Chapter 44: Fortunate Xiaowei

"You are not observant enough."

Shen Quan pointed out Zhang Si's mistake sharply.

Then, he looked at the fat cook dripping with grease, the iron bucket containing unknown food, and the dirty tableware.

A special counter? Was this really a place for cooking?

In reality, this place would definitely be shut down for violating multiple food hygiene management regulations.

"Shen, Brother Shen, did I see it wrong? Is this really the place to pick up food?!"

Zhang Si hadn't looked closely before, but now that he did, he wished he had never come.

If he actually ate the food from that iron bucket, it would probably shorten his life, and he might even drop dead on the spot.

The ghosts nowadays were truly vicious, coming up with such agonizing methods. They genuinely did not treat them as human beings!

"It seems to be the case."

The calm expression on Shen Quan's face cracked slightly.

Making him eat this kind of stuff—he would rather go back and eat human hands stir-fried with human brains. At least the food ghosts ate was a bit cleaner and more hygienic.

Actually, he had long wanted to taste what ghosts ate.

"Brother Shen, Zhang Si, why didn't you wait for me!"

In the distance, a terrified Xiaowei hurried over, bringing Lin Long along.

Fearing that there might be a rule against running in the cafeteria, she walked with utmost caution, terrified that a ghost would suddenly pop out and declare her not a student of the school.

Lin Long, walking behind her, was completely unharmed and empty-handed. Clearly, he had dealt with the contents of his food tray, though it remained a mystery how he had managed it.

Seeing that Xiaowei showed no signs of avoiding Lin Long, Lin Long must have used some strategy to resolve his predicament.

Taking this in, Shen Quan's impression of Lin Long rose a notch.

He was a smart player, perhaps someone who could be utilized.

Zhang Si, on the other hand, was utterly oblivious. Paying no attention to the others, he still wore a disdainful expression toward Lin Long and Xiaowei.

With a turn of his eyes, a scheme hatched in his mind, and he said to Lin Long:

"Buddy, we didn't eat anything at noon, and we can't just starve for three days. There just happens to be a counter over there with human food. Why don't you go get a portion and show it to us?"

In truth, Zhang Si had no idea whether the meals at that counter were actually meant for humans, but he spoke with absolute certainty and a convincing demeanor.

Lin Long stood there awkwardly, looking as though he would soon yield to Zhang Si's pressure and resign himself to getting the food.

Unexpectedly, before Lin Long could answer, Xiaowei, standing beside him, asked eagerly:

"What? There is food for humans here? Really?"

She was starving to the extreme. If she went any longer without food, she felt she might actually starve to death.

Before entering the game, she had been sleeping. She had slept until she woke up naturally, only to be transported into the game the very second before she was about to eat.

Consequently, in her state of extreme starvation, her brain could no longer function properly.

Zhang Si looked at the woman coldly, thinking he had never seen anyone rush so eagerly to her death. He nodded and said:

"Yes, right at that counter."

Following his gesture, Xiaowei saw the fat cook working strenuously at stirring the pot.

To the surprise of Zhang Si and the others, Xiaowei showed no signs of fear. Without needing any urging from Zhang Si, she walked right over.

What was going through Xiaowei's mind?

Having been subjected to the successive shocks from Teacher Chen and the ghost students, she had become immune to many bizarre phenomena in a short period of time.

She felt that the fat cook was a woman and didn't seem threatening. That plump body and the strenuous, twisting posture reminded her of the cafeteria ladies at her old school, making the figure look strangely kind and familiar.

In her starving state, Xiaowei completely ignored the sweat, grease, and dandruff dripping into the iron bucket, as well as the sticky filth on the food trays.

Relying on sheer willpower, she made her way to the counter and said to the fat cook:

"Give me a portion of food."

The fat cook, who was laboriously repeating mechanical movements like a puppet, turned her head mechanically upon hearing this. Exposing tiny slits of eyes amid layers of thick fat, she rasped in a hoarse voice:

"A portion of food... a portion... of food."

The fat cook seemed to struggle with the meaning of the words, repeating them for a long time before finally stopping her movements.

Seeing that the fat cook was slow, Xiaowei anxiously handed over the iron bowl placed on the counter and pointed at the iron bucket, saying:

"Scoop me a bowl, hurry up."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaowei's heart suddenly clenched.

She suddenly remembered that this was a game world, and the fat cook before her might be a ghost.

The more she thought about it, the more terrified and frightened she became.

In an instant, Xiaowei lost the courage to speak to the fat cook and could only pray inwardly that the cook would not get angry.

To her relief, the fat cook did not fly into a rage over her words, but instead mechanically scooped a bowl of the contents from the iron bucket and handed it to her.

Xiaowei finally began to feel fear, taking the iron bowl with trembling hands.

Immediately, the original stench in the air was overpowered by a faint fragrance of food.

"It smells so good, it looks delicious."

Xiaowei's attention shifted from the fat cook to the bowl cradled in her hands.

She saw that the murky rice soup contained numerous vegetable scraps and a few chunks of bones, without a shred of meat.

Seeing the bones, Xiaowei worried they might be human bones.

Therefore, suppressing the urge to gulp down the soup in one go, she walked back to Shen Quan and the others in fear.

She handed the rice soup to them and asked:

"Brother Shen, are the bones inside human bones? I don't dare to drink it."

Shen Quan took just a single glance and said:

"They are chicken bones."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Si said excitedly:

"In other words, this counter really serves human food?"

"It should be."

Shen Quan felt a secret surge of disappointment.

What a pity; he had wanted to taste what human flesh tasted like. Originally, he had planned to maintain his external image and wait until they had no other choice before 'reluctantly' suggesting they follow the ghost students to eat. Now, it seemed he wouldn't get the chance.

Standing beside Shen Quan, Lin Long noticed the disappointment in Shen Quan's eyes, and as if frightened, he lowered his head once more.

"Then I'm going to drink it. I'm literally starving to death."

Xiaowei could no longer hold back and drank all the rice soup down into her stomach.

The other three did not stop her. They were still unsure whether the soup was safe to drink, so Xiaowei served as a convenient tester.

Even Shen Quan hadn't expected that there could be someone as foolish and brainless as Xiaowei in this world—truly a rare sight.

"How is it?"

Seeing that Xiaowei had finished, Zhang Si stepped forward to press her for answers.

He wanted to know if there was anything wrong with the soup, but Xiaowei thought he was asking about the taste.

"Not bad, it's very good."

Hearing Xiaowei's reply, Zhang Si deduced indirectly that the soup should be fine.

Realizing that their meals for the next three days were secured, Zhang Si could hardly contain his excitement and walked over, intending to scoop himself a bowl.

However, remembering Shen Quan's status as an Qi Master just in time, he turned back and asked:

"Brother Shen, shall I scoop you a bowl as well? We can drink this soup."

"Hmm."

Shen Quan shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a faint response.

Zhang Si smiled as he went to scoop the soup, but inwardly he was cursing furiously. *What is he acting so high and mighty for? He's just an Qi Master. None of the Qi Masters stronger than Shen Quan act as pretentious as he does.*

Lin Long, standing off to the side, had long since been ignored by the three of them.