Hunting for Meat

There were barely any zombies along the way, so the journey passed without incident.

Aside from the three drivers-Stone, Fat Brother, and Monkey-everyone took the opportunity to sleep on the road.

This was nothing like Pre-Apocalypse, when they could read novels, scroll through short videos, or browse shopping apps whenever they were bored, and hours would fly by.

To keep everyone in peak fighting condition at all times, they had to rest whenever they could, whether they felt sleepy or tired or not.

With three or four kilometers still to go before the zoo, they no longer dared stay in the vehicles. They got out and continued on foot, with scattered mutant beasts already appearing along the roadside.

There were noticeably fewer zombies, too. This area was clearly a paradise for mutant beasts.

Mutant beasts were different from zombies. Some domesticated animals might not be quite so aggressive after mutating, but that was by no means certain. It also depended on the animal's natural habits.

"I have a question. Which kind of mutant beast do you think tastes best?" Monkey asked.

Keke raised a hand and answered, "I like beef."

"Pork, obviously! It smells amazing. Grilled pork belly wrapped in a leaf of greens-how delicious is that?" Xiao Shiliu added.

"Right, but does a zoo even have chickens, ducks, fish, cattle, pigs, or sheep? Did we come to the wrong place? Shouldn't we be going to a livestock farm?" Monkey asked.

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Bai Yaoyao smacked her forehead. "Oh my god, why didn't you say that sooner?"

"Hahahaha, because I only just thought of it myself," Monkey said with a laugh.

"We're already here. We'll eat whatever we catch!" Bai Yaoyao said.

"Works for me! Solid plan! Let's do it!" Remembering the taste of last night's mutant tiger meat, everyone tightened their grip on their machetes.

"Rabbit! Catch it!" Before Fat Brother even finished speaking, A-Dai and Big Meow charged out together. Big Meow got there first and pinned the rabbit with one paw.

"Big Meow, spare its life!" Bai Yaoyao shouted.

Big Meow froze, nearly letting the rabbit escape, then quickly pulled back the paw and pinned the rabbit beneath a body instead, keeping it from moving.

Once Bai Yaoyao reached them, she examined it carefully. The rabbit had grown slightly larger, and its front teeth gleamed faintly with a metallic sheen. It was a mutant rabbit.

"Sister Yaoyao, can mutant beasts reproduce?" Xiao Shiliu asked.

"It's pretty difficult. Reproduction rates have dropped a lot for both humans and mutant beasts. Rather than spend all that time raising one, we might as well just eat it.

"But my space has mutated now, too, so I want to try raising some. Come take a look, everyone. Is this rabbit male or female? Will they mate if we just put a male and female together?" Bai Yaoyao asked earnestly.

Everyone stared at one another, equally baffled.

"Why don't we forget it and just eat it?" Fat Brother finally suggested, unable to resist the thought of spicy rabbit head.

Bai Yaoyao rolled her eyes and put the rabbit into her space. "If we find another rabbit, we'll keep them. If not, we'll eat this one."

"Deal."

"Stay alert, everyone. Don't attack first, or we could get swarmed. We'll counterattack," Bai Yaoyao reminded them.

"Roger!"

H City Zoo covered roughly 430 mu and was the only specialized zoo in H City. It housed nearly a thousand animals from over a hundred species, including many rare protected animals.

Bai Yaoyao had no idea how many species had evolved into mutant beasts, so she did not dare lead everyone recklessly deeper inside.

If they were only after something tasty, there was really no need to take this risk. After all, she had stocked up on plenty of delicious food before the apocalypse. They would not have to worry about food for at least thirty years.

But mutant beast meat had a significant effect on restoring ability users' energy. If they needed to keep fighting, it could quickly replenish their stamina—something food from Pre-Apocalypse could not do.

The ticket office at the zoo entrance was in complete ruins. A few low-level zombies wandered around, eager to move toward them as soon as they caught the scent of living people.

Those with ranged attacks unleashed their abilities, taking down one each.

Bai Yaoyao glanced inside the ticket office as she passed. All the window glass had shattered, and the bloodstains on the floor were dark red mixed with inky green.

The bodies on the floor that had not become zombies bore obvious claw marks from wild beasts. Their flesh had been torn open and rotted beyond recognition, crawling with maggots. The large predators must all have gained the ability to get over the barriers.

"Let's follow the outer edge and not go too far in," Bai Yaoyao said.

Most mutant beasts underwent a massive increase in size or multiplied their strength several times over. Some also gained an enhanced body part. At the same time, they became smarter than before-Doggie excluded-and more sensitive to good and ill intent.

The moment they entered the zoo, they were met with desolation. Human, zombie, and animal corpses littered the ground. A signpost had been trampled flat and lay covered in dust and blood. Only after Monkey rinsed it with water could they barely make out what it said.

To the left were the Performance Hall, Swan Lake, the zebras, and the Aquarium. To the right were Rabbit Park, Monkey Mountain, Penguin Hall, and the Turtle and Snake Hall.

"Let's go right," Bai Yaoyao said after some thought.

Seeing the Turtle and Snake Hall suddenly reminded Bai Yaoyao of something. While chatting with Meng Qilin in her previous life, she had heard him mention that he had nearly died during the first relocation he led at the start of the apocalypse.

A mutant giant python more than ten meters long had suddenly appeared in front of the group, its scales as hard as steel. Ordinary firearms could not hurt it at all, and a single sweep of its tail sent dozens of people flying.

Even with every ability user attacking at once, they could barely restrict its movements. They had no way to kill it and could not even break through its defenses.

They had been forced to turn back and wait until the mutant python left before setting off again, losing another week. That had stretched their already limited supplies even thinner. If reinforcements from the City D base had not arrived in the end, they might never have made it there safely.

The zoo was in eastern H City, and the highway beside it led straight to City D. Bai Yaoyao suspected that the mutant python had escaped from the zoo.

Since they were here, they might as well take a look. Perhaps it was not that strong yet, and they could kill it ahead of time.

"Holy crap! That's a rabbit? Did a cartoon come to life? This is beyond ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous..."

Rabbit Park was a stretch of grassland, but without keepers tending it, the grass had long since wilted. An artificial rock formation stood in the middle, with a few small mounds scattered nearby.

Most of the rabbits disliked fighting and had little desire to attack. Seeing people approach, they hurried into their burrows.

A few, however, did not hide. Their red eyes gleamed with eagerness.

As though they had planned it together, those three giant rabbits charged toward the members of Dark Night at full speed, mouths open and their two large front teeth gleaming.

Judging from their energy fluctuations, they were level two. Bai Yaoyao figured they would not be too strong, so she told Big Meow and Doggie beforehand to stay out of it.

If those two charged in, everyone else would probably have nothing left to fight.