Task: Kill Xiong Er

"Roasted Bear Paw??"

Qi Liang's lips twitched slightly. While he had no objection to the words themselves, looking at the dark, black paw made him really unable to bring himself to eat it.

But Zhao Ke didn't care about that. He was genuinely hungry. After all this running around, he wasn't made of iron, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger.

"But... isn't there meat on it? I think it tastes pretty good."

Seeing Zhao Ke holding two bloody bear paws, the thought of him eating this made Qi Liang's skin crawl.

He quickly pointed to the large pot on the stove, where chunks of meat were stewing and still giving off a rich aroma.

"Blech!!"

Chen Jing, hearing Qi Liang's words, didn't feel any appetite. Instead, her face turned pale, and before she could explain, she leaned over the doorway and started vomiting again.

Zhao Ke rolled his eyes. He really didn't know if Qi Liang was truly stupid or just naive.

Zhao Ke picked a few pieces of firewood from the woodpile outside, lit a fire, and sat alone in the yard, preparing the two bear paws in his hands.

Bear paws weren't easy to prepare. If not handled properly, they could have a fishy, unpleasant smell that made them hard to swallow.

But this was nothing for Zhao Ke.

He skillfully used his knife to remove the tendons and fascia, skin the paws, and debone them. These movements were as if he had done them a thousand times.

"You knew all along?"

At this moment, Chen Jing also walked out. The cold wind seemed to help her recover from her nausea. Seeing Zhao Ke sitting by the bonfire, her face turned cold, and she walked over to question him.

Zhao Ke didn't answer. Instead, he directly placed the prepared bear paws on the fire rack to roast.

"I'm asking you a question!"

Seeing Zhao Ke's indifferent attitude, Chen Jing became angry. At this moment, Zhao Ke placed the bear paws by the bonfire and patted the non-existent dust from his hands.

Chen Jing saw Zhao Ke put down the bear paws and was impatiently waiting for him to apologize. However, Zhao Ke raised his hand.

"Slap!"

A loud slap caught Chen Jing completely off guard. The stinging pain on her face made her mind go completely blank.

"Stupid!"

Zhao Ke stared at Chen Jing and coldly uttered a single word, feeling disappointed by the psychologist's lack of vigilance.

That's right, he had chosen to travel with them, but that didn't mean they were his companions, nor did it mean he had to take care of them like a nanny.

On the contrary, Zhao Ke valued their usefulness. If they had no value, or worse, became a burden, she would be the next female office worker to be left in the bushes.

"You're a psychologist, and yet you accepted scar-faced man's words earlier. You should have known this place is definitely not a roadside inn.

In the middle of nowhere, with no vegetable gardens or pigpens around, and she cooked such a large pot of meat – even a fool could tell something was wrong. Don't ask me why I didn't warn you. If you don't even value your own life, why blame others? I'm not your father."

From the moment he entered, Zhao Ke had his suspicions, partly due to his keen sense of smell, which detected the masked smell of blood.

But even without his sense of smell, as a chef, Zhao Ke could tell at a glance what kind of ingredients, what kind of smell, and what kind of meat was in the bowl.

"You!"

First, she was slapped for no reason, and then scolded by Zhao Ke like this, Chen Jing felt a blockage in her chest as if it were stuffed with stones.

But when she looked up and saw the disappointment in Zhao Ke's eyes, Chen Jing's heart suddenly tightened. She quickly thought of something, and a chill like ice water poured down from her head. Chen Jing shivered instinctively.

"Ugh!"

At this moment, Qi Liang came scrambling out of the house. He saw the blackened bear paws on the bonfire, their fur scorched, emitting a pungent smell of burning. This made Qi Liang's stomach churn again.

However, this smell of burning was quickly replaced by another aroma. Zhao Ke took down the blackened bear paws, found some seasonings in the kitchen, smeared them on, and continued to roast them over the fire for a while. Golden oil began to drip onto the hot coals, and a rich fragrance filled the air.

Even though Qi Liang and Chen Jing had no appetite, they couldn't help but stare enviously at the roasted bear paws in Zhao Ke's hands as they smelled the aroma.

"Hoo hoo..."

Zhao Ke blew on the paw and tore it apart with his hand, separating the thick bones and muscles. He took a bite, and fat sprayed out from both sides.

Perhaps the bear paw was too old, making the meat a bit tough, but for Zhao Ke, who was already hungry, it was still delicious.

"Tastes good, just a bit tough."

Zhao Ke nodded. If the meat of this bear paw hadn't been so old, he believed the taste would have been even better.

Watching Zhao Ke eat with gusto, Qi Liang and Chen Jing could only stare. They had thrown up most of what they had eaten earlier, and their stomachs were already rebelling.

But if they were really asked to eat it, they wouldn't be able to. Let alone what they had eaten before, even if they hadn't, just seeing the whole process would have been unbearable. It would be a miracle if they could still eat at this point.

"Freak!"

Seeing Zhao Ke finish both bear paws in a flash, Chen Jing couldn't help but mentally assess Zhao Ke. Her conclusion was that the man in front of her was either an idiot or a pervert, though Chen Jing leaned towards the latter.

"What the hell, how do we get out of this place? Didn't that scar-faced man say we could leave once we found the key?"

Qi Liang sat on the ground, scratching his messy hair. They had been busy from day to night and still hadn't found the so-called mission. He was getting anxious and on the verge of losing his mind.

"I'll go take a look."

Chen Jing was also getting impatient. She stood up, suppressing the nauseating smell of meat, and walked into the room. As soon as she entered, she instinctively looked down at the old woman's corpse. The sight made Chen Jing's heart clench.

"Ah!"

Hearing Chen Jing's scream, Qi Liang was stunned for a moment, then immediately got up and rushed inside. However, he was a step too slow. Before he could even get up, Zhao Ke had already rushed into the room.

Zhao Ke, holding a gleaming fruit knife in one hand, strode into the room. He saw Chen Jing standing there, pointing a finger at the old woman's corpse on the ground.

"As soon as I came in... I saw those blood words on the floor."

Following Chen Jing's gesture, Zhao Ke's expression stiffened. In front of the old woman's corpse, a line of blood words had appeared at some point.

[Mission: Kill Xiong Er!]

[Mission Hint: Xiong Er is like his mother, but Xiong Er, in his prime, is even stronger than his mother. Kill him, or... be killed by him.]

It was unknown when these words had appeared, but it was certain that this was the mission they were looking for.

"Xiong Er? Who is Xiong Er?"

Qi Liang also walked in at this moment. Seeing the blood words on the ground, he asked in confusion.

"It's her son. Don't you remember? She mentioned before that she had another son. The mission is most likely referring to her son," Zhao Ke reminded him.

"But... we have to kill again?"

Upon hearing that they had to kill again, Chen Jing and Qi Liang looked uncomfortable. Normally, they wouldn't dare to kill a cat or dog, let alone a person. Qi Liang had only hit the old woman with a stool out of desperation before. Now, being asked to kill someone, they felt extremely awkward.

"They aren't human! Have you ever seen someone who can turn into a bear? More like a monster."

Although the old woman was far from the all-powerful monster he had imagined, he was certain she wasn't human.

Then, Zhao Ke pointed to Li Hongbing in the pickle jar beside them and said, "If you don't want to end up like him, it's best not to have any illusions."

"We understand that, but what should we do? Don't forget, this old guy almost killed us just now. If it's his son, with just the three of us? Can we kill him?"

Qi Liang said worriedly. With the fierce blow he had delivered earlier, even breaking the stool, it had only made the old woman falter. If his son came, the three of them probably wouldn't even be enough to fill his teeth.

Zhao Ke glanced at the large teapot on the table, walked over, picked it up, and sniffed it carefully. Then he looked at the old woman's corpse, his eyes lighting up. "Then let's take a gamble."

"Gamble?"

Qi Liang walked over, looking confused, and wanted Zhao Ke to explain more clearly. He reached out to pat Zhao Ke's shoulder and said, "Explain yourself, how... Pfft!"

Before he could finish speaking, Qi Liang's eyes widened. He saw the gleaming fruit knife in Zhao Ke's hand was already stuck in his thigh.