Three years after being reborn into this wasteland world where food is scarce, mutated plants and animals and ghosts roam everywhere, and human civilization is in the process of rebuilding, Zhao Xiaoxiu ate meat for the first time.

It's still the same delicious roasted meat.

The source of the meat—the tentacles of the living father.

......

The enticing aroma of meat wafted from the ten-square-meter cubicle enclosed by wooden boards, foam, and plastic.

Zhao Xiaoxiu, a tiny girl, sat on a small plastic children's stool with the character Pleasant Goat that Grandma Meng had picked up from the garbage dump next door.

Knees together, back straight, hands pressed firmly against knees.

She stared wide-eyed at her 'father,' who was busy grilling meat in front of the stove, about two meters away.

He had a well-behaved look on his face, but his heart was surging with emotions.

This is meat!

Thirteen years have passed since the apocalypse, and the survivors have long forgotten what uncontaminated fresh meat tastes like.

Not to mention the human infants who rely on base relief nutrient solutions and whose diet consists only of sweet and salty porridge.

With a "sizzle" sound.

The meat chunks burst with glistening oil as they were grilled over charcoal.

Tears welled up in Zhao Xiaoxiu's eyes and streamed down her face.

The human cub, dazed by the aroma of meat, thought to itself, "The man who cooks is indeed very handsome."

Even if his back is covered with flying crimson tentacles, what does it matter!

Because of those tentacles, it smells really good!

Then, her father, Zhao Gang, grabbed the tentacle that was opening its blood-red maw at Zhao Xiaoxiu and slammed it onto the cutting board.

He picked up the kitchen knife and swiftly and skillfully chopped it down.

With a "duang!", he chopped off the tentacle on his body that was scaring the cubs.

Wash, cut into pieces, and set up the firewood.

Midway through, the man turned back and said to his daughter, who was sitting obediently on the little stool shaped like a sheep:

"Xiaoxiu, wait a little longer, Daddy will be there soon."

In just a few minutes, he had already mastered human language.

However, his tone of voice was still a bit hesitant, like a robot whose programming had malfunctioned.

Zhao Xiaoxiu smiled sweetly, "Mmm, Daddy, don't worry."

The finest ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods.

The tentacles, roasted to a crispy exterior and tender interior, are sprinkled with a touch of cumin and salt, instantly releasing an irresistible aroma.

Zhao Xiaoxiu hesitated for only half a second before burying her entire face in the plastic rice bowl.

Waaaaah, she declared that her living father's flesh was the most delicious food in the world!

Zhao Gang watched as the cub, overjoyed, emitted colorful bubbles of light, and its hidden tentacles excitedly stretched out all at once.

They danced merrily in the air, licking the ceiling, the foam walls, and everything else in the room.

A sticky liquid covered the entire room.

Zhao Xiaoxiu's eyes widened in shock for a moment, her tongue curling as the aroma of meat lingered in her mouth.

As the saying goes, whoever feeds you is your mother.

So, the naked living father in front of her, covered in sharp teeth and tentacles, is actually quite kind and benevolent... right?

The dim yellow lights in the corridor came on.

It's 7:30 PM.

Zhao Xiaoxiu, who had never been full, felt extremely sleepy after eating a full meal.

She glanced at her living father, who was still hanging from the ceiling, and her eyelids drooped uncontrollably.

Forget it, I'll just ignore him.

Zhao Xiaoxiu kicked off her patched plastic sandals, revealing her bare, dark little feet. She climbed into bed, hugged her pillow stuffed with hay, and fell into a deep sleep.

She had a dream and didn't sleep well.

In her dream, her father ran off with the child relief nutrition solution that the center had given her that month, leaving her alone as he rushed out the door.

Then, the blood-covered father was thrown back by the ruthless thugs in the arena.

The father lay quietly on the ground, and Zhao Xiaoxiu stood beside him, a tiny little girl.

The man's 1.92-meter frame seemed to have become incredibly huge, as if it were about to fill the entire room.

A sharp, fleshy thing, whether it was a tentacle or something else, pierced through the man's gray vest from the location of his heart.

With a "whoosh," it raised its small, blood-red body and stood in front of Zhao Xiaoxiu's face.

Suddenly, the fleshy bud at the top bloomed, and a ring of tiny, spiky teeth burst open. The red and white net-like blood-red eye, the size of a glass marble, stared at her and spun around wildly.

Immediately afterwards, countless blood-red fleshy tentacles extended from his body, and he quickly lost his human form.

His head was enveloped in a mass of red, fleshy, fanged tentacles, while his hands and feet were twisted and bent at an extremely contorted angle amidst the blood and flesh.

The pool of blood, like churning silt, spread to every corner of the room in a very short time.

Zhao Xiaoxiu was forced into a corner by these bloody, fleshy creatures.

Looking up, the entire ceiling was covered in writhing crimson blood, accompanied by an indescribable, pungent stench.

She screamed, she was scared, she wanted to wake up, she shouted: Daddy! Daddy!

But the barbecue she ate that afternoon made her so full that she couldn't wake up...

Located at a high altitude, Hope Base experiences significant temperature differences between day and night in September.

Zhao Xiaoxiu vaguely sensed something wrapping her shivering little body up tightly, making her feel warm at all.

It felt like being back in my mother's womb, surrounded by warmth and a sense of security.

As the nightmare subsided, she gradually fell asleep peacefully.

When the noise from the corridor outside reached them, shouts of "Time to turn on the water!" rang out.

As night faded, the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.

Zhao Xiaoxiu slept very comfortably. Before she even opened her eyes, she yawned contentedly and then stretched.

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