Chapter 126

Chapter 126

"..."

Upon hearing Tang Yi's words, everyone paused briefly before gathering to examine the drone’s night-vision feed.

In the darkness beyond the parking lot, seven wolves were indeed closing in from the sides toward them.

"Probably ex-zoo residents," Zhou Rongbin joked. Classic wolves—still kicking in the city after all this time, even post-apocalypse.

After observing for a while, Jian Cheng suddenly pondered aloud:

"I wonder if wolf meat tastes good."

"..."

His question inadvertently got everyone thinking along those lines.

Their brief hunger vanished fast as they considered what these wolves might’ve been eating lately.

Young Master Liao was the first to shake his head:

"My brain’s painting pictures, and I’m already queasy."

Lu Ningzhou patted Jian Cheng like a worried parent:

"A-Cheng, a ‘try anything once’ attitude’ll get you killed."

This guy's unbelievable.

"..."

"If you want to eat them, I'll go hunt them!"

The always-eager Jiang Nian swiftly fitted a silencer onto his gun. After saying that, he put on his night-vision goggles and went out rifle-ready.

"Nian Nian..."

Coming to his senses, Cheng Jing hurried after him, followed by the others who left behind the wall one after another.

Jian Cheng was the last to move out.

Fear stems from a lack of strength, and the most effective way to prevent any disasters and avoid capsizing is to eliminate threats proactively while you still have the upper hand.

By the time Jian Cheng emerged, all seven wolves had already been shot dead—Jiang Nian took down three, while Zhou Rongbin and Lu Ningzhou took down the other four between them, now comparing notes on their marksmanship.

Cheng Jing lit up the wolf carcasses with his headlamp and asked offhandedly,

"Well, anyone who wants to try wolf meat, come here. I'll grill it for you."

Jiang Nian added,

"I scanned them with my superpower—no zombie virus. They're safe to eat."

The teammates all turned their gazes toward Jian Cheng in unison, their looks practically shouting:

Come on man, don't hold back.

"......"

Jian Cheng gritted his teeth and walked over.

The dead wolves were emaciated, their bodies riddled with scars from fights or other causes. Their sparse gray fur revealed patches of parasites squirming underneath.

After observing for a while, Jian Cheng shivered and bluntly shook his head:

"I was just kidding around. This doesn’t look like something edible."

Even though Brother Nian said they weren’t infected with the zombie virus, the wolves smelled like walking corpses.

Even if they weren’t infected, they must've gotten up close and personal with the undead.

Jiang Nian cut in:

"For us, they’re inedible, but for many, they’re hard-to-find protein."

"True. Not many have it as good as we do in this apocalypse," he sighed.

Liao Yu nodded in solemn agreement. It was because he abided by the law and respected elders that he earned the protection of the two big brothers, living high on the hog.

In a disaster of this scale, most struggle to survive.

Recently, central satellite broadcasts had been reporting cases of humans killing and eating their own kind, with victims mostly being vulnerable groups like women and children.

Though investigations suggested some cannibalism wasn’t due to food scarcity but some sickos acting out, the situation would only worsen. This kinda sick shit would eventually become everyday business—those isolated or unable to reach official shelters would starve and become prey.

Human society was turning into straight-up survival of the fittest.

Thus, while rescue teams from major bases actively searched for survivors, central broadcasts urged civilians to seek shelter in government-led bases: "Don't start nothing, but don't trust nobody."

"......"

No one wanted the wolf meat. Jiang Nian pulled his knife, cutting chunks of fur and flesh from different parts of each wolf. With Zhao Lei’s help, he even extracted a heart from one.

After bagging and tagging the samples in multiple layers of specimen bags, he stashed them in his ring space to bring back for research.

Back in his first life, he’d only heard animals didn’t eat zombies. Now, seeing the environment firsthand, he had his doubts.

The apocalypse’s impact couldn’t exclude animals—they just hadn't run into many so far.

As food grew scarcer, what's stopping animals from going after zombies out of extreme hunger? Especially scavengers—zombies were rotting flesh. Even if they didn’t eat them, they might take an accidental chomp.

Perhaps animals carried antibodies, keeping them safe even after consuming zombie flesh. Or, like many viruses, the zombie plague only affected humans.

The apocalypse’s mutations were ongoing, and the butterfly effect couldn’t be ignored. You couldn't take any intel as gospel.

"......"

After collecting the samples, Jiang Nian had Cheng Jing dispose of them.

Lu Ningzhou dug a pit, and Huang Qian collected the wolf bodies and tossed them into it. Cheng Jing controlled the Thunder Fire at an extremely high temperature, quickly burned them to ash.

Afterward, Lu Ningzhou used his Superpower to churn the earth and bury the ashes deep, preventing the burnt smell from spreading and attracting other creatures.

Perhaps there was some animal code—since the earlier wolf howls, the surroundings had grown much quieter.

The occasional lonely bird cries had little effect on them.

Huang Qian, scanning the area with night-vision goggles, couldn’t help but wonder:

"Now that wolves are out, could we run into other predators or even National Treasures?"

The thought of large felines made her equal parts excited and nervous.

Zhao Lei replied:

"Can't say for sure. Based on the food chain, once everyone resumes unrestricted hunting, fights are inevitable. The weak die off, and the survivors likely claim their own turf. This area probably belonged to this wolf pack."

Huang Qian nodded. "That tracks."

Zhou Rongbin suddenly piped up:

"What if we encounter a panda? Could we take it home as a personal pet?"

"Not sure."

"You could eat it in self-defense, but keeping it as private property is a different matter."

"Temporary care during these special times is fine, but permanent ownership? That's asking for trouble."

"Hahaha..."

"..."

Between laughs, they checked the surroundings once more before returning behind the camouflage wall.

Back in the tent, chowing on popsicles and cool breezes, Jiang Nian kept studying the Medium Crystal Core, grinning nonstop.

Cheng Jing, knowing how genuinely happy he was, thought for a moment before suggesting seriously:

"Nian Nian, once we’re back at the base, let’s take this crystal to the command center together and make our case with Department Head Wang. It was your find—no one will suspect anything else."

With him being the one who deserved the most credit anyway, there was no reason not to take the spotlight when given the chance.