On the glass table, a pot of steaming hot water held a glass with half a cup of strong liquor. Beside it was a large bowl of cut *jihua* meat. Ye Chen, holding a sharp knife, focused intently on Bai Long's wound and said in a low voice, "Bear with it."
Bai Long, puzzled, didn't get a chance to respond before his head was struck heavily, knocking him unconscious. After incapacitating Bai Long, Ye Chen began to act swiftly. First, he poured the hot water over the wound; the flesh here had turned black and the blood emitted a foul stench.
How painful must it be to pour hot water on an open wound? Yet, Bai Long felt nothing. The virus had dulled his nervous system's response to pain, so even a stab felt like a mosquito bite. Moreover, in his current state of unconsciousness, he was entirely unaware.
After the hot water washed away the black blood from the wound, Ye Chen used the knife to cut off the scalded flesh. From the meat, blackened blood oozed slightly.
"Grind the *jihua* meat into juice!" Ye Chen commanded Ye Zhu beside him in a stern voice.
Ye Zhu paused momentarily but didn't ask questions. She grabbed a wooden stick, placed several chunks of *jihua* meat into an iron basin, and began to mash them.
At this point, Ye Chen scooped a spoonful of the almost boiling liquor onto Bai Long's wound. The liquor, with its strong burning property, was used to cleanse toxins. Ye Chen went to the kitchen, took out garlic and vinegar, threw the garlic into the iron basin, and poured in half a bottle of white vinegar. Ye Zhu mashed them together with the *jihua* meat.
Meanwhile, Ye Chen used liquor to clean Bai Long's wound. Once the *jihua* meat, vinegar, and garlic were mashed into a juice, they had about two bowls' worth. All of it was poured into Bai Long's mouth.
"Will he really recover?" Ye Zhu asked, concerned.
Ye Chen shook his head and said, "It depends on his luck. Fortunately, the infection time was short; otherwise, it would have been difficult to treat."
Ye Zhu fell silent. Ye Chen patted her shoulder and pointed to the carcass of the mutant dog nearby, saying, "This creature's flesh is all usable and contains a rich energy. Dog meat is inherently nourishing. If one person consumes all the meat from this mutant dog, it can enhance five people's strength! As for its fur, we can use it to make clothes."
Different animals have different nutritional values in their meat. A tiger's meat, for instance, is naturally more nutritious than that of a pig! And this mutant dog's meat is dozens of times more precious than tiger meat!
Ye Zhu now noticed the mutant dog and asked in surprise, "Is this what you went hunting for?"
Ye Chen nodded.
Ye Zhu frowned and said, "Next time you do something so dangerous, even if you don't bring me along, you must at least inform me!"
Ye Chen smiled wryly and nodded.
Only then did Ye Zhu approach the mutant dog, squatting down to take a closer look. Curiously, she asked, "Brother, can all the meat from this monster be eaten? Isn't only the *jihua* meat edible?"
Ye Chen shook his head and replied, "In zombies, only the *jihua* meat is edible; the rest contains the virus because zombies are failed evolutionary products. This monster, on the other hand, is a successful evolution. Even if it scratches or bites you, you won't get infected and turn into a zombie."
"*Jihua* meat!"
"Simply put, it's high-grade flesh. If you categorize it, cockroach and rat meat are Level 1 flesh, ordinary human flesh is Level 2, tiger meat is Level 3, and *jihua* meat is Level 10!"
"The higher the level of the meat, the more energy and nutrition it contains!"
"A normal person with Level 2 flesh who eats Level 3 tiger meat will strengthen their body and enhance their physique! Eating Level 10 *jihua* meat will boost strength, improve constitution, and achieve an evolutionary effect... This mutant dog's flesh, evolved under the virus's stimulation, is akin to Level 7 flesh, comparable to low-grade *jihua* meat!"
Ye Chen explained, "The virus itself isn't toxic; it's like a nutrient gas! Monsters can evolve because they absorb the virus. Humans become zombies, failing to evolve, because they can't handle this nutrient gas."
"It's like an ant trying to eat an elephant—it doesn't have a stomach big enough, so if it tries, it bursts."
Ye Zhu understood, a light dawning in her mind.
She then grabbed a fire ax and dragged the mutant dog into the kitchen, dissecting it by discarding inedible organs. She boiled water, dehaired, and butchered it.
Meanwhile, Ye Chen sat on the sofa, contemplating future plans.
A few hours later, Ye Zhu had cut the lion-sized mutant dog into many portions, boiled them, and then sliced and stir-fried them with seasonings.
The mutant dog's fur was carefully skinned, washed, deodorized, and reserved for making clothing.
By dinnertime, the table was laden with two large bowls of meat slices, aromatic with seasonings. After days of practice, Ye Zhu's cooking skills had improved, and she no longer cut potato shreds into slices.
Ye Chen nodded and said, "Let's finish the mutant dog meat soon, or its nutrients will diminish. We'll eat meat every meal for the next few days."
Ye Zhu chuckled.
After eating a large bowl of mutant dog meat, Ye Chen felt his strength increase by dozens of pounds, roughly half a person's strength. If this bowl were *jihua* meat, it could have enhanced his strength by two persons.
Still, Ye Chen was not disappointed. The mutant dog was large enough to feed them for four to five days, and by eating three meals a day, they could increase their strength by one and a half people daily. Adding the *jihua* meat from hunting zombies, they could gain two to three people's strength each day!
"You go to bed. I'll keep watch here," Ye Chen told his sister, Ye Zhu, after dinner.
Ye Zhu hesitated but then nodded.
...
That night, Ye Chen remained in a semi-conscious state, allowing his body to recover while staying alert in case Bai Long turned into a zombie and attacked.
However, the night passed peacefully...
The next morning, Ye Chen woke and glanced at Bai Long. Seeing his skin regain its color and his eyes no longer sunken, he looked normal. Ye Chen was relieved.
"My head is so dizzy..." Bai Long groggily awoke, feeling sore all over and with a heavy head. He sat up and rubbed his forehead. At that moment, he heard a joyful voice, "You're awake?"
Bai Long looked up and saw Ye Zhu in coarse cloth standing before him. Not far away at the table, the black-haired man was still having breakfast.
Bai Long quickly gathered his wits. Seeing his hands with no long nails and having conscious thought, he realized he hadn't turned into a zombie! His right arm, though painful, was bandaged in white cloth.
"How come I didn't turn into a zombie?" Bai Long asked, astonished.
Ye Zhu giggled and pointed at Ye Chen at the table, "My brother treated your wound and cleaned the toxins."
Bai Long, surprised, recalled the voice he heard before fainting was this man's. He felt immense gratitude as he walked over to Ye Chen and said, "Thank you for last night. If it weren't for you, I would be dead."
Ye Chen replied indifferently, "It's nothing. Have breakfast first. We have to hunt zombies later."
Bai Long, about to say "Thank you, how could I trouble you," was stunned by the latter part of Ye Chen's statement and thought he misheard, "You're going out to hunt zombies?"
Ye Chen calmly said, "Not just us, you're coming too."
Bai Long felt dizzy, as if the world went dark. After a while, he murmured, "I'm injured, how can I help? I don't want to burden you..."
Ye Chen, eyes understanding, said, "True, you're useless now. Fine, leave. No breakfast for you either."
Bai Long: "..."
"Still here?"
"Well...what did I say? Oh, I have intermittent amnesia. What did you say?"
"Sister, where's my knife?"
"Um...I just remembered, I'll come along to hunt zombies!"