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墨書 Inktalez
Walking up to the bar, Zheng Yifan glanced over all the lists and was pleasantly surprised to find a genuine red wine.
It was a red wine produced by Bharat Winery, renowned worldwide in the Apocalyptic World. To his astonishment, this bar had it available, while the cocktails were long gone. The base spirits had been completely consumed; people came here merely to get drunk, indifferent to taste. They would probably drink anything if it contained alcohol.
"Give us each a glass of Bharat red wine. We don't need anything else; I hope it's allowed to bring our own food?" Zheng Yifan said.
"You'll need to fetch it from the back storage; please wait a moment. Feel free to eat whatever you bring; we have no restrictions on outside drinks or food," the bartender replied with a smile, signaling another bartender before heading to the back for the wine.
Zheng Yifan and his companions found a quiet sofa to sit on.
The sofa was originally used in ordinary homes during the Post-Apocalypse and had now been moved to the bar. It was quite an impressive piece of furniture, as common survivors could only manage to nail together simple wooden beds and stools. Anything beyond that was simply a luxury.
After Zheng Yifan ordered the wine, all eyes in the bar turned toward them. The price for that top-shelf red wine was quite steep per glass. As for the glass itself, it was merely a deceptive cup.
One glass of wine wouldn’t even fill a gap between teeth, but when they pulled out their own food, the sound of other patrons swallowing hard could be clearly heard.
In front of Zheng Yifan and his friends lay generations of Post-Apocalypse packaged chicken legs and potato chips. There were even two roasted chickens—these items were bound to provoke envy.
Such snacks could only be found on trucks during the early days of the apocalypse; now they were nearly extinct, likely hoarded by the rulers of Gathering Places.
Yet here they were, Zheng Yifan and his friends, eating as if nothing were amiss.
Zheng Yifan and Li Ning wasted no time digging in; they were accustomed to good meals. It would be foolish to eat like others who cautiously consumed unidentifiable mush or moldy Old Rice.
Their strength made them unafraid of others; as long as they weren’t surrounded by powerful foes from the Gathering Place, their safety was in their own hands. Why should they deprive themselves of good food?
Wu Yingzhou and Tian Ye exchanged glances, both reflecting their shared curiosity. Since activating their Superpowers, they had only eaten simple meals. Now faced with such a feast, their appetites stirred intensely.
Li Ning even boldly pulled out a Military Water Bottle and took a swig of liquor.
This was permitted by Zheng Yifan; every soldier from Hope Gathering Place carried such a bottle for disinfecting wounds, warding off cold during harsh weather, or even trading for food when in need.
Now, naturally, he took a light bite and then put it away, ignoring Wu Yingzhou's drooling expression.
"Old Wu, don't think about it. When you return to the Gathering Place, you'll be equipped with everything you need. Every time you go out and come back, you can refill anytime. This is standard military supply and doesn't count as personal expenses," Zheng Yifan comforted Wu Yingzhou.
Wu Yingzhou nodded, forcing himself to lower his head. Then, as if discovering a new world, he eagerly opened a bag of whole chicken, cradling it in his arms and devouring it without letting a drop of juice spill.
When Zheng Yifan took a closer look, he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. The simple packaging bore the name "Bear Forest Drunken Chicken," a well-known drunken chicken shop that had now become a brand for wholesale. Tang Hao and the others must have bought quite a bit when they were procuring supplies.
Zheng Yifan's warehouse was cluttered with too many items; there were no fixed orders anymore. He accepted everything that came in, as he had an entire team managing all the processes for him. There would definitely be no defective products, and the accounts would have no issues—there wouldn't even be any legal problems to find.
Zheng Yifan had grown accustomed to the benefits brought by this team. However, he had never enjoyed the treatment of a translator or housekeeper. Once he settled down, he planned to find a quiet place abroad to live peacefully for a while, where his parents could join him.
As Zheng Yifan daydreamed, the bartender brought over the red wine, served in four small cups that weren't even filled to the brim.
The group sniffed it slightly but paid it no mind, continuing to eat their food. After Li Ning paid, the bartender didn't press them further; he merely gave them a strange look.
These people were too odd, especially with what they were eating—those were delicacies that even the Big Shots in the Gathering Place couldn't get their hands on. In this apocalypse, they were the finest gourmet dishes.
The four at the table continued to wolf down their food; all were Superpowered Individuals with astonishing digestive abilities—they could eat almost anything without feeling full. Moreover, since Wu Yingzhou and Tian Ye had just activated their Superpowers, they craved nutrition even more.
In just a few minutes, half of what was on the table was gone. Wu Yingzhou, this Old Buddy, was particularly sharp-eyed; anything with "drunken" in its name ended up in his mouth. He had indirectly consumed quite a bit of alcohol.
Although it was only pickled dishes made with wine, the quality was generally good since they relied on selling it to customers. Dishes made with inferior wine would be inedible.
"It's been a year—it's been a year since I've eaten this well. Back then, my parents would prepare a whole table of dishes waiting for me to come home while I often went out to play around. Who knew that now I could only think about those dishes for an entire year? Today is the first time I can taste something like this," Tian Ye said with endless sadness.
Wu Yingzhou remained silent for a long time. His eldest son, second son, wife, daughter-in-law—even his various apprentices—he feared there might not be many left. The only one still by his side was that precious grandson.
"Uncle, can I have those leftover bones?" An eleven or twelve-year-old boy stood beside Zheng Yifan, his bright eyes fixed on the chicken carcass left on Zheng Yifan's plate.
Unlike Li Ning, Tian Ye, and Wu Yingzhou, Zheng Yifan had never experienced the pain of starvation in the apocalypse. For him, eating was simple; he devoured the meatiest parts of the chicken without bothering to savor the rest. Even a sizable chunk of meat from the chicken's rear remained attached to the carcass.
"Uncle, let me have a new one," Zheng Yifan said as he handed a chicken leg to the boy from the table.
The boy immediately tore open the packaging and began to wolf it down, even chewing on the bones before swallowing them whole.
He knew he couldn't hold onto this food for long. As soon as he stepped away from Zheng Yifan, that chicken leg would be snatched away. It was better to eat quickly; no one could reach into his stomach and take away his meal.
Yet he wouldn't give up, for that plump piece of chicken and the carcass were delicacies in this harsh world, rare treats everyone craved. The boy was clearly faster than others when it came to grabbing food.
"Take it all; just take it," Zheng Yifan smiled and gestured to the three others nearby. The others had left their chicken backs uneaten on the table, but they hadn’t spared any of the good meat.
Charity had its limits; no one could give everything away in a world filled with so many desperate souls.
"Thank you!" The boy excitedly gathered the chicken carcass and rear from the table, bowing to each of the four with a smile. After a brief moment of hesitation, he suddenly stumbled and crashed onto the table.
With a loud thud, the table shook violently, nearly tipping over.
However, four small cups on the table couldn’t escape disaster and spilled their contents everywhere.
The boy seemed to realize he had done something wrong and wanted to kneel to apologize. But Zheng Yifan quickly placed his foot beneath the boy's knee to stop him.
"We weren't drinking anyway; we only ordered those four cups for show. It's no big deal," Zheng Yifan continued munching on his roast chicken.
The others ignored everything else as well, but they were already calculating their next moves in their minds.
The boy stood frozen as if bound by invisible ropes. Several hostile gazes were fixed upon him; he could confirm that three of them came from this table, but he was unaware of the others.
"You beggar, today is your unlucky day for crossing paths with these grim reapers. When you end up in hell, don’t blame me; it’s your own fault for not watching where you step." Behind the bar, the bartender revealed a menacing expression. In an instant, all the drunks in the bar quietly slipped away as dozens of burly men surrounded Zheng Yifan's table. Two figures slowly emerged from behind the bar counter.
Two men with shifty eyes and rat-like features stood before them, looking almost like twins in their identical clothing, attire, and synchronized movements.
"You really choose the wrong path to walk, barging into our territory without a care. Do you have a death wish coming to the Ice King Mercenary Corps?" one of the rat-faced men sneered at Zheng Yifan, a vicious grin slowly spreading across his face.
The other burly men began to tighten their encirclement, revealing their weapons—sharp machetes glinting ominously in the light.
It was clear that the Han Sui City Gathering Place was far more formidable than the Howling Wind Gathering Place.
A fight seemed imminent, yet only Zheng Yifan and Li Ning remained lazily sprawled on the couch.
Wu Yingzhou and Tian Ye had already risen, ready to spring into action. The difference between them was stark; Wu Yingzhou exuded confidence while Tian Ye felt a twinge of insecurity. Nevertheless, he was prepared to fight for his life. Although his superpower was pitifully weak, his physical enhancements surpassed even Wu Yingzhou's by a significant margin. Even against an ordinary First-Level Esper, he could hold his ground.
His physical strength had been augmented to such an extent that he felt almost invulnerable to regular First-Level Espers.
As tensions reached a boiling point and both sides prepared to clash, Wu Yingzhou focused all his attention on the two sharp-featured men ahead.
Tian Ye braced himself for a fierce battle against the hulking figures surrounding them.
At that moment, however, the suppressed Child let out a deafening scream, unleashing countless beams of light that scattered across the burly men and the rat-faced man.
Then, as if succumbing to an unseen force, the rat-faced man slowly collapsed to the ground, leaving a room full of stunned men in his wake.
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