(Note: pay attention to the paragraph comments in this chapter.)
[What did I miss? Why haven't we left yet?]
[You missed a concert, but you're about to get hell instead (doge).]
[I'm out! (fists clasped)]
[I'm already hooked on him! Is he the streamer or not?! I want to be his fan!]
[Calm down, previous commenter. He's just a charismatic NPC. There's no way he's the streamer.]
[You're so sure. Have you already found the streamer?]
[Uh-huh~ Go check out the novelist. None of the others have done anything unusual in their rooms, but she's like a different person inside and outside hers.]
[Huh? Is this newbie really that bad? Does she think we can't see her inside her room?]
Just as the viewers settled on the black-haired woman as their target, Xie Qi pushed open the iron gate and walked in.
The inside was just as desolate as it had looked from outside, with weeds growing from the ground. Unlike the farms he knew, there was nowhere for livestock to roam, only a low concrete building resembling a factory.
He took a long brass-colored key from his waist and unlocked the building's iron door.
A grating creak spread through the silent night.
The inside of the farm was clean, a stark contrast to its exterior.
But clean was all it was. The interior was practically empty, and the dim yellow candlelight carved the darkness into patches like chunks of meat wrapped in fat.
Several rooms lined each of the corridors to the left and right. Repeated banging came from behind their doors, occasionally accompanied by faint cries for help.
The cruel, bizarre scene did not change Xie Qi's expression in the slightest. He simply stood between the corridors, stroking his chin as though pondering something.
[I knew this farm was bad news. Don't tell me everyone locked up in there is what they call ingredients?]
[Definitely. But where did so many people on an isolated island come from? Could they all be shipwreck survivors?]
[It's just the setting for an instance. Why are you all taking it so seriously? I want to know why the chef is standing there. Has his conscience finally awakened?]
[Ha ha! You'd have better luck hoping you can upgrade your citizen level than hoping his conscience awakens!]
[Why'd you have to hit a sore spot?]
As the bullet comments guessed what Xie Qi was thinking, he lowered his hand, raised the knife in his other hand, and began pointing it down the two corridors in turn.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, who's going to be today's lucky one~"
"Ha! Found you!"
Looking excited, Xie Qi lowered the knife and walked over to a door on the left.
There was none of the clattering from the other rooms coming from behind that door. Apparently, a quiet little cutie lived inside.
Xie Qi unlocked the door and pushed it open. A woman leaning against a freezer came into view.
The woman was slender, her long red hair a tangled mess. Her lowered head twitched only when the door opened.
Xie Qi waited patiently, and the woman struggled to raise her head. The moment her unfocused eyes caught sight of the candlelight shining in through the doorway, they flew wide open.
Like a crazed beast, she summoned a burst of strength from her frail body and charged at Xie Qi, who stood in the doorway.
The woman startled the commenters too, and they began wondering whether the chef would be brought down on the spot.
The viewers' hopes did not come true.
[Oof—my scalp feels tight.]
[It's over. This woman's done for. The one at tonight's banquet was a woman, and this one's a woman too. Does this chef have it in for women?]
[That was awfully crude. Go get your chip updated and learn how high society speaks.]
After her one-sided resistance proved futile, the woman gradually fell silent.
Many viewers hurriedly closed the livestream as soon as Xie Qi began processing her, but plenty of others weren't quick enough and witnessed the scene firsthand.
Those with weaker stomachs had already thrown up badly. Even those who claimed to have seen plenty of deaths in instances looked pale, forcing themselves not to turn away.
[Th-this is nothing. It's all fake...]
[Fake, my ass! This role-playing game is a top-tier AI masterpiece. Its instances basically reproduce reality. If you're scared, just say so. No one's going to laugh at you, but quit acting tough.]
[Why is this livestream so realistic? I can even smell the sharp stench of blood. Can't this game turn off the sensory functions?!]
[You chose those functions yourself. Did you get scared stupid and start blaming the game?]
[I... I'll be honest, I'm really scared (sobbing))]