The Chef Rules the Last Days

A moment later, as if sensing her sincerity, the man sitting in front of her, who was nearly as tall as she was while seated, reluctantly squeezed out one word from his throat.

"Hmm."

Taking a deep breath, Su Mo reminded herself not to get angry, not to be petty. She straightened up, ready to find something to eat, when her stomach chose the worst possible time to growl, loud and clear in the silent night.

"Gurgle~gurgle."

Clutching her stomach, her face flushed red, why did it have to pick this moment! She looked at Lu Chen with an embarrassed expression and spoke, "Um... would you like to have something to eat with me?"

Standing before him like a refugee, the disdain in Lu Chen's actions was clear as he stood up and walked straight to the door, stepping over the wooden debris as he prepared to leave. Pausing at the doorway, his tall figure hesitated, then he turned back, lifted the dining table from her room, and placed it in front of the door to block the large gap before leaving.

As she watched the silent man heading upstairs, she immediately jumped to the side of the door and called out through the crack into the pitch-black corridor, "My name is Su Mo."

Expecting no response, she was surprised when she heard the man's low, uninflected voice: "Lu Chen."

What a stubborn person. She pursed her lips, pushed the table closer to the door to seal it tighter, and then bounced off to the kitchen.

Due to the power outage and in the heat of the summer, the contents of the fridge quickly spoiled. The frozen fast food and popsicles in the freezer were melting together, emitting bursts of foul odor.

In the kitchen, all that was left were a few boxes of fruit cans and some bagged instant noodles she had stockpiled.

It hurt her heart so much; these were the provisions she had just carried home not long ago, now gone. With no other option, Su Mo settled for a bag of instant noodles. Fortunately, the gas supply was still on, otherwise she truly would have gone hungry for the day.

After dinner, having tidied up the mess at home, she found her mobile phone on the floor, already out of power and turned off.

By the light of the candle, Su Mo glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was already past midnight. Careful not to touch her wounds, she washed up casually, changed into clean pajamas, and sat down by the window with a cup of water, her doll-like face full of worry. It was still pitch black outside, so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

She had no idea when the power and internet would be restored. In this era of popular online payments, most of her living expenses were in her bank account, with only a few pitiful red banknotes in her possession.

This feeling of being isolated and without support made Su Mo somewhat melancholic.

Lost in thought, she heard the sound of footsteps from downstairs, crisp and synchronized. Narrowing her eyes, she could just make out a line of figures entering her building in an orderly fashion.

She put down her cup and hopped to the door, bending over to peer through the crack. The stairwell flickered with light as several soldiers in uniform, carrying flashlights, followed an older middle-aged man up the stairs.

Jiang Hai's sharp senses detected someone watching them. His penetrating gaze cut towards the spot where Su Mo was peeking, his pace unfaltering.

Intimidated by the imposing aura, Su Mo quickly withdrew her head and stepped back. She patted her chest as her heart fiercely pounded; those uniforms were from A City's military district. There must be some important figure living upstairs.

Lu Chen, noticing the commotion, opened the door and let someone in. Jiang Yulian's eyes reddened the moment she saw her husband come for her personally, fully aware of how important their late-gained son was to Jiang Hai.

Before leaving, she grabbed Lu Chen's hand and repeatedly instructed, "If you don't go, Aunt won't force you, but please keep a close eye on the girl downstairs."

Jiang Hai, having roughly understood the situation from his subordinates, wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders. His resolute face was full of authority as he spoke seriously, "All the satellites we've sent out have lost contact, and we haven't received a response yet. Stay inside for the next few days and don't go out. If something happens, come back to me immediately."

Lu Chen nodded, his expression also unusually grave, "I understand."

After giving his instructions, Hu Ding, who had come along, took a large wrapped package off his back, put it on the ground, and slapped Lu Chen's shoulder jokingly, "I knew you wouldn't go back. I packed these things up for you early on."

Lu Chen remained silent, shook off the hand from his shoulder, and spat out harshly, "Take good care of Aunt Jiang. I don't want something like this to happen a second time."

"It won't," Hu Ding conceded, taking back his hand and rubbing his head, feeling somewhat to blame for being soft-hearted in the moment, although he truly hadn't expected such an incident to occur.

After seeing the group downstairs, as they passed Su Mo's room, Jiang Yulian noticed her badly damaged door, glanced at Lu Chen behind her who showed no expression and looked nothing like someone who had done something wrong. She snatched a backpack from a soldier, placed it in front of the door, and softly knocked, saying, "Girl, Aunt left you something. Don't go out these days and remember to find Lu Chen, that stinky boy, if anything happens."

Hearing the voice, Su Mo's eyes brightened considerably with excitement. She rubbed her hands together and called out loudly, "Got it, thank you, Auntie!"

No one noticed that on the third floor, a door was slightly ajar, and within, a pair of dark eyes quietly watched everyone's movements upstairs; the door was silently shut just before they went downstairs.

Not until the outside was quiet did Su Mo push her desk aside and hoook the black package inside. Unable to wait, she eagerly opened it and found several fully charged power banks, a flashlight with batteries, and a military dagger.

It was like someone had delivered a pillow to a sleepy person. She took out her phone and immediately connected the charging cable, sighing deeply as the start-up sound followed.

Other than the army knife and power banks she used, everything else Su Mo quickly stuffed underneath her bedroom bed, fearing someone might break in. She then grabbed the bed covers, clutching the army knife, and settled onto the couch, planning to sleep there until daylight.

The 72nd hour since darkness fell had arrived.

Beyond the voices of government personnel dragging carts back and forth to broadcast and remind residents to be cautious when going out, the streets were mostly silent.

It had been three days, and Su Mo hadn't heard any noise from upstairs. The wound on her leg was also healing quickly with a thin scab formed, not affecting her movement. She had obediently stayed home, not venturing outside. Although she didn't have to worry about starving for the time being, she began to worry about the candles at home. She didn't have many to start with, and despite being sparing with them, she was about to run out, and she didn't want to be plunged into darkness.

She sighed in dismay. Aside from occasionally making a few phone calls that couldn't connect, she dared not waste battery. Su Mo turned on her phone, wanting to call Lu Chen upstairs, to ask him to check on her home while she went out to buy some candles. The number was right in front of her, but she couldn't bring herself to press the call button.

"Ah, forget it," she struggled for a while before putting down the phone.

It was only the third day; social order hadn't yet descended into chaos, she reassured herself, so if she hurried back, she should be fine. Suiting herself with that thought, Su Mo changed into sportswear, her hair tied up high with a hat pressed down over half her face. After making sure everything was in place, she tucked the dagger at her waist, took the flashlight in hand, and quietly moved out, carefully covering the hole again. She darted down the stairs.