…

Nothing troubled her during the rest of her journey. The level-five, ice-powered zombie was no longer chasing her, and the little one was sent back to her father. Now, she was only with Junjun and her son. Two female zombies and a human child… What a strange group!

During the journey, Lin Qiao made snake soup for the little boy twice a day. With the starchy food such as potatoes, the little boy gradually became much more energetic than before. 

Lin Qiao would also make some time to observe those vegetables that she planted unskilfully with her claws. 

She figured that all the energy of her space was concentrated in the lake, because all the vegetables which were watered by the lake water survived. At first, she thought it was because of the soil, so she left a few unwatered plants; but those died very soon.

She had also found out that the lake water could really keep food fresh, because the snake meat soaked in the bucket never showed a sign of going bad. 

In order to arrive at the South as soon as possible, Lin Qiao drove day and night. In the first few days, she would only stop when cooking for the little boy. Later on, Junjun had learned now to make snake soup, and taken over the responsibility for cooking her son's meals. 

Junjun too made some discoveries. Sometimes, she would feel very hungry, longing to pounce on the little boy and bite him when she sensed his scent. Every time that happened, she would run to the lakeside and drink from the lake as much as she could. Gradually, she discovered that the lake water could restrain her appetite for living human beings. 

After finding that out, Junjun was quite happy. After all, with the lake water, she wouldn't lose her mind and hurt the little boy at least. 

Soon, Lin Qiao drove across Zhe Province and entered Min Province. 

At that point, the people she was looking for had entered Min Province as well, but from the opposite direction. 

Lin Feng and his few loyal followers protected his family to escape from Yue Province, avoiding numerous pursuing forces on their way. 

In Longyan City of Zhe Province, a group of people was quietly hiding In a place which used to be a karaoke club, on the top floor of a four-story shopping mall. 

The front door of the club was shut tightly, guarded by two soldiers in camouflage clothing. A young man was sitting on the billiard table by the door, legs crossed and face darkened. He was holding a thumb-thick wooden stick with one hand and a sharp dagger with the other; he had been slowly sharpening the stick with the dagger. 

He had sharpened one end of the wooden stick well already. 

A group of people was crowded in a room in the club. Some were sitting, and some were standing, all remaining silent. Among these people was a man in his thirties. He had an angular face and a very serious vibe. His eyes were sharp, thin lips pressed into a straight line. He looked so serious that ordinary people wouldn't dare to approach him. A smart-looking little girl was sitting on his lap.

The little girl wasn't tall, but had a delicate and adorable face. Her clothes were clean, and her large eyes were sparkling brightly.