CNC: Chapter 108

Zi City Bug (4)

Everyone exchanged looks before their eyes finally fell on the scarlet mushroom in Chi Nan’s hand.

They were silent. Finally, Rui Rui was the first to raise her hand. “I will sign up.”

You Yu skillfully took out a kitchen knife. He got a clean stone slab and started to cut the mushroom.

He was like a chef with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The thickness, shape, and texture of the mushroom slices under the knife were so uniform that it was outrageous. His patient and careful attitude toward the ingredients was like he was handling a piece of precious art.

Chi Nan strung the sliced mushrooms on a bone cutting knife and handed them to Hei Cha, who was responsible for the cooking.

In less than 20 minutes, the roasted mushroom slices started to curl up and bubble. A rich aroma permeated the small shelter. The survivors, who had been hungry for a long time, felt more and more shaken. They couldn’t control the frequent secretion of their saliva.

They looked at the mushroom slices that were gradually turning brown and curling up, their hearts full of yearning. Their stomachs were screaming even more fiercely.

“It should be…ready to eat.” Hei Cha flipped the mushroom skewers on the campfire and gulped.

However, like everyone else, he felt skeptical about the savory roasted mushrooms being edible.

Chi Nan didn’t care and picked up a skewer of grilled mushrooms without hesitation. He blew on it carefully before biting it.

After the mushroom was roasted, the unique sweet taste filled his mouth. The heat was just right and Chi Nan was satisfied enough to eat the entire skewer of roasted mushrooms.

Everyone looked at him motionlessly.

Hei Cha frequently gulped. “…What do you think?”

Chi Nan answered, “It is as delicious as the last time on the rooftop.”

Then he handed a bunch of mushrooms to Hei Cha. “Try it?”

His raging hunger eventually overwhelmed his fear of unknown ingredients. Hei Cha gritted his teeth and took a big bite of the roasted mushrooms.

“F*k…” Hei Cha was stunned by the roasted mushrooms and his eyes widened. He didn’t know whether to lament the freshness and deliciousness of the ingredient or appreciate his cooking talent.

Then Rui Rui took the initiative to grab a few skewers of roasted mushrooms. Her mother wanted to stop it, but then she saw her daughter eating with relish and swallowed her words.

She ate it herself.

The people whose eyes were green with hunger stared at the four people who took the initiative to eat the mushrooms. They waited a while to confirm that these people didn’t feel any discomfort. Then they started eating one after another.

This was their first meal after being pulled back to the Nightmare World. It wasn’t a lot food and it wasn’t enough to make them full, but it was definitely delicious enough to save them from their desperate hunger.

Soon, dozens of skewers of roasted mushrooms were snatched. The group let their guard down and praised Hei Cha’s roasting skills.

Chi Nan and Hei Cha started to clean up the ‘tableware’ while You Yu carefully wiped his knife clean.

“Do you want to take a walk on the ground?” You Yu saw that Chi Nan was packing up and suggested. “We can also hunt for some ingredients along the way. In addition to mushrooms, we need some meat and vegetables.”

Chi Nan nodded. Beside him, Hei Cha was filled with disbelief. “Are there any meat and vegetables to eat?”

You Yu answered, “Of course. Sometimes the dream makers are lazy and we design monsters using animals and plants as prototypes. If we are lucky, we can also encounter seafood such as fish, shrimp, and crabs. I can easily distinguish their prototypes.”

After all, he was the dream maker who designed them.

Everyone was speechless. Chi Nan thought about it and asked, “Is there a monster that uses spices as a prototype?”

You Yu shrugged and shook his head regretfully. “I didn’t think so thoroughly at the time.”

“What a pity.”

Everyone: “……”

“Let’s go and try our luck.” You Yu held a knife in his hand like a hunter eager to try.

Hei Cha protested, “But it is too dangerous for you to go to the ground…”

He was halfway through speaking when he remembered that this guy was a dream maker who created a nightmare. The dream maker was half a father to the monster demons running rampant on the ground.

Chi Nan thought about it before turning to Hei Cha. “Do you have a bottle or something that can hold liquid?”

“Yes, wait a minute,” Hei Cha replied. He didn’t know why Chi Nan wanted this but he contributed his kettle very cooperatively. “Is this okay? It is half filled with water.”

Chi Nan nodded and took the kettle. Then he told You Yu, “Wait a minute, I’ll prepare some tears first.”

After all, frequent crying was too much of a burden on his tear glands. It was better to prepare more at a time. It could also be kept in the shelter for the survivors to use as self-defense.

You Yu looked over and a bit of emotion flashed in his eyes. “I’m afraid you won’t find any sugar in this ghostly place to help you cry.”

Chi Nan met his half-smiling eyes and blinked. “Isn’t there another way?”

“Really? What way?”

You Yu was doing this on purpose, a voice in Chi Nan’s head reminded him. Therefore, Chi Nan didn’t speak.

Their eyes collided and Chi Nan once again felt heat from a human gaze.

His skin was scalded and there was a thin layer of red.

It was just strange that he only felt this type of searing heat from You Yu’s eyes.

Chi Nan’s heart suddenly surged with an inexplicable impulse.

He grabbed You Yu’s hand without warning. The moment their fingers intertwined, Chi Nan looked into You Yu’s eyes and tears rolled down.

You Yu was stunned for a moment. This was the first time Chi Nan took the initiative to have physical contact with him.

Before he could react, Chi Nan seemed to feel that this wasn’t enough, so he pulled You Yu’s hand to cover his tear drop mole.

It was just like You Yu had done to him many times before.

You Yu’s hand was very cold, so it felt comfortable to stick it against his slightly hot cheeks.

Chi Nan pulled You Yu with one hand while his other hand used Hei Cha’s kettle to catch the tears. Quiet tears fell continuously.

You Yu’s hand was wet and his sense of control gradually melted and collapsed in Chi Nan’s tears.

During the whole process, he hardly dared to breathe out of fear that the rhythm of his breathing would reveal his emotions. Unfortunately, his heart had long since detached from his will and was jumping in his chest cavity.

You Yu was once again in an uncontrollable situation, but he was no longer panicked this time. He allowed the surging emotions to drown him and he enjoyed it.

You Yu didn’t want to escape any longer. He deeply understood it and indulged himself.

“Are you okay?” You Yu asked softly in a slightly trembling voice after he saw that Chi Nan had cried for a long time.

Chi Nan released his hand and tightened the lid of the kettle containing his tears. Then he nodded. “Thank you.”

You Yu smiled. “Don’t thank me first. I have one more thing to do.”

He leaned down and stared at Chi Nan very closely, asking in a serious and gentle voice, “Can I kiss you?”

Chi Nan’s body seemed to tremble slightly. He didn’t understand the complex emotions between humans very well, but he knew the meaning of a ‘kiss.’

He didn’t think he had a reason to refuse…or for some deeper reason, Chi Nan nodded.

You Yu dropped a kiss on the wet eyelids the moment he got Chi Nan’s consent.

The moist eyelashes stuck to You Yu’s lips, quivering slightly like the wings of a butterfly.

It was a kiss that seemed to have no desire at all.

In other words, You Yu always had the ability to make desire become pious.

He didn’t want to waste a single tear and smeared them on his knife as best he could.

***

“If you encounter a monster that breaks the defense of the rescue team, the liquid inside can handle it.” Chi Nan handed the kettle mixed with tears to Hei Cha and instructed.

Hei Cha was well aware of Chi Nan’s skill and knew he wouldn’t joke about everyone’s safety. He took the kettle and nodded. “Yes, be more careful when hunting and don’t delay. Come back early. The people of the hunting team aren’t easy to deal with.”

“No problem.”

“Don’t worry.”

Hei Cha had the illusion that the doomsday city that made them desperately struggle in the midst of their fear of death was nothing more than a somewhat thrilling amusement park for the two of them.

In this dangerous Nightmare World, the gap between people was infinitely widened.

Chi Nan and You Yu went through the long underground tunnel and returned to the extremely cold surface.

You Yu was worried that Chi Nan would catch a cold and didn’t plan to delay any longer. He used the sharp senses of sight and smell of a dream maker to soon find two ‘prey’ hiding not far away.

One of them was covered in gray scales. The moment it saw humans, it straightened its body to reveal a white belly. Sticky liquid dripped from its bulging cheeks and its scales, soon gathering into a sticky pool.

The other was slender and very flexible. There were countless green tentacles moving on the green torso and the top of the tentacles had a yellow organ similar to a mouth. It was constantly opening and closing, salivating at the fresh humans coming to it.

“The prototype of the left one is a carp. If it isn’t handled properly then it might taste fishy. The prototype for the right is a cucumber flower. It should be good for stewing a soup or a cold salad. It can also supplement vitamins.” You Yu was like a shopping guide in the fresh food area who was introducing the products to customers in detail.

Chi Nan nodded like a customer who wasn’t good at cooking. “I believe that Hei Cha will be able to cook them all very well.”

“If you don’t dislike it, then let’s start.”

Before the two unlucky monsters realized the danger, You Yu’s knife had already swung. As Chi Nan expected, they quickly gathered meat and vegetable ingredients.

He soon started to regret that the bag he prepared for the ingredients was a bit small.

However, solving the food problem was only the first step. The real headache for You Yu was how to fix the system bug or how to get in touch with the outside world.

He never liked to passively wait for rescue. The current Zi City was boring and cold. He didn’t want Chi Nan to continue to be trapped in such a ghostly place.

Just as the two of them were dragging the carp and cucumber flower back, a very subtle sound like shoes stepping on fallen leaves made You Yu stop.

He looked at the dark and dreary ruins of the commercial street. “Who’s there?”

The only response was silence from the ruins. The other person didn’t seem to intend to take the initiative to stand up.

You Yu became more and more interested. He shook the knife that had just cut the monster and spoke to Chi Nan at a volume that the other party could hear. “Brother Nan, do you want to make a bet? I bet I can pierce that person’s heart.”

Chi Nan understood and replied calmly, “I bet you can.”

You Yu gave a low laugh and deliberately paused. “It seems that Brother Nan won’t lose.”

As a dream maker, he could clearly and accurately distinguish the smell of fear in the air.

You Yu counted silently in his heart. Three, two…

Before he reached one, the timid guy hiding in the ruins had already stood up in a trembling manner. “C-Chi Nan, don’t kill me… I…I’m also new here… I haven’t killed people indiscriminately.”

Chi Nan raised his flashlight to take a look and found it was an old acquaintance again.

The moment he saw the other person, he figured out the way to clear the game.

Pei Mo had just witnessed the two of them hunting and killing the murderous monsters. He was frightened and his legs were soft. “R-Really… I was just…just passing by.”

Proofreader: Kat