The sky was dark, with only a faint gleam from the waning moon.
The campfire swayed gently in the evening breeze, offering everyone a little light.
At least.
They had survived another day.
The survivors began eating. Gnawing on steamed buns and bread was the norm. A handful were lucky enough to have some vegetable soup. As for meat... no one had any.
The rewards and risks of [Choices] were usually proportional.
Meat meant high protein and high energy. Naturally, it was not something an ordinary [Choice] could provide.
Meanwhile, survivors kept catching up to them from out of the darkness.
Everyone nearly cried with excitement when they saw the camp.
They had no vehicles and had come all this way on foot.
Catching up with the group was already an incredible feat.
They were the lucky ones. The unlucky ones, the slow ones, had remained in the darkness forever.
That was the rule of this group.
Those who fell behind...
Had only death waiting for them.
Now.
Lin Yu was feeling a little hungry too. Just as he was about to take out some bread, a thought struck him...
I almost forgot. Didn't I still have a rabbit?
Looking at the campfire still burning nearby, Lin Yu pictured a fragrant rabbit roasting over the flames, sizzling with fat, sprinkled with salt and cumin...
Lin Yu licked his lips and began swallowing his saliva.
But...
The Transcendents were all gnawing on bread. Wouldn't eating rabbit be a little too brazen?
He glanced at Yellow Hair, had an idea, and immediately said:
"Yellow Hair, bro, stop chewing on that bread."
Yellow Hair raised an eyebrow.
"What the fuck? You won't even let me eat?"
Lin Yu took the Demon Spirit Rabbit's carcass out of his woven plastic sack and said:
"Come have some meat."
Seeing the big, plump rabbit in Lin Yu's hands, Yellow Hair immediately widened his eyes. He stared straight at it and swallowed a huge mouthful of saliva.
That big, fat rabbit...
It looked delicious!
He had not eaten meat in ages!
In this resource-starved apocalypse, Transcendents were no different from ordinary people. If they wanted meat, they had to take risks inside Choices. Few would risk their lives just to satisfy their appetites!
But...
Anyone offering favors out of nowhere had to be up to something!
Why was Lin Yu offering him rabbit?
Yellow Hair pondered this for all of a tenth of a second before charging over excitedly. He hooked an arm around Lin Yu's neck and grinned wickedly. "I knew you were the most considerate guy around! I was right about you!"
Yellow Hair was strong. As a Transcendent, even though he was not a strength-type, his hold nearly left Lin Yu unable to breathe.
Lin Yu struggled free, turned to Shen Sui beside them, and smiled.
"Captain Shen, join us. This Demon Spirit Rabbit weighs over ten pounds. There's enough for all of us."
Yellow Hair licked his lips.
"I almost forgot, this is a transcendent rabbit! The meat from transcendent creatures tastes the best. Shen, come on!"
Yellow Hair waved at Shen Sui with his usual carefree air, without the slightest formality.
Like Yellow Hair, Shen Sui hesitated for only a tenth of a second before quietly putting away his half-eaten bread. He walked over, adjusted his glasses, and said:
"Mm... that's thoughtful of you, Lin Yu."
Shen Sui glanced at the rabbit in Lin Yu's hands, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
A transcendent rabbit, roasted...
He could hardly imagine how delicious it would be!
Lin Yu smiled.
"Without Captain Shen, this group would have fallen apart long ago. It's only a rabbit. Sharing it is the least I can do."
Then.
Lin Yu turned his gaze toward the lovely figure in red not far away and said:
"Ye, join us."
Ye Qing looked over with interest in her beautiful eyes, her lips curving slightly. Her pleasant voice carried a hint of languor. "There's a share for me too? Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Ye Qing walked over on her long legs, unable to keep her gaze from drifting toward the rabbit.
Lin Yu then looked into the darkness.
"And you too, Cheng."
He was calling the group's last remaining Transcendent, Cheng Yuening.
Energy stirred in the darkness. She seemed to be considering whether to come over.
A full three seconds passed.
Cheng Yuening finally emerged silently from the darkness.
Granted...
She disliked showing herself in public and disliked gatherings like this.
But...
The rabbit was far too tempting!
It had been six months since the apocalypse began!
They had not had a proper meal in half a year!
After the apocalypse arrived, a strange, mysterious power had destroyed all the food on Blue Star. Even canned goods with extremely long shelf lives had spoiled, becoming filled with deadly toxins.
A single bite meant death, and it tasted utterly revolting!
This was forcing humanity to obtain food through [Choices].
They could refuse, of course, and wait to die.
So even Transcendents...
Went hungry most days.
Having a bite of bread was already a blessing. As for meat... they could forget about it!
This really had become a world where an unlimited supply of egg fried rice could support an entire band of warriors willing to die for you.
Now.
Four of the group's five Transcendents had come over.
Lin Yu had deliberately left Zhai Guang out. After a dozen seconds, he acted as though he had suddenly remembered him. "Oh, right... there's Zhai Guang too... bro? Want to join us?"
Zhai Guang leaned against his heavy-duty motorcycle, clutching his bland, coarse, utterly flavorless bread. He glared fiercely at Lin Yu and said through gritted teeth, "No!!!"
The corners of Lin Yu's mouth lifted slightly.
"That's a real shame."
Yellow Hair waved a hand.
"No shame at all. He was trying to kill you earlier. How could he have the nerve to come eat your rabbit?"
Normally, Yellow Hair did not really dare offend Zhai Guang.
But Lin Yu had been so generous!
He had even brought out a rabbit!
If Yellow Hair did not speak up for him, that would make him downright ungrateful!
Out in the world, you had to stand by your friends!
Ye Qing's beautiful eyes flicked toward Zhai Guang, then returned to the fat rabbit. She said languidly:
"There isn't much rabbit meat anyway. One less person to share with is just right~."
An almost imperceptible smile curved Shen Sui's lips, and a little more appreciation entered the eyes behind his glasses.
Using one rabbit to win over the other four Transcendents.
And driving a wedge between those four and Zhai Guang...
Tsk...
Lin Yu's methods were becoming more and more interesting to him.
Unfortunately, the same problem remained.
It was a shame he was not a Transcendent.
Actually, Shen Sui was not the only one. The other three Transcendents could see what Lin Yu was thinking too.
Even Yellow Hair, the dumbest and most brainless of them, understood perfectly.
Lin Yu was doing this on purpose.
But.
They did not care.
They were all Transcendents. Why should they have to show Zhai Guang respect?
Did respect taste as good as rabbit?
Zhai Guang acted like a Supermale psychopath all the time. He had never shown them any respect either!
So...
Getting along with people mattered.
Zhai Guang's gaze turned icy, and he glared at Yellow Hair again. He was about to make another threat, but seeing the four Transcendents gathered together, he decided not to invite humiliation. He could only grit his teeth and walk away.
His hatred for Lin Yu reached its peak!
He wanted nothing more than to skin Lin Yu alive and tear out his tendons right then.
But Lin Yu did not care at all. He had already offended him, so he did not mind taking it a little further.
Lin Yu glanced at the plump rabbit in his hands and said:
"Does anyone know how to roast a rabbit?"
"My cooking... isn't great... letting me roast it would be a bit of a waste."
Yellow Hair instinctively scratched his head.
"I only know how to eat rabbit."
Ye Qing rubbed her forehead and said with a soft sigh:
"I don't."
Cheng Yuening: "..."
Silence.
Shen Sui shook his head, glanced toward the crowd, and said:
"Uncle Zhao, come roast the rabbit."
Shen Sui's personal butler remained as versatile as ever.
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