"I don't believe it! Is a royal flush really that easy to get? You didn't cheat, did you?"
The wealthy merchant was incredulous, his head flushed with blood and his whole body looking swollen as he glared fiercely at Xie Qi.
The viewers in the livestream had been watching them the whole time, so they naturally knew Xie Qi hadn't cheated.
[Why is this guy such a sore loser? I thought he was pretty good at cards, but what a turnoff.]
[I hope this isn't the streamer. I tipped 500 gold coins earlier, and I don't want them ending up in the hands of someone like this.]
[That woman and the rich second-generation heir are way ahead in the vote right now. Nobody else seems particularly suspicious.]
[What about that blonde woman? At first I thought she was just a big-breasted airhead, but she was pretty smart when they played cards. Was she pretending before?]
[I think there's something wrong with all of them. Only that cop looks like an idiot.]
[I hope the head chef is the streamer. If he is, I'll tip him all my gold coins!]
The viewers began agonizing over who the streamer was again. So far, no one had suspected Xie Qi.
That made sense. Ever since he appeared, he'd pulled one outrageous stunt after another, acting even more deranged than a deranged NPC. Who would have thought he was a newcomer who had just entered the game instance?
Even those who were infatuated with Xie Qi and wanted to tip him were only saying so. Deep down, they understood it was impossible.
So although the game had earned Xie Qi more tips than ever before, they only converted to 300 points, far short of the amount he'd expected.
Feeling that hiding his identity wasn't doing him much good, Xie Qi decided not to pull the same trick in the next instance, sparing the cuties who wanted to tip him the trouble of agonizing over it.
Having made up his mind, Xie Qi put down the chips he'd been playing with, turned to the group, and smiled. "The game is over, so I should go prepare lunch for our guests."
Though they'd played quickly, dozens of hands had brought them to noon.
During that time, no one else had appeared anywhere in the villa, as though the butlers and maids had vanished into thin air.
The group had been so absorbed in the game that they hadn't noticed.
Seeing Xie Qi ignore him, the wealthy merchant started to get up and confront him.
But Bailey stopped him. "Boss, don't be rash. We still need him to cook for us in a little while."
The mention of food stopped the wealthy merchant, but when he remembered that he'd lost his only meal of the day, his anger flared.
Just as he was about to push Bailey away, Annie, who was standing nearby, said to him quietly, "You... you don't have to give me your meal. One portion is enough for me."
Her words made Xie Qi stop too.
Xie Qi studied her carefully, then spoke cruel words under the wealthy merchant's faintly hopeful gaze:
"Since this lady doesn't need two meals, I'll prepare enough for seven people."
"What? What gives you the right to make one less portion? She said herself she was giving it up!"
The wealthy merchant hadn't expected Xie Qi to pull this on him. Before he could make a fuss, Xie Qi added:
"The rules were set at the start of the game, so they can't be broken. But if this guest truly wishes to insist..."
Xie Qi's dark eyes rested on the wealthy merchant's belly for a second before he raised them to meet his gaze.
"You may come find me in the kitchen at ten tonight. I'll serve you a satisfying meal then."
Since everyone had gotten what they wanted, Xie Qi returned to the kitchen.
The kitchen now looked "new" again. Nikalos was inside, his face expressionless. It was unclear whether he had never left after last night or had come in before everyone went downstairs.
All that was known was that no one had seen him appear in the living room all morning.
As soon as Xie Qi entered, he clicked his tongue in praise.
"Good, good. Now this is the kind of kitchen the noble Caster family should have. Nikalos, you did very well."
Nikalos didn't react to Xie Qi's praise. He merely glared at him with those dead fish eyes, as if silently accusing him.
But Xie Qi automatically ignored his gaze and ordered him to bring out the ingredients prepared the night before.
When Nikalos carried the ingredients out and put them on the chopping board, the viewers who had been drawn in by Xie Qi's performance during the game and switched the livestream to his perspective began screaming.
[What am I looking at?!! Can someone explain this to me?!]
[Blergh—!!! The nutrient solution I just drank! I threw it all up!]
[What's going on? Why is there mutton in the kitchen? What are they going to do? (terrified)]
[You foolish lambs, shocked by our deranged head chef, aren't you? (cigarette)]
[Does that mean the meal last night... was all made with this too?]
[I'm done for. I even said those meals looked delicious yesterday. Now that I think about it... bleurgh!!!]
[And why does the kitchen look like this? What are those strips hanging on the wall? They aren't large intestines, are they... (panicking)]
[Didn't the person above see that sign when you came in? It was all on there... (smile, goodbye)]
[This head chef must be the boss of this instance, right?]
[Hard to say. I think the owner of this villa is pretty mysterious too, and she eats mutton as well!]
[Now that I think about it, this whole villa feels wrong. Don't the servants know about any of this?]
[Could this instance end in a battle royale?]
The comments in the livestream suddenly exploded, with more than a dozen appearing every second, all speculating about Xie Qi's identity and how the instance would develop.
Xie Qi couldn't see what they were saying, but the sudden surge in traffic told him that the scene in the kitchen had probably shocked the innocent viewers once again.
He calmly collected the points he'd earned for completing the one-day side quest, then deftly cut the ingredients apart with a knife, sorted them, and drained the blood.
Meat that hadn't been fully drained of blood had a raw, unpleasant smell, which was intolerable to Mrs. Caster, whose sense of taste was highly developed.
He hadn't lied to the group earlier. There really weren't enough ingredients on the island—before the guests arrived, of course.
Even with their arrival, everyone in the villa could only eat one meal a day.
So Xie Qi had ordered Nikalos to save even the offal and other parts that nobles considered filthy. Once the main meal was ready, he would use those parts to cook for the servants.