Chapter 42: Reserve Rations

Chapter 42: Reserve RationsLiu Tiantian's comments were immediately met with ridicule from a group of male residents.

"It’s the apocalypse, who cares about pampering little princesses like you?"

"Haha, do you really think you’re that important?" sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"Risking our lives to protect you? In your dreams!"

Uncle You, who was being criticized, was left speechless.

He couldn’t understand why everyone was reacting this way when he was genuinely trying to help.

Since he wasn’t good at arguing, he simply stopped talking.

Zhang Yi watched the group chat with amusement, finding it quite entertaining, considering the limited ways to pass the time.

In conclusion, Zhang Yi felt that most people in the group deserved their fate.

The argument in the group chat grew increasingly intense.

Maybe because they had been repressed for so long, everyone found a rare outlet to vent.

The chat was filled with vile and filthy words, becoming unbearable to read.

Eventually, they forgot the original purpose of creating the group.

Zhang Yi set his phone aside and went to the kitchen.

Although he had plenty of ready-made food in his dimensional space, he occasionally enjoyed cooking to add a bit of joy to life.

He took out fresh ingredients from his space.

The potatoes, green onions, ginger, and garlic were as fresh as if just dug out from the ground.

The beef brisket was also very tender, with its bright red color looking quite appetizing.

Walmart, the world’s top supermarket brand, certainly didn’t disappoint with the quality of its goods.

Zhang Yi prepared a pot of potato and beef brisket stew and made some flatbread, sticking them to the sides of the pot.

The flatbread absorbed the stew’s juices, becoming exceptionally tasty.

Picking up his phone, he saw that Fang Yuqing and Lin Cainin had messaged him again.

This time, their voices were filled with desperate pleas.

Fang Yuqing and Lin Cainin were crying heavily, obviously terrified by Chen Zhenghao’s killings.

These two bitches could not resist evil.

Thus, they were likely to become Chen Zhenghao's following targets.

Especially after witnessing Zhang Yi's fortified security door, they saw his home as a haven and wanted to move in.

"Zhang Yi, no matter how big our past conflicts were, you once loved me, didn’t you?"

"You can't just watch me die, can you?"

"I know you act tough, but you have a soft heart. Please, save me!"

Lin Cainin was even more shameless than Fang Yuqing.

"Zhang Yi, I don't want to die. Let me stay at your place, and I'll do anything you want! Just don't let me die at their hands."

Zhang Yi could feel their fear.

Honestly, if his home wasn’t fortified and he lived in a cold, foodless house, his despair wouldn’t be any less than theirs.

But would he pity these two women?

Ha, of course not!

In fact, he had been longing for this moment.

The more desperate they were, the more thrilled Zhang Yi felt.

Without responding, he leisurely recorded a video for them.

In the video, a large pot of potato and beef brisket stew simmered in front of Zhang Yi, while a fireplace roared nearby.

The warm, peaceful atmosphere of his home contrasted sharply with the snowy storm and howling wind outside.

For the two women, this was an immense provocation.

At this moment, they weren’t worried about being full; they were struggling just to stay alive.

They continued to beg Zhang Yi to let them live with him.

Zhang Yi chose to ignore them.

He neither agreed nor refused.

He wanted to leave them a sliver of hope, making them grovel even though they knew it was unlikely.

The day passed in such dullness.

After seizing some supplies, Chen Zhenghao and his men weren’t in a hurry to act again.

They understood that pushing too hard would provoke a united resistance from the residents.

Their strategy was to subdue some, appease some, and kill some, which was the most rational approach.

However, that night, Zhang Yi noticed through the surveillance that Chen Zhenghao's men were up to something.

The entire Tianhai City had no power at night, except for Zhang Yi’s home, which the other residents hadn’t noticed.

Zhang Yi saw Chen Zhenghao’s men carrying two corpses out the door.

Zhang Yi took a closer look and found the faces familiar.

He remembered clearly because he knew almost all the residents in the building.

But these two were not from their building.

So, they must have been Chen Zhenghao's henchmen, who had been called over when the snow first fell.

Thinking for a moment, Zhang Yi understood what had happened.

When Chen Zhenghao and his men attacked Zhang Yi's home, Zhang Yi had drenched them with a hose.

In the extreme cold of minus sixty or seventy degrees, this was deadly.

These two must have frozen to death.

Catching a cold and developing a fever in such low temperatures could be fatal without a comfortable environment and medication like ibuprofen.

This explained the short lifespans in ancient times.

The two corpses were stripped of all clothing and thrown at the stairwell.

Zhang Yi frowned, initially puzzled by their actions.

If they just wanted to dispose of the bodies, they could have thrown them out the window, where the snow would cover everything.

Why leave them at the door?

Then, a chilling thought crossed Zhang Yi’s mind, making his pupils contract.

Could it be that Chen Zhenghao left the bodies as reserve rations?

The idea made Zhang Yi’s hair stand on end and sent shivers down his spine.

But it was the most plausible explanation.

The freezing temperatures turned the world into a giant refrigerator, eliminating worries about food spoilage.

Many modern perceptions of the apocalypse came from movies, where cannibalism wasn’t uncommon.

Historical records also mentioned horrifying practices like eating children during times of great famine.

Years of peace had made people forget those stark historical records.

Now, with the apocalypse upon them.

Zhang Yi took a deep breath, calming his racing heart.

Compared to others, he accepted this reality more quickly.

After all, he had experienced an apocalypse before and had even been eaten as food.

He knew that when pushed to the brink, hunger could drive humans to commit any atrocity, consuming anything edible.

"Chen Zhenghao is truly ruthless!"

Although Zhang Yi detested the gangster, he couldn’t help but be impressed.

Many understood the theory.

But to actually consider their comrades' bodies as reserve food before running out of supplies, was almost inhumane.