CHAPTER 72: COOKING A MEAL

"This place is quiet enough. I’ll cook."

She cleared a small corner behind the counter, away from the broken glass. With calm efficiency, she drew out a small collapsible stove, a metal pot, and a few clean utensils from her space. The smell of oil and seasoning soon cut through the air as she boiled water, added rice, and let the soft steam rise. The sound of bubbling broth replaced the eerie silence of the looted store.

It was such a simple act to cook a meal like this. But in the middle of a ruined city filled with the groans of the dead, it felt almost like a defiance of nature.

The system chimed again as the pot began to simmer.

[System Notification]

[Special Condition Triggered: "Self-sufficiency Amid Chaos"

Reward: +1 Willpower, +5 Energy.]

Ling Yu stirred the pot slowly, watching the rice thicken and soften. "Even my meals give me achievements, huh? Seems I’m not the only one who finds this amusing."

[System Response]

[Correction: Achievement rewards are not arbitrary. They reflect survival choices beyond statistical efficiency. Current action: Maintaining morale and body balance under solitary conditions.]

Ling Yu smirked faintly, her eyes glinting with quiet determination. "Morale, huh? I suppose even someone like me needs something warm to remind me I’m alive."

When the food was ready, she portioned it carefully, savoring the warmth that spread through her chest as she ate. It wasn’t luxury, but it was a reminder that she was not yet reduced to scavenging scraps like a starving rat.

The city outside roared with distant howls, but here in this small abandoned shop, Ling Yu sat with her back against the wall, calmly enjoying her meal, her strength slowly returning for the battles ahead.

Ling Yu brushed her hands clean after packing away the last of her utensils. The faint fragrance of rice and herbs still lingered in the dim store, oddly comforting against the backdrop of ruin outside. Her stomach felt steady now, her energy renewed. She stood up, slinging her bag across her shoulder, preparing to leave.

But then—

"Coo..."

A soft, almost plaintive sound echoed faintly through the silence.

Ling Yu froze, her hand hovering near the door. Her instincts sharpened instantly, muscles tightening as though pulled by invisible strings. In this world, any noise that wasn’t human often spelled danger.

She turned her head slowly, scanning the aisles again, but there was nothing. The store was as empty and ruined as before, and shadows stretched thin under the fading light of dusk. She narrowed her eyes, straining her senses.

She couldn’t see the source of the sound, but it definitely was not an illusion.

"Coo..."

The sound seemed gentle and weak like the sound of a bird, or a child muffling their tears.

Ling Yu’s gaze hardened. She knew better than to trust appearances. Many monsters in the early stages of the apocalypse mimicked harmless cries to lure their prey closer.

And right on cue, the system’s cold voice rang in her mind.

[System Warning]

[Hostile presence detected. Danger level: ???

Advise immediate retreat.]

Ling Yu’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Retreat, huh? Not like you to be so vague."

[Data analysis incomplete. The Entity does not match the catalogued first-wave monsters. Caution recommended.]

Isn’t this a bit... unusual?

The system usually had an exact read on danger classifications: low, medium, high, and catastrophic. But "???" meant something unclassified, or something outside of its prediction.

’I guess there are things that even the system can’t know about, huh?’

Well, that was still good, then being omnipotent, or else Ling Yu wouldn’t know what to do about this.

Ling Yu stood still, silent, letting the faint noises guide her. It wasn’t from the shelves, nor from the outside either.

Is it coming from the basement?

Her sharp gaze swept the cracked tiles until she noticed it: a half-concealed trapdoor near the counter, covered with debris as though someone had tried to hide it.

The sound drifted up again, the same muffled sound that disturbed her for some reason. "Coo... coo..."

Ling Yu exhaled slowly. Even if she could’ve just ignore it, she still couldn’t leave it be. If it was a dangerous element, then she would get rid of it. But it it’s just a harmless life, then she can’t just walk away.

Survival dictated leaving this place immediately, not poking her head into unknown basements where "unknown danger" awaited.

But she still didn’t stop walking.

She kicked aside the broken boards, crouching down as she pried the hatch open. The stale smell of earth and dust rose, mingled with something faintly metallic, like rust, or blood.

The staircase led down into a pit of darkness.

"Coo..."

Ling Yu’s expression didn’t change. She drew a short blade from her side, adjusting her breathing as she descended. Each step groaned beneath her weight, but she moved with the patience of someone who had walked into traps before and lived to tell of them.

The basement was dim, lit only by narrow slats of light filtering from above. The air was damp, heavy. Old boxes leaned against the walls, some of them were broke open by something heavy. But Ling Yu didn’t spare a second glance at them, walking direftly towards the source of the sound.

Ling Yu’s steps halted, her blade poised mid-air.

It was small and round, covered in snowy white fluff that shimmered faintly under the weak light. Its eyes were impossibly large, clear as gemstones, welling with tears. And its little mouth opened, releasing another soft cry.

"Coo..."

The sound wasn’t threatening at all; rather, it seemed to be pitiful.

Ling Yu’s brow furrowed. Her system said "danger." Yet this thing... looked no more harmful than a kitten.

The creature tilted its head at her, blinking.

Then, to her surprise, it waddled forward clumsily on short, stubby legs. Its fluffy body rolled more than it walked, like a ball of living cotton. When it reached her boots, it looked up, eyes shimmering, and cooed again.