Chapter 21: Startling Fear

The reason Di Ping and the others were so pleasantly surprised was because the cold air indicated that the meat in the freezer hadn't spoiled. They had originally feared that after three days without power, the meat in the cold storage might have gone bad. However, they hadn't considered that there was no ventilation in the freezer, making it difficult for the cold air to dissipate, and that the frozen items themselves emitted cold, which would take more than a day or two to dissipate.

"I'll go in and check!"

At this moment, Li Sheng volunteered. The hole in the wall was about a foot wide and long, and it was quite difficult to crawl through. Among the group, Li Sheng was the slimmest, though Di Ping was thinner, and it would have been awkward for anyone else to go through. Moreover, it had been Di Ping who had been working hard to break the wall, so it wouldn't be right for the others to let him do all the work.

"Alright! Be careful and open the door once you're inside," Di Ping said after a moment's thought, giving his consent.

Now, cold storage units typically had an internal switch because a few years ago, there were several reported cases of people accidentally entering cold storage, only to get trapped inside when the door closed and froze to death. As a result, most modern cold storage units had a mechanism that allowed the door to be opened from the inside even when locked.

The group moved a stool over, and Li Sheng stood on it to carefully peer inside. The hole was lined with jagged metal, which could easily cause injury if one wasn't careful. After some effort, Li Sheng finally managed to crawl in, though his body had a few scratches.

The freezer was pitch dark, and the dim light coming from the hole wasn't enough to illuminate the space. Li Sheng proceeded carefully, feeling his way along the walls toward the door.

"Li Sheng, have you found it?" Cheng Chao leaned forward, whispering.

"Not yet! I can't see anything!"

"It would be great if we had a flashlight."

The Fatty grumbled in a low voice.

"Don't bring that up! How many places in the city still have flashlights?" Cheng Chao shot the Fatty a glare.

"I found it!"

Suddenly, Li Sheng exclaimed with excitement, followed by the sound of metal scraping loudly, causing everyone to wince at the sharp noise.

"It's open!" The group exclaimed with joy.

With a click, the door creaked open from the inside. Li Sheng staggered out, rubbing his arms in a shivering voice, "It's so… so cold!"

It was the height of summer, and everyone was dressed in short sleeves, so the cold storage felt at least five degrees below zero. It was no surprise they were freezing.

"Wow! So much meat!" The Fatty, unable to contain his excitement, immediately shoved past the shivering Li Sheng and dashed inside to take a look. His face lit up in satisfaction.

Di Ping stepped in and saw that, indeed, the hot pot restaurant had been doing a decent business. He had suspected there would be a lot of meat stored here. While there wasn't a huge amount of stock, there was plenty of meat—hundreds of frozen chickens, five or six whole sheep, and at least ten large chunks of beef, each weighing about thirty pounds, along with a variety of other frozen animal organs, all solidly frozen.

"Di Ge! What should we do? We don't have anywhere to store all this!" Cheng Chao looked at the mountain of meat, his joy replaced by concern.

"Let's take some home to eat, and seal up the hole. It should last a few more days. We can come back for the rest after we finish this," Di Ping suggested, having already thought about the problem. Since the power was out, they wouldn't be able to store the meat at home, so he proposed a compromise.

"Di Ge, should we take it now?" The Fatty rubbed his hands eagerly, his gaze hungrily sweeping over the meat.

"Take two sheep, ten chickens, and some beef too!" Di Ping chuckled, amused by the Fatty's enthusiasm, and nodded in agreement.

"Got it!" The Fatty responded eagerly and lunged toward a whole sheep, lifting it and heading out.

There wasn't much to carry, and in just a few moments, the meat was loaded into large bags for easier transport.

"Did you find the gas?" Di Ping suddenly remembered the reason they had come to the restaurant in the first place and turned to Li Sheng, who was packing up the meat.

"Di Ge, I checked. There are five full gas canisters in the kitchen!" Li Sheng put down the meat he was carrying and pointed toward the kitchen.

"That's great! Let's move everything back! We'll take the meat first!" Di Ping said with a wide grin. He grabbed a frozen chicken weighing about 70-80 pounds and easily threw it over his shoulder. He suddenly remembered something and turned to Cheng Chao, who was about to carry a whole sheep, and instructed, "Cheng Chao, stop! Seal the freezer door and block the hole! We don't want the cold air to escape."

"Got it, Di Ge!" Cheng Chao replied, handing the sheep to Li Sheng.

"Let's go!"

Di Ping led the way outside, with Li Sheng and the Fatty closely following. The Fatty was carrying a sheep, with a bag of frozen beef tucked under his arm.

"Di Ge!" Lao Luo, who was keeping watch outside, saw them coming and greeted them quietly.

"Lao Luo, is everything calm outside?" Di Ping nodded and signaled for Lao Luo to respond.

"Nothing's happening."

"Good! Let's go!"

Hearing that there was no trouble, Di Ping signaled to the others, and the three of them carefully made their way toward the residential building. Fortunately, nothing happened on the way, and they safely delivered the meat to Di Ping's apartment on the eighth floor.

When Yu Shujie saw all the meat, her face lit up with joy. Little Nannan, even more thrilled, jumped up, shouting that they finally had meat to eat. If it weren't for Yu Shujie giving her a stern look, the girl would have likely jumped to the ceiling.

Without much conversation, the three of them set down the bags of meat and quickly headed back downstairs. Cheng Chao and Lao Luo were still at the restaurant. Di Ping wasn't feeling completely at ease. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, as if trouble was brewing.

The three of them cautiously left the building and returned to the restaurant. But as soon as they arrived, they were taken aback—the glass door that had been perfectly intact was now shattered, with glass scattered all over the ground. Di Ping's heart sank as he wondered if something had indeed gone wrong.

"Lao Luo!" Di Ping whispered, calling out.

Suddenly, a loud crash came from inside the restaurant, as if something had fallen.

"Stay back!" Di Ping's heart raced, and he quickly gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes sharp as he signaled the others to stay behind.

"Di Ge! We'll go with you!" The Fatty and Li Sheng ignored Di Ping's order and stepped forward with determination.

Di Ping felt a surge of gratitude. These two didn't hesitate to rush into danger alongside him, showing the kind of loyalty that made him proud. However, he knew they were ordinary people, and if they encountered mutated animals, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"Don't be reckless! Step back! Follow orders!" Di Ping commanded sharply.

Reluctantly, the two stepped back, their faces a mix of reluctance, frustration, and appreciation—expressions that Di Ping couldn't see as his back was turned.

Seeing that the two had moved back, Di Ping carefully stepped through the shattered glass and moved toward the door. The restaurant was cluttered with tables and chairs, and there were several partitions, making it hard to see what was inside. Fortunately, it was midday, and the sunlight was strong, lighting up the room despite the lack of artificial lighting.

Di Ping didn't dare relax. His senses had been sharpened due to his enhanced abilities. As he moved through the room, he faintly smelled a rancid odor and felt an oppressive pressure in the air.

His hands tightened around his sword, lifting it to chest level, its tip pointing upward, a position that allowed him to protect himself and strike quickly if necessary. He had learned this technique from an online martial arts guide, and today he would put it into practice. The closer he got to the kitchen, the stronger the foul odor became, and the kitchen itself was pitch dark—like the gaping mouth of a monstrous creature waiting to devour anyone who came too close.

It would be a lie to say Di Ping wasn't afraid, but Cheng Chao and Lao Luo had become like brothers to him. He had to investigate, regardless of what dangers lay ahead.

His fear dissipated as thoughts of his brothers filled his mind. The main dining area showed no signs of struggle or injury, and the restaurant appeared just as it had when they left. It didn't look like there had been any mutated animals fighting. However, the foul odor in the air was definitely from a mutated creature.

"Are they in the kitchen, or did they run away?" Di Ping thought to himself, scanning the room.

After confirming the dining area was empty, he turned his attention to the kitchen, carefully moving toward the small door. As he passed through the threshold, the light from the room was blocked, plunging the space into darkness.

"Zzzt…"

Suddenly, a sharp, hissing sound echoed, and an overpowering, foul gust of wind rushed toward his face.

"A snake!" Di Ping instantly recognized the sound and realized it was a snake. There was no time to think further, as his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness. The snake had chosen this moment to strike, taking advantage of the fact that Di Ping was disoriented.

With no time to waste, Di Ping instinctively pivoted his body, turning sharply to the left and thrusting his sword forward, meeting the attack head-on.

"Bang!" A dull, metallic thud sounded as the sword connected, and Di Ping felt a powerful recoil that sent his arm shaking. He stumbled backward, retreating four or five steps before stabilizing his stance, the sword vibrating violently in his hand.

"Zzzzt…"

The snake wasn't unscathed, and it let out an ear-piercing hiss as it staggered from the blow, its head spinning.

"Rustle…"

Di Ping steadied himself and heard the sound of slithering as the snake quickly advanced, its movements swift and deadly. Di Ping retreated quickly, making sure to stay away from the kitchen door.

Finally, the dark shadow of the snake emerged from the darkness, revealing its massive size. It was indeed a giant python.