Chapter 160
At 5 a.m., as dawn broke over the horizon…
Thanks to last night’s chaos, most of the Eastern Base’s residents were still exhausted. Many who should’ve been up for morning drills were still curled up in bed.
The residential areas, the black market, the logistics department, the prison—almost all major zones were eerily quiet, with only a few guards yawning their way through patrols.
And just as everyone hovered between sleep and wakefulness—
Every corner of the base suddenly crackled to life as countless loudspeakers activated at once. A voice, crackling with static, boomed:
Ahem—ahem—testing—testing, can everyone hear me?
It was a voice brimming with excitement.
After a brief silence and another throat-clearing, the voice continued with passionate fervor:
“This is an announcement from the Southern Gate of the Eastern Base! Repeat—an announcement from the Southern Gate of the Eastern Base!!!”
Hearing the broadcast, many people jolted upright in bed, reflexively snapping to attention. They exchanged bewildered looks with those around them:
“An announcement from the Southern Gate? No way, what major incident happened this time?!”
“Last time the gate made an announcement, it was about the ancient ruins discovered at the North Gate…”
“Could it be a mutant wave attack? If a large-scale invasion hits us now, our base is done.”
“Look on the bright side—maybe they found something valuable?”
…This was a habit ingrained in the Eastern Base residents after years of survival.
Very few people in the entire base—including top leadership and S-rank mercenaries—had the authority to broadcast base-wide announcements. And an announcement directly from the gate usually carried critical information.
Either it was a dangerous mutant wave incoming, or an extremely rare resource had been discovered.
No one wanted to miss out on vital news, no matter which it was.
So, despite being exhausted from last night’s chaos, people across the Eastern Base dragged themselves up, yawning and whispering, ears pricked nervously for the next piece of information.
After a brief pause, the booming broadcast resumed, now brimming with excitement:
“We… have discovered! @#??&))!!!… specific location!!!”
Base residents: “…”
Base residents: “???”
“What the hell is this?!”
As if the equipment had malfunctioned, the announcement was intermittently drowned out by static, making it impossible to decipher.
Even worse, through the microphone, a commotion could be heard on the other end—like multiple people wrestling for control:
First, the sound of equipment adjustments. Then, frantic footsteps. Chairs and tables crashing to the floor. A woman’s voice pleading, “Please, don’t tell everyone!” A man sobbing, “I’m such a fool… I should’ve known something that good couldn’t stay unknown…”
The chaotic, nonsensical noise only deepened the confusion.
Finally, just as everyone was about to lose patience, the microphone seemed to be snatched back by the gate guards. Two loud clicks of a lock later, all the noise—and static—vanished.
The impassioned broadcast voice returned.
…This time, it was loud, clear, and transmitted through every speaker across the Eastern Base, reaching every single ear:
“This is an announcement from the Southern Gate of the Eastern Base:”
“According to reliable intel, we have located the exact position of ‘Simple Porridge Stall.’ It is situated at the center of the Death Barrens. Coordinates are—”
“…”
Ten seconds later.
The entire Eastern Base erupted.
The booming broadcast spread the exact location of Simple Porridge Stall to every corner of the Eastern Base, reaching countless ears.
…As the impossible words sank in, everyone’s eyes slowly widened.
Some stood frozen in place.
Others, eyes gleaming, scrambled for pen and paper, compasses—anything to record every detail.
A few, still out of the loop, asked in confusion, “Simple Porridge Stall? What’s that? Are porridge stalls categorized by difficulty now?” But no one bothered to answer.
In the apocalypse, the ability to gather intel was crucial. After last night’s uproar, anyone who still didn’t recognize the name “Simple Porridge Stall” was hopelessly slow and out of touch.
—Residential District, Eastern Base. A small apartment.
Listening to the broadcast, Wang Peng and his wife locked eyes, their gazes burning with fanatical intensity.
…The day before yesterday, Wang Peng had been lucky enough to become Simple Porridge Stall’s first customer, tasting that mind-blowing century egg and pork porridge.
Even more astonishing, that bowl hadn’t just been delicious—it had leveled up Wang Peng’s abilities and even awakened his previously ordinary wife’s B-rank special-type ability!
But yesterday, arriving too late, Wang Peng had missed out on the mushroom and chicken porridge. Hearing that Boss Jian had left, he and his wife had resigned themselves to never tasting such perfection again.
Yet now, against all odds—
“Shall we go?”
“Let’s go!”
Nodding in unison, the couple began packing their bags.
—Sector 13, Eastern Base. Bonfire gathering.
During last night’s chaos, Liang Mingchun and the veterans of Sector 13 had teamed up with Squad 11 to beat Li Zhou into a fleeing, whimpering mess. Unfortunately, Li Zhou had escaped, and the veterans involved—along with Squad 11—had been thrown into prison.
The remaining veterans had been sent back to Sector 13.
Originally, they’d been huddled around the bonfire, grimly strategizing their next move.
“Damn it, this Eastern Base is no place for humans anymore…”
“If only Simple Porridge Stall were still here. But now, even that’s gone—”
Just then, the broadcast blared to life.
The veterans listened in silence, the dim light in their eyes growing brighter and brighter.
It seemed they now knew what to do next.
—Eastern Base, Prison.
Due to last night’s chaos, many mercenaries who had participated in the brawl against Li Zhou in the black market had been thrown into prison overnight. The Eastern Base’s prison had never held so many people at once—it was overcrowded to the point where there weren’t even enough prison uniforms to go around, leaving many mercenaries still in their own clothes.
The exhausted guards yawned nearby.
Looking around, many familiar faces could be seen.
One Inch Green, a snake coiled around his wrist, leaned on his cane in a corner, deep in thought. Blue-haired Murong Miao and buzz-cut Wang Li squatted together, whispering. Liang Mingchun, the leader of the Sector 13 veterans, moved quietly between cells, using his abilities to heal the mercenaries’ injuries.
When the broadcast sounded, they all looked up in unison, ears pricked.
Their expressions varied.
After the broadcast ended, everyone exchanged glances. No words were spoken, but their long-standing camaraderie allowed them to understand each other instantly.
One Inch Green subtly gestured with his hand, hidden in his sleeve.
The mercenaries began quietly gathering toward him.
…Simple Porridge Stall had reopened in the Death Barrens? As loyal regulars, how could they not show their support?
Besides, the Eastern Base under Li Zhou’s control was no longer a place they could stay.
Better to unite and venture out, seeking new possibilities beyond these walls.
A look of resolve flashed in the mercenaries’ eyes.
Outside the cells, the guards yawned again, chatting idly while smoking:
“What the hell is this Simple Porridge Stall anyway? These idiots actually attacked an S-rank mercenary over a bowl of porridge—now they’re stuck in prison, waiting to be quietly executed. How stupid can you get…” Guard No. 1 spat.
“Yeah, if it were me, I’d never do something so pointless,” Guard No. 2 yawned.
“Hahaha, so here we are, sitting pretty outside, while they rot in there—”
Before Guard No. 3 could finish, he noticed his two colleagues staring in horror at something behind him.
Guard No. 3: “?”
“What? What’s behind m—”
He turned around—and his expression slowly morphed into terror.
“…”
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly rocked the prison.
People outside turned their heads in shock—
The prison gates had been blasted open with brute force. Wang Li, a strength-type mercenary, led the charge, his muscles bulging, while the others surged out behind him like a tidal wave!
The prison had been breached from the inside!
The Eastern Base was about to undergo a complete upheaval.
Everyone sensed it.
“…”
One hour later.
—Southern Gate, Eastern Base.
Li Zhou, his head wrapped in bandages, one eye still bruised from the beating, leaned heavily on a cane as he watched the massive crowd of mercenaries march into the distance.
His gaze was filled with venom, resentment, disdain… and countless other emotions.
After a long silence, Li Zhou gritted his teeth and barked at his subordinates:
“You, you—and you! Carry me! We’re going after them!”
“I want to see with my own eyes what this Simple Porridge Stall is capable of… And how far these useless trash think they can go after abandoning the Eastern Base!”
*
Meanwhile, at the Jian family villa…
Jian Yunlan remained blissfully unaware of the chaos Simple Porridge Stall had caused in the Eastern Base.
Sunlight spilled across the soft bed as he woke naturally, stretching comfortably—only to find Taotie beside him, golden eyes bloodshot and wide open.
Jian Yunlan: “? Lord Tao Tie, didn’t you sleep well?”
“…” Tao Tie put on a haughty, defiant expression, but his hoarse voice and dark circles betrayed him. “Nonsense. This lord slept perfectly.”
Jian Yunlan: “Oh, okay then. I’ll head out first. Gotta prep for the stall. Talk later, bye!”
With that, he quickly got up and left.
Tao Tie: “?????”
“…”
Jian Yunlan had a good reason for being in such a hurry.
The moment he opened his eyes and saw the sunlight outside, inspiration struck.
—Tonight, he was going to sell two types of porridge.
Pumpkin porridge and seafood porridge!
