Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

When Song You’ai reappeared after being missing for two days, the rest of the Starfire Team wasn’t surprised.

Xie Ning had told them her mother was in her Space trying to break through to the Fifth Rank of the Water Element, so everyone just assumed she was hard at work in the captain’s farmhouse Space.

But when Song You’ai actually appeared before them, they couldn’t help but be startled, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

”Auntie, this is incredible! I can’t tell what Rank your superpower is at all anymore.” Song Kexin stared at her aunt in shock, swallowing involuntarily.

Song You’ai hadn’t wanted to show off, but seeing everyone’s curious gazes, she couldn’t help but feel smug.

With a flip of her hand, a stream of water poured into a cup, emitting billows of steam.

Song Shijun reached out to touch the glass and immediately jerked his hand back. ”It’s hot!”

Song You’ai nearly put her hands on her hips and roared with laughter.

After breaking through to the Fifth Rank with her Water Ability, she had spent her time in the Space thinking and experimenting, and had finally figured out this hot water skill.

Before, she could only lower the water’s temperature, turning it into ice. Now, she could produce hot, boiling, and scalding water.

”What?” Song Kexin reached out in astonishment, snatching her hand back the moment she touched the cup. ”Auntie!” she cried out in alarm. ”Did your Water Ability mutate again?”

”Impressive, right?” Song You’ai lifted her chin smugly. ”From now on, we won’t need to boil water for instant noodles!”

Xie Ning, sitting off to the side, couldn’t help but laugh.

’My mom’s ambitions are really something else...’

’She spent all that time figuring out such a huge new skill, and the first thing she thinks of is not having to boil water for instant noodles.’

”Auntie, that means we won’t have to heat water for baths anymore either!” Song Kexin excitedly circled her aunt. ”This will save so much trouble! Cooking rice, making soup, instant noodles, rice noodles... hot water on demand!”

”HA HA HA HA HA!” The two of them, aunt and niece, were like a pair of lunatics, laughing with their hands on their hips.

Song Yaoguo couldn’t bear to watch them. He slapped the back of Song You’ai’s head. ”What are you giggling about? You went through all that trouble to get a mutated Water Ability just to heat bathwater and cook rice?”

Everyone: ...

Song Shijun laughed shamelessly.

”Well...” Song You’ai thought for a moment, then nodded with great seriousness. ”I’ll scald the zombies to death.”

Everyone silently exchanged glances, then burst into laughter.

”Mom, does this mean that after you boil the superpower water, you might be able to turn a large area of it into gas?”

Song You’ai froze, then fell into deep thought. ”You mean, my superpower water can be turned into boiling gas at will in the future.”

”I’ll have to study that... study that,” Song You’ai said, frowning in concentration.

Song Yaoguo casually praised, ”Ningning is just so smart. She gets it all from me.”

The old woman nearly died laughing at the deadpan old man. She shot him a glance and said, ”Didn’t we say we were making dumplings today? Are the wrappers ready?”

The old man made an ”OK” gesture. ”Everything is ready.”

For the past two days, the Starfire Team had been busy in the kitchen, making a lot of cooked meals and snacks, all of which Xie Ning had stored in her Space to keep fresh.

Although the farmhouse Space was stocked with a large amount of food and gourmet meals prepared by Zhu Zihao, those supplies were being consumed quickly.

Especially when they were out on missions, or sharing a room with a large group of people where it wasn’t convenient to have a big feast, their homemade snacks like pork floss rice balls, dumplings, wontons, zongzi, and buns were very convenient and nice to have.

Anyway, they had plenty of raw ingredients like rice, flour, oil, and vegetables in the Space. It was best to take advantage of the free time to prepare, lest they be caught off guard in the future.

”Ningning, from now on, Grandma and that old man, your grandpa, can keep making cooked food in the farmhouse Space.”

”No need, that would be too tiring. It’s more lively when the whole family does it together,” Xie Ning said softly, squatting beside her grandmother with a smile.

The old woman knew her granddaughter was concerned about the two elders’ health and couldn’t help but grin. ”We feel great. Ever since Xiao Yu and Xiaobei treated us, we don’t have a single ache or pain anywhere. Everything’s fine.”

”Don’t you worry, Ningning. Your grandpa and I can keep cooking for another ten years, no problem.”

”There’s no need to be so busy. In the future, when we get the chance, we can recruit a few cooks to help under the Starfire Team’s name.”

The old woman asked cautiously, ”Will that be reliable? What if they get suspicious about where we get so many ingredients and spread it around?”

Xie Ning was all smiles, but inwardly she thought coldly: ’Then we’ll just have to kill them.’

On the surface, however, facing the old woman, our dear classmate Xie Ning had to put on the facade of a good little girl. ”That won’t happen. The first thing we’ll do when recruiting is to vet their character.”

”We definitely won’t take anyone with bad character.”

”Character is more important than ability.”

”Right, right. Our Ningning is the smartest.” The old woman nodded happily.

Xie Ning rubbed her cheek against the back of her grandmother’s hand. ”Grandma, should I go mix the dumpling filling?”

”No need, let your grandpa do it.” The old woman stood up with a smile and called to the old man who was chatting. ”Old man, let’s go. Time to get to business.”

Song Yaoguo grunted, and with his hands behind his back, followed the old woman to the kitchen, unable to stop himself from muttering, ”Actually, when it comes to cooking, I’m the most experienced. You might not say it, but you admit it in your heart, don’t you?”

”You really know how to flatter yourself.” The old woman chuckled, and the two of them went into the kitchen, busy and whispering to each other.

”How’s the zombie horde outside now?” Song You’ai asked, sitting down next to her niece with a cup of hot water and a concerned expression.

”It’s stabilized,” Song Kexin said with a grin. ”Auntie, while you were in the Space advancing your superpower, you missed a lot these past two days.”

”Oh? Like what?”

”There was a big commotion over in A-1. It even alerted the base patrol,” Song Kexin whispered, scooting closer to her aunt. ”The higher-ups even sent Brother Gu Chen to mediate!”

Song You’ai’s expression tightened. ”It didn’t affect you guys, did it?”

”No,” Song Kexin shook her head. ”It doesn’t have much to do with us.”

”How could it not have much to do with us?” Song Shijun quickly explained. ”The trouble in A-1 was aimed at Superpower Users.”

”Superpower Users?”

Song Shijun quickly shared the information he had. ”I’ve been asking around. The ordinary people in A-1 are rebelling to demand better treatment.”

”They said when they first entered the underground shelter, they were told to just hold on for one night. But now, it’s been three or four nights...”

”Well, who can predict things in this apocalypse?” Song You’ai said, displeased. ”How can they blame Xiao Gu and the others for something like that?”

”Exactly. The key thing is, back then, some guy who doesn’t get along with Brother Gu Chen took it upon himself to lead a group to A-1 to suppress them. It caused a huge commotion and a lot of people got hurt.”

”There were injuries?”