The Bloody Cult

As night fell, the mineral lamps began to light up, and people could be seen walking with small lanterns.

Various small shops lined the streets, and the crowd seemed tireless, immersed in the pleasant atmosphere.

The night wind was a bit chilly. Mel Carlo and the others had shoes, after all, they were considered reserve gang members, not just pure "piglets."

The aroma of various foods wafted down the street. In the open space of the plaza, there were many fires, with skilled performers entertaining the crowd.

Mel Carlo's attention was drawn to the river flowing through the city. Many lights were floating on the river, likely carried by small paper boats, making it look very beautiful.

"Mel, it's beautiful, isn't it? But those are probably the nobles releasing paper boats. Others wouldn't dare throw paper into the river."

"Mhm, Lily, you know so much," Mel praised Lily.

After walking for a short while, they arrived at a place with very little foot traffic. To think there was such a barren hill in this city! From its vantage point, they could see many parts of the city.

The paved road stopped not far from here. If it weren't for the absence of tombstones, Mel Carlo would have guessed this was a cemetery.

Although they needed to find a secluded spot, he really didn't want to eat hot pot on top of graves.

"Lily, you guys start a fire up here. I'll go get the noodles."

"Mel, are you sure you can get noodles? Don't go stealing today, getting caught by the guards would be terrible!"

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Mel Carlo turned and walked towards the deserted street. He just needed to find a quiet, empty place and then retrieve the instant noodles from his system space.

He'd give everyone two packs each; that should be enough to fill them up. If he had to choose less stimulating flavors, Braised Beef would be the best option.

As soon as he turned into a small alley, Mel Carlo heard footsteps. His alertness kicked in, and he instantly hid in the shadows, activating the [Assassin's Breathing Technique].

No matter the situation, he needed to minimize his presence. Whoever came to a place like this definitely wouldn't be patrolling guards.

A person in a black cloak stumbled into the alley, propping themselves against the wall and gasping for air. On their arm was a pattern of a blooming chrysanthemum wrapped around a bloody crescent moon.

The moment he saw it, Mel Carlo dared not move. He had intended to go a little further to get the instant noodles, but who knew he'd run into a cultist.

This was a pattern that appeared in the game. The moon represented worship of the Dark Goddess, and the broken moon, the blood-red color, signified the manifestation of magic power: the [Bloody Cult].

NPCs that could be casually farmed as low-level monsters in the game were now beings that could take his life at any moment. If not for the Assassin's Breathing Technique, he might have already been discovered.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air. This wasn't an issue with the cult's members, but rather that the cultist before him was injured, and there was also the scent of herbs on them.

"Get lost." Mel Carlo remained motionless, only hoping the cultist would leave quickly.

There had been specific warnings about this within the city earlier. However, since nothing had happened for so long, Mel Carlo had assumed the cultists had all been caught.

If he were discovered, he would surely be sacrificed on the spot.

After confirming the cultist had truly gone, Mel Carlo quickly fled from the shadows. He didn't dare to stop for a moment, nor did he dare to deactivate the [Assassin's Breathing Technique]. Fortunately, one of its traits allowed him to use it while moving.

After escaping a considerable distance and ensuring his safety, he retrieved 10 packs of Braised Beef flavored instant noodles from his system space, wrapped them directly in his clothes, and hurried towards the small hill.

The cultist's escape direction was the opposite of his current location. The hill was safe for the moment, but Mel Carlo still wanted to finish eating quickly. He didn't want to stay outside; the outside world was unsafe.

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Rustle, rustle. The instant noodles from his clothes spilled onto the ground.

"Mel, what is this?" A few people looked at the strange packaging bags and picked them up. The material was unlike anything they had ever seen.

"Tear open the bags. There's a noodle cake inside, and seasoning packets. Ten packs in total. Eat them quickly and then let's go back!"

"Aren't we going to play outside anymore?" Chocolate asked, looking confused.

"I just saw a cultist. They didn't come this way, though. It's not safe outside right now, and places with fewer people are even less safe." Mel Carlo didn't hide anything and told them everything.

The little ones also became nervous instantly. Even though they knew the cultist hadn't come their way, they also knew that such a secluded place wasn't safe. If they were killed by a cultist, no one would come to save them.

"Should we just go back?" Lily asked fearfully, tugging at Akai's sleeve.

"Why don't we eat first? Let's finish quickly, and then go back. Didn't Mel say the cultist went the other way?" Chocolate looked at the boiling pot and didn't want to give up. It had been difficult enough just to move the pot here.

"Alright, let's eat quickly then." Mel Carlo said no more, tearing open the instant noodle bags, putting in the noodle cakes, and then the seasoning packets.

They could add more noodle cakes, but one or two seasoning packets would be enough; otherwise, it would be hard to eat.

The boiling water quickly softened the noodle cakes. The moment the seasoning packets were added, they could already smell the aroma.

"It smells so good! Mel, where did you steal this from?" Chocolate wiped his mouth.

"Mel, you didn't go stealing from the nobles again, did you?" Lily frowned, her eyes filled with more worry.

This fragrance was peculiar, something they had never experienced before.

It had been so long since they had any oil; most of the aroma came from the oil packets. Mel Carlo was already craving it.

They didn't even have a proper bowl. Most of them were broken bowl fragments they had found, or they were missing a large piece, or they just used a wooden shard.

"Eat."

With no one speaking, all five of them started picking up noodles. The half-roasted chicken, after being cleaned, was reheated and also divided.

They all ate heartily.

After taking a big bite of noodles, Chocolate directly picked up a wooden ladle and scooped up the soup from the pot, "Hot, hot, hot..."

"This is delicious, mmm... hmm... It's really too delicious. I've never eaten anything so delicious before!" Akai ate while crying.

The other two felt much the same. It wasn't that they weren't eating enough, but rather that it was just too delicious.

"Eat slower, chew before you swallow," Mel Carlo reminded them, afraid they might choke.

Even if they didn't choke, they'd likely stuff themselves to death. The plan of two packs per person was just too much.

"Mel, sob sob… do you think we'll ever eat this again?" Chocolate cried even harder after he'd eaten his fill. He was afraid he'd never taste this flavor again.

"It's okay, let's work hard! Maybe we'll eat even better things in the future." Mel Carlo, full himself, lay down on the ground. He'd stuffed himself too.

He didn't know then that they would part ways not long after, and for many years after that, Chocolate could never find noodles with this taste again, no matter how hard he tried to recreate the flavor from his memory.