The Chef Rules the Last Days
Chapter 211 - 209: Breaking Free

Chapter 211: Chapter 209: Breaking Free

Unexpectedly, she ran into him!

In a chaotic mass of water, two worlds began to overlap.

The world before Su Mo’s eyes was rapidly changing, a huge suction pulling her at the bottom of the pond, and she gathered all her strength to hug the young Lu Jin and threw him ashore.

Faintly, he heard a frantic woman’s voice, "I’ve never been this unlucky in my life!"

"Stingy! I heard your voice!" Lu Jin coughed violently on the grass by the pond, his hands frantically reaching toward the water.

He had just touched her! He had touched her!

But she was gone.

The night was quiet, Su Mo had left his world.

Lu Jin sat by the pond, his heart more panicked than ever, calling out to her over and over, but the cold touch was no longer there.

"No!"

His shouting attracted many onlookers, Lu Jin hung his head, his body unmoving, until Fang Lian came over trying to carry him back.

He didn’t know where the strength came from, but he pushed Fang Lian down to the ground, his eyes fierce like a wild beast, "I’ll kill you!"

"Quick, pull them apart!"

"Pull apart!"

".."

"Cough cough" Su Mo choked out a mouthful of black water, lying on a heap of rocks, her body aching, her clothes clinging wetly to her skin.

The world before her was a blurry expanse of white; she blinked hard, was she back?

Was all that... really just an illusion?

Su Mo stretched out a trembling hand, the abrasions from the rocks confirming she was indeed still alive!

No wonder the system was ignoring her.

That Lu Chen...

Su Mo sat up on a stone mill, her heart trembling, [Is Lu Chen still alive?]

After her last bout of self-doubt, the system unusually responded quite promptly.

[Target retrieval...]

[Alive]

Su Mo sighed in relief, glad he was alive, she could still meet up with him in City B.

She rubbed her head, unsure how much time had passed, was that memory just a hallucination, so real.

Su Mo quietly sat among the stones for a while, not coming to any conclusion, she simply braced herself and slowly stood up.

A glimpse of a garment caught her eye.

"Hmm?" She hugged her arms, slowly leaning closer.

The pure black hair and chiseled face overlapped with the young face in her memories.

It was Lu Jin.

Su Mo’s expression grew complex, the illusion induced by the flagellated algae made her feel sympathy for his adult self.

This was the man who had easily broken her ribs.

Two conflicting thoughts clashed in her mind, Su Mo irritably scratched her head.

She stood beside him for a while, and finally kicked him in the butt, the man showed no reaction, the Tang Blade appeared in Su Mo’s hand, she stared at his face, "Killing you now would be foolproof, wouldn’t it?"

The illusion was ultimately unreal, and she should eliminate this dangerous person before her.

Su Mo glanced again at the dense forest around her and frowned upon thinking, relying on her strength alone to leave was hardly feasible. She had no map, was unclear about her location, and couldn’t predict the dangers she might encounter ahead.

With the Tang Blade pressed against his neck, Su Mo stared at his face. This man’s capabilities should be enough to get out, she thought tensely, battling within her mind intensely as a very soft voice made her pause in shock.

"Su Yao.. Su, Mo"

Su Mo put away her blade and lifted Lu Jin’s chin, "Who is Su Yao!"

The man’s eyes were tightly shut, his eyelashes fluttering, but he showed no signs of waking up.

Su Mo’s mind was in disarray. She had heard this name from Jiang Zhou’s lips; a significant figure somehow connected to the apocalypse and seemingly linked to her as well.

Her heart’s scale inclined slightly more towards saving the man.

She stared at his unconscious face for a moment and finally sighed, "Forget it".

She hoisted up his body, grateful for the permanent enhancement of strength she had received earlier, making carrying a large man manageable.

With her height, though, his feet dragged on the ground.

Su Mo dragged him deeper into the forest, unsure of her current location. Asking the system yielded no response—it ignored her as long as she wasn’t dying.

"Sigh"

This was one of countless sighs she had uttered since waking up.

Knife in one hand and the man hoisted on her shoulder, she finally stopped under a massive tree.

She was certain she was no longer on Southern Island—no tropical plants were in sight, but there were plenty of huge trees, each presenting its own set of risks after dark.

"Best to stay up in the tree tonight," she looked up, assessing that the tree’s girth was substantial enough to support both her and Lu Jin.

But now the problem was how to get him up there.

The thought of just killing him crossed her mind, but remembering Su Yao kept her curiously uneasy. It wasn’t clear why; it was just a gut feeling that something was odd.

She flipped him over and dumped him on the ground, noticing the bloody garment on Lu Jin’s chest.

Quickly ripping open his clothing, she frowned—his rib had pierced through his stomach, and blood had been trailing.

"Damn," Su Mo muttered under her breath.

If things continued this way, he might end up getting her killed. She rummaged through her System Bag and finally took out what was left—a half-bottle of Repair Tea.

Looking at the bottle then at the dying man, she tenderly poured the tea down his throat.

Watching his bones retract slowly, Lu Jin began to moan unconsciously in pain.

Su Mo hastily used some non-lethal mutated vines to tie his hands,

then dragged him further before climbing a large tree, securing themselves onto a spot with thick branches capable of supporting their weight.

As she pulled up the vines, she eventually left the man hanging mid-air.

"So heavy," she muttered, tying a knot on the sturdy trunk and rubbing her slightly reddened hands.

Nightfall had darkened the skies, and the forest was eerily silent. She lay on the trunk, boiling water with an automatic kettle and cooking a steaming bag of instant noodles in a Flat Pot.

The slurping noises of the noodles were continuous. Su Mo couldn’t tell how long she had been unconscious by the shore. Even after finishing the soup, she still licked her lips, wanting more.

After cleaning up, Su Mo leaned against the trunk, her clothing already dried by the wind. She gazed at the stars in the sky, noticing that Lu Jin showed no signs of waking. She couldn’t help but miss Lu Chen.

At the same time, she felt relieved that the food she prepared was stored in his Space, which could potentially save him if they encountered dangers on the way back to the city.

Sleepiness overwhelmed her, and Su Mo yawned, leaning against the trunk and closing her eyes.

In the dark, a pair of sharp and fierce black eyes opened, scanning the surroundings. When his gaze rested on the figure on the trunk, confusion flickered in his eyes.