The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 261: The Fourth Building

Chapter 261: The Fourth Building

Xu Feng entered the building that housed the restaurants cautiously, his metal baseball bat gripped tightly in his hands. The air inside was stale, and the faint scent of decay lingered. The interior was dimly lit, with a few shattered windows and overturned furniture, evidence of the chaos that had erupted in this place.

As he moved further into the building, he couldn’t help but replay the scene he had witnessed outside. The man abandoned by his companions had been a stranger, and his desperate pleas had filled the air with a haunting echo. But Xu Feng’s mind was a whirlwind of possibilities.

What if the group had been friends, driven to a gruesome decision by desperation? Or perhaps the man had antagonized the others in some way, leading to his cruel abandonment.

The apocalyptic world he now found himself in was far removed from the apocalyptic novels he had once enjoyed. The harsh reality of survival, where humanity’s basest instincts often reigned, was nothing like the fictional tales of heroism and friendship he could sometimes find in books. He couldn’t help but regret his decision to go out on this risky mini venture.

"Sigh," he muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the silence that enveloped the restaurant building. If he were still in the modern world that wasn’t fu**ed up, he thought, he might need therapy to cope with the trauma of what he had witnessed. The idea of facing nightmares filled with rotting corpses was a demoralizing possibility, but here in this desolate world, there was no one to turn to for comfort.

Xu Feng forced his thoughts away from the haunting images and focused on practical matters. He needed to secure the building, ensuring that it was safe from both the undead and any potential threats from the living. He mentally blocked out the gruesome sights he had encountered and concentrated on his current task.

The building contained four restaurants in total, though most of the valuable supplies had already been scavenged by previous survivors. Xu Feng did manage to find an opened half bag of rice, approximately 2 kilograms in weight, as well as some questionable eggs and a variety of spices—a huge haul actually.

The eggs had been abandoned, left to rot alongside the rest of the decaying food in the refrigerators and freezers.

He couldn’t afford to be picky, and despite the uncertainty surrounding the freshness of the eggs, Xu Feng decided to take them with him. Every resource counted in this unforgiving world, and he needed to be resourceful to make Xu Zeng’s life easier.

Before scavenging for his newly gathered supplies, Xu Feng had carefully sealed the entrance to the restaurant building, barricading the doors as best as he could. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would buy him some time and provide a degree of security.

As he glanced around at the dilapidated interior of the building, Xu Feng couldn’t help but wonder about the fate of those who had once dined here, the laughter and conversations that had filled the air now silenced by the march of the undead. In this world, even the most mundane places held echoes of the past, reminders of lives that had been forever altered by the apocalypse.

Xu Feng continued his exploration of the building, hoping to find any useful items that had been overlooked by previous scavengers. As he moved through the deserted restaurants, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just one small, fragile soul in a world that had lost its humanity.

After making a second run through the deserted restaurants, Xu Feng’s diligent search finally paid off. His eyes fell upon an unmarked container that seemed to hold some kind of substance. At first glance, it appeared unremarkable, but his time spent in Nanshan cooking had sharpened his senses, allowing him to identify the hidden treasure.

Upon closer inspection, Xu Feng realized that the container held flour, albeit of questionable quality. It was clear that someone had attempted to disguise it, perhaps fearing that others might steal their meager supplies. If he hadn’t developed a keen eye for cooking ingredients, he might have overlooked this unmarked find.

His heart lifted as he continued his search, and soon he stumbled upon a real prize—a large container of oil. It had been carefully hidden in a staff room, locked away in a locker. Xu Feng couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the work of survivors planning to return for their goods.

Instead, it seemed like one of the restaurant’s staff members had intended to take the oil home, along with other supplies, such as canned goods—canned sardines, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, corned beef—and several rolls of toilet paper.

All good things that could last a long time.

The staff member’s secret stash turned out to be a stroke of luck for Xu Feng. He gathered up the items and left them by the door, knowing they would prove invaluable in the challenging days ahead.

Before leaving the building, he made a detour to retrieve the crystal nuclei Xu Zeng had stashed nearby. The nuclei had been concealed in an inconspicuous utility space, a location that would be overlooked by casual passersby. Xu Feng was growing more impressed with his brother’s resourcefulness with each discovery.

Approaching a large trash bag that seemed out of place in this bleak environment, Xu Feng carefully examined it. Unlike the persistent stench that flooded the world outside, this bag was odorless. He had learned to rely on his senses to distinguish potential treasures, and this bag seemed to hold promise.

Beneath the pile of waste paper that initially met his eyes, Xu Feng uncovered a hidden duffle bag. It was much larger than he had expected and filled with crystal nuclei of various colors.

The realization of what Xu Zeng had been doing over the last six months struck him. His brother had become a relentless hunter in this chaotic world, dedicated to their survival and reunion.

Xu Feng couldn’t help but pause, his heart swelling with gratitude for his brother’s commitment.