Liu Bi gripped his knife tightly and walked over to examine the fallen person.
It was a woman, probably in her early twenties.
Her long brown hair was tied in a ponytail. She wore work pants, tucked tightly around her slender waist. Her chest was heaving.
There were no wounds or bite marks on her body.
"She's still alive, not infected," Liu Bi thought.
Judging from the woman's lean figure, she might be engaged in some kind of manual labor.
Just as Liu Bi was still speculating, the woman opened her eyes.
"Civilians shouldn't wander around the buffer zone..."
The woman looked weakly at the boning knife in Liu Bi's hand.
"You're not a civilian... Fine, I admit defeat."
The woman lay flat on her back, motionless.
Liu Bi shook his head.
"As a cook, it's only natural for me to carry a sharp knife."
The woman's eyes widened, then a look of relief appeared on her face.
"After three days of starvation, I can actually see a cook and a restaurant in the buffer zone, and even smell the aroma of meat. My hallucinations are getting worse."
Liu Bi replied, "You're not hallucinating."
The woman was skeptical.
"What dishes do you have here? How much are they?"
"Right now, we only have one charcoal-grilled leg, and the price is..."
Liu Bi pondered for a moment, searching his memory of this world.
"Four hundred yuan."
The woman thought for a moment and replied, "I can't come up with that much right now. How about exchanging some of it for something?"
From the woman's expression, four hundred yuan wasn't a low price, but she appeared calm.
Anyone who roamed around here was either a monster or a seasoned veteran.
Liu Bi nodded.
"What's in it?"
The woman pulled a small box from her bag and a silver pistol from her waist pouch.
"Inside the box is a tactical-grade time bomb, plus this sand ying—seven rounds of ammunition in the gun are yours, plus fifty yuan."
The woman swiftly pushed the items toward Liu Bi.
"You'll definitely get what you pay for."
The pistol gleamed silver, looking well-maintained with gun oil.
The yellow dynamite wire was neatly wrapped with tape.
Compared to these nasty items, fifty yuan seemed insignificant.
"You're truly generous," Liu Bi said. "We're here to serve you wholeheartedly."
"It's the price of a life, so a little more isn't a big deal," the woman said with a smile.
She figured that if Liu Bi really decided to kill and rob, then this would be the perfect opportunity.
In this world, death was all too common.
To her, it was all death. It was nothing more than starvation, murder, or death from mutation.
But...
After accepting the items, Liu Bi walked towards something that looked like a grill.
The woman became increasingly confused.
This guy, who looked like a shady shop owner, actually wanted to open a restaurant in the buffer zone?
She asked hesitantly,
"Boss, what kind of meat would you like to grill?"
She figured that if she really encountered a shady shop that ripped off people's arms and legs, she'd at least give them a good time.
However, Liu Bi, concentrating on grilling the meat, replied without even looking up:
"Medium-grade leg meat."
Leg meat?!
Liu Bi's answer nearly frightened the woman to death.
In the entire 52 years of the New World Calendar, no one had ever considered cooking a mutant creature!
"You... are crazy..."
The woman shuddered, and Liu Bi nonchalantly flipped the meat over.
The meat on the steel grill sizzled beautifully.
The rich broth and a small amount of fat slowly dripped onto the charcoal fire.
The bright red color brightened even brighter after being grilled, and the meat glistened with oil, with slightly charred edges, looking even more appealing.
After a while, Liu Bi flipped the skewered meat over and tapped it on the grill to ensure it was cooked perfectly.
This was the result of grilling only the finest ham.
If it had the onions, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, a sprinkle of fine salt, chili powder, and cumin from the original world, it would have been absolutely delicious.
Or if it had been brushed with honey and mixed with orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, lemon strips, and rosemary, like the Europeans did, it would have been equally sweet and delicious.
Unfortunately, Liu Bi had nothing on hand.
But the aroma of the charcoal-grilled ham alone was already top-notch in this world.
The woman felt an unprecedented hunger.
It even triggered her human foraging instinct, and she began to creep darkly towards the food.
How could a stomach that had been consuming a variety of synthetic protein blocks and starches since birth withstand such an aromatic onslaught?
"Damn it! He's completely insane, grilling a mutant's leg!"
The woman thought bitterly, wiping the saliva from her mouth.
"I'm insane too, agreeing to spend four hundred yuan on a meal like this!"
She slowly climbed to her feet and walked weakly towards the shed where Liu Bi was grilling.
Unprotected, remaining in the open air was dangerous; a single spore shower could transform her into a monster.
This was a hundreds-mile, empty buffer zone.
The next possible resupply point was approximately 20 kilometers away.
In her current state, she wouldn't make it there.
"Never mind, I'd rather die a full meal!"
The woman gritted her teeth and plopped down next to Liu Bi.
Both of them stared at the bright charcoal fire.
The woman's sweat-soaked belly shimmered in the flames, her shadow dancing with the rise and fall of her chest.
But Liu Bi was single-mindedly fiddling with the meat, finally completing a satisfying final flip.
"Here, it's done."
Liu Bi made room for the woman to start.
The woman gazed at the sizzling meat on the skewer with some trepidation.
But the caramelized sheen and the gravy that perfectly coated the meat made her irresistible, both visually and olfactorily.
"Thank you."
The woman carefully donned her plastic gloves, then picked up one of the skewers and carefully bit into it.
"Hmm... Hmm? Hmm! Wuuwuwu... Ahhh... Mmmmm..."
The succulent meat fibers created a strange resistance between the tip of my tongue and my teeth, while the sweet flavor of meat filled my entire mouth.
"Mmmmm... Mmmmm!"
I've never tasted food so delicious before!
Before I knew it, I'd devoured both skewers of charcoal-grilled leg meat, even though my lips were burned!
"Wuwu..."
The woman's tears fell drop by drop beside the charcoal fire.
It was so delicious that she actually cried!
As Liu Bi marveled inwardly, a message popped up in front of him:
[Your charcoal-grilled leg meat and egg has been consumed.]
[Customer: Lin Na]
[Based on customer satisfaction, you have earned 10 points.]
[Points can be used to redeem supplies and participate in prize draws.]
Now with 20 points, Liu Bi felt he could continue exploring the system's capabilities.
After feasting heartily, the woman regained her composure.
She quickly packed her equipment.
"I'm Lin Na, boss. Can you tell me your name?"
"I'm Liu Bi," Liu Bi said politely. "Welcome back next time."
Lin Na smiled. Seeing the weather was pleasant and no spores were raining outside, she left the shed.
"If I make it to the safe zone alive, I'll treat all my friends to barbecue."
Liu Bi nodded.
"By then, we'll have even more dishes for you to try."
Lin Na's figure quickly disappeared from sight.
After seeing the customer off, Liu Bi looked around.
There's still a lot of room for development in this warehouse.