The library’s main doors were wide open. To be precise, it was a complex of several buildings.
Flanked by the Gray Tide, Shen Feng strode inside. The Gray Tide once again spread out like flowing water, following footprints to search for traces of human activity while also helping Shen Feng find relevant materials and books.
He himself went straight to the main hall. He first closed the doors, then directed the Gray Tide to firmly block all the windows and cracks. Only then did he pull a cast-iron wok from his backpack, along with a spice rack he had brought, various ingredients, and utensils.
He casually grabbed a few thick, gilt-edged hardcover books from a shelf to use as a stand on the floor. Then, he took out a lighter, set the books on fire, and placed the flat-bottomed wok on top.
The warm, bright flames cast flickering shadows across the library’s main hall, but it wasn’t bright enough.
Shen Feng found a few more hardcover books, doused them with a bit of gasoline he had on him, lit them, and tossed them into the various corners of the hall.
These kinds of hardcover books burned slowly, making them sufficient for illumination.
Instantly, the entire library hall became much brighter, completely illuminated by the orange glow of the flames.
Shen Feng picked up a small bottle of rapeseed oil and poured it into the now-hot wok. Once the oil was heated, he immediately tossed in the sliced pork belly. He stir-fried it over high heat for a minute until it curled, then added fermented black beans to release their fragrance, followed by broad bean paste, which he stir-fried off the heat to add color.
Then came garlic and chili peppers, stir-fried until fragrant, before he poured in the prepared sauce.
The already-cooked pork belly immediately turned an alluring golden-brown, glistening with sauce. The aroma diffused, filling the entire library hall before wafting outwards, gradually drifting into the library’s deeper recesses.
At this point, the twice-cooked pork was about ninety percent done. Only one final step remained for it to be a complete success.
The corners of Shen Feng’s mouth tilted up in a smile. He pinched some white sugar and sprinkled it in, then added a splash of aromatic vinegar to enhance the flavor. Next, he tossed in some chopped garlic sprouts, stir-frying them with the pork for about ten seconds until they were just cooked through. He immediately removed the wok from the fire and set it on a nearby pile of books.
A dish of authentic Sichuan-style twice-cooked pork was now ready.
Shen Feng took a satisfied sniff. He couldn’t help but swallow, already impatient to dig in.
"Xiaofeng, your skills aren’t half-bad," Jingwei remarked from the side, clicking its tongue after analyzing the dish with its taste system. "You could at least secure a spot in some little hole-in-the-wall joint. Did you use to run a street food stall? Looks like even without me, you won’t starve to death."
Shen Feng pulled a steamed bun from his backpack and said with a smile:
"I’ve had to rely on myself since I was a kid. If I couldn’t even cook a meal, I would’ve starved to death long ago. So, want to try some?"
He said, handing Jingwei a pair of chopsticks.
Jingwei took the chopsticks and tried a bite, nodding in satisfaction. "You go ahead and eat. I don’t need such a low-level method of energy replenishment anyway. A taste is enough for me."
Shen Feng didn’t rush to pick up the pork. Instead, he first tore off a piece of the steamed bun, dipped it in the oily sauce, and popped it into his mouth. Then he picked up a large slice of twice-cooked pork and stuffed it in as well.
Instantly, the rich, seared flavor of the twice-cooked pork, coated in the oils and spices, blossomed in his mouth. Paired with the piece of bun soaked in savory sauce, an unparalleled aroma exploded on his palate.
This dish was originally best paired with rice, but he never carried much food at a time, and steamed buns were more convenient. So he wasn’t too particular about it.
A good amount of time had passed since he’d arrived in the Dark Apocalypse, and he hadn’t eaten anything yet. He was indeed a bit hungry.
After Jingwei’s adjustments, his biological body’s base metabolic rate was much higher, meaning he required more food.
He didn’t know if it was day or night, but since he was hungry, it was time to eat.
Of course, cooking here served another purpose...
Guarding his large wok of twice-cooked pork, Shen Feng feasted, pairing it with the steamed buns. He ate with gusto, making loud chomping sounds as he gradually polished off half the food in the wok.
Just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from a corridor behind him, leading to other areas of the library.
The footsteps were extremely faint; an ordinary person would have been almost completely unable to detect them.
But Shen Feng had already spread the Gray Tide throughout the entire building, so he had detected their movement the moment it happened.
Or rather, he had already discovered their location earlier. He just hadn’t flushed them out directly, choosing instead to cook a wok of food and wait for them to come to him.
"Hiss..." Suddenly, he heard a stifled gasp from one of the approaching figures. They quickly suppressed it and continued to draw closer to Shen Feng.
The surrounding firelight dimmed slightly as several people entered the hall where Shen Feng was, silently approaching from behind.
Their movements were utterly silent, even more nimble than those of monkeys or wildcats. They were clearly accustomed to this soundless way of moving.
Or perhaps, this way of hunting.
These people clearly thought their movements were so stealthy that Shen Feng couldn’t possibly have noticed their arrival. Little did they know, Shen Feng had already seen them clearly through the Gray Tide.
There were three of them in total.
They were all small in stature, wearing dark outer clothes. They had even masked their faces with black T-shirts, revealing only their eyes. All of them held daggers, wore black socks instead of shoes, and approached Shen Feng in a low crouch, like leopards on the hunt.
They, too, saw the person with his back to them, continuously eating the delicious food from the wok. Every bite he took felt as if he were eating their own flesh, causing them no small amount of anguish.
’If this outsider finishes all this precious food, wouldn’t our life-risking venture have been for nothing?’
Finally, the three had crept up behind Shen Feng. One of them suddenly let out a "hiss" as a signal, and all three leaped at once, lunging at Shen Feng with their daggers!
Just then, the ground beneath their feet suddenly writhed, and tentacles shot out like ropes, tightly entangling the three and pinning them to the floor!
Shock filled the eyes of the three. They struggled desperately, even hacking at the tentacles with their daggers, but they couldn’t sever them. Instead, their strikes produced the CLANG of metal on metal.
In an instant, the tentacles had bound their limbs securely. Even their daggers were snatched away and tossed aside.
The outsider who had his back to them finally turned around, holding the half-full wok of meat in one hand and three snow-white steamed buns in the other. He said to them:
"Hey everyone, let’s talk this out. No need to be so extreme. I know survival comes first in this apocalypse, and it’s probably habit to want to kill any strangers you meet. How about I trade this food for my life? And for some information, while we’re at it."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he spoke, terror filled the eyes of the three. They whispered in voices as faint as a mosquito’s buzz:
"Don’t talk!"
"The Ghosts... the Evil Ghosts will be drawn to you!"
"Hiss... Put out the fire! Put out the fire!"
Shen Feng paused, realizing these survivors were likely afraid of alerting the Quantum Ghosts, wherever they might be, which was why they only dared to whisper. He did note that their voices were quite delicate.
A Gray Tide tentacle flickered and pulled the black T-shirts from their heads, revealing three faces, all exceptionally pale from a lack of sunlight.
Shen Feng couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
’They’re all women?’
But on second thought, it made sense. He had noticed their light, nimble movements earlier, which suggested a lower body weight. And looking closely in the firelight, he saw that they weren’t wearing black pants on their legs, but black silk stockings. He had no idea where they could have found those.
He smiled faintly and announced in a clear voice:
"Fear not. I am the joint mortal incarnation of the Emperor of the North Pole, Profound Celestial True Martial, and the Three Realms Demon-Subduing Emperor, Venerable Celestial Lord of Divine Might and Far-Reaching Suppression, Saint Emperor Guan. I was sent specifically to vanquish demons and slay devils. With me here, no monster or ghost will dare to approach."
The words had barely left his lips when a flicker of blue light flared on the closed main doors, and a Quantum Ghost phased through the Gray Tide blockade and slipped inside.