The Chef Rules the Last Days

26: Chapter 24: Inferior Fried Pork 26: Chapter 24: Inferior Fried Pork “Lu Chen, how about we fry some pork for dinner tonight?”

“Whatever you want.”

As soon as he agreed, three pairs of eager eyes stared at Lu Chen.

The man flipped his hand, and four sets of chopsticks, a pair of scissors, and three large plates appeared on the ground.

He also took out ten chunks of frozen meat from a bag and placed them on the plates.

The frozen meat quickly thawed in the hot weather.

Su Mo handed the tray of meat to Zhao Xiweng, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, asking her to help wash it.

She knew she wasn’t great at cooking delicious meals, but she was quite confident about just frying it.

Under the watchful eyes of the trio, Su Mo poured a bit of peanut oil into the pan and set the flame at self-control.

Watching her place the pan on the ground to add oil and moving her hand around in front of the pan as if turning on a switch, everyone except Lu Chen looked at her as if she were crazy.

“There’s no flame, how’s this supposed to work?” Jianxiong sat on the ground and leaned toward the pan.

“Back off, don’t get burned,” Su Mo brushed him away.

In her eyes, flames were already flickering beneath the pan.

Sure enough, soon the oil in the pan began to sizzle, and the aroma of peanuts wafted up from it.

“Damn!

Little sis, that’s awesome!” Jianxiong stared intently at the pan trying to figure out from where the heat was coming, giving her a thumbs up and sniffing the air continuously.

Zhao Xiweng couldn’t help but swallow her saliva as she climbed out of bed and sat down on the ground, her face filled with astonishment.

What kind of superpower was this?

Lu Chen, however, was as immovable as a mountain, his expression indifferent, though his Adam’s apple moved unconsciously.

The oil in the pan sizzled away, and Su Mo used the scissors to cut a large piece of meat into several smaller ones, placing them into the pan one by one with the chopsticks.

The tempting aroma of the meat combined with wisps of white smoke rising from the pan, and the four of them surrounded it.

Jianxiong’s eyes even began to glow green.

“This smells way too good!”

The four of them, having been busy all day without much food, were now even hungrier.

The red raw meat visibly fried into a golden brown on both sides, giving off a sizzling sound, and Su Mo sprinkled some salt based on intuition and fried it a bit longer before finally turning off the heat.

“Ding.”

Immediately, a system alert sounded in her mind, and a screen appeared in front of her.

[Name]Subpar Fried Pork

[Used Materials]Pork chunks, peanut oil, salt

[Skill Level]: None

[Taste Score]0 (10 points are full score; the higher the score, the more the status bonus).

[Status Bonus]None

“Are you serious,” Su Mo’s hand trembled while holding the chopsticks; could it really be that bad?

The meat looked quite decently fried.

“What’s up, can we eat it now?” Jianxiong, who had wiped his drooling mouth several times, saw her frozen in place.

Su Mo lifted her head from the screen, a sad expression on her face, not wanting them to eat it now.

What to do?

She placed a piece into Jianxiong’s bowl, “You try it first?”

He immediately picked up his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

The scalding meat made him puff out his cheeks continuously as he sucked in air, before finally chewing it down.

“How’s the taste?” Su Mo asked tentatively.

Jianxiong smacked his lips twice, licking his lips all around, “Seems a bit too salty, but it’s tasty!”

Su Mo also tried a piece herself, and found it to be just as Jianxiong described, overly salty and the meat a bit tough, lacking any other flavors.

They divided the meat from the pot among themselves, and though it wasn’t very tasty, the four of them were satisfied.

Being able to eat a hot meal in these apocalyptic times was not easy.

In the following rounds, Su Mo adjusted the proportions, but the feedback from the system was still labeled as subpar meat, possibly missing something she didn’t know about.

This kitchen novice needed to find a comprehensive cookbook.

In the meantime, Lu Chen took four cups to Zhao Xiweng, asking her to condense water and then used her superpower to add ice.

The four of them enjoyed the ice water with the ten large pieces of meat, finishing every bit, their mouths greasy.

“Burp.”

Su Mo, holding her stomach, let out a satisfied burp and shamelessly asked Lu Chen, “So, how does it taste?”

“Disgusting.”

“Hmph, I knew you would say that,” she pouted.

Jianxiong lifted his head from the bowl, which was licked clean of oil, and reluctantly put down the bowl to ask, “I say, Su Mo, what exactly is your superpower?

It’s incredible.”

“Don’t know.

I just woke up with it,” Su Mo mumbled as she lay down in her sleeping bag.

She hadn’t decided yet; she would wait until she produced food with a status bonus.

“Let me help you wash the dishes,” Zhao Xiweng wiped her mouth and put the dishes on the ground into the Flat Pot, gripping the handle with a sudden shiver in her heart.

What was this strong feeling of repulsion about?

While lying on her side, Su Mo mentally asked the system, ‘Can I collect the pot from a distance?’

“The host can summon it anytime.”

After receiving a positive response, she rolled over and with a smile said to Zhao Xiweng, “Then thank you.”

“You’re welcome.

I’ll go to the kitchen to wash them,” she suppressed the unease in her heart, picked up the dishes, and limped out of the room.

Zhao Xiweng placed the bowl in the kitchen sink, holding the all-black Flat Pot in her hands to examine it closely.

Her fingertips slid inch by inch over the body of the pot.

In the half month since the apocalypse began, she had never seen anyone with such a miraculous superpower.

Could the pot be a treasure?

She tried to pour water into it and waited a while; nothing happened.

Maybe only that woman could use it…

Thinking this, she suddenly felt uncomfortable and tossed the pot back into the sink, beginning to wash it along with the other dishes.

Soon, Zhao Xiweng brought the items back, and Su Mo got up to put them away before lying down again.

Lu Chen finished tidying up and instructed Jianxiong, “I’ll keep watch during the first half of the night; you take over for the second half.”

“Alright,” Jianxiong flipped over and lay down in his sleeping bag.

Right now, there was nothing better than having eaten well and slept well.

“Lu…

Boss, I can also keep watch,” Zhao Xiweng sat down by the bed and looked earnestly at Lu Chen.

Jianxiong turned over, tilting his head back, and said gruffly to Zhao Xiweng, “If you’re hurt, just rest properly; the boss and I can handle the watch on our own.”

Even though he meant to show care, it somehow felt different to Zhao Xiweng’s ears.

Under the dim candlelight, the beautiful face of the man sitting on the floor was expressionless.

She finally mustered a strained smile and lay down on the bed.

Su Mo, who had been lying on her side and listening all this while, secretly admired the woman.

How many times had she bumped against the wall without feeling any pain?

Lu Chen blew out the candle, and the room plunged into darkness.

Four people crowded in the small room, the weather was hot, and Su Mo tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

“Lu Chen, give me some ice, please.

It’s so hot.”

“Making a fuss.”

Despite saying that, Lu Chen still activated his superpower to condense a few ice cubes and placed a bucket in each corner of the room.

Feeling the gentle coolness in the air, Su Mo finally drifted off to a comfortable sleep.

On the bed, Zhao Xiweng lay with closed eyes and clenched fists.

The man she could once only look up to was now right beside her, yet she didn’t even have a chance to show her closeness.

That woman was indeed an eyesore!

The long, silent night was interrupted by the noise brought by dawn.

On the necessary route through the supermarket, another group of people arrived.

“Someone’s coming,” Jianxiong, who had the watch for the latter part of the night, stood at the window and alerted everyone inside.

A strange sense of being watched caused Lu Chen to suddenly open his eyes.

Just as Su Mo was about getting up, he pressed her back down into the sleeping bag.

“Lie down, don’t move.”

On the bed, Zhao Xiweng also seemed to sense something and lay still without moving.

Three police cars came from a distance and slowly stopped below their building.