Chapter 319- Cultured Villain vs. Humanoid Weapon (24)
The people handling the ingredients were busy and bustling, but the main cooking responsibilities naturally fell to Chen Shuyun and Wei Xuezhen. After all, they were the only two women in the group.
Although neither Chen Shuyun nor Wei Xuezhen could claim to be exceptionally skilled cooks, their abilities were considered outstanding among the rough-and-tumble men in the team.
Chen Shuyun knew that Jian Minghui carried a small portable pot in his bag. During meals, the few close friends in their group would always use this pot to separate their portion of food from the large pot and eat together.
Sometimes, they would even gather branches, set up the small pot over a fire, and keep the food warm. Though it was a bit of a hassle, Mu Jin, who enjoyed both peace and delicious food, preferred it this way. Jian Minghui had adopted this practice specifically to accommodate him.
Additionally, they often added a few extra ingredients or seasonings to their small pot when no one was looking, which made their stews especially flavorful.
Chen Shuyun was acutely aware that tonight was her only remaining chance. As usual, she handled the ingredients and tended to the food in the pot, but the sight of the people bustling around the camp made her feel a growing sense of unease.
Her cooking, usually fairly deft, now faltered as her nerves betrayed her. Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling at the thought of what she was about to do, and she worried someone might notice her abnormal behavior.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Shuyun tried to calm herself. She reminded herself that ability-users were immune to the zombie virus through casual contact, and only ordinary people could be infected. Surely, her actions would go unnoticed.
Among those close to Jian Minghui, there were originally only two ordinary people, including him. After the vehicles had been rendered unusable, the other ordinary person had left with the previous convoy. Now, her target was clear.
In Chen Shuyun’s eyes, among the small group that gathered together every day, only Jian Minghui was actually an ordinary person.
As long as she secretly added the piece of zombie meat she had obtained earlier into their pot, it wouldn’t matter if the rest of them ate it. Only Jian Minghui would turn into a zombie.
Chen Shuyun kept hypnotizing herself, telling herself it would be fine—everything would be fine. Yet, she was still distracted and accidentally nicked the middle finger of her left hand with the knife while cutting ingredients.
The knife was sharp enough, but the wound wasn’t deep, so the sharp pain only lasted a moment.
The next second, Wei Xuezhen called out, “Aunt Chen,” and asked if she had already added the seasoning to the pot.
Chen Shuyun responded in a panic and instantly forgot about the small cut on her finger. She casually replied, “I think I did,” and continued handling the ingredients in front of her.
Earlier, Chen Shuyun had mustered her courage to prepare the zombie meat. She had ground it into tiny pieces, making it look like minced meat. The others could only tell it looked like regular meat and naturally couldn’t discern what kind of meat it actually was.
When both large pots were almost done cooking, Mu Jin, as usual, brought over the small pot Jian Minghui had specially prepared for himself and placed it by the large pots. Their group had already set up the racks, waiting for Mu Jin to bring back the stewed dishes for dinner.
Chen Shuyun took the pot from Mu Jin’s hands and, without a trace, began ladling the stew into it.
She cleared her throat and said, “There’s plenty of stew today. I saw Xuezhen had prepared some side dishes to share with you. You can go ask her for some and then come back to pick up this pot.”
Mu Jin paused when he heard Chen Shuyun’s words, looking straight into her eyes. Seeing the woman’s pretense of calmness, he suddenly smiled, nodded at her, and walked toward Wei Xuezhen.
When Chen Shuyun saw Mu Jin finally leave, she let out a sigh of relief. Quickly, she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and transferred the zombie meat from it into the small pot.
Just as she finished her task and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking she had done everything flawlessly, Chen Shuyun suddenly looked up and saw Mu Jin standing right in front of her with a blank expression.
Startled, Chen Shuyun let out a sharp “Ah!” and took a step back, accidentally knocking over the large ladle beside her, which fell to the ground with a loud clang. The noise immediately drew the attention of others in the group.
Jian Zhengqing, noticing Chen Shuyun’s flustered state, walked over with a puzzled expression and asked, “Shuyun, what’s going on?”
Chen Shuyun forced herself to stay calm and managed a strained smile as she replied, “It’s nothing.”
For some reason, Mu Jin always made her feel uneasy.
And in the next moment, Mu Jin picked up the fallen ladle, took the pot from Chen Shuyun’s hands, and scooped out a spoonful of its contents for everyone to see.
Inside, there were chunks of dark, muddy-looking meat that immediately caught the group’s attention. Holding the ladle, Mu Jin gave Chen Shuyun a half-smile and sighed, saying, “So, this is the ‘nothing’ you were talking about, Auntie.”
Hearing his words, Chen Shuyun feigned composure and said, “What’s the big deal? It’s just minced meat that I added to the stew. The team from Pingcheng Base happened to bring some meat with them, so Xuezhen and I chopped it up and added it to the pot to make the stew more flavorful.”
Mu Jin sneered coldly at her response. “If this were ordinary meat, of course, it wouldn’t be a problem. But Auntie, zombie meat isn’t something you can just casually eat.”
As soon as Mu Jin’s words landed, the crowd erupted into a commotion.
Dinner had just been prepared, and everyone was gathered in small groups around the two large pots, waiting to scoop food into their bowls. None of them expected Mu Jin to suddenly announce that the minced meat in his small pot was zombie meat. This revelation immediately stopped those who were about to eat the stew in their tracks.
In such situations, it was better to believe and be cautious than to dismiss it. Besides, to this group, Mu Jin was a near-invincible warrior, someone whose words carried weight. There was no way he would speak carelessly or without reason.
As soon as they considered the possibility that the meat in their bowls could be zombie meat, several people’s expressions darkened. One person, who had already taken a bite, ran to the side, gagging and trying to vomit.
Seeing the commotion, Chen Shuyun tried to argue her way out of it, but Mu Jin had grown tired of her games. Without hesitation, he reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief that had been partially visible.
In the center of the handkerchief was a dried bloodstain, clearly from wrapping the zombie meat earlier. The remaining residue inside had turned a dark brownish-black, and upon unfolding it, a foul, nauseating stench filled the air.
When the others saw Mu Jin retrieve the handkerchief from Chen Shuyun’s pocket, they immediately understood where the zombie meat in the pot had come from.
Several others who had already eaten some of the stew and hadn’t yet felt any effects were horrified. They covered their mouths and ran off to vomit as well.
…
Seeing this, Mu Jin turned to the group and called out, “Relax, the two large pots are fine. I just noticed Auntie acting suspiciously earlier, sneaking the meat from this handkerchief into my small pot. That’s why I decided to investigate further.”
“I didn’t expect Auntie to give us such a ‘surprise’—trying to treat us to zombie meat. What a pity. We really can’t afford to accept such a ‘gift.’”
Hearing this, Jian Zhengqing’s face showed utter shock. He turned to Chen Shuyun, disbelief written all over his expression.
Seeing the obvious panic on his wife’s face, Jian Zhengqing felt his heart grow colder and colder. From Chen Shuyun’s expression alone, he could tell that most of what Mu Jin had said was true.
Once Mu Jin’s claims were confirmed, it didn’t take long for everyone to realize that the pot Chen Shuyun had “added ingredients” to was the one Mu Jin had brought over.
This revelation made people, especially the members of the ability-user squad from Pingcheng Base who had always admired Mu Jin, look at Chen Shuyun with increasingly hostile expressions. Even though she was the wife of their base leader, it didn’t matter—Mu Jin was their hero.
Although the original mission of this group was merely to ensure Jian Zhengqing’s safety, Jian Zhengqing had always been deeply concerned about the well-being of ordinary citizens. He often asked Mu Jin to help protect civilians and participate in battles against zombies. As a result, many of those who had migrated to Pingcheng Base had been personally rescued by Mu Jin.
Mu Jin had saved countless lives from zombies and mutated creatures and was the most respected warrior in Pingcheng Base.
At this moment, however, this woman had tried to add zombie meat to the bowl of their hero. Wasn’t this an attempt to harm Mu Jin, to turn him into a zombie?
Such an act naturally sparked immediate outrage. But before anyone could confront Chen Shuyun and demand an explanation, Wei Xuezhen suddenly cried out, “Aunt Chen, what happened to your left hand?”
Startled, Chen Shuyun froze for a moment and then lowered her head. It was only then that she noticed her left hand had developed a faint bluish-black tinge, and even her fingernails had turned a grayish hue—a clear sign of zombie virus infection.
Chen Shuyun was immediately horrified. She suddenly remembered that earlier, while cutting ingredients, she had accidentally nicked the middle finger of her left hand.
In her frantic attempt to add the zombie meat to Mu Jin’s pot, she must have pressed her injured finger into the meat without realizing it, leading to her infection with the zombie virus.