Hooke smiled and leaned on the counter. "Just leave your luggage here. I’ll have a porter bring it up. You two want something to eat? Today’s specials are mutant rhino ribs and garlic-roasted potatoes."1

"Mutant rhino ribs?!" Halfway through speaking, Chen Yutong realized she was shouting. Though no one turned to look, she lowered her voice awkwardly. "Mutated rhino... is that safe to eat?"2

She knew of many mutated beasts in the Wandering Swamp, but she had never heard of anyone eating them.0

Weak survivors lacked the strength to hunt them. Survivor settlements followed the Scientific Committee’s teachings and didn’t add them to menus. And the Academy, with its focus on nutrition, wouldn’t touch them either.0

Still, her captain once mentioned that some mutated creatures were surprisingly tasty, if a bit risky to eat.0

Hooke laughed heartily, "Of course it’s safe. You’ll learn soon enough: there’s no such thing as inedible mutants, only people who don’t know how to cook them!"8

They hadn’t always eaten such things either, but since Shelter 404 reopened, its residents...0