To be honest, the taste wasn't that bad. There was just this gamey taste to it. Other than that, it was actually pretty good.
"How is it? Does it taste good?" Kevin asked me as he stared at the uneaten piece of meat on the makeshift grill.
I was sure that if I said 'yes', this guy wouldn't hesitate to grab that piece of meat, but how could I share the meat I worked so hard to cook?
I pretended not to hear him and quietly ate the cooked meat.
When I grabbed the last piece of meat, I heard Kevin letting out a regretful sigh.
The group quietly observed me, waiting to see if I would experience any discomfort caused by food poisoning.
The wait was excruciatingly long and some people almost failed to hold back their desire. If it weren't for the threat of death, I was pretty sure that those guys would cut off a huge slab of meat from the Devourers for them to enjoy.
"Do you feel anything?" Jonathan asked cautiously as he inspected by skin. During food poisoning, the early symptoms would be noticed on the skin.
"I think it's safe to eat. You guys should get some. We can smoke it so we can preserve the meat." I replied. Knowing that it was completely safe for consumption, I wasn't worried at all. However, these guys didn't know about this so they were still hesitant.
"Dammit! I don't care anymore! I'll go try it!" Kevin briskly walked towards the nearest Devourer. He then cut a huge slab of meat from the belly area.
A moment later, he returned after scraping off the outer layer of the meat.
"Let me borrow your grill." He told me.
"Sure."
Soon, a few more people held back their disgust and cut a portion of meat for themselves.
Even Michael and the other well-dressed survivors joined them.
A few hours later, no one was affected by food poisoning. There were only some people with sensitive taste buds who puked after eating the meat, but other than them, everyone seemed to enjoy the Devourer meat.
"Now that our food problem is solved. We should discuss our strategy for the next stage." I suggested after everyone had eaten their fill.
All eyes gathered on me as soon as I uttered those words.
"But we don't know how many monsters we will face in the next stage," Martin muttered.
"We don't, but we can make assumptions. For instance, let's say we assumed that there will be fifty monsters in the next stage. We will make a strategy based on that." Jonathan said after some thought.
I was impressed by his quick thinking.
We spent the rest of the day discussing our strategies for the second stage.
Soon, the forty-eight-hour countdown was over and the second stage finally began.
____
More monsters are coming! Escape from the tunnel and find another safe zone!
Mission Difficulty: Easy
Reward: 5 stat points
____
A mini-map of the area appeared on the screen. On the mini-map, there were four large green boxes located in different directions. These boxes represented the safe zones. There were also tiny blue dots that represented each survivor and slightly bigger red dots that represented the Devourers.
"Everyone, listen up! Look at the map on your screen. Do you see those green boxes?" Jonathan spoke in a loud voice.
The survivors stared at the map and quietly waited for his next words.
"I think these boxes represent the safe zone. The blue dots should be us and we are currently inside a fading green box. I think we can no longer stay here. I have a feeling that this safe zone will disappear in a few minutes. Do you see the moving red dots? I'm pretty sure that they are the monsters. They are still quite far so we can still discuss which safe zone we should go." Jonathan managed to identify the icons on the map after only less than half a minute of observation. He was becoming more and more formidable in my eyes.
Just like he said, we could choose which safe zone we should go to. Depending on our choice, we could find a good safe zone or a bad safe zone. If we end up arriving at an open space with no roof above our heads, we would be exposed to the elements.
I knew which one was the best among the three safe zones.
"Let's go to the safe zone up north. From what I remember, there is an abandoned building right there. We can use the building as a temporary shelter in case it rains." I suggested before they could make their final choice.
Upon hearing my words, most of the survivors agreed with my choice.
"It's decided then. We'll head north and find that abandoned building." Jonathan spoke after seeing that everyone approved of the idea. He also felt that it was the best option for them.
After making a decision, the group placed all their possessions inside their storage spaces.
"Kevin, we need to help that guy. Bring him with us." I pointed at the man whose upper body was wrapped in bandages. This was the guy who had his chest cut open after being clawed by a Devourer. Surprisingly, he survived that fatal injury. He could even walk now with some difficulty.
Kevin and the others were surprised by my words. Only Jonathan seemed to have realized something, but he didn't say anything.
"Alright. I'll go pick him up." Kevin nodded.
I turned my head to Jonathan and told him. "If you see someone with extraordinary ability, tell me immediately."
Hearing this, Jonathan nodded as he pushed the rim of his glasses. "Alright. I'll ask the others to monitor the survivors."
I carried the little girl, Lia, along the way. She was still in low spirits even after our efforts to make her feel better. Behind me were Uncle Fabian and Apple. I kept them close to me in case something unexpected happened.
In the game, wild animals like tigers and lions also appeared from time to time, but they weren't recognized as monsters so they couldn't be seen on the mini map.
I knew for sure that we would encounter them later.