Thirty Days to Hoard: Reborn into the Frost

Chapter 107 -106: Ultimate Showdown 4

Some furious diners had even crafted a makeshift tombstone, placing a black-and-white photo of Zhang Wanwan behind it. The words “Tomb of Zhang Wanwan” were scrawled across the stone. It was a shocking sight.

Zhang Wanwan didn’t dare stay at the window for long. She trudged dejectedly back to the living center. The moment she stepped into the lobby, she spotted several burly residents clutching weapons and interrogating the receptionist.

“Which room does that bitch Zhang Wanwan live in?”

“We ate her poisoned noodles, and now we’re going to make her pay!”

Terrified that a murder might happen right there in the lobby, the receptionist repeatedly told the enraged residents, “I’m sorry, but that is the resident’s personal privacy. We are not at liberty to disclose that information.”

Zhang Wanwan’s legs turned to jelly at the sight. She found a corner and quickly pulled out a mask to cover the lower half of her face. The base was no longer safe for her to stay; these furious people could take her life at any moment. After much thought, she decided to flee Han City Base. Taking advantage of the dead of night, Zhang Wanwan packed a few simple belongings and escaped under the cover of darkness.

Needing a companion for the journey, she roped Liu Xiuxiu into coming along. The two decided to travel on foot to the nearest Shanghai Base, hoping to start fresh in a place where no one knew them. As luck would have it, a light snow began to fall late into the night. Trudging through the frozen, snow-covered landscape was agonizingly difficult. Zhang Wanwan and Liu Xiuxiu struggled with every step.

“Sister Wanwan, do you think we can actually make it to Shanghai Base alive?” Liu Xiuxiu was on the verge of despair. She regretted everything entirely, wishing she had never done such a malicious thing just to earn those ten thousand base credits. But it was too late for regrets now.

Zhang Wanwan shot Liu Xiuxiu a fierce glare and snapped, “Don’t say such unlucky things! We’ve already escaped Han City Base and left the most dangerous place behind. Why wouldn’t we survive?”

Just as she spoke, a luxurious RV slowly approached from the opposite direction. Liu Xiuxiu gasped in surprise, “Sister Wanwan, there’s an RV over there!”

The white vehicle blended almost perfectly into the vast, snowy expanse. Zhang Wanwan suddenly had an ominous premonition and froze in her tracks, too terrified to move. The RV seemed to be heading straight for them. Sure enough, the vehicle pulled up slowly and stopped right in front of Zhang Wanwan and Liu Xiuxiu.

The door opened, and Chen Momo stepped out, her face completely void of expression. Clad in a black winter-proof uniform and wearing a transparent cold-weather visor, she looked like the grim reaper incarnate as she blocked Zhang Wanwan and Liu Xiuxiu’s path.

Zhang Wanwan shrank back instinctively. With red eyes, she screamed, “Chen Momo, you’ve already forced us out of Han City Base! What more do you want?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Chen Momo suddenly lunged forward, thrusting both hands toward Zhang Wanwan and Liu Xiuxiu. The two sharp knives hidden in her grasp instantly plunged into their abdomens. Before Zhang Wanwan and Liu Xiuxiu could even process what was happening, their eyes widened in shock as they collapsed into the snow.

The snowfall grew heavier, quickly burying the fresh blood under a new layer of white. Zhang Wanwan and Liu Xiuxiu’s corpses were soon completely concealed beneath the snow. Chen Momo grabbed a couple handfuls of snow to wipe clean the blood spattered on her visor. Then, she turned, swiftly climbed back into her vehicle, and drove through the night back to Han City Base.

Meanwhile, only three days remained until the headquarters’ final inspection. Chen Momo began undergoing etiquette training at the local headquarters. Concurrently, her sour cabbage fish had become an overnight sensation, officially establishing itself as the signature dish of Han City Base.

While Chen Momo attended her training sessions, Xu Xiaoka and Chen Xiaobao took charge of opening the window. Ever since word spread that the sour cabbage fish had scored a near-perfect rating during the evaluation, its popularity had skyrocketed. Now, customers had to line up an hour in advance just to get a taste. Since Xu Xiaoka could not handle the rush alone, she limited sales to one hundred fish a day. This quota only drove people to line up even earlier, resulting in an incredibly packed and bustling queue at their stall.

During this time, the base provided Chen Momo with a private kitchen. On top of her etiquette training, she was tasked with refining the sour cabbage fish so it could be served as a main course on the day of the inspection. The base also assigned her ten assistant chefs to help manage all the dishes for the event. To ensure the fish for the headquarters’ delegates was as tender and fresh as possible, Chen Momo kept the live fish in her spatial dimension ahead of time, feeding them plump bloodworms and mealworms daily. She also carefully curated the side ingredients and sauces, elevating the sour cabbage fish into a truly exquisite and high-class dish.

Amidst the vast, white snow, a Hummer with a license plate starting in A88 arrived early at Han City Base. From its windows to its chassis, the vehicle was constructed entirely of bulletproof materials.

Inside the Hummer sat a man in a silver suit. His exceptionally handsome face was composed, and beneath his sharp, heroic eyebrows, his deep, tranquil eyes mirrored a lion that had weathered countless life-and-death struggles—calm yet overwhelmingly powerful. Shen Zhongchen glanced back, noticing that Beiming Qianye, seated in the back, seemed enveloped in a faint, holy radiance that made him look both divine and majestic.

“Chief, we’ve arrived three days early. Should I contact the head of Han City Base to make advance arrangements for you?” Shen Zhongchen asked over his shoulder.

Beiming Qianye replied with a placid expression, “Arriving early is the only way to see the true state of the base. Secretary Shen, there is no need to alert the base chief. I want to understand the reality of this place.”

Shen Zhongchen nodded. “Understood, Chief.”

The Hummer parked quietly in the main courtyard of Han City Base. Watching the bustling crowds of people, Shen Zhongchen said, “Chief, I’ll go register our stay first and grab a set of local uniforms for you while I’m at it.”

Beiming Qianye gave a slight nod. Shen Zhongchen stepped out of the vehicle, donning a winter visor made of bulletproof material, and headed to the living center to handle their check-in. Beiming Qianye stepped out of the car alone. His silver winter uniform made him stand out strikingly. Han City Base had been constructed quite well; the people here lived in an orderly, structured manner.

Not far away, a little boy standing in the icy snow caught Beiming Qianye’s attention.

“Datou, this is awesome! You came to the base too!” Chen Xiaobao broke free from Xu Xiaoka’s grasp and sprinted toward his good friend, Datou.

Before the apocalypse, Datou and Xiao Bao had been desk mates in kindergarten. The boy’s real name was Cai Xiaoyu, but because of his unusually large head, the other kindergarteners had given him the nickname Old Cai.

Today, while Chen Xiaobao and Xu Xiaoka were returning from the food window, they unexpectedly ran into Datou and his mother. Thrilled, Xiao Bao enthusiastically pulled his hand away from Xu Xiaoka to go greet his good friend.