Chapter 71 A Dinner for Three

The only benefit of the mutated bird attack was that the superhumans could finally eat meat.

After processing, the meat of the mutated bird tastes alright. It not only provides meat but also a little energy. This time, both the civilian superpower teams and the military superpower teams received a considerable amount of meat.

In the evening, Zhou Min and Lin Yan came to find Ruan Ning carrying a large bag of things. Zhou Min was carrying several large pieces of processed, dark-colored mutated bird meat, while Lin Yan was carrying a basket with some vegetables and a small bag of flour.

"Ruan Ning! Come quick and help!" Zhou Min exclaimed loudly, "We're having a meat feast today! Let's improve our meals!"

Ruan Ning looked at the things they brought, but didn't ask any questions. She turned around and went to the balcony to bring out the rarely used, simple oven made from a discarded metal bucket, and also found a few pieces of durable charcoal.

While washing the few slightly thin but bright green bok choy and two potatoes by the sink, Lin Yan explained, "The bird meat was distributed according to our contribution today. I did well and got quite a lot. The vegetables and flour cost us a lot of points to exchange for from the plant research institute's direct supply store. It was so expensive."

Zhou Min had already started cutting the meat deftly, cutting the bird meat into appropriately sized pieces: "I heard that this mutated bird meat has a sour smell if it's not handled properly, but it seems that the logistics team has found a way to deal with it. They've rubbed it with some of their homemade spices, and it smells alright. The key thing is that eating it seems to provide a little bit of energy, although it's negligible, but it's better than nothing."

The charcoal fire was lit, and the red flames licked the charcoal, making a soft crackling sound.

Ruan Ning took out several skewers made from thick iron wire, and the three of them gathered around the grill to start skewering meat and washed vegetables.

Zhou Min was the fastest, still talking non-stop: "I heard Lei Bao's team got the most, enough for several meals. But two of them died too. Sigh, people die every day."

The meat skewers were placed on the grill, and the grease dripped onto the charcoal fire, immediately creating a cloud of smoke and a sizzling sound. The rich aroma of meat, mixed with the scent of an unknown spice, quickly filled the small apartment.

"It smells so good!" Zhou Min sniffed, looking at the meat skewers with longing eyes, constantly turning them over to prevent them from burning.

Lin Yan carefully sliced ​​potatoes with the knife she had brought, then placed the thin slices on the edge of the stove to roast. The few bok choy leaves were placed directly on the edge of the stove rack, their leaves quickly wilting and releasing a delicate aroma different from that of meat.

The meat skewers were grilled until the surface was slightly charred. Zhou Min couldn't wait to pick one up, blow on it, and take a big bite. "Hot, hot, hot! Hmm... the taste is alright! A little dry, but it definitely tastes like meat!" she mumbled, then handed the other skewers to Ruan Ning and Lin Yan.

Ruan Ning took it and carefully took a bite. The meat was indeed coarser and a bit tougher than the birds before the apocalypse, but the rich meatiness and aroma of oil were undeniable.

More importantly, after swallowing it, a faint warmth rose in my stomach, and I could indeed feel a subtle energy dissipating into my body.

"It's delicious," Ruan Ning said softly, taking another bite.

Lin Yan also ate in small bites, a satisfied expression on her face: "It's been so long since I've eaten fresh vegetables... even though it's just a few leaves."

The roasted potato slices were crispy on the edges and soft and tender on the inside. The roasted bok choy retained its natural sweetness and the aroma of charcoal. Simple foods, yet they seemed incredibly precious at this moment.

The three of them sat silently around the flickering charcoal fire, the only sounds in the room being the chewing, the sizzling of dripping grease, and the occasional conversation.

As Zhou Min flipped the meat skewers in her hand, she said, "Hey, have you guys heard? It seems like there's going to be something big happening at the base."

Lin Yan was carefully flipping a potato when she heard this and looked up: "What big operation? Are you organizing another clearing-out mission?"

“It’s not a purge,” Zhou Min lowered her voice, but the excitement in her tone didn’t diminish. “It’s about our superpowered teams. I heard that the base is planning to integrate all the civilian teams into some kind of ‘Superpowered Corps’ for unified management.”

Ruan Ning picked up a skewer of grilled meat, paused upon hearing this, and looked at Zhou Min.

"They call it unified management, or to put it nicely, resource integration and coordinated operations," Zhou Min said, pursing her lips. "To put it bluntly, they just think the civilian squads are too disorganized and difficult to control, and it's hard to hold them accountable if something goes wrong. Like that 'Fire Wolf' squad in the West District last time, didn't they almost get wiped out because they misjudged the number of zombies in the abandoned factory? Only two of them managed to escape."

Lin Yan sighed and put the roasted potato slices into a small plate next to her: "Yeah, I heard that they took that cleanup mission because they were attracted by the high reward, without carefully assessing the risks. Nowadays, the quality of civilian teams is really uneven. Some are as strong as the Lei Bao team, while others may just be a few superhumans put together without even proper teamwork."

“So,” Zhou Min continued, taking a bite of meat and chewing as she spoke, “the base is planning to implement a rating system. It seems to be based on the number, level, and combination of ability users in a team, as well as past mission completion rates and casualties, to rate all teams. For example, the strongest team would be rated A, the next strongest B, and so on.”

"What about the lower-level teams that accepted high-level missions?" Lin Yan asked.

“Well, that depends on luck,” Zhou Min shrugged. “I heard that in the future, when missions are posted in the mission hall, the recommended squad level will be indicated. It’s not impossible for a low-level squad to insist on taking on a high-level mission, but if something goes wrong, the base’s rescue priority and subsequent compensation will definitely not be comparable to that of a high-level squad. Moreover, the rating seems to be linked to the allocation of supplies and weapon exchange privileges. The higher the level, the more good things you can exchange for, and the better the living area may be.”

Lin Yan said thoughtfully, "I just don't know if this rating is fair. I don't want it to become a privilege for Lei Bao and his connected teams."

Zhou Min grilled the last few pieces of greens: "Let's take it one step at a time. At least if we follow the rules, fewer people will die."

After finishing the roasted meat and vegetables, Lin Yan even used the remaining flour and water to make a batter, and then baked two thin pancakes on the grill, which they shared as their main meal.

The embers gradually died down, leaving only dark red embers.

Zhou Min licked her lips with lingering satisfaction: "If only it could be like this every day."

Lin Yan tidied up the skewers and oil paper: "Dream on. This meal cost us almost half a week's worth of points."

Ruan Ning looked at them without saying anything, but pushed the remaining few pieces of uncooked bird meat and the return gifts she had prepared to them: "Take them back."

Zhou Min and Lin Yan didn't stand on ceremony, knowing that Ruan Ning didn't lack this.