Bloody Cult

Night fell, and the ore lamps gradually lit up. People still walked through the streets carrying little lamps.

All kinds of small shops lined the streets. The crowd seemed tireless, immersed in the pleasant atmosphere.

The night wind was a little chilly. Mel Carlo and the others had shoes, after all; they counted as prospective gang members rather than mere piglets.

The scents of all kinds of food drifted down the streets. Many fires burned in the open space of the square, where skilled performers put on shows.

Mel Carlo's attention was drawn to the river running through the city. Many lights floated upon it, likely carried by little paper boats or something similar. It looked beautiful.

"Mel, it's pretty, isn't it? But those paper boats are probably being set afloat by noble lords. Ordinary people wouldn't be willing to throw paper into the river."

"Mm, Lily, you really know a lot." Mel praised Lily.

Before long, they arrived somewhere with barely any foot traffic. There was actually a bare little hill in this city, high enough to overlook many parts of it.

The paved road ended not far from there. If there had been tombstones, Mel Carlo would have guessed this was a cemetery.

They were looking for a secluded place, but he really did not want to eat hot pot on top of a grave.

"Lily, you all go up and start the fire. I'll go get the noodles."

"Mel, can you really find noodles? Don't steal today, okay? It'll be awful if the guards catch you!"

"Don't worry. I'll be quick." Mel Carlo turned and headed down an empty street. He only needed to find a quiet, deserted spot and take the instant noodles out of his system storage.

Two bags per person should be enough to fill them up. He should pick a less intense flavor—braised beef flavor would do.

The moment Mel Carlo turned into an alley, he heard someone else's footsteps. His vigilance immediately rose. He slipped into the shadows and activated [Assassin's Breathing Technique].

No matter what was happening, he needed to reduce his presence as much as possible first. Anyone coming to a place like this definitely would not be patrolling guards.

A person in a black cloak staggered into the alley, bracing one hand against the wall and gasping for breath. On that person's arm was a pattern of a bloody crescent moon surrounding a blooming chrysanthemum.

The instant he saw it, Mel Carlo did not dare make another move. He had intended to go farther away before taking out the instant noodles, but who would have thought he would run into a cultist?

He had seen that symbol in the game. The moon represented worship of the Goddess of Darkness, while the broken moon's blood-red color was manifested magic power—the [Bloody Cult].

In the game, they had been NPCs he could casually farm as minor enemies. But now, they were beings who could take his life at any moment. If not for the Assassin's Breathing Technique, he might already have been discovered.

A faint smell of blood hung in the air. It was not because the cultist was bloody by nature, but because the cultist before him was injured. There was also the scent of herbs on him.

Get out of here already. Mel Carlo remained perfectly still, only hoping the cultist would leave quickly.

The city had specifically warned them about this before. But since nothing had happened for so long, Mel Carlo had assumed the cultists had already been caught.

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

Only after confirming that the cultist had truly gone far away did Mel Carlo dart out of the shadows. He did not dare stop for even a moment, nor did he dare deactivate [Assassin's Breathing Technique]. Fortunately, one of its traits allowed him to use it while moving.

After fleeing some distance and confirming that he was safe, he took ten packs of braised beef-flavored instant noodles from the system storage. He wrapped them directly in his clothes and hurried toward the little hill.

The cultist had fled in the opposite direction, so the hill was safe for now. Still, Mel Carlo wanted to finish eating quickly. He did not want to stay outside. The world outside was unsafe.

With a rustle, the instant noodles in his clothes spilled all over the ground.

"Mel, what are these?" They looked at the strange packages and picked them up. They had never seen material like this before.

"Tear open the bags. There are noodle cakes inside, along with seasoning packets. There are ten packs total. Hurry up and go back after we finish eating!"

"We're not playing outside anymore?" Chocolate asked, confused.

"I just saw a cultist. He didn't come this way, but it isn't safe outside right now. Places with fewer people are even less safe." Mel Carlo did not hide anything and told them everything.

The little ones immediately grew tense as well. Even though they knew the cultist had not come their way, they also knew that a hidden place like this was not safe. Even if a cultist killed them, no one would come save them.

"Should we go back?" Lily was a little scared and tugged at Akai's sleeve.

"Shouldn't we eat first? We can finish quickly and then go back. Didn't Mel say the cultist went the other way?" Chocolate looked at the pot already boiling hot and did not want to give up just like that. Carrying the pot here alone had been difficult enough.

"Fine. Then let's eat quickly." Mel Carlo said no more. He tore open the instant noodle packs, dropped the noodle cakes into the pot, and added the seasoning.

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

The boiling water quickly softened the noodle cakes. The moment the seasoning fell in, they smelled the aroma.

"It smells so good! Mel, where did you steal these from?" Chocolate wiped away his drool.

"Mel, you didn't steal from some noble lord again, did you?" Lily frowned, her eyes filled more with worry than suspicion.

The smell was strange, unlike anything they had ever experienced.

That was what happened when someone had gone too long without fats. In truth, most of the aroma came from the oil packet. Mel Carlo was already desperate to eat.

They did not even have a complete bowl. Most were broken bowl fragments they had picked up, either missing huge chunks or replaced with wooden pieces.

"Eat." Without another word, all five began picking up noodles. The half roasted chicken had been cleaned and reheated, then divided among them as well.

They all ate in huge mouthfuls.

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

"It's delicious... mm... it's so delicious. I've never eaten anything this good before!" Akai cried as he ate.

The other two felt much the same. It was not because there was not enough food, but because it was simply too delicious.

"Eat slowly. Chew it up before you swallow." Mel Carlo reminded them, terrified that they would choke to death.

Even if they did not choke, they might burst from overeating. Two packs per person had still been far too much.

"Mel, sob... do you think we'll ever get to eat this again?" After Chocolate was full, he cried even harder. He was afraid he would never taste noodles with this flavor again.

"It's okay. Work hard! Maybe we'll get to eat even better things someday." After Mel Carlo had eaten his fill, he lay down directly on the ground. He was stuffed too.

At the time, he did not know that they would soon be separated. For many years after that, Chocolate never found noodles with that same flavor again. No matter what he tried, he could not recreate the taste from his memories.