Chapter 37: Eating Meat (IX) Scarcity

The strong can be relied upon, and the weak can be exploited.

In a multi-player gunman game, people often tend to unite with the weak and prioritize eliminating the strong.

Reputation is also a standard for measuring strength and weakness.

Yang Yundong, who was the first to stand up and advocate for unity and cooperation, undoubtedly stood on the moral high ground, making him the strong one in terms of reputation.

And Qi Si isolated himself at the very beginning, making himself the only free factor outside of the various two-person groups. Whichever side he leaned towards would gain a numerical advantage.

After confirming that a minority of players lacked moral scruples, he actively placed himself in the position of the weak.

This way, any player who understood a bit of game theory would try their best to win him over.

Yang Yundong frowned and glanced at Qi Si, genuinely unable to understand why the young man before him would sometimes display weakness and other times state morally contradictory assertions without batting an eye.

He looked at Zhao Feng and sighed, “If there really is no other way, try using Zhu Dafu’s corpse. Survival is the top priority; the living are always more important than the dead.”

He actively supported Zhao Feng, ensuring that no matter what Zhao Feng chose, he wouldn’t become the public’s target.

Zhu Ling also nodded and smiled, “Hasn’t the problem been solved? I believe Zhu Dafu would be happy to know that even after dying, he could still provide help to the living.”

“The meal is ready, come and eat!” In the courtyard, Granny Su enthusiastically called out.

Although seeing two dead people that morning had completely ruined their appetites, they still had to obey the NPC’s instructions.

Most players had no interest in continuing to keep company with a room full of blood, flesh, and bone fragments, so they immediately gathered around the round table in the center of the courtyard.

Zhao Feng, carrying Zhu Dafu’s corpse on his back, trailed at the end of the line, searching for A-Xi’s location.

Human meat is still meat. More people will die later, and the supply will only become more abundant.

Even if this meat wasn’t enough, he had a solution—just manually kill a few people… Zhao Feng had little moral sense. In reality, he was a tomb raider, often battling wits with the Security Bureau, and had also killed several partners in tombs who tried to take a larger share of the loot.

He had actually thought of using corpses as meat long ago. The reason he didn’t bring it up was simply that he worried about being morally blackmailed in such a confined space where everyone constantly saw each other, which would put him in a very passive position.

When Qi Si stood up and said those words, he undoubtedly acted as a supporter, sharing the risk and moral pressure for him.

If someone needed to be sacrificed later, he could easily push Qi Si out to take the blame for him.

Qi Si saw through Zhao Feng’s psychology completely, and this was exactly the signal he wanted to send to the latter.

For cooperation lacking a moral foundation to succeed, the other party must be made to believe they are gaining a greater benefit.

When it comes to doing dirty work, villains are much easier to use than good people.

A-Xi had already finished breakfast, his face covered in bun crumbs, and was standing in the corner of the courtyard playing with his hands.

Zhao Feng walked over carrying the bloody corpse, stopped in front of A-Xi, and forced a fake smile, “A-Xi, I got some more meat. Do you think this will work?”

He threw the corpse in front of A-Xi, rubbing his hands together anxiously and irritably.

A-Xi looked down at the corpse and shook his head vigorously: “No, these meats have no souls. They’re useless.”

Still no? Zhao Feng suppressed the urge to lash out and asked, “You don’t want the God Meat, and you don’t want human meat. What kind of meat do you want? Can you explain clearly?”

“I want meat with a soul!” A-Xi turned around and skipped away, leaving Zhao Feng alone and bewildered.

Choosing what he thought was a path to survival in desperation, and mentally preparing himself to bear the risk, only for reality to tell him ‘this path is blocked’ just when he thought it was foolproof—what an absurd joke?

Meat with a soul… what is meat with a soul? Do you think this is a gourmet competition?

Zhao Feng looked at A-Xi’s retreating figure with a dark expression and angrily kicked the corpse on the ground.

Time was running out, and he had to think of a solution immediately… On the other side, Qi Si put his hands in his pockets and casually walked toward the center of the courtyard, sitting down in his usual spot by the round table.

A basin of white steamed buns was placed in the center of the table, surrounded by eleven small dishes of pickled vegetables. Compared to last night’s sumptuous feast, the meal was much simpler.

Two seats were empty, but Granny Su sat down by the table as if she hadn’t noticed, smiling cheerfully at the players: “This old woman has already eaten. You hurry up and eat. I need to clear the dishes when you’re done.”

Already eaten? We didn’t see you eat breakfast!

Several players thought of the skeleton of Wu Heng in the side room that had been eaten clean, and their expressions changed.

Yang Yundong whispered, “Don’t overthink it. I saw them. Granny Su and A-Xi ate in the kitchen.”

Whether he had truly seen it or not, these words were enough to reassure everyone.

Only then did everyone take a bun, wrap it with pickled vegetables, and start eating.

While biting their buns, they intentionally or unintentionally scanned their surroundings.

The iron basin holding the God Meat was nowhere to be seen, subtly conveying a terrible warning.

Qi Si was relatively composed. The portion of God Meat that Zhu Dafu hadn’t taken was quietly resting in his pocket. Theoretically, he could survive one more bout of hunger relying on Zhu Dafu’s hope.

He used his chopsticks to pick up a bun and put it in his bowl, took a bite and put it down, then picked up some pickled vegetables, swallowed them, and picked up the bun again… He systematically ate his breakfast, alternating between a bite of bun and a bite of vegetable.

Without that basin of God Meat looming nearby, his appetite was much better than yesterday. He felt that although the farmhouse meal was simple, the cooking was solid, and both the texture and taste were quite good.

Yang Yundong suddenly stood up and walked straight to Granny Su: “Granny Su, may I ask why there is no God Meat today?”

After what happened last night, the players were all counting on the God Meat to save their lives.

Granny Su sneered, “It’s enough for you outsiders to taste it once. How can we give it to you every meal? It’s gone, there is no more God Meat.”

Seeing Granny Su’s unfriendly expression, Zhu Ling quickly walked over too and said gently, “Granny Su, you must know that once you eat this God Meat, you can never forget it. May I ask what we need to do for you to give us new God Meat?”

Granny Su kept shaking her head: “It’s gone. This old woman has no more meat to give you.”

The players exchanged glances, their expressions grim.

They had originally thought that subsequent God Meat would need to be exchanged by completing certain dangerous side missions, but they didn’t expect to be denied the chance to complete a mission at all!

Qi Si had already finished his share of steamed buns and pickled vegetables.

He used his index finger to wipe the bun crumbs from the corner of his mouth, smiled, and looked at Granny Su: “The Village Chief is still in the village, living at the ‘Village Chief’s House,’ correct?”

Granny Su was stunned for a moment, then said, “Yes, the Village Chief lives at the Village Chief’s House.”

The players simultaneously recalled the ‘Village Chief’s House’ landmark on the tourist manual’s map.

Was there anything special about that place?

Qi Si showed a mouthful of white teeth, his tone chilling: “Granny Su, you told me yesterday that the Village Chief also became an Immortal. Is he the same kind of Immortal who granted you the God Meat?”

Granny Su didn’t speak; the answer was self-evident.

The players exchanged meaningful glances, having reached a conclusion in their minds.

—The God Meat had been located… Inside the room, Zhao Feng crouched beside Wu Heng’s skeleton, using his right hand to pick out the meat scraps left after the Cooking Ghost had eaten, placing them in his left hand.

The Cooking Ghost had essentially practiced the ‘Clean Plate Campaign,’ leaving few leftovers, but because he was meticulous, Zhao Feng still gathered a handful of meat.

【The deceased’s body has undergone some degree of mutation】

【Please note that the mutated meat cannot be used again】

The two lines of prompt text refreshed. Reason told Zhao Feng that the dungeon mechanism would not allow him to use dead people’s meat as a substitute, and trying again and again would be useless; but emotionally, the desperate, all-or-nothing feeling made him unwilling to give up.

He thought futilely, just one more try, one more try… Zhao Feng, covered in someone else’s blood and holding a few scraps of meat in his hands, jogged toward A-Xi, who was squatting and playing by himself in the corner of the courtyard.

He forced a smile uglier than crying: “A-Xi, do you think this meat will work? Does it have a soul?”

A-Xi’s face wrinkled up: “It smells bad. I won’t eat it. Grandma won’t let me eat this kind of meat!”

—It was the same reaction as when he saw the God Meat yesterday evening.

“Why, why is this happening?” Zhao Feng completely panicked.

God Meat won’t work, Zhu Dafu’s meat won’t work, and even the meat of Wu Heng, which was eaten by the Cooking Ghost, won’t work… Where else can he find meat?

Footsteps sounded behind him. Zhao Feng suddenly turned around and saw the young man in the white shirt standing by the door, silhouetted against the morning sun, his smile ambiguous: “It looks like things aren’t going well for you?”

The smile looked exactly like mockery, and Zhao Feng almost punched him.

But he managed to maintain his composure, knowing that this person was someone he needed to win over.

So, he described the situation he encountered. His words were disorganized due to emotional fluctuations, but he managed to explain the situation clearly.

“As expected?” Qi Si suppressed the curve of his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

The Eerie Game truly wouldn’t allow players to fool their way through so easily.

He had felt all along that the players were detached from the overall background story, and it would be too far-fetched if merely eating God Meat connected them to the ‘Sin.’

Now he had a new conjecture about the dungeon’s mechanism—it needed verification, but he was sixty to seventy percent sure.

Wielding a knife against an anomaly is not surprising; turning the butcher knife on one’s own kind and slaughtering them as an anomaly—that is the ‘Sin’ in universal values.

Qi Si chuckled lightly and muttered to himself, “Could the setting be something like ‘Everyone is guilty’?”

Zhao Feng thought he was about to make some profound statement and quickly pricked up his ears, only to hear the young man make an ill-timed joke: “It seems the ghosts in this dungeon value food safety very highly. They don’t want stale food.”

“You son of a bitch…”

“Hmm, then let’s give them fresh food. Made to order and freshly killed. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”

Qi Si’s smile was brilliant, his eyes curved, but the darkness brewing beneath them contained surging malice and bloodlust, sending chills down one’s spine.

Zhao Feng couldn’t help but become solemn, taking a step forward to press the question: “What do you mean?”

Qi Si stepped back outside the door, the smile on his lips fading slightly: “The literal meaning. It’s enough for you and me to know it in our hearts. Why say it so clearly?”

Zhao Feng clenched his fists, his face contorting for a moment.

It wasn’t just because he foresaw the decision he was about to make, but also because he realized that when facing that decision, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt or hesitation.