Chapter 16

Chapter 16

As soon as Sheng Yao got into the car, he couldn’t wait to take off his mask, scarf, hat, gloves, and down jacket. He was drenched in sweat, sweat dripping from his hair to his cheeks and then from his chin to the floor.

His white shirt was completely soaked, plastered to his body, hinting at his toned physique.

"Old Fourth, this won’t do! If you keep covering up like this, you’ll get heatstroke," Tang Teng said, eyeing his sweat-soaked state with concern.

"It’s fine," Sheng Yao shook the sweat from his hair, stripped off his white shirt, and tossed it onto the seat before pulling out another white T-shirt from his bag to change into.

After opening a can of cat food for Zhongqiu, Tang Man noticed the two men still sprawled in their seats, unwilling to move, so she went ahead and opened their lunchboxes, setting them out on the chairs.

The insulated lunchboxes worked exceptionally well, the food still steaming hot.

Contrary to Tang Man’s expectations of a simple packed meal, Sheng Yao’s mom had prepared each of them a portion of rice and a box of stir-fried dishes.

She smiled faintly. Sheng Yao’s mother had really gone out of her way to help Sheng Yao fit in with them.

"Aunt Wang can cook Chinese food too?" Tang Teng peeked at the lunchboxes on the chairs, surprised.

"My dad used to love Chinese food. Mom studied it for ages for him, but after they divorced, she never cooked it again to help herself forget him..." Sheng Yao’s tone grew heavier at the mention of his father.

"I’m starving, let’s eat!" Tang Teng grabbed an insulated container and shoved it into Sheng Yao’s hands, changing the subject. He crouched in front of the chair and began shoveling food into his mouth.

Sheng Yao’s mother had prepared stir-fried green beans with eggplant, stir-fried beef with celery, and sautéed squid with chili.

The squid was springy and packed with flavor, with just the right balance of spiciness and saltiness. With the first bite, Tang Man felt like her mouth was on fire, but she couldn’t stop herself from taking bite after bite.

The beef was sliced evenly, slightly chewy, and savory and well-spiced. The celery was crisp and refreshing, pairing wonderfully with the beef. Tang Man even drizzled the beef-celery juices to mix with her rice.

The green beans and eggplant had darkened slightly after sitting in the container all morning, having lost some freshness, but the eggplant was soft and the beans tender, still making for a delicious meal. Both men’s hands shook as they couldn’t stop eating.

"What’s wrong with you two? Your chopsticks are shaking like leaves," Tang Man said disdainfully, watching the Nth piece of food fall back into the container.

"You think I want to shake? Try swinging a knife all morning—you’d be shaking worse than us," Sheng Yao shot back.

"That’s because you haven’t mastered killing zombies yet. If you could drop them in one hit, we’d have finished gathering supplies by now," Tang Man rolled her eyes, beyond frustrated with their progress. She wished she could just fatten them up and make them instantly capable of handling things on their own.

Sheng Yao: "..."

Tang Teng: "..."

The two lowered their heads and dug into their meals, not daring to say another word. They were afraid Tang Man would assign them even more zombies to kill if they spoke up.

"Meow~" Zhongqiu, having finished her canned food, began clawing at Tang Man’s backpack—she’d caught the scent of dried fish!

Tang Man read Zhongqiu like a book. She set down her lunchbox, pulled out a few pieces of dried fish from her bag, and placed them in the cat’s bowl.

"Jie, you spoil her too much. Look how round her face is—she needs to go on a diet!" Tang Teng, jealous of the cat that not only refused to let him pet her but also monopolized his sister’s affection, needled.

Zhongqiu, as if understanding him, paused mid-bite, her eyes slitting to daggers as she stared at him intently.

"Hahahaha, Old Third, did she actually understand you? Watch out, she might hold a grudge and burn your pants," Sheng Yao laughed, egging it on.

"Nonsense. Zhongqiu isn’t fat at all—she’s just blowing her coat, so she looks a little fluffier," Tang Man said gently, rubbing Zhongqiu’s head.

Successfully appeased by her human, Zhongqiu lowered her head and resumed eating.

After the meal, the two guys continued lazing in their seats.

"If I’d known, I would’ve brought a folding chair. Then we could’ve taken a nap."

"Old Third, you should really overhaul these seats. They’re too hard—not comfortable at all... Make them like that ergonomic chair I bought before. That one was great..."

"..."

"Are you two going to sleep or not? If not, get up and get back to work," Tang Man said, rubbing her temples as their chatter was giving her a migraine.

The two instantly fell silent, closing their eyes and playing possum.

After their nap, the group packed up and prepared to head deeper into the produce market.

The market Tang Man had chosen was enormous, spanning 10,000+ square meters. The outer area was a large courtyard, and beyond that lay the market itself, which had three entrances. They picked one at random and walked in.

"The livestock inside might have mutated too. Make sure you protect yourselves," Tang Man warned the two behind her.

"Got it," they nodded, tightening their grips on their weapons, their expressions turning serious.

They entered the live poultry area first. The meat on the chopping blocks had already begun to rot slightly. The poultry were kept in cages, some of which now held undead chickens and ducks. Tang Man extended her vines into the cages, snapping their necks and harvesting their cores.

The remaining poultry that hadn’t turned were either dead or in poor condition, having gone without food for three or four days. They looked lethargic and gaunt.

Scanning the area, Tang Man sensed danger.

With so many animals here, it was unlikely only zombified ones would appear—there should be mutated animals like Zhongqiu too.

"Grab a few cages of chickens and ducks to take back for eggs," Tang Man said to the two behind her, her muscles coiled for combat.

"Jie, should we take some pigeons or quails too? What about rabbits? There are even a few sheep here!" Tang Teng’s voice was excited.

"Your call!" Tang Man replied absentmindedly.

To Tang Man’s surprise, no mutated plants jumped out to attack them as they carried the animals back to the car.

After loading the poultry, they changed direction and ventured further inside.

The center of the market was lined with stalls, surrounded by shops at the four entrances. Some shops had their metal shutters down, while others were wide open, their goods scattered everywhere.

They headed straight for the seed and dry goods stores. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to collect other supplies, but without cold storage, fresh produce and meat would just rot. They also lacked the space to raise livestock.

"Jie, this shop has a vacuum sealer!" Tang Teng blurted out.

Sheng Yao frowned. "There’s no electricity at home. It’s useless."

"It’s fine. Once we find a generator, we can use it," Tang Teng said, bundling the sealer in plastic and placing it on the cart.

They packed up all the dried goods—shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, black fungus, and other long-lasting foods—from the dry goods shop.

They didn’t spare the seed shop either, clearing it out entirely.

"That’s enough. Let’s take these back to the car first," Tang Man said, lashing down the items on the cart with her vines. "Zhongqiu, let’s go! Zhongqiu?"

Zhongqiu crouched low to the ground, her eyes locked ahead, her ears flattened into airplane-ears, not a purr to be heard.

Tang Man followed Zhongqiu’s gaze toward what appeared to be the vegetable section.

Gripping her weapon, she edged forward. Sensing her tension, Sheng Yao and Tang Teng froze.

"Boom—" Two crackling orbs suddenly exploded in front of her, blasting two small craters into the concrete floor.

"Big Sis!" The two were startled by the sudden turn of events.

Tang Man, however, continued forward without so much as blinking. The Pothos vines at her feet grew and spread, crawling toward the direction from which the Fireballs had been launched.

A Fireball shot straight toward her face, but Tang Man dodged it effortlessly, leaving the metal shutter behind her charred.

The next moment, a vine coiled around a large white rabbit with red eyes from behind a pile of cabbages.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

The rabbit struggled violently. Zhongqiu pounced on it, delivering a flurry of cat-style punches before shooting a small Fireball that singed the fur off the rabbit's head. Fortunately, Tang Man extinguished the flames in time, or the rabbit would have been burned alive.

"Squeak—" The rabbit's cries grew even more pitiful.

Amid its wails, barrages of water arrows, Fireballs, and clumps of earth came flying toward them.

Rabbits, chickens, and ducks peeked out from behind the vegetables, launching attacks.

Sheng Yao and Tang Teng dodged frantically, but Tang Man's eyes lit up. Just when they needed water, here came a Superpower User with water-based abilities—talk about perfect timing!

She grabbed a handful of crystal cores from her waist pouch and began absorbing them rapidly. A Protective Net woven from Pothos rapidly formed in front of her, blocking the incoming superpower attacks from all directions.

Soon after, Pothos vines began spreading outward, quickly snaring the small animals hiding behind the vegetables.

In mere moments, the mayhem subsided, and the crystal cores in Tang Man's hand crumbled into dust, scattering on the ground.

"Big Sis, what should we do with these animals?" Sheng Yao looked at Tang Man with admiration.

Both were Superpower Users, yet when danger struck, their younger brother could only dodge frantically like him—unlike Tang Man, who could both defend and strike.

"Pick out the ones with water-based superpowers to take back as labor... pets. Release the rest," Tang Man said, sorting through the pile of small animals.

"Can't we take them all back? Once tamed, we’d have our own Superpower army," Tang Teng mused, his expression tinged with excitement at the thought of commanding a group of superpowered animal squad.

Sheng Yao was equally tempted by the idea, nodding enthusiastically beside him.