The Chef Rules the Last Days
Chapter 322 - 321: Visit

Chapter 322: Chapter 321: Visit

Ding Yan had witnessed all this on the way here, and the extinction of so many students pained his heart just as much.

The smile on Li Yun’s face remained unchanged as he simply explained, "Guo Hua is a good man and a regular person; he would never do such a thing."

In the midst of their conversation, Su Mo had already finished off the entire chicken cutlet. She patted her belly, a look of satisfaction on her face.

Lu Chen passed her a napkin and looked at Ding Yan, saying lightly, "The misunderstanding between you and the epidemic prevention zone started because of He Fei. If he’s smart enough, these few hundred students of yours wouldn’t have to die."

Zhao Changsheng sat with his legs crossed, resting his hand on the table, and looked at Ding Yan with some disdain in his fox-like eyes, "Considering your age, how can you be so clueless? If you had agreed to cooperate earlier, would you have encountered so many troubles afterwards?"

Their words were a blatant bias in favor of the epidemic prevention zone.

Ding Yan’s expression turned extremely ugly.

"The gentleman and lady are correct. I, too, only just learned why Mr. He previously refused our terms. This misunderstanding is indeed quite troublesome," Li Yun said politely toward Lu Chen. He held full respect for someone of the same standing.

With a half-drunk cup of sheep milk in hand, Su Mo raised it towards him, "No need to be so polite. He’s Lu Chen, and I’m Su Mo."

After announcing her name, she introduced the members of her team one by one, seeming to be very friendly with the epidemic prevention zone.

Li Ming appeared quite pleased since among all the people brought back, only a few had a level high enough to be considered their peers.

Ding Yan hung his head, unwilling to relent, and the expressions of the student superpower users beside him also looked quite grim.

The majority of those who had died were their companions, with whom they had spent a great deal of time, even if they often had bad tempers.

Only after the atmosphere had completely stiffened did Li Qian open his mouth in a warm voice to make it worse, "With fuel being scarce now, if no one goes out to search for supplies, then those students you took in might have to go hungry again."

Ding Yan looked at Li Qian in surprise. He couldn’t understand why these formerly good people were now speaking for these murderers, but a more brutal reality followed.

He had to hand over the keys to the Refining Factory, and the oil, he had to provide it. Otherwise, with zombies rampant outside, how were the students going to survive?

All eyes were fixed on Ding Yan, it was well-known that only he had the start-up key and knew how to refine fuel.

Mu Rou, who had only spoken once from the start to the end, turned her head. Her empty left eye was covered by a towel, her other eye, looking at Ding Yan, was filled with dead silence, "Actually, Miss Su and the others are quite right. Are we going to protect these ordinary people for the rest of their lives? If Miss Su and her team hadn’t come, just the snow and the horde of rats in the living district would have already wiped us out."

No matter the beginning, the outcome was, after all, the same.

No matter how much they cherished or protected someone, they always had to be wary of being stabbed in the back.

Mu Rou was the first to realize this, but the price she paid was very heavy.

Ding Yan remained silent. Mu Rou spoke in a hoarse voice with a calm narrative, "Think about our journey to the Refining Factory. Are those people, who only care about their own survival, really worth it?"

The student superpower users were moved to the core.

Seeing their expressions, Su Mo knew that the cooperation was, in effect, a success.

And they had also acquired a small portion of the trust from the epidemic prevention zone.

Now, all that was left was an opportunity for them to propose leaving.

Under the many fervent gazes, Ding Yan compromised.

He stood up and said, "I can show you how to refine fuel, but I have one small request, make sure those students live well."

"Deal," Li Yun proactively pushed his chair away and leaned closer to Ding Yan using the table for support, refusing any help that Li Ming offered. He extended his hand clad in black gloves to Ding Yan.

Once their hands clasped, the transaction was considered complete.

During this lunch, Li Yun had achieved his goal. He was so pleased that he didn’t immediately send them away; instead, he instructed the housekeeper to clear the table and serve new desserts and tea.

"Try the homemade cookies," he suggested.

Su Mo couldn’t help but admire the Governor’s standard of living, her hands obediently picking up several cookies. There was no helping it—their housekeeper truly made delicious things.

Drinking too much tea leads to frequent restroom visits.

"You guys chat, I’m going to the restroom," Su Mo stood up from her chair and nodded to Li Yun.

"Let Aunt Mei take you," Li Yun called back the woman who had been busy with milk and cookies.

"Come with me, Miss," said Aunt Mei, her head bowed, like a maid from a wealthy household, not daring to look her master directly in the eyes.

As Su Mo followed her, she felt something odd. Was she afraid?

She doesn’t look scary, does she?

The restroom she needed to use was located on the second floor toward the back, accessible by a corridor flanked with several tightly shut bedroom doors.

Just as they reached the midpoint, a noise like a falling chair came from above, a heavy ’thump’.

Su Mo halted mid-stride, her sharp senses catching the quiver that ran through the body of the woman called Aunt Mei ahead of her. She looked up and caught something odd on the ceiling.

There was an attic above them.

As a perturbed Aunt Mei turned back to look at her, Su Mo pretended as though she had heard nothing, simply asking, "Why have we stopped?"

"No... no reason," Aunt Mei chuckled nervously. She was of an advanced age, her temples graying and her sunken eyes betraying an anxiety she couldn’t hide.

Watching her turn back to continue leading the way, Su Mo felt a suspicion growing. What was in the attic that had her so unnerved?

After using the restroom, she returned to the dining table.

Aunt Mei whispered something into Li Yun’s ear, something Su Mo attempted to eavesdrop on. But it was as if an invisible barrier had been erected between her and Li Yun, blocking any sound.

After Aunt Mei finished speaking, Li Yun stood up, indicating it was time to close doors and bid goodbye to guests.

Li Ming spontaneously got up to lead them downstairs.

"I’ll show you around the epidemic prevention zone. My brother has some matters to deal with," he said, leading the way and chewing gum as they left the mansion.

Ding Yan’s group clearly had no interest in touring the epidemic prevention zone, their mood not particularly bright. They briefly said their goodbyes and departed.

Passing several mansions, quite a few women greeted Li Ming, suggesting they were on good terms.

Walking beside Lu Chen, Su Mo hugged his arm, playing the role of a cutesy girlfriend, "Are all these women and elderly people living here family members?"

Li Ming looked back, chuckled, and openly explained, "Before the apocalypse, my brother and I ran a private security company. These women were picked up during resource scavenging trips to be our wives, and some are our mothers."

The group had an epiphany. No wonder most of these men were burly and so well-armed, and why there were so many women who could casually wander the streets.