Zombie Queen transmigration into a book-Chapter 146: Can you cook?

Zoey was carried out of the water and laid on clean grass. Daniel made a fire and dried her clothes.

The rest gathered, whispering, unsure of what to do with Zoey. "Have any of you ever taken care of a woman before?" Daniel asked, arms crossed, eyeing Zoey as if she were an alien.

"They should be nothing special; we should treat her normally," Adrian responded in a confident tone, but inwardly, he didn’t know anything about taking care of a sick person, a woman at that.

Alex snorted at Adrian’s feigned confidence. "When did you become a professional at this? Or was it your ghost hunting and practically living in the dungeon depths every waking hour?" His tone was laced with sarcasm, making Adrian blush with embarrassment.

They had deliberately ignored the fact that Eva was a woman; to them, she was just their younger, adorable cousin.

"The potion should ease her fever, right...? She still looks feverish," Marvin asked doubtfully, pointing to Zoey’s flushed face and labored breathing.

They all looked at her, a myriad of emotions flashing across their faces. But one feeling dominated them all—the cluelessness of how to handle Zoey.

"Maybe feed her another one to be on the safe side." Cole broke the silence, then something clicked in their minds, and they all turned to him mechanically with a shocked expression.

"Aren’t you a healer? How could we forget something so important!" Daniel exclaimed, his shock mirroring everyone else’s.

Cole was stunned, as if recalling his other ability as a healer—he couldn’t be blamed for his mistake, since he was so accustomed to fighting with water powers that he rarely used his healer abilities.

People might think he needed his healing powers more in the dungeon, but the truth was the opposite. Once in battle with monsters, it was a grueling fight. They were almost always separated anyway, so they barely needed him—and he can’t bloody well use his healing on the monsters.

"I forgot," Cole muttered in a deadpan tone, ignoring their gazes. He moved toward Zoey and held out his palm above her; a white light emitted from his hand and enveloped Zoey’s body.

A sigh escaped her lips, and the flush on her face faded. Zoey felt the heaviness in her head lift, and her eyes fluttered open. She was stunned to see five men gathered around her.

Zoey stared at them blankly, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you death Gods coming for my soul?"

They were stunned by her words before bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha... Death God, really... Hahaha," Daniel said between laughs.

Their laughter snapped Zoey out of her daze, and she realized she was very much alive. The words she had spoken earlier flashed through her mind, making her flush with embarrassment. Then it hit her—she was seeing other people.

"Thank you for saving me." Zoey straightened and gave them a grateful smile. From the side, Cole chimed in, "You should thank your beasts—it was the one that got our attention to save you."

Zoey’s eyes instantly scanned for her beast when she heard those words, spotting the cheetah resting quietly near the water; a warm feeling grew in her heart. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

She whispered a thank you under her breath before standing up and turning to the men, who had, at some point, stopped laughing and now had serious expressions.

Zoey tensed at their expressions, realizing they were all more powerful than her. She couldn’t escape if they decided to attack—but before fear could take over her mind, Alex broke the silence.

"Can you remember or tell me how many hours or days it took you to get across the sea?" Zoey tensed, her heart loosened, and a wave of relief washed over her. Then she began thinking, trying to recall the journey here through her foggy memories.

They were silent, patiently waiting for her answer. A few minutes went by, and she shook her head with a regretful look. "I can’t remember the exact time, but it felt like days I drifted in the sea. Sorry, I can’t be of much help." She added in a helpless tone, assuming they might have separated from someone close to them.

Alex and the others were a bit disappointed, but her words gave them an idea of how far the dungeon teleported everyone.

"Thanks, your answer was helpful. Do you plan to travel with us?" Adrain asked in an inviting tone. They couldn’t leave her alone in this dangerous place now that they had come across her; if she planned to go her separate ways, it was her choice.

Zoey glanced at them, seeing their relaxed expressions, their eyes clear as they looked at her, and they had saved her without taking advantage of her—Zoey found herself nodding at Adrian’s words.

"Please take care of me along the way; I won’t stay in your group for nothing!" Zoey promised sincerely, knowing that with their strength, she was practically under their protection.

She promised herself she would help when she could and not become a parasite like Selina.

Daniel uncrossed his arms and asked with a hopeful expression. "Can you cook?"

At his words, Adrian and Alex, who still had some meat left, looked over.

Zoey was stunned by his expression and nodded, still dazed.

"Welcome to the team!" Daniel exclaimed, with a wide grin, already planning to hunt another beast. The taste of that last beast made his mouth water, and he felt it wasn’t that bad to have a stranger join their team.

Cole helped her heal her beast. She nodded, grateful, only to notice his curious gaze on her beast.

"Does your beast have the same powers as its owner, as the rumors say?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Don’t you—" Zoey paused when she saw he had no beast beside him. She turned and realized he wasn’t the only one — the rest had no beast.

"Did you fail the tower test?" Zoey didn’t realize she had spoken her thoughts aloud until Cole responded.

"We had no chance to take the test." Cole’s tone carried a hint of regret.

The others looked at the cheetah with envy.

"Do you think we can take the test once we find a dungeon? I want a beast too," Marvin asked eagerly, hoping to come across a dungeon—the universe granted his wish because, after a day’s journey, they came face to face with a hovering rocky door while passing the steep cliff.

"I’m hallucinating, or that’s a door in front of us!" Adrian shouted what was on everyone’s mind.

Zoey climbed down from her beast and eyed the door curiously. "Should we go over it?" she suggested. Alex shook his head, pointing to the side of the cliff, where rocks were sliding down—clearly unsafe to cross.

"Unless we go back down and climb the other cliff leading there," Marvin, who was listening to their conversation, chimed in, pointing to another cliff on the right side.

They both shook their heads in unison. It was exhausting and nerve-wracking enough to climb this one, so they decided to go past the door.

"It settled then, so let’s go," Daniel called out and took the first step forward with the rest following behind him.

Zoey shivered from the cold; the temperature was low up high, and she grabbed a jacket from her ring and put it on.

When they finally reached the door, the world around them spun, and when they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the familiar dungeon walls.

They found themselves separated from the others and didn’t care much, already used to hunting dungeon monsters alone, except for Zoey.

Marvin’s eyes lit up, and he aimed to find the dungeon test, hoping to get his own beast.

While Adrian planned to use this dungeon and connect with the one near Oasis City, intending to send messages across.

While the others planned to raise their power levels.