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Meeting me was the luckiest thing that ever happened to you.

There was nothing arrogant about that statement.

Who was Chen Luo?

A reborn master of survival who knew how the apocalypse would unfold. He had never died in his previous life, so he would surely survive to the end in this one too.

The difference was that he had stockpiled an unimaginable amount of supplies, no longer measured in pounds or bags.

They were measured in tons, even tens of thousands of tons.

Even someone like Chen Luo had once fought fiercely over a single sausage. It was hard to imagine just how scarce supplies had been.

With Chen Luo, she would have clean water and fresh meat. As his personal chef and housekeeper, could she possibly be treated poorly?

Chen Luo was ruthless toward his enemies, but he was exceptionally generous to his own people, especially those who stayed close to him.

Ma Yu's heart trembled. Yes, meeting Chen Luo really was her good fortune. Without him, she would have died just now-and been eaten by zombies, at that.

That alone was enough. Without much further thought, Ma Yu nodded and said, "I'm willing."

Having received the answer he wanted, Chen Luo smiled. If she had answered otherwise, he would have turned around and left her to fend for herself.

Ma Yu had been thinking things over earlier. Only now, after breathing a sigh of relief, did she realize how terribly hungry she was.

Back in the cold storage room, she had eaten a little raw produce every day. Carrots had tasted the best, but although she had gotten some during the first two days, none had been left for her after that.

The meager vegetables she ate each day had left her so hungry that her stomach churned with acid, making her miserable.

Unable to help herself, Ma Yu picked up a pack of crackers and wolfed them down.

Chen Luo did not stop her. "Don't eat too much. We'll have a feast when we get back to celebrate you joining us."

Then he added, "Of course, you'll have to cook it."

Soon, Su Dazhu and the Dharma King returned, and they all climbed into the heavy truck.

Ma Yu stared in amazement. Chen Luo had actually managed to find a truck like this.

As he drove, Chen Luo asked casually, "By the way, Ma Yu, have you awakened any abilities?"

Everyone would awaken an ability sooner or later.

Chen Luo explained abilities to her, then introduced his own and Su Dazhu's.

There was no need to hide his spatial ability from Ma Yu. She was the cook, and his ability space served as a refrigerator.

He simply would not tell her how much that refrigerator held.

Ma Yu thought for a moment. "On the third day, my head did hurt briefly. I don't know whether I gained any powers. I was so miserable from hunger that I didn't pay attention."

Awakening an ability on the third day was not outstanding, but it was certainly not bad.

After listening to him, Ma Yu tried hard to sense the power within her. Slowly, faint flames appeared on her palm.

They gave her quite a fright.

Chen Luo, however, was delighted.

Cooking needed fire, didn't it?

Food cooked with gas, an induction stove, charcoal, or firewood all tasted different.

And dishes cooked with an Esper Ability User's flames—with magic—tasted even better.

Flame ability users were not particularly rare. What was rare was finding one who was also a master chef.

And if that person was easy on the eyes too-well, he had struck gold.

Before long, they arrived home without incident.

Chen Luo eagerly took out ingredients for Ma Yu and asked her to prepare a feast.

Ma Yu already knew about his ability space, though she did not know how large it was, so she was not particularly surprised. She could control flames herself. Was it so hard to accept that Chen Luo could control space?

As aromas drifted out of the kitchen, the two men and one dog could not help drooling.

In just over an hour, Ma Yu finished eight dishes.

Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry, oyster mushrooms with tofu, green peppers with eggs, stir-fried greens, chicken stewed with glass noodles, Potato Braised Pork, cumin lamb, and stir-fried prawns with onions.

For soup, she made seaweed egg drop soup.

Everything looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful.

The meals Chen Luo had bought were all packaged, and at least half an hour had passed since they were cooked. There was still a difference between those and these freshly made dishes.

More importantly, the flavor was different too. Ma Yu's cooking smelled much better.

Ma Yu had not wanted to make so much at first, thinking they could not finish it. But that was a joke. If Su Dazhu let himself eat freely, he could polish it all off alone.

Chen Luo and Su Dazhu had been eating well, so the table full of dishes was not enough to make them embarrass themselves.

But Ma Yu, who had survived for five days on nothing but a little raw produce, could not help swallowing hard.

Chen Luo chuckled. "What are we waiting for? Let's dig in."

He picked up a piece of tofu. Its silky texture and delicious flavor nearly brought him to tears. Going to find Ma Yu had definitely been the right decision.

Although she was hungry, Ma Yu ate in small bites. Since they had only just met, she was still a little reserved.

After the meal, Chen Luo rubbed his belly contentedly. That had been wonderfully satisfying.

Meanwhile, Ma Yu began clearing up without being asked. Chen Luo thought happily, I'll never have to wash dishes again.

Always wanting to do something, Ma Yu intended to mop the floor after putting away the dishes, but Chen Luo assigned her a room first.

"You can take a shower too if you want. Just be careful not to get any untreated water in your mouth."

"You lost your phone, right? Here, you can have this one, along with this fifty-thousand-milliamp-hour power bank. The phone has movies and novels I downloaded. Take a look when you're bored."

With Ma Yu joining them, Chen Luo began living a life where even getting dressed was done for him-well, no, not quite. But his meals really were served up ready to eat.

Chen Luo no longer had to worry about chores. All he had to do each day was eat, drink, and enjoy himself.

The Dharma King also began living a normal dog's life.

Three days passed in a flash. Chen Luo was running low on the crystals he had obtained by killing zombies. Now that he had reached level three, he could absorb eighty of the lowest-grade crystals a day.

Su Dazhu needed ten a day, and the Dharma King needed twelve or thirteen. Ma Yu, who was still level one, needed two crystals a day.

Ma Yu really was lucky. Other people had to risk their lives fighting for crystals, while Chen Luo tossed them to her without a second thought.

He would need at least another ten days or so to become a Level Four Ability User.

Chen Luo planned to head out and get another batch of crystals.

Meanwhile, he had not forgotten Mi Ling and Mi Li.

"It's been ten days. I wonder whether they've tasted the hardships of the apocalypse yet. Probably not enough. They can keep going hungry."

Still, Chen Luo intended to visit Mi Ling and Mi Li's home for a look. He was not planning to take them in yet. The time was not right.

His aim was to see whether they were home.

Mi Ling attended a university in the Divine Capital, while Mi Li was in her final year of high school. The apocalypse had not broken out on a weekend, so they might both be at school.

Chen Luo planned to go over and check whether they were at home.

They were definitely not dead. He had been uncertain about Ma Yu because their paths had never crossed in his previous life.

But Chen Luo had fought Mi Ling before, and he had also seen Mi Li alive with his own eyes.

Chen Luo sighed. "The Resurrection Spell... If I don't bring someone with an ability like that under my control, heaven might strike me down."