Chapter 25: The Many Faces of Humanity Part 2

She still had the copper coin with three rounded edges and one square one. Tang took it out and ran her finger along the squared edge. It wasn’t sharp.

That attacker had used the coin to cut the skin on her arm, opening a wound and drinking the warm blood inside. Luckily, the muscles beneath Tang’s skin were dense and firm. Cutting off a chunk of flesh with such a small coin would have taken ages, so she hadn’t lost any.

When the attacker finally gave up and bit down instead, the pain had jolted Tang awake. Even now, thinking about it made her break out in goosebumps.

Little Jelly’s first words to her had been, “Don’t eat me.” It turned out there was a good reason.

Poor thing… Tang thought of the person in the main bedroom. She must have been through so much.

Tang had to be a little kinder to her.

…

At eight in the morning, the hotel began handing out communal meals.

Half an hour earlier, though, someone had already knocked on Rong Yu’s door.

The hotel’s head chef was lurking by the doorway. He pulled a huge takeaway container out of his bag and quietly passed it to Rong Yu.

“Brother Rong, here. It’s a whole steamed lamb. I made it specially for you this morning.” The chef spoke in a near whisper.

“Thanks for going to the trouble.” Rong Yu reached out and patted his shoulder. “They weren’t kidding when they said you need friends when you’re away from home.”

“Don’t mention it, Brother Rong. I know you martial artists have big appetites. I should be doing this. You wouldn’t get enough to eat from the regular meals.”

And this wasn’t the first time.

Ever since the hotel had started distributing meals to its guests, the head chef had brought Rong Yu all kinds of delicacies in secret, every single meal.

He did it because he wanted Rong Yu to say, “I’ll remember this.”

In the chef’s eyes, Rong Yu was the richest and most important person in the whole hotel.

Anyone with a brain knew that if he helped Rong Yu now, when they were in need, Rong Yu would repay him tenfold—or a hundredfold—once the snowstorm was over and the weather warmed up.

Doing Rong Yu a favor now was the best investment he could make.

The chef imagined the rewards waiting for him in the not-too-distant future, then slipped back downstairs.

On the sixth floor, the kitchen staff were distributing the hotel’s communal meals.

One guest took their food and stepped aside to look it over, then raised their voice.

“Why is today’s food so much worse than yesterday’s?”

Today’s meal was a lump of dry noodles, a serving of rice, stir-fried greens, cowpeas with minced meat, two eggs, and a bottle of water.

The guest frowned and demanded, “Is this really all we get for the day? Are we getting anything else tonight?”

The employee handing out meals said, “No. Please ration it. This is each person’s full daily allowance.”

Someone else called out, “Then give us another bottle of water. We don’t have any water in our rooms.”

The employee kept their head down and continued handing out meals. When someone was particularly difficult, they had no answer.

The manager stepped in to explain. “Our ingredients are normally delivered fresh every day. But the heavy snow has blocked the roads, and no delivery trucks can get through. We’re using what we had in stock two days ago. Please try to understand. We have to divide what’s left in the kitchen among everyone, so the portions are small. We don’t know when the next delivery will arrive. If we use up everything now and no one can bring us more, there won’t be anything left for any of us. Please bear with us for the next two or three days. We have to hold on until the snowstorm passes.”

Someone kept grumbling, “We can’t even get one hot meal.”

People who hadn’t run a household didn’t know the value of food and fuel. Only the manager and a few other hotel administrators knew that the backup generators would last another ten hours at most.

They had to cook everything as soon as they started the kitchen equipment, doing as much as they could in one batch. That was the only way to save electricity and produce the most cooked food.

It wouldn’t just be cold food today. Tomorrow and the day after would be the same: dishes cooked in one huge batch the day before.

Still better than eating everything raw, wasn’t it?

The manager did her best to soothe the unhappy guests. “I guarantee that everyone gets the same daily meals, including all the hotel staff and the guests in every room. We treat everyone equally.”

“I’m the manager, and even I can’t get extra food. No one can pay for more. These are special circumstances. We have to get through this together. Everyone gets the same food and drink.”

The manager tried her hardest to protect the hotel’s reputation. She didn’t want people dragging the hotel’s name through the mud once the snowstorm passed. That would ruin her career.

The storm might be over tomorrow or the day after. She still had to think about what came next.

Just then, someone came over with two registered room cards and collected two meals.

“Where’s the guest? Why didn’t they come in person?” the employee handing out food asked.

Mengmeng quickly explained, “I’m Tang Danqing’s assistant. She hurt her leg during the volunteer rescue and can’t come down. I’ve been bringing her meals for the past couple of days.”

“It’s fine. Just give them to me. Several people from the production know I’m Tang Danqing’s assistant. Really.”

The employee glanced toward the back of the crowd. One of the actors nodded to confirm it.

“Yes, she’s the assistant.”

After that little interruption, Mengmeng successfully took the two meals upstairs.

Once the distribution on the sixth floor was over and everyone had left, someone quietly slipped back in.

They caught an employee in a chef’s uniform and whispered, “Hey, handsome, is there anything else to eat in the kitchen? Could you put aside another dish for me? I’ll pay you.”

The employee stopped. “How much? Fifty—”

“Five hundred.”

“Sure. Wait here.” The employee took out a phone with a ninety-percent charge. “Transfer it to me.”

Other employees had already been sneaking food out to sell. Now it was finally their turn to make a little extra money.

If the snow lasted another three or four days and kept the guests trapped in the hotel, they could make a small fortune. They might even save enough for the down payment on the new electric scooter they had their eye on…

…

Shang You got up in the morning, washed, and unlocked the door. The first thing she did was check the incense ash on the mat in front of the main bedroom.

She’d sprinkled a little ash there so she’d know if Tang Danqing had been by.

The ash was still in place. There were no footprints in the living room, either. Tang hadn’t come by the previous night.

Shang You stepped over the mat and saw a light on in the kitchen.

The rich, savory fragrance of bone broth filled the room.

Tang Danqing wore an apron with the same “Special” logo as the one in the anime Cooking Master Boy. She lifted the lid on the clay pot and peered at the bubbling broth. Then she added a spoonful of salt, turned the heat down low, and covered the pot again.

Shang You appeared in the kitchen doorway. Tang Danqing turned and smiled at her.

“We’ll have bone broth for lunch. You need to build up your calcium.”

“Make yourself whatever you want for breakfast. Try to include milk, oats, eggs, and refined carbs. You’ll need to get a lot of nutrients back through regular meals.”

Shang You caught the delicious smell and asked, “Danqing, do you want braised pork for lunch?”

It wasn’t often that Tang Danqing cooked, and Shang You knew it meant she might get to eat that special braised pork again.

Tang hesitated for a moment. “You want braised pork?”

“Mm… But I don’t know how to make it. I can help, though. I’ll keep learning.”

There was a hint of shyness in Jelly’s voice, but even with a different face, she was still heartbreakingly beautiful.

Tang Danqing had just been thinking that she should be kinder to her.

She agreed to the request, but said, “All right. I’ll make you a piece. But we can’t eat it often. Your main sources of meat should be fish and shrimp, beef, and rabbit. Those are better for your health.”

Shang You was delighted. “I know. Just this once.”

Tang took a piece of pork belly marked “Excellent” out of her space and walked over to the sink, smiling. “Go eat breakfast. I’ll get the ingredients ready.”

She worked in the kitchen for a while, chopping the meat and preparing the scallions, ginger, and sauce in separate bowls.

Then she checked the clay pot, added two spoonfuls of water to the bone broth, and put the lid back on to let it keep simmering.

Tang walked to the table and sat across from Shang You, who was finishing breakfast. She still had something to talk to Little Jelly about today…

Once Shang You had nearly finished eating, Tang finally said, “Jelly…”

She spoke slowly and gently. “Are you scared right now?”

Shang You blinked and looked up.

“Scared of what?” she asked, genuinely confused.

“This world isn’t the same as the one you lived in before. There are a lot of people around us now, and when they’re desperate, they’ll do all kinds of crazy things.”

Shang You nodded slowly. “I know…”

“They might try to break into our home.”

Shang You looked taken aback, like a naive young woman who knew nothing of the world. “Danqing, you made this place so secure. We’re lucky to have you.”

Tang Danqing shook her head.

It didn’t feel as secure as it had in the game. The defenses were sturdy, but human ingenuity had no limits.

Especially after working in the cutthroat world of fame and fortune, Tang had seen just how devious people could be.

“Jelly, if the food supply chain stays down, how long do you think people at this hotel and nearby can survive?”

“After the first group dies, the rest will live longer than you expect. People can come up with all kinds of ways to survive. A month is no problem.” Shang You said, “If someone’s lucky enough to survive in a supermarket, or they’ve cleared out a convenience store, they can last a long time.”

Shang You smiled. “By the time they want to attack us, they probably won’t have the strength for it.”

Tang had considered that this morning, too. Shang You had a point. There was no need to worry herself sick.

“It’s good that you aren’t scared.” Tang Danqing gave a rueful laugh at herself. “I had a nightmare about this last night. I guess you’re more used to it than I am… Either way, just focus on eating and sleeping well. You need to get your strength back.”

“Jelly, how about I become your trainer? You can work out and practice shooting with me. I’ll also teach you some practical ways to escape if you’re attacked. I’ll plan your meals and make sure you get the nutrition you need. And you should go to bed and get up early with me. That’ll be the quickest way to learn to defend yourself.”

“If we run into someone later and I’m not there, you’ll be in danger if you’re still this weak.”

Tang Danqing couldn’t stop worrying about it. She knew she was being a little overbearing, but she couldn’t help herself.

《Extreme Cold Apocalypse: Official Server》

Player: Tang Danqing

Level: Lv. 2

(Current status: AFK)

(Experience accumulating…)

Player: Shang You

Level: Lv. 60

(Current status: Weakened)

(Under treatment…)