The Area Ahead Can Be Explored Later~

"Could you please keep an eye on what's behind you?"

Bai Zhi helped the other person, who had almost fallen, back to their right position, looking slightly helpless.

"Do you have eyes in the back of your head? Who knew there were steps here...?"

With a slight pout, Fireworks of Romance turned around and looked behind her, looking somewhat disgruntled.

--Previously, she would walk backwards to make it easier to talk.

After walking about 200 meters along the passageway, they finally reached its end.

However, the scene at the end of the corridor was completely unexpected.

Before them lay a clean, bright, and spacious hall, unlike the rough walls and the floor still damp with black mud on the corridor side; this place was spotless and tidy.

The hall floor was covered with white tiles similar to those in the kitchen, and a luxurious carpet was laid on top. A magnificent chandelier above the hall provided illumination; the light Bai Zhi had seen earlier was coming from here.

But the problem is... this is a painting.

To be precise, what was in front of them was a painted wall.

Indeed, after walking to the end of the corridor, what appeared before them was not the expected exit leading to other places, but a painting that covered the entire wall and was so realistic that it was hard to tell the difference. It was not noticeable from a distance, but it became very obvious up close.

Bai Zhi had observed this passageway before; it was actually not wide, only wide enough for two to three people to walk side by side, and about three meters high.

--And right in front of them was a large painting that was three meters long.

"If this is just a painting, then where does the light come from?"

As she spoke, Fireworks of Romance, still somewhat unwilling to give up, touched the wall with her hand.

However, upon touching it, all you could feel was the solid texture of the wall.

"... Take out the Number Plate and try it out."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi began to speak.

Those Number Plate served as proof of their status as intern Chef; they were both passes to their rooms and Key to the kitchen's Ingredient Area. In this strange restaurant, those Number Plate perhaps represented a kind of access privilege.

Although the Number Plate cannot be put into Inventory, it is only about half the size of a palm, so it can be easily stuffed into a pocket.

Just as Fireworks of Romance took out his Number Plate and tried to approach the painting in front of him, the painting suddenly came to life, and an invisible wave rippled across it.

"Huh? It seems to work. How did you...?"

Turning her head, Fireworks of Romance asked him with a hint of delight.

Before she could finish speaking, a powerful suction suddenly came from the painting in front of her. Before she could react, she was like a drop of water merging into a basin, falling into the painting.

Because this suction force came so suddenly and targeted more than just her, Bai Zhi, who was behind her, was also unable to make any decent response and was sucked into the painting as well.

It's hard to describe in words what this experience was like. Bai Zhi felt as if his body had passed through an invisible membrane, but his vision was constantly changing rapidly in all sorts of unbelievable ways. When he came to his senses again, he found himself in a magnificent hall.

Before he could properly observe his surroundings, the Fireworks of Romance that were falling backward before him, which hadn't even come to their senses, instinctively reached out and grabbed his collar.

"Holy crap, you really are one of those guys..."

The rest of Bai Zhi's words were drowned out by two muffled thuds as heavy objects fell to the ground.

A moment later, the two of them sat down on the luxurious carpet, one with his chin in his hand and the other with his forehead in his.

"You earned that Title because of your strength... The system's evaluation is too fair."

With one hand covering his chin, which was throbbing from the impact of the other person's head, Bai Zhi gasped for breath.

"It was just a subconscious reaction... I was bumped into too, wasn't I?"

Sitting on the carpet, covering her forehead, Fireworks of Romance began to speak with a rather depressed air.

"And speaking of which, according to the usual tropes in TV dramas, shouldn't it have been mouth-to-mouth just now?"

Why do I get the feeling that you seem quite excited about it?

With a slightly annoyed look, Bai Zhi stood up from the carpet.

"Watch less of those teen idol dramas in the future, otherwise your IQ will easily drop. And you got hit too... Can your chin and forehead be compared?"

"It's obvious you didn't study physics well. Forces are reciprocal, so theoretically, whatever force I experience, you also experience. How can we not compare them?"

With one hand covering his forehead, and muttering something under his breath with a hint of resentment, Fireworks of Romance also got up from the carpet.

"Besides, why don't you mention that I acted as your human cushion? If that's the case, you should be thanking me..."

"So, who do you think pulled me down?"

Bai Zhi glanced at the other person's chest subconsciously, then quickly looked away.

"I originally thought your Title was just a facade, but I never expected the mole to be right beside me."

"No, it wasn't a mole."

Fireworks of Romance held up one finger with a serious expression.

"He's Absolute Mole."

Bai Zhi: "..."

"So, we were just inside a painting?"

In the magnificent hall, standing on the luxurious carpet and looking at the simple portrait hanging on the wall, Fireworks of Romance asked Bai Zhi a question.

Behind where they fell was a portrait hanging on the wall... or rather, it couldn't be called a portrait, because the portrait in front of them was completely black.

--This is a painting in pure black.

On the wall where this painting hangs, portraits are densely packed together from left to right.

"No, to be precise, the painting is actually a passageway leading to other areas of this restaurant."

Bai Zhi turned his gaze away from the "Gallery" in front of him and looked at the hall behind him.

Just like what they had seen in the murals, the hall was quite luxurious, but it was also quite empty, with not a single person in sight.

"Let's ignore these paintings for now and explore this hall first."

After a moment's hesitation, Bai Zhi made his decision.

Their goal for this trip was exploration, so exploring the paintings or the hall was the same; there wasn't much difference between the two.

Only...

Let's explore the area ahead later!