Chapter 141: Barbecue

"You really have a way with words," Sierra complimented with a smile.

But Jayce’s smile faded, his expression turning incredibly serious. "It’s not about having a way with words. It’s just the truth."

The smile on Sierra’s face softened a little as she spoke softly, "I know."

Of course she knew.

Because Jayce was the most important person to her, too.

As they were looking at each other in silence, a voice suddenly drifted over from the stairwell.

"What are you two doing? We’re all waiting for you to eat!"

It was Nathan’s voice.

Sierra looked toward the sound and, just as she expected, saw Nathan standing at the top of the stairs, giving them a strange look.

"Not eager to eat? There must be something wrong with you two!" Nathan continued.

Sierra and Jayce glanced at each other and chuckled silently, then got up and walked toward Nathan.

As he passed Nathan, Jayce stopped and shot him a look. "There are plenty of things in this world more interesting and important than eating. What the hell would you know?"

Nathan, "???"

’He’d come over with the best intentions to call them to dinner, and Jayce was launching a personal attack on him?’

’This is too much!’

Even before they reached the first floor, the aroma of all sorts of dishes was already wafting up to Sierra.

Even though she had eaten her fill before sleeping this morning.

But smelling it now, Sierra couldn’t help but gulp.

’It smells so good!’

’Who could smell this and not get hungry?’

General Aldridge was waiting at a round table. When he saw Sierra and Jayce coming downstairs, he quickly waved them over. "Don’t just stand there, get over here! We’re having barbecue!"

’Barbecue?’

’Where did the meat come from?’

’She’d taken out some meat earlier, but it was nowhere near enough for this many people to have a barbecue!’

Sierra walked over and sat down, looking at General Aldridge in confusion. "What kind of meat is it? Where’d you get it?"

"Exotic Beast Meat!" General Aldridge answered bluntly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

’Just as I thought!’

’Sierra had actually guessed it already, but she’d been holding on to a sliver of hope.’

’Now that she heard General Aldridge’s answer, that hope was completely gone.’

’It really is Exotic Beast Meat!’

’But on second thought, it wasn’t that surprising.’

’There were just too many Aberrant Beasts.’

’And even though the number of survivors was decreasing, there were still a lot of them.’

’With so many people, the amount of supplies consumed each day was no small number.’

’Eating Exotic Beast Meat was inevitable. An unchangeable reality.’

’The only reason Sierra had managed to avoid eating it until now was because she had her own space filled with supplies.’

’If she were in the same situation as the other survivors, she wouldn’t be so conflicted. She would have been gobbling it down long ago.’

’Nothing is more important than staying alive!’

General Aldridge looked at Sierra, and seeing her silence, he said with a smile, "If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to. Don’t worry about it. The meat you brought out has been prepared, too. You can just grill and eat that."

Sierra, "..."

Even though she knew General Aldridge didn’t mean anything by it, Sierra still felt a little strange.

’Everyone else was eating Aberrant Beast meat, while she alone ate something different. It would make her seem too unsociable.’

’Even if no one dared to say anything to her face, could she really be sure they wouldn’t resent it privately?’

’After all, it’s not scarcity that breeds discontent, but inequality.’

At this thought, Sierra shook her head. "It’s fine. I’ll eat with everyone else!"

"Sierra..."

Jayce looked at Sierra, his expression a mixture of worry and heartache.

"You don’t have to force yourself."

"Don’t worry!" Sierra smiled at Jayce. "I won’t force myself. If I really can’t stomach it, I’ll stop."

Jayce gave Sierra a worried glance, but seeing her determination, he ultimately didn’t say anything more.

’Sierra has a mind of her own. It’s better if I don’t say too much.’

Everything needed for the barbecue was ready; all that was left was the grilling.

Sierra and Jayce had just sat down when Nathan came running over. "I’ll sit with you guys!"

He didn’t wait for a response from Sierra or the others before plopping right down.

’He was going to sit here and eat whether they agreed or not.’

Sierra couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

You could tell at a glance that the grill plate was made by a Gold Ability User. Its shape was a little strange, but it was massive.

This had its advantages, though; a lot of meat could be grilled at once.

Several people sat at different spots around it, grilling what they wanted to eat for themselves, making it quite self-sufficient.

After being processed, the Aberrant Beast meat looked no different from ordinary pork, beef, or mutton.

Once it was placed on the hot grill plate, the aroma of cooking meat quickly filled the air.

’It smells... actually pretty good!’

Sierra didn’t hesitate. She picked up a cooked piece of meat, dipped it in some sauce, and popped it right into her mouth.

There was no strange taste.

It was cooked just right—crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside.

It didn’t seem any different from ordinary beef or mutton.

Sierra had initially felt uneasy, but after tasting the meat, all her reservations vanished.

Seeing Sierra eating one piece after another, Nathan looked surprised. "You can actually eat this stuff?"

"Why shouldn’t I be able to?" Sierra gave him a quizzical look.

His words were so strange that for a moment, she couldn’t figure out what he meant.

"It’s just..."

After saying those two words, Nathan suddenly stopped.

A few moments later, he finally said, "It’s nothing. Go on, eat."

Sierra didn’t like it when people trailed off mid-sentence.

But from the way Nathan was acting, it was clear he didn’t want to elaborate.

She wasn’t the type to pry until she got to the bottom of things, so if he didn’t want to say more, she would let it go.

Sierra didn’t ask again and went back to earnestly eating her meal.

Only when she was nearly full did she bring up the real issue.

"Have any other survivors turned into zombies between last night and now?" Sierra asked.

Hearing Sierra’s question, Nathan’s brow furrowed, and he let out a long sigh. "Yes. Over a hundred people turned directly into zombies. Another hundred or so were scratched or bitten by zombies, and we’ve locked them all up. The ones we locked up yesterday... they all turned. We’ve dealt with them."

It was a grim topic.

The mood instantly grew heavy, and the smiles vanished from everyone’s faces.

General Aldridge quickly composed himself. "With so many people dead, surely the others must believe those stones are dangerous by now. Has anyone voluntarily turned theirs in yet?"

Speaking of which, Nathan let out a laugh of pure frustration. "That’s exactly the problem. All these people have died, we’ve explained the danger to them, but who knows what’s going through their heads. They just refuse to believe it and are completely unwilling to hand the things over."

Sierra thought for a moment, then offered a reasonable guess. "Or maybe the ones who are left really don’t have any stones?"