164: Are human meat patties delicious?

He raised his hand, wiped the corner of his eye with the back of it, his voice choked, "I kept thinking, if I had listened to her and Mom that day, and hadn't gone out to find supplies, would this not have happened...?"

"They said they were scared, but I smiled and comforted them, saying, 'Everything will be alright'... I was such an idiot."

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, eventually turning into quiet sobs.

Bai Wanning looked at him, gently reached out and ruffled his hair. She understood his sadness and self-reproach at this moment.

She understood it better than anyone.

Xiao Cai's death was still the heaviest pain in her heart.

Empty words of comfort were always pale and powerless, and she had no intention of saying insincere things like "my condolences."

She sighed, lowered her head, and rummaged through her bag. After a long search, she finally pulled out a small packet of biscuits and handed them to Yun Chuan.

"Here," she said softly. "Although I can't bake biscuits, I hope that when you recall the past, you remember that your sister and mother wouldn't want you to lose yourself."

Yun Chuan took the packet of biscuits, and tears streamed down his face, unstoppable.

Although these biscuits weren't as sweet as his sister's, they carried a long-lost warmth.

He bit into them, mouthful by mouthful, as if he were eating an entire segment of memory. With tears in his eyes, he looked up at her: "Thank you, Miss Bai."

He knew that Bai Wanning wasn't one for many words, but every word she spoke was sincere and gentle.

Bai Wanning nodded, saying nothing more.

She sincerely hoped this man would heed her words and live well.

She clearly remembered him in her previous life; he had once been the most radiant person, but after losing his family, he became a madman obsessed with revenge.

He made "eliminating scum" his life's creed.

Although Bai Wanning understood his sense of justice and agreed that some men indeed deserved to die, his overly extreme judgment also led to him being exploited by some women.

They fabricated victim experiences and concocted stories of scum, just to have Yun Chuan "vent their anger."

Many innocent people died by his hand.

Thus, Yun Chuan became the "madman" and "tyrant" in everyone's eyes.

Bai Wanning couldn't bring his family back from the dead, but she hoped she could at least save this man's heart.

"Mr. Yun—"

"You can call me Brother Chuan." Yun Chuan turned to look at her, smiling, his watery eyes seeming to hold a sky full of stars.

"Can I call you Sister Wanning too, alright?"

Bai Wanning paused, then nodded indifferently.

"Brother Chuan," she said, "Can you make an opening in the vine wall? I want to go out for a trip."

"You're still going to collect crystal cores?" Yun Chuan asked. He still thought Bai Wanning felt she hadn't collected enough in the morning.

Speaking of which, he did feel a bit sorry for her.

Bai Wanning was the one who told them that crystal cores could be used to strengthen abilities, but in the end, she didn't get many herself.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a little awkward, lowered his head, and scratched behind his ear.

However, before Yun Chuan could hand her the crystal cores he collected in the afternoon, Bai Wanning spoke first.

"No, I don't want crystal cores," she said faintly. "I'm going to catch mutated cows."

"Mutated cows?" Yun Chuan was startled. The terrifying images of those cows gnawing on rotting corpses immediately flashed through his mind, and his face instantly turned ashen. "What do you want those monsters for? They're not ordinary cows anymore; they eat meat and are fiercely aggressive..."

"I know." Bai Wanning nodded.

Seeing his confused expression, she added, "Do you think we can keep living by scavenging like this forever? Supplies will run out one day; we need to prepare in advance."

Her tone was calm and firm: "Although these mutated cows have evolved into carnivorous monsters, as long as they retain basic animal instincts, there's still a possibility of taming them. While they haven't completely turned wild, isn't it the wisest choice to catch a few back to try?"

"Even if they can't be milked, their meat is edible. Don't be scared silly just because they've eaten corpses. In the Apocalypse, people chew tree bark, let alone such a strong source of meat."

At this point, a hint of sarcasm entered her calm tone: "Do you think I haven't eaten dry tree bark? I was so hungry then that my head spun, my hands trembled, but I still had to chew on bark to survive."

Compared to tree bark, she preferred to eat mutated cows.

What's more, these mutated cows were not entirely useless.

In her previous life, only early-mutated cows could still be raised, and their milk, rich in ability factors, was listed as a high-grade nutritional supply by the state.

Later-stage mutated cows, however, were heavily culled due to excessive toxins and difficulty in taming.

And some people who took a chance and privately raised toxic cows... in the end, either died of poisoning or directly turned into zombies.

Yun Chuan fell silent. He knew Bai Wanning was right.

Supplies seemed sufficient now, but who knew how long the chaotic times would last? How long could they survive by scavenging and killing a few zombies?

Someone had to plan for the future in advance.

"Then I'll just..."

"I'll go with her." Lei Qian suddenly interjected, glaring at Yun Chuan as he spoke.

He was furious.

Bai Wanning had been giving him a dark look just now, but then she turned around and was incredibly gentle with Yun Chuan.

She even personally gave him biscuits, ruffled his hair, and now they were going to catch cows together?

He'd be an idiot to sit still any longer!

He had wanted to step in and comfort her just now, but he knew that if he did, Bai Wanning would only get angrier.

He could only hold it in, but he didn't expect that Yun Chuan kid to take advantage of the situation!

Yun Chuan was stunned for a moment, then cleared his throat and forced a smile: "I didn't mean anything else... I just thought you weren't very happy this afternoon, so it would be a good chance for you to change your mood."

If he had known Lei Qian was going too, he wouldn't have suggested it for anything.

Lei Qian snorted, and was about to speak when he met Bai Wanning's deep, cold gaze. He instantly shrank back three points, but still managed to force out a fawning smile: "Where are we going, Wanning?"

Bai Wanning couldn't be bothered with him, she just rolled her eyes, stepped off the porch stairs, and walked out.

She had just reached the gap Yun Chuan had made with the vines, and before she could step out, she heard Mo He shout from behind: "Come quick, look, I found meat patties!"

Bai Wanning paused, then spun around sharply.

She saw Mo He holding a black burlap sack containing a pile of dry meat patties.

As he spoke, he took one out and shoved it into his mouth.

"Stop!" Bai Wanning couldn't stop him in time.

But before the words were out, the meat patty was already in Mo He's mouth.

He chewed quite earnestly, as if savoring its flavor, an expression of "barely edible" on his face.

Bai Wanning's stomach churned violently. Forgetting everything else, she immediately turned and rushed behind the farmhouse, hugging a tree trunk and vomiting uncontrollably.

Damn it!

How could she have forgotten? She had seen these meat patties in her previous life. They weren't normal food at all, but "artificial meat" made by grinding up human corpses and mixing them with mutated animal blood. Eating them would cause diarrhea and fever at best, and direct zombification at worst!

And as soon as she finished throwing up, Lei Qian had already caught up to her.