Hearing the head chef's words, the woman was flattered. "Thank you, Chef Kani," she replied in a quiet voice.
After a polite smile, Xie Qi turned his gaze away from the woman and continued serving the next guest.
The next person, seated to the woman's right, was another female guest. She had a neat, short haircut and sat with impeccable posture. She watched Xie Qi work without speaking.
After setting down the main course and a bowl of broth, Xie Qi once again told the guest to enjoy her meal.
But the woman only glanced at the food before looking up at him. "Chef, did you prepare all this food yourself?"
"Yes. To give our guests a perfect dinner experience, I prepared every main course myself."
"Then were all this meat and these vegetables brought in by cargo ship, rather than raised or grown on the island?"
The female captain's questions had taken some time, and when the people at the long table saw that the head chef had stopped serving, they all turned to watch.
Xie Qi's expression didn't change at her question. He still wore a perfectly measured smile.
Mrs. Caster had already explained this to them, yet the woman before him kept seeking confirmation. Could she be trying to find a flaw in his reaction?
The island's fruits and vegetables were naturally brought in by cargo ship, but the meat was a local specialty, a delicacy outsiders simply had to try when they came here.
If he had been the original NPC chef, he probably would have simply agreed with her and done nothing more.
But when Xie Qi thought about the livestream mentioned earlier and the strong possibility that viewers were watching them, he couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement.
The game required him to play the role on his identity card, but who said he had to follow the script?
As long as he stayed true to the character's basic traits and acted in keeping with the character's logic, what was wrong with going a little overboard now and then to make the livestream entertaining and keep the esteemed viewers happy?
Xie Qi stroked his chin in his mind, deeply moved by his own professional dedication as a streamer.
Of course, he wouldn't admit that he was doing it because it seemed more fun.
These thoughts passed through his mind in an instant. Xie Qi blinked and tilted his head to one side. Under Mrs. Caster's death stare, he slowly spoke:
"Most of the ingredients were brought in by cargo ship, but this meat is a specialty of our island. At the mistress's command, I personally selected and slaughtered the animals for our guests, then carefully prepared the meat. I hope you will all savor it."
In an instant, everyone at the long table felt a chill sweep over them from the front.
The previously rather warm atmosphere abruptly changed. The white candles on the table flickered, as if mirroring the moods of everyone seated there.
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it also seemed like only an instant, before Mrs. Caster's distinctively husky voice rang out, drawing everyone out of the tense atmosphere:
"Kani is right. There is a small farm behind the villa where we raise animals for food. Kani is not only a head chef but also a fine butcher. He always knows how to select the one with the best meat."
With that, she turned her gaze to Xie Qi. Her voice was gentle and tinged with amusement. "Kani, thank you for all your hard work."
Xie Qi seemed not to sense anything amiss. He bowed, his black eyes curving into crescents. "It is Kani's duty to take burdens off his mistress's shoulders."
After that little interruption, none of them dared ask any more questions. They quietly finished the rest of the dishes served to them before breathing a sigh of relief and savoring the feeling of a full stomach, which they hadn't experienced in a long time.
Only then did Xie Qi hear a notification from the game system.
After his tightrope act just now, the system informed him that his livestream's popularity had reached one thousand and that he had also received tips from a few viewers. Although he had earned only a few gold coins, it was still a good start.
The currency used by livestream viewers was gold coins, which could be exchanged for real currency at a rate of 10:1. But the exchange rate for the points used by prisoners was 100:1, meaning that a prisoner received only one point for every hundred gold coins viewers tipped. That rate was very low.
If prisoners wanted to earn large numbers of points, they had no choice but to risk their lives, entering instance games again and again to entertain the viewers.
Points were also essential to a prisoner's survival in the game and even on Prisoner Island. Every single point was vital to a prisoner; in a critical moment, that one point could be exactly what they were short of.
Of course, that was only the case for low-level prisoners. High-level prisoners were already on another level entirely.
Each time they entered an instance, it was like a celebrity appearing on a variety show, with large numbers of fans tuning in to support them. The tips they received from viewers in a single instance were dozens of times greater than the instance rewards alone. By that point, they were no longer merely prisoners, and their lives on Prisoner Island were probably more carefree than those of ordinary wealthy people.
Xie Qi didn't know any of this yet, but even if he had, he probably wouldn't have found it strange.
Throughout history, what wouldn't capitalists do in pursuit of exorbitant profits?
Prisoner Island was a natural barrier, trapping the slaves who could make money for them all in one place. Even if they let a few benefits slip through their fingers, it was only to squeeze the last bit of value out of them.
Xie Qi, who had mastered this method of amassing wealth in his original world, had this to say about it: They're all trash.
Xie Qi had also seen a shop icon in the system, but he couldn't open it at his current level, so he didn't know what was inside.
Judging by the instance rewards he had seen earlier, however, it should sell items and corresponding skill cards.
After finishing the service, Xie Qi returned to the kitchen, where only Nikalos remained, cleaning up.
When he saw Xie Qi return, Nikalos silently placed the remaining desserts and black tea on the cart. The imposing manner he had displayed when they first met was completely gone.
But seeing him so quiet, Xie Qi grew somewhat displeased. Why was this man so timid? Had one scare from him been enough to make him back down?
As an NPC in a cannibal villa, he wasn't someone the viewers would enjoy watching like this.
Xie Qi nodded to himself and decided to train him for the viewers.
With that thought, he turned to look around the kitchen and said, "Nikalos, don't you think this kitchen is too ugly?"
Nikalos hadn't expected Xie Qi to speak to him. He slowly raised his head and looked at him.
Xie Qi smiled faintly, a hint of color appearing on his pale face.
He patted Nikalos on the shoulder, then leaned down and whispered in his ear:
"Come to the kitchen and wait for me tonight. We'll decorate it together. As servants, shouldn't we take burdens off our mistress's shoulders, even if she doesn't ask?"