Chapter 302: Chapter 302

"Yeah, yeah. If a small price now can prevent us from getting the zombie disease, why wait until we’re infected to treat us? Su Malie, that would require a lot of medicine. Couldn’t you it to those who already have the zombie disease?" Wang Chao asked, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Jing Shu burst into laughter. She truly didn’t know if Su Malie was trying to help them or just wanted them to continue suffering in the apocalypse. Those who had contracted the zombie disease were eager to end their lives, yet Su Malie was spending a fortune to get them treatment.

Su Malie said earnestly, "I’m willing to treat you only because we’re classmates. However, you must accept punishment for your wrongdoings. Accepting punishment and evading it are two different things. Let’s leave it at that. I hope you’ll genuinely reform. If you get sick later, contact me anytime."

The classmates were all dumbfounded, staring incredulously at the incomprehensible Su Malie. Is there something wrong with her brain?

Li Bailong was amused. Plenty of people came here to bail others out, but her method was unprecedented. He waved his hand. "Since you all agree, when will you start eating? Several canteens have prepared seats for you. You can go home once you’ve finished."

Xia Liu chimed in with a laugh, "This method is best. In the future, anyone who commits a crime will have to face the consequences . Come on, don’t look so glum. Someone is willing to vouch for your rescue, so you can eat with peace of mind."

Who the hell could eat poison pancakes with peace of mind!

It had to be said, Jing Shu quite liked this tit-for-tat approach. She’d heard that some countries did just that: if a man raped a woman, his punishment was to be thrown in jail and be raped in return... As for how a man could be raped? Ahem. Official source ıs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩

Amidst desperate cries, Su Malie and Jing Shu withdrew. Everyone had thought this would be Su Malie’s moment to flaunt her considerable wealth, a perfect time for her to grandly declare, "These people, I’ve saved them." Unexpectedly, it was all thunder and no rain; it ended just like that.

Jing Shu, bringing gastrodia and goji berries, finally got to eat the gastrodia pigeon soup and crispy roasted squab, reportedly prepared by a Michelin three-star chef.

The golden-roasted squab was about the size of a fist. One bite through the crispy skin revealed tender, fine meat. A light tug, a swirl in the mouth, and a complete bone was left behind. Some parts were fried to such a golden crisp that she chewed and swallowed them, bones and all.

The golden, crispy bones crunched in her mouth. The flavor of bone marrow and roasted meat spread across her taste buds. It was so delicious that Jing Shu almost swallowed her own tongue.

SLURP! Damn, that’s delicious!

Jing Shu considered raising some live ones, but alas, they weren’t for sale. Current market prices are fixed: a slaughtered pigeon costs 1,888 Virtual Coins, let alone a breeding hen. Each bite is equivalent to an apartment in Banana District! Since she couldn’t get any, Jing Shu could only indulge her cravings occasionally. Maybe I can trade something else for them in the future.

Actually, selling quail could definitely be a good way to get rich. But in these apocalyptic times, I wouldn’t dare take such risks. Having enough for my own family to eat is all that matters.

However, those selling pigeons must also be worried about feed, right? After all, the red earthworms are gone. Jing Shu suddenly had an idea.

"The high school group chat is blowing up, did you know?" Su Malie gnawed on a pigeon leg. Even this young lady, who usually wouldn’t even lick a yogurt lid, was now meticulously cleaning the bones.

Jing Shu shook her head. "Zhang Lingling’s deeds?"

Su Malie, her hands greasy, held up her smartphone to show Jing Shu a photo. "They were at the entrance of the main cafeteria eating red earthworm cakes, handcuffed and shackled, with a sign next to them. A crowd surrounded them. Some threw stones, others splashed filth. Someone snapped a picture of them eating the Insect Cakes right then, and the group chat exploded."

Jing Shu saw it: under the glare of flashlights, a row of people squatted at the entrance, weeping in agony as they ate stinking red earthworm cakes. When some couldn’t swallow, "kind citizens" would help shove the cakes down their throats with water. If anyone accidentally vomited, these "kind Samaritans" would, unfortunately, pick it up and stuff it back in, ensuring not a single crumb was wasted.

The authorities had deliberately orchestrated this to allow the public to vent their anger. After all, many people were still terrified, wondering if eating so many of those cakes would lead to the zombie disease. Countless people lived in panic.

Jing Shu saw an image of four or five people holding Zhang Lingling down, stuffing cakes into her mouth. A pity the apocalypse had left her bald; otherwise, there would have been another fine spectacle of hair-pulling.

This image of Zhang Lingling spread throughout the class. Many said she got what she deserved, while others felt lucky they hadn’t followed her, or they would have been screwed over by her yet again. One wonders what Zhang Lingling would think if she ever got out and saw this.

The zombie disease incident passed quickly. Those who hadn’t fallen ill after eating the contaminated food for half a month were deemed safe. The impact of the incident gradually lessened. The roughly three hundred people involved spent days eating all the pancakes. They were terribly bloated every day. Those with minor involvement, like Wang Chao, left after just three days.

Zhang Lingling stubbornly ate for half a month. Towards the end, the mere sight of red earthworm pancakes would make her vomit reflexively. Still, she was force-fed by those already afflicted with the zombie disease. This group of afflicted people became a special cohort within the nation; their bodies slowly began to rot to varying degrees, and they didn’t know when their lives would end. They lived in constant despair and anger.

Jing Shu didn’t know what happened to these classmates afterward. She only heard from Su Malie that Zhang Lingling seemed to have developed an eating disorder and would vomit whenever she ate. Surprisingly, Zhang Lingling, who had eaten the most, didn’t contract the zombie disease. However, Ni Ma, who had eaten the least, came to Su Malie a month later, apparently showing symptoms of the zombie disease!

But the hype around the zombie disease had indeed died down. Now, all of Huaxia, and perhaps the entire world, faced a new problem: red earthworms were essentially extinct. Huaxia had lost its primary food source. Furthermore, daytime temperatures in October had dropped to 5 or 6 degrees Celsius, falling below zero at night. People were facing a survival crisis.

"Jing Shu, when are we going to sell our red earthworm pancakes? The cafeteria’s pancakes have already risen to 0.7 coins each! We’re going to make a fortune, a real fortune! You truly had foresight, setting up this factory when red earthworms were rampant!" Aunt, unable to contain herself any longer, called. She genuinely felt her suffering had ended and good times were finally ahead after struggling for over half a year.

Jing Shu rolled her eyes. "Aunt, the ones in the cafeteria are finely processed for human consumption. Ours are roughly processed, meant for Domestic Poultry. Unless there’s a more severe famine, it’s best to sell our product as feed to poultry breeders. Besides, the time isn’t right yet. Let’s wait a bit longer."