Chapter 167
In front of Jian’s Simple Porridge Stall, exclamations of delight rose one after another.
“Ugh, this is so good!”
“There’s so much seafood—some I’ve never even seen before! I was worried it might taste weird, but it’s amazing!”
“Is this huge chunk king crab meat? So plump! Soft yet with a delicate fibrous texture—perfect with the porridge.”
“The porridge itself is so fragrant—I could drink ten bowls of just the broth!”
“Did you get any crab roe? That texture is addictive…”
The one chattering excitedly was Mu Dongsheng.
He’d never had this before and only learned from Boss Jian that those golden, sandy little granules were crab roe. He was lucky—his bowl was loaded with seafood and plenty of roe.
After hours of slow simmering, the roe had nearly melted into the porridge but still retained a slight granular texture, its oily richness floating in golden swirls on the velvety surface.
Eaten with the soft porridge, the roe’s intense aroma bloomed instantly. When gently crushed between teeth, its thick, buttery richness burst forth—supremely savory, yet balanced by the mild rice broth, leaving only pure, unadulterated deliciousness…
Even after finishing the bowl, golden roe oil still swirled at the bottom.
A shame each person was limited to just one bowl.
One tiny bowl, gone in a blink—nowhere near enough!
Unable to resist, Mu Dongsheng licked the bowl clean before reluctantly looking around.
Spotting a bit of crab leg meat left in Wang Li’s bowl, his eyes gleamed with predatory light;
Noticing some shrimp shells at the bottom of Yi Chunqing’s bowl, he drooled slightly, lips parting;
Seeing Murong Miao happily sucking on a scallop shell, his saliva erupted like a broken dam…
“Ahem, if you can’t finish, I can help,” Mu Dongsheng offered, his ethereally beautiful face now paired with rubbing-hands-like-a-fly energy.
Squad 11: “…”
His intentions are so obvious even bystanders know!
Watching Mu Dongsheng sidle over like a scavenger, everyone clutched their bowls protectively and stepped back: “Over our dead bodies!”
Only Yi Chunqing, kind-hearted, looked around and—seeing no one else willing to share—reluctantly placed his last large shrimp into Mu Dongsheng’s bowl: “Sigh, what can I say? I’m just too nice.”
Mu Dongsheng’s eyes sparkled as he cradled the shrimp: “Munch munch… How is this shrimp so fresh… munch munch… so crisp! Munch munch!”
He devoured the shrimp in seconds but still craved more, eyeing Yi Chunqing’s wrist-wrapped green snake with undisguised hunger:
“Grandpa Qing, hypothetically… if we dipped this snake in leftover porridge broth, would it taste just as good?”
Yi Chunqing and the snake both recoiled in horror, scrambling away: “STAY BACK!!!”
Murong Miao: “Heh, always hated that snake. Go for it, Captain.”
“Please, Captain,” Wang Li pleaded, “who knows what that snake eats daily—it can’t taste good…”
Chaos erupted around Squad 11’s campfire—snake-chasing, fleeing, spectating, mediating—until finally, Mu Dongsheng dashed to Boss Jian’s porridge bucket, dropped to his knees, and clung to the man’s leg, begging for an extra bowl:
“Boss Jian, I waited for you in the snow for a full day and night—please…”
Jian Yunlan, busy ladling porridge for other customers while wearing an apron, was utterly flustered by Mu Dongsheng’s dramatic prostration: “Sir, please don’t do this!”
Taotie barked furiously: “Grrr woof woof!”
The crowd: “HAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Everyone was laughing.
It was… nice. Really nice.
“If only time could freeze like this forever,” Murong Miao murmured, wiping tears of laughter. “If we make it back safely this time, I want to live properly with everyone…”
Truly the flower of Squad 11—casually dropping a death flag mid-banter.
The air instantly stilled.
Everyone: “…”
Please shut up!!!
As if answering Murong Miao’s jinx, the temperature in the Death Desert—which had just begun warming—suddenly plummeted.
…Blood-red clouds gathered overhead, accompanied by distant, ominous rumbling, like thunder or the guttural growl of some ancient beast.
A frigid wind, reeking of decay, swept through and snuffed out the lantern above Jian’s Simple Porridge Stall in one breath.
Jian Yunlan stared blankly at the extinguished light.
This lantern can be blown out?!
Silence fell. Even Mu Dongsheng and the other top-tier mercenaries set down their bowls, muscles tensing, expressions grim.
The previously dozing Taotie stood, golden eyes cooling as he circled Jian Yunlan protectively, tail wrapping around him.
The lively stall was suddenly engulfed in a suffocating, storm-brewing tension.
Then—the ground trembled.
At first faint, the vibrations quickly intensified, as if the earth’s crust had turned into a thin shell, something terrifying preparing to break through.
Just as everyone held their breath, bracing for battle—
Something bulged in the snow directly in front of the porridge stall.
The nearby crowd scrambled back, eyes locked on the disturbance. The shape grew larger, clearer, until—under their nervous gazes—it revealed itself:
A massive skeleton.
Two stories tall, hunched, with hollow eye sockets burning green flames. Flesh still clung to its bony arms and spine, buzzing with flies, reeking of death.
“Keh… keh heh heh…” It wobbled, emitting a bone-chilling laugh.
The monstrous, twisted silhouette cast a shadow so terrifying it seeped into the soul.
“Class-A pollutant: Wasteland Revenant. Highly skeletal.”
…Yet, upon identifying it, the tense crowd relaxed.
Taotie’s eyelids drooped lazily again. He yawned and lay back down.
Seeing this, Jian Yunlan guessed it wasn’t a big deal. He gave the skeleton a dismissive glance before calmly resuming porridge service.
—Pfft. Just a puny pollutant? And it thought it could interrupt Boss Jian’s business?
Even the high-level mercenaries twitched their lips, picking their bowls back up: “Just a Wasteland Revenant? Scared me for nothing…”
Even Li Zhou’s group, hiding behind a distant snowdrift, gritted their teeth in frustration: “Tch. Thought they were finally done for, but it’s just a Revenant.”
A rookie mercenary whispered: “Why is everyone so calm? That thing looks terrifying, and it’s Class-A…”
A veteran shrugged: “It is Class-A, but look at who’s here.”
Wasteland Revenants were common Class-A pollutants in the Death Desert—top-tier among ordinary mutants.
If an ordinary mercenary squad encountered this pollutant, they’d likely struggle for a while. But among the mercenaries present was Squad 11—and Mu Dongsheng.
A Class-A pollutant was nothing more than an appetizer in their eyes, far less threatening than even a finger of any S-class pollutant.
The earlier tension stemmed from fears of another S-class pollutant appearing like during Mu Dongsheng’s last crisis—in which case, everyone present might as well dig their own graves.
Watching the Wasteland Revenant strut menacingly, the mercenaries turned to Mu Dongsheng.
Yi Chunqing even cupped his hands respectfully: “Captain Mu, it’s all yours.”
Squad 11 members chimed in: “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you in action, Captain. Show us your skills!”
Mu Dongsheng: “…You lazy bums.”
With that, he set down his bowl, stood up, pulled his hood over his head, and approached the massive skeleton.
Compared to the towering, grotesque abomination, the cloaked Mu Dongsheng seemed frail—so thin a gust of wind could knock him over, almost insignificantly small.
Yet, the Wasteland Revenant flinched at the sight of him.
It was unclear how a skeletal pollutant could convey such vivid fear, but the poor Revenant trembled violently, hunching as it staggered back half a step, shaking the ground.
The other mercenaries had already returned to their porridge, chatting and laughing, unconcerned… Just a Class-A pollutant. With humanity’s strongest mercenary here, a mere snap of his fingers would settle it. What could go wrong? The porridge was far more pressing.
Even Mu Dongsheng thought so.
His expression was calm, eyes lowered, even a faint smile on his lips.
Light gathered in his right hand—but just as he raised it, his smile froze.
It froze for a moment, then widened unnaturally—
With a horrific cracking sound, an indescribable shadow erupted from the left half of Mu Dongsheng’s face.
The shadow grew bone spikes and flesh mid-air, oozing thick yellow-green fluid that slowly, slowly took shape.
Everyone stiffened, looking up in disbelief.
What met their eyes was…
…a grinning mouth.
