The Chef Rules the Last Days
Chapter 257 - 255: Accepting the Task

Chapter 257: Chapter 255: Accepting the Task

Su Mo tugged at Lu Chen’s sleeve and blinked at him; the man nodded slightly, and his lips parted as he whispered, "Okay."

"Let’s go," Su Mo said with a smile as she took Lu Chen’s hand, and their party of four became five.

Inside the task distribution hall, several unfamiliar faces greeted Jian Qing, clearly robust young men who had come from the Outer Ring intending to form teams and take on tasks.

"Jian Qing, come on, let’s take a task together!"

A burly man with a beard slapped Jian Qing on the shoulder.

Jian Qing was well-acquainted with him and called out loudly, "I’ve found a team already. What about you? With your brother? He is a task assigner!"

"He has a task for tomorrow, and I’ve got my brothers together too, finally no need to build walls anymore, this feels so good!" laughed the bearded man, his face filled with yearning for the life ahead.

Jian Qing nodded, "Alright then, I’ll be off first, see you."

...

This little episode didn’t catch the attention of Su Mo and the others; they all knew that these were people who had survived after being injected with the medicine and had come here.

Su Mo led her group to line up at the window and also took note of the information written on the electronic screen hanging above, "The second batch of medicine will be released soon..."

She murmured to herself, "That’s too quick, Commander Jiang really trusts this product."

"Sir, what task would you like to take?" came a reminder from the front desk.

It was their turn, Su Mo snapped back to reality, fixing her eyes on the screen on the table, "We want to hunt, edible Mutant Beasts."

The clerk flipped through some options, dividing several tasks on the computer, "Take a look, these are all nearby hunts, a round trip can be done in one day."

"Good," Su Mo replied, checking them out and not forgetting to consult Li Qian and the others, "One is a dairy farm, and the other is a large chicken coop in the countryside, what do you think about these two? Only 10% of the meat needs to be paid."

"Either one is fine," said Li Qian and Zhao Changsheng, who had no opinion on the matter—after all, Su Mo was in charge of food-related decisions, and they just needed to provide labor.

Jian Qing also said, "As long as there’s something to eat, anything is fine."

Su Mo nodded and told the person behind the window, "Then the pasture, for a team of five."

"One moment, the pasture task is for a team of ten. If you want to take it, you can collaborate," the clerk informed.

"I’ll take it!"

Su Mo turned her head, and not far away, Jin Han was striding toward them, his big golden teeth gleaming as he grinned.

"Isn’t your squad taking missions together?"

Jin Han replied, "Two of our brothers died in the squad, and they’ve been in a bad mood lately, so I took a few guys out to take some tasks."

Indeed, those two men had died right in front of her, Su Mo pursed her lips, "I’m very sorry about the loss of those two brothers."

Jin Han started to pat her shoulder but withdrew his hand when he sensed the coldness emanating from Lu Chen. He said with a broad-mindedness, "Now life and death are normal. I’ve been told about their situation, there’s no need for regrets, fate dictates life and death."

Seeing his broad-mindedness, Su Mo chose not to say more and let the clerk add the names of Jin Han and his teammates.

Before the two groups parted ways, Su Mo suddenly said to Jin Han, "If you trust me, prepare enough food and gasoline to last a week when you get back."

Jin Han stopped in his tracks, his voice lowering, "Is something wrong?"

Su Mo neither nodded nor shook her head, but said to him solemnly, "I can’t say for sure right now, if you don’t trust me then consider it storing grain, try to get more supplies on hand."

Her clear, large eyes were filled with seriousness; the matter did not seem like a lie. Jin Han glanced at Lu Chen, whose face was completely expressionless. Unable to read anything, he centered himself and said, equally solemnly, "I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow then."

Waving her hand at him, Su Mo walked away. Jian Qing, who had been listening to their conversation the whole time, looked somewhat upset. "Miss Su, what, what has happened?"

Su Mo looked at him, her mouth corner twitching upward slightly, "No worries, go back and have a good rest tonight."

Anxiety stirred in Jian Qing’s heart, yet he suppressed his thoughts and bid her farewell.

Lu Chen ruffled her hair from above, "Are you thinking of using his help?"

Staring at Jian Qing’s receding figure, Su Mo murmured, "Aren’t we going to the dairy farm tomorrow? If there truly is a problem with the medicine, then something must be noticeable on him."

Zhao Changsheng looked at her in surprise, "Momo, I’ve come to realize you are quite wise."

A twitch pulled at the corner of Su Mo’s mouth, "I think, in our team, if Jianxiong is the dumbest, you must rank second to last."

Zhao Changsheng didn’t care at all about her comment, his fox-like eyes hooked on her, "If Momo says so, that’s fine then."

With her hand on her forehead, Su Mo said, "Let’s not rush back first. Let’s walk around the street and buy some things."

All three agreed, and followed Su Mo to the commercial street for a spree.

They all had quite a few points saved in their identity cards, which could be exchanged for a lot of things.

Warm boots made from mutant beast fur, cold medicine, canned food, they also got quite a bit of ammunition.

Sometimes, firearms could serve as an excellent resistance when superpowers aren’t an option.

Each person carried two big bags of items, and after dining at the Infinity Restaurant, they returned to the apartment laden with their haul.

After splitting up, Su Mo encountered Xiaoqiao kneeling at her doorstep once again, feeling an unwarranted annoyance towards this woman.

Seeing her return, Xiaoqiao stood up, trembling, looking somewhat off.

"Miss... Miss Su Mo"

Her voice was shaky. Su Mo passed her bags to Lu Chen and walked over, her expression indifferent, "Could you please move aside? I need to get inside."

"Really, can’t you help me?" Xiaoqiao clutched at her sleeve, her hair disheveled, her eyes swollen into walnuts.

Sniffing suddenly, Su Mo turned her head, her brow furrowing slightly, "Did you have relations with someone?"

She had caught a whiff of that rotten scent when she came close to her.

Xiaoqiao cried again, but this time with a hint of despair, "Didn’t you tell me to approach the soldiers of the Inner Ring? I did. I satisfied all their demands, but I still can’t get in."

Reaching out, Su Mo wiped away her tears, her tone even, "I can’t help you, I’m sorry."

She turned the key, opened the door, and entered the house with Lu Chen.

Just as she was about to close the door, Xiaoqiao blocked it with her foot. She hung her head low, her facial expression obscured, "I’ve been acting as a background for you at Zhao Changsheng’s place for a whole month, forced to separate from my parents. Can’t you really help me just once?"

Su Mo began to feel anger towards her words, her reply was biting and unforgiving,

"As ordinary people, you have the right to live, but status has always been something you fight for yourself. Your most valuable asset might just be your body; besides that, do you have anything else you can offer in exchange?"