40 Food Exchange

The drainage ditch was full of broken bricks and debris. 

"Chubby, use your magic hair to move all these bricks," Yang Xiao said.

Though confused, Chubby obeyed. Her consciousness whirred and her magic hair shot out like steel wires, sweeping up dozens of bricks in the ditch. With a rumble, it flung them dozens of meters away. 

Shortly after, Chubby's hair had cleared all the hundred-odd bricks in the drain.

Seeing Chubby's five-meter-long steel-like hair, Yang Xiao couldn't help but admire it.

"Boss, there's a suitcase here," Chubby called out excitedly. 

"Good, bring it back to camp," Yang Xiao replied.

Chubby's hair wrapped around the suitcase and set it before her. Lifting it in hand, Chubby asked, "Boss, what treasures are these?"

"You'll see when we get back to camp," said Yang Xiao.

Returning to camp, everyone saw the big case in Chubby's hands and wondered what was going on. "Chubby, where'd you get that suitcase from?"

"Ask Boss, it's his."

Yang Xiao smiled. Squatting down, he unzipped the case and opened it. 

Everyone was stunned by the contents. Salt-baked chicken legs, wings, pork trotters, beef jerky, chips, fried fish, dried beans, and biscuits, the box was filled to the brim.

Their eyes shone as they swallowed their drool. 

Naturally, these foods tasted far better than the mutants, especially after days of scarcity. Compared to mutant meat, this was a heavenly feast.

It took Huang Wen a long moment to recover from her shock. "Boss, this is your private stash?"

Yang Xiao nodded. "Huang Wen, I have a task for you. Set aside 10 bags of the fried spicy fish and beancurd. We can use the chili as seasoning later. Distribute the rest."

"Distribute?" Huang Wen was confused. This was the apocalypse, and the case was a precious hoard. Yet Yang Xiao just wanted to share it?

Yang Xiao nodded again. "Give those four an extra bag each," he said, pointing to Chubby, Chen Fei, Chen Lu, and Dai Yun. 

The four looked honored.

"I need to complete my mutation soon, or your safety will be affected," Yang Xiao said, indicating the giant hive. "So I'll be monopolizing this hive."

Huang Wen stared at him, baffled. "Boss, this is your spoils of war for killing the Queen Bee. You can just take it yourself."

Yang Xiao waved a hand. "It's the apocalypse. Everyone has to survive. So work harder in the future."

He turned to Chubby's group. "We hunted a big frog today, right? Stewed with a bag of spicy fish, it will taste great. You four and Huang Wen can have it to yourselves."

The mutant meat could accelerate one's mutation. A 10-kg frog was a full meal for Chen Fei's group. Though Huang Wen hadn't fought, as team lead Yang Xiao had to take special care of her. 

Under the crowd's respectful gazes, Yang Xiao brought the hive into his tent. But it was too big to fit, so he placed it at the entrance and sat down. Taking out his golden dagger, he picked a larva, popped it in his mouth, and started chewing.

One after another, he ate them. 

Outside, the girls were drooling around the suitcase. 

It held over 80 food packets. Huang Wen first gave everyone 2 packs, plus 1 extra for Chen Fei's group. She set aside 10-plus bags of spicy fish for later seasoning. About 10 packs remained.

Huang Wen brought the suitcase to Yang Xiao's tent. "Boss, I gave everyone 2 packs, Chen Fei and the others 3 packs. Took 10-plus bags of spicy fish. The remaining 10 or so are for you."

Yang Xiao nodded. "How's your mutation progressing?"

"Still unfinished," Huang Wen said dejectedly. Her mutation could alter her limbs now, but she had yet to gain any special powers or functions. Still useless in combat.

"Come in," said Yang Xiao. 

Huang Wen entered the tent hesitantly. 

"Sit."

Glancing at him, Huang Wen obediently sat.

Seated opposite, Yang Xiao picked a larva and brought it to Huang Wen's mouth. "Open up."

Without thinking, she immediately opened her mouth. Yang Xiao popped the larva in.

"Eating more can accelerate mutation," he said, feeding her.

Huang Wen's face reddened. She wasn't pretty but had a studious aura from her top student days. 

"Tastes so bad," she murmured. To be honest, she hated eating the raw larvae. Most girls did, in fact. Without the honey, even one would be hard to swallow.

Yet being cared for specially like this, Huang Wen felt a strange sweetness in her heart.

Yang Xiao gave her an appraising glance, stuffing a larva into his own mouth while picking out another to feed Huang Wen.

She grimaced. "Gross." 

"Raw tastes bad, but this can quickly complete your mutation," said Yang Xiao. "It's the apocalypse. No one knows what the next second may bring. Only by rapidly gaining strength can you avoid being eliminated. I can't always protect you."

Huang Wen trembled slightly at his words. Looking at him, she obediently opened her mouth and accepted the second larva. 

She knew it was survival of the fittest now, with competition amongst humans and against mutants. 

The massive hive still held 60-70 larvae. As Yang Xiao ate, he felt electric currents course through his body.

As his mutation accelerated, his digestion speed increased too. Initially, a bag of chicken took 10 minutes to process. Now the mutant larvae currents dissipated in seconds. Lightning flashed through him from bottom to top, vanishing instantly.

With repeated electric baptisms, Yang Xiao felt his body grow stronger and his hearing was sharper. He could even make out conversations 20 meters away in other tents. 

Looking around, he could see small details 100 meters off.

Then he felt a surge of energy building up powerfully, as if ready to explode within him.

Ignoring it, Yang Xiao kept eating larvae, especially the honey, which was even more energizing than the larvae. 

When he ate the 30th, a tremendous boom sounded within him. His body shook and he collapsed.