Chapter 75: There Is Nothing That Hotpot Cannot Solve

Returning to the third floor, Su Miao spent two anxious hours before finally confirming that the potion she had just brewed would not corrode or destroy the entire villa. She breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, simply concocting a potion with some pretty mushrooms and miscellaneous poisonous herbs couldn’t possibly demolish a villa.

With the villa safe, there was nothing left to worry about.

It was time for dinner.

Just as she took out a new induction stove, Su Miao recalled a serious problem. Today’s potion-making had cost her a generator, an induction stove, a frying pan, and various materials; there would be no electricity tonight, let alone hot pot with the induction stove.

“Wrong choice,” she muttered quietly, putting the induction stove away and swapping it for an alcohol burner.

Luckily, she had plenty of these in her stockpile.

Xia Xiao’an sat silently nearby, watching as Sister Su Miao brought out a kerosene lamp and lit it. She was somewhat curious how Su Miao had managed to collect such ancient lamps; she’d only seen them in textbooks.

Truthfully, Su Miao herself didn’t know for sure—she’d bought them absent-mindedly at the wholesale market. According to the vendor, these were goods slated for export. Su Miao thought for a moment and purchased them on a whim.

Within fifteen minutes, the bubbling hot pot began to fill the air with its enticing aroma.

Su Miao and Xia Xiao’an’s hearts grew calm, anticipation for the delicious meal overtaking their nerves.

Indeed, some nameless ancient philosopher was right: no matter what happens, there’s nothing a good hot pot can’t fix.

Delicious~

...

The next day.

Parking lot, company logistics division.

Xu Heng led twenty members of the operations team as they moved the stored bait supplies out. Due to the poisoning incident, too many had died; these corpses couldn’t be processed into bait as before, and leaving them unattended would attract mutated rats, centipedes, and all sorts of bizarre creatures—extremely dangerous.

These mutants could eat the corpses without issue.

But if a mutant happened to drag these bait supplies out, the consequences would be unimaginable.

It would have been fine if not for the transport; during the move, an operations team member knocked a bait crate, opening a small gap.

Unnoticed, some tentacled insects silently crawled out from the corner.

They crept forward, following the scent.

Just then, a spider, drawn by the rain, approached, sniffed the air, left a mark, and hurried over.

In no time, mutated rats, beetles, centipedes, and others appeared.

None of this seemed to bother the operations team members. For them, moving the bait supplies was the main task. The remaining corpses being disposed of by mutated rats that liked to wander into the tourist zone was perfectly normal—and saved them considerable effort.

As for the leftover food and condiments in logistics, no one dared touch them.

So far, the company hadn’t figured out which supplies were poisoned, and they had no time to investigate.

The killer witch in Villa 36 wielded a powerful sniper rifle; no one knew when she might decide to pick them off.

Moreover, seeing mutated rats and beetles drop dead after eating the corpses proved just how terrifying the poison was.

They’d spent considerable time clearing the bodies of these mutant creatures just to move the bait.

“All here?” Xu Heng counted the bait crates.

“Leader, we counted them earlier—all present, not a single one missing,” a team member reported.

Xu Heng nodded, “Good. Check a few more times, make sure the crates are intact. If any are damaged, seal the gaps immediately—otherwise you know what the consequences will be.”

All the team members nodded vigorously, “Rest assured, Leader Xu, we wouldn’t dare risk our lives.”

Satisfied, Xu Heng left the new warehouse.

Fu Yongpeng was dead, Bai Rui was dead, and the other team leaders had all died in the past two days. Now, of the twelve operations teams, he was the only leader left alive.

Naturally, all responsibilities piled onto him.

But compared to now, he missed how the company used to be.

After handling the bait, it was time to inspect the checkpoints.

A few days ago, some team members reported hearing possible gunfire coming from the direction of the tourist zone, though it wasn’t clear.

This worried Xu Heng most—one killer witch, Su Miao, in the tourist zone was terrifying enough.

Their large company had been decimated in mere days by Su Miao.

It was laughable that some had suggested using moral coercion, pushing refugees as cannon fodder, but the killer witch Su Miao never cared for such tactics—she simply killed more fiercely.

Fortunately, Su Miao rarely left Villa 36, otherwise Xu Heng had no idea how he’d survive.

Yet because of her rampage, the security team and the Ruins faction in the tourist zone had rapidly risen.

Xu Heng was deeply troubled.

But above all, he feared external forces.

The parking lot’s location was unfortunate—if outsiders tried to enter the tourist zone, the company would be the first target.

If possible, Xu Heng truly wanted to suggest moving the base deeper into the tourist zone.

But that would require asking permission from the killer witch’s sniper rifle.

Bang!

Just as he reached the checkpoint, Xu Heng distinctly heard distant gunfire.

These people were getting closer.

“Leader!” The checkpoint guards saluted.

“Stay alert—if you see anyone approaching, suppress with heavy fire,” Xu Heng ordered, frowning. “We’re not short on ammunition anymore.”

“Yes, sir!” they replied.

So many had died recently that the company’s ammunition reserves now far exceeded what the survivors could use.

Survival was all that mattered.

That was Xu Heng’s only thought.

As for the future, he hadn’t yet considered it.

After his inspection, he went to the temporary base near Villa 36 and delivered the latest loudspeaker to the staff on shouting duty, patting their shoulders before leaving.

Negotiating with Su Miao was his own suggestion, and having proposed it, he had to follow through—otherwise, he was one hundred percent certain the boss, Chi Wan Ning, would tear him apart.

Thinking of that fearsome boss, Xu Heng’s heart filled with doubts.

What exactly was Chi Wan Ning thinking? She’d built the company with an iron fist, but allowed her members to die one by one, never intervening herself; even now, with almost everyone gone, Chi Wan Ning took no action.

Could it be her true goal was to let everyone die?

The more Xu Heng pondered, the more terrified he became.

Bang!

Just as these thoughts swirled, a gunshot shattered the peace of the tourist zone.

The team member who had just received the loudspeaker began to shout, but was immediately killed—shot in the head by Su Miao.

In that instant, Xu Heng felt an ominous gaze upon him, his hands and feet turning cold.