On the glass table, a pot of steaming hot water held a glass cup filled halfway with strong liquor. Beside it, there was a large bowl of sliced mutant meat.
Ye Chen held a sharp knife, focused entirely on Bai Long's wound. He spoke in a low tone: "Brace yourself."
Bai Long, puzzled, didn't have time to respond before his head was struck heavily. He passed out immediately.
Once Bai Long was unconscious, Ye Chen acted swiftly. First, he poured the hot water over the wound. The flesh there had turned black and emitted a putrid smell.
The scalding water caused unimaginable pain, but Bai Long couldn't feel it. The virus had dulled his nervous system, leaving him almost insensitive to pain. Even being stabbed would feel no worse than a mosquito bite. In his unconscious state, he was oblivious.
After the boiling water washed away the blackened blood from the wound, Ye Chen used the knife to slice off the burned flesh. Dark, tainted blood oozed from the exposed tissue.
"Grind the mutant meat into a paste," Ye Chen instructed Ye Zhu, who was standing nearby.
Startled, Ye Zhu hesitated but didn't ask questions. She grabbed a wooden stick, dumped several pieces of mutant meat into an iron basin, and began mashing it.
Meanwhile, Ye Chen scooped a spoonful of nearly boiling liquor and poured it over Bai Long's wound. The alcohol's strong burning properties helped cleanse toxins.
Ye Chen went to the kitchen, retrieving garlic and vinegar. He tossed the garlic into the basin and poured in half a bottle of vinegar, directing Ye Zhu to mix them with the mutant meat into a paste.
While she worked, Ye Chen continued cleaning Bai Long's wound with the liquor. When the mixture of mutant meat, vinegar, and garlic had been ground into a thick liquid, they ended up with two bowls. Ye Chen poured the concoction directly down Bai Long's throat.
"Will he really recover?" Ye Zhu asked anxiously.
Ye Chen shook his head. "It depends on his luck. At least the infection was caught early; otherwise, it'd be nearly impossible to treat."
Ye Zhu fell silent.
Patting her shoulder, Ye Chen pointed to the mutated canine corpse on the floor. "This creature's flesh is edible and rich in energy. Dog meat is already considered highly nutritious, but the meat of a mutated canine like this is many times more valuable. If eaten entirely by one person, it could enhance their strength to the equivalent of five men. Its hide can be made into clothing."
Different animals' nutritional values varied greatly. The meat of a tiger, for instance, was far superior to that of a pig. The mutated canine's flesh, however, was dozens of times more precious than a tiger's.
Ye Zhu finally noticed the mutated canine and exclaimed, "Is this the creature you went to hunt earlier?"
Ye Chen nodded.
Frowning, Ye Zhu scolded, "Next time you do something so dangerous, you can leave me out, but at least tell me first."
Ye Chen gave a wry smile and nodded.
Ye Zhu then crouched beside the mutated canine, examining it curiously. "Brother, is all of this creature's flesh edible? I thought only the mutant meat was safe to eat?"
Ye Chen shook his head. "For zombies, only the mutant meat is edible; the rest is viral because zombies are failed evolutionary products. But this creature represents successful evolution. Even if it bites or scratches you, it won't infect you with the zombie virus."
"Mutant meat," Ye Chen continued, "is essentially advanced flesh. If we rank flesh by levels, the meat of cockroaches and rats is Level 1, ordinary human flesh is Level 2, tiger meat is Level 3, and mutant meat is Level 10.
"The higher the level, the richer the energy and nutrients. A Level 2 human eating Level 3 tiger meat will grow stronger. Eating Level 10 mutant meat can improve strength and physique to the point of evolution. This mutated canine's flesh equals Level 7 flesh—essentially substandard mutant meat."
Ye Chen explained, "The virus isn't inherently poisonous. Think of it as a nutrient-rich gas. Creatures that evolve absorb it successfully. Humans become zombies and fail to evolve because they can't handle the overwhelming nutrients. It's like an ant trying to eat an elephant—it doesn't have the capacity, so it bursts."
Ye Zhu seemed to grasp his meaning.
She then picked up a fire ax, dragging the mutated canine into the kitchen. She began dismembering it, discarding inedible organs, scalding it to remove the fur, and skillfully butchering the meat.
Ye Chen, meanwhile, sat on the couch, pondering their next steps.
Hours later, Ye Zhu had reduced the lion-sized mutated canine into manageable portions. She boiled some pieces in hot water and sliced others into smaller chunks to fry with spices.
As for its hide, she stripped, washed, and treated it to remove the smell of blood, saving it for clothing.
At dinner, the table was piled high with two large bowls of meat, seasoned and delicious. After so many days of practice, Ye Zhu's cooking skills had improved significantly.
Ye Chen nodded approvingly. "Let's eat this mutated canine as quickly as possible. The longer it's stored, the more nutrients it loses. For the next few days, no rice—just meat."
Ye Zhu chuckled.
After consuming an entire bowl of the canine meat, Ye Chen felt his strength increase by about fifty pounds. Though this only added half a man's strength, he wasn't disappointed. The large carcass would last them four to five days. Eating three meals of this meat daily, combined with mutant meat scavenged from zombies, could boost his strength by two or three times that.
"Go to your room and sleep. I'll watch over him," Ye Chen told his sister after dinner.
Ye Zhu hesitated but nodded.
Through the night, Ye Chen stayed in a semi-conscious state, ready to act if Bai Long turned into a zombie and attacked. But the night passed peacefully.
The next morning, Ye Chen woke to find Bai Long's skin rosy and his eye sockets no longer dark. He looked much healthier, putting Ye Chen's mind at ease.
"My head feels so heavy…" Bai Long groaned, rubbing his temples as he sat up. Then he heard a cheerful voice nearby: "You're awake!"
Bai Long looked up to see Ye Zhu standing beside him in simple clothes. At a nearby table, a black-haired man was calmly eating breakfast.
Realizing he hadn't turned into a zombie, Bai Long glanced at his bandaged arm and asked in disbelief, "Why didn't I become a zombie?"
Ye Zhu giggled, pointing to her brother. "He treated your wound and removed the toxins."
Bai Long, now remembering the man's voice from the night before, felt a surge of gratitude. Walking over, he smiled. "Thank you for saving my life."
Ye Chen responded indifferently, "It's nothing. Eat breakfast. We're going out to hunt zombies later."
Stunned, Bai Long stammered, "You're hunting zombies? Together?"
"Not just us—you're coming too," Ye Chen replied coldly.
Bai Long's head spun. "But I'm injured! I'll only slow you down…"
Ye Chen's eyes narrowed. "You're useless now. Fine, leave. And don't bother eating."
Bai Long was speechless.
"Well? Still here?"
"Wait, uh… what did I just say? Oh, right, I have occasional memory loss. What were we talking about?"
"Zhu, where's my knife?"
"Okay, okay! I remember now. I'll join you to hunt zombies!"