Chapter 60: Feeding

On March 13th, Qi Si woke up early and took a shower.

Perhaps due to the influence of the Carnivore instance, he found that his appetite had become much stronger—he had been woken up by hunger.

Considering there wasn’t a single food item in his house without meat scraps, he reluctantly put on a white shirt, went out, and plunged into the bustling morning market crowd.

Black and white sunflower seed shells floated on the yellowish-green stagnant water. Tricycles and flatbed carts rattled precariously through the streets, their wheels slicing through the sewage, spreading ripples and splashing tiny specks of white foam.

The stench of sweat, the smell of rotting vegetables and meat, and the fragrances of cheap perfume and low-quality detergent mingled together, a lively, clamorous olfactory symphony laced with a faint, dark hint of blood.

A fish was killed by the vendor using the back of his knife, its white eyes wide open, blood spilling from its mouth. The cleaver scraped “shua shua” against the scales, and the flying scales flashed with intermittent light.

The smog in Jiangcheng was still severe, the reverberation of the clamor was, as usual, headache-inducing, and an old radio filled with static hoarsely broadcast news items:

“The Federation plans to pass the Curfew Act, prohibiting anyone from going out between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM unless under special circumstances.”

“The Security Bureau has launched a severe crackdown on the Balance Guild Church, recently destroying all its strongholds in Long County.”

“Following investigation, the ‘Eerie Arrival Incident’ circulating online has been confirmed as a rumor. The disseminators have been arrested on charges of promoting feudal superstition.”

…

Qi Si, wearing headphones, skillfully slipped into the breakfast shop on the corner. The smell of cooking oil and the spicy aroma of fried food immediately rushed toward him carried by the heat.

The proprietress stood beside the frying pan, her hair gathered beneath a plastic cap, a mask covering most of her face, revealing only a pair of red, swollen eyes. She carefully scrutinized the passing customers. It looked like a simple inquiry about her recent life would elicit a basketful of grievances.

Qi Si had no interest in learning about other people’s lives; although he was somewhat interested in mocking hardship, he didn’t want to waste time and increase trouble simultaneously.

He pushed through the crowd and walked over, stating concisely, “One egg pancake.”

“Coming right up!” The proprietress skillfully tossed a sheet of dough into the pan, cracked an egg onto it, and added a meat sausage.

Qi Si said, “I don’t eat meat.”

The proprietress clearly didn’t believe him and chattered on, “You’re such a big young man, why have you suddenly stopped eating meat? I remember the last time you came, the time before that, and the times before that—Auntie remembers, you always, without fail, asked for the ‘Egg-stuffed Pancake’.”

The term “Egg-stuffed Pancake” has one extra character (‘stuffed’) compared to “Egg Pancake,” which practically translates to an extra meat sausage and three yuan more in price.

The proprietress wrapped the dough regardless, forcibly enclosing the sausage inside: “Auntie won’t charge you extra, consider it my treat. You’re a regular customer, why be so distant with Auntie? Next time you come, Auntie will give you half off!

“Auntie’s good-for-nothing son is about your age, and his favorite is also the Egg-stuffed Pancake. He eats it every day and never gets tired of it.

“Sigh, it’s not easy for you young people. Jobs are hard to find…”

Qi Si listened to the endless rambling and realized that the proprietress had mistaken him for an unemployed vagrant struggling with life.

He fell silent for a moment, took out his phone, and started searching for the news report about his specimen exhibition.

It was too cold; his hands were sluggish from the chill. Before he could pull up the relevant information, the proprietress had already bagged the Egg-stuffed Pancake and handed it over.

Qi Si abandoned the idea of arguing, scanned nine yuan via Alipay, grabbed the plastic bag, and turned to leave the breakfast shop.

“Hey! Six yuan is enough! Auntie won’t take extra money from you!” The proprietress yelled loudly from behind him.

Qi Si pretended not to hear, quickened his pace, and merged into the crowd as if fleeing the plague.

Turning the corner, he saw an overturned trash can, its leftover soup spilling onto the ground, emitting a rotten stench.

A black dog with sparse fur was clinging to the rim of the can, its head lowered, nudging the overflowing scraps with its mouth.

Catching the scent of fresh food, it tremulously raised its head, stuck out a pale tongue at Qi Si, and its amber dog eyes shone with greed.

Qi Si casually tossed the Egg-stuffed Pancake into the trash can, where it landed right in front of the black dog’s mouth.

The black dog didn’t know the reason, assuming it was a kind handout.

It lowered its head, snatched the lump of meat and pancake into its mouth, and its tail wagged happily… At eight o’clock that evening, in the assembly hall of a Hidden Base in the suburbs of Jiangcheng.

Mu Dongxu, Director of Department One of the Eerie Investigation Bureau Jiangcheng Branch, was standing in front of a large screen giving a work summary.

He wore a dark green uniform. Beneath his messy hair was a square face radiating integrity, etched with shallow, neatly arranged wrinkles that spoke of the wear and tear of time.

“Last year, Jiangcheng experienced a total of five Eerie Invasion Incidents, the highest being A-rank and the lowest D-rank. This is two more incidents than the previous year, and the overall danger level has risen another step.”

Mu Dongxu flipped through the documents in his hand, his expression serious: “We still lack the effective capability to resolve Eerie Incidents above B-rank, and our response methods have not improved compared to ten years ago. Meanwhile, the infiltration of the Eerie into reality is growing stronger. If this continues, we will eventually lose the fight against the Eerie Game.”

An old man leaned over and whispered to the young man next to him, “Only five? I remember there were eight in 2023.”

Mu Dongxu pretended not to hear and continued with a grim face: “We eradicated the Sera Guild’s influence in Jiangcheng, cutting off the largest source of pollution that introduced the Eerie. Why, then, have Eerie Invasion Incidents increased instead of decreased? Did the Sera Guild, which had been entrenched for over thirty years, truly have no arrangements in reality? Could they have been so easily removed by us? Is it possible their withdrawal was merely a distraction?”

After these three questions, everyone dropped the mockery from their faces and waited for an answer.

Mu Dongxu continued:

“Fewer and fewer independent players are willing to enter new instances for exploration. Even if they are forced to match into a new instance, they lack the initiative to explore the world setting. More and more people are growing accustomed to the existence of the Eerie Game, preferring to coexist with the Eerie rather than striving to leave the instance. If this continues, the hope of clearing the Final Dungeon will only become increasingly slim.

“The support rate for the Jiuzhou Guild has further declined, reflecting the degradation of cooperative thinking and the rampant spread of zero-sum mentality. Within instances, more players are leaning toward the law of the jungle principle of the Eerie Game, their minds becoming twisted and insane. Soon, the Eerie won’t be the only thing we have to deal with.”

A young Investigator raised his hand. After receiving approval, he stood up and asked, “Director, aren’t you being overly pessimistic?

“It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. Since the Eerie Game designed mechanisms like investment, naturally some people will use them to prolong their miserable existence. Even if these people insist on matching into new instances, the probability of them triggering the Final Dungeon is extremely low; they serve no purpose other than causing trouble.

“Practically all ranked players have psychological issues to some extent; to survive, they must adapt to the Eerie Game’s rules of survival. In my opinion, there is absolutely no need to bother with those Slaughter-path players. No matter how influential they are in the game, in reality, they can be dealt with by a single bullet…”

Mu Dongxu raised his hand, signaling a halt: “Last week, the Tingfeng Guild’s prophecy featured the image of a ‘Gate.’ The greatest Eerie entity in history has already descended and will open a gate between the Eerie Game and reality, triggering an unprecedented catastrophe.

“Headquarters and the Tingfeng Guild both suspect that ‘He’ is related to the Twilight of the Gods twenty-two years ago. We can strategically despise the enemy, but tactically, we must take them seriously. Slaughter-path players are very likely to use this opportunity to cause trouble, and we must take precautions.

“Perhaps soon, the technical problem that Sera spent thirty years solving, the method that the Balance Guild is still desperately seeking, will be realized with little effort. The barrier between the game and reality will be broken, and Eerie Incidents will be ushered into reality by ‘Him.'”

Mu Dongxu took a deep breath and let it out, his profound gaze slowly sweeping across everyone in the hall.

After looking toward a corner, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly: “Little Chang, are you listening?”

As soon as he spoke, all eyes focused on one spot.

In the corner of the hall, a young man in a black hoodie sat bolt upright in his chair, holding a massive chicken leg in both hands, engrossed in quietly and devoutly gnawing on it.

“Little Chang!” Mu Dongxu called again.

The young man suddenly looked up, his black eyes deep like pool water, appearing as if his mind was elsewhere.

Mu Dongxu sighed: “Little Chang, you finally achieved a te clearance on the Rose Manor instance, yet you know nothing about the process. You’re so young, can you even eat?”

The young man hummed in acknowledgment and continued gnawing on the chicken leg in his hand. After stripping the meat clean, he began sucking the marrow from the bone.

Mu Dongxu said, “Look at that stone tablet in the Ruins of the Sunset. What rank are you on the rookie rank? Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Mm.”

“Can’t you say anything besides ‘Mm’?”

“Oh.”

Mu Dongxu, reaching his limit, raised his voice: “Bringing food into a meeting is a disciplinary offense!”

Hearing this, the young man’s expression finally became serious.

He looked up at Mu Dongxu and said earnestly, “The contract states that work ends at six o’clock. It is now eight o’clock, and seven o’clock is designated dinner time.”

Mu Dongxu: “…”

The Investigators: “…”

After five long seconds of silence, an angry shout echoed through the assembly hall:

“Chang Xu! If you dare let food appear here again, your meal allowance for next month will be halved!”