The So-Called Sorrow

Bai Zhi had made many guesses about the identity of the Young Girl in front of him, but he never expected to receive such an answer from her.

"... The Former Shopkeeper of this restaurant?"

"He's the acting Former Shopkeeper."

The Young Girl looked up at him and corrected a grammatical error in his words.

"I don't Master this restaurant; I'm just managing it on behalf of someone else."

"So you were usurped from power?"

After a moment's thought, Bai Zhi automatically conjured up a multi-million-word workplace romance and power struggle drama in his mind.

"Because you held a high position for so long, you aroused the Envy of some Villain. Through a meticulously planned scheme, they not only took away your position Manager, but also subjected you to this almost eternal torment in a ruthless way..."

You're overthinking it.

The Young Girl shook her head.

"This is a well-intentioned warning: stay away from here as much as possible. This restaurant has become Canteen for those kinds of things; if you continue to stay here, you'll become food on the table too."

"What? Isn't the Chef Employee of this restaurant? How did he end up as a dish?"

Looking at the "Young Girl" in front of him, Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly.

"How can I trust someone who keeps rambling on about so many nonsensical things but refuses to reveal any of the truly crucial information?"

"You don't need to believe me, you just need to remember my advice."

After saying this casually, her gaze lowered and swept over the kitchen counter. The Young Girl's left hand, with its slippery tentacle, wrapped around a Kitchen Knife.

Then, she placed her other tentacle on the cutting board. With a flash of cold light, a twisting tentacle detached from her left hand, leaving no trace of blood on the wound.

However, immediately afterward, new tentacles rapidly formed at the wound on her left hand.

"Troublesome stuff..."

Seemingly muttering something to herself, the Young Girl used her tentacles to curl up the writhing, crawling tentacle on the ground, then lifted it behind her head.

It was at this moment that Bai Zhi noticed a sharp mouth full of serrated teeth on the back of the other person's head, which was hidden by long hair... Heaven knows what kind of modifications the other person's body had undergone.

What are you planning to do now?

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi asked the other person.

The self-harm of one's own body must be a considerable burden for the other person. Bai Zhi noticed that the other person's body was trembling slightly, as if they were enduring considerable pain.

"Wait for the right opportunity."

A bead of sweat dripped from her forehead, and the Young Girl looked up at him.

"If you stay in this restaurant any longer, something terrifying will happen. Are you sure you don't want to leave?"

What does "horrible thing" refer to?

"Someone like me, fused with Anomaly, is neither human nor ghost, forever trapped in this state, or perhaps turned into a dish and served on a table, my Soul forever imprisoned within the plate... Death is merely liberation."

"Uh... you're Player too?"

"No."

"Then who are you?"

"Monster. Obvious."

"At night, there are many other hungry Diner like you. Who are they?"

"Former Employee of this restaurant."

"Have they all become like you?"

"Almost."

Who is the current Manager of this restaurant?

"Have no idea."

Why couldn't we communicate before?

"It's difficult to have a clear sense of self in that state."

"Name?"

"It's been taken away."

"Can a name really be taken away?"

Why not?

"Then I'll give you a name?"

"That's outside the scope of this question."

The Young Girl looked at him calmly.

"This restaurant is a huge lie. If you want to know the deeper secrets about it, come here tomorrow night, and I'll show you."

"Why the book and pictures tomorrow night? Can't you tell me the deeper secrets of this restaurant now?"

Bai Zhi rolled his eyes.

Or are you Patient too?

"The reason is simple: I don't know what the restaurant is like now."

The Young Girl's face was expressionless.

"So I need time to explore, is that a problem?"

"... No."

"Also, don't reveal my existence to anyone else, or you'll get them killed."

Her body trembled slightly, and the Young Girl's figure gradually fell back, transforming back into the original Figurine model.

"Not everyone is like you, possessing Sanity far beyond that of ordinary people."

"Hmm... speaking of which, how long have you been in this state?"

Bai Zhi squatted down in front of the other person and began to ask them a question.

"Based on the information I have about this restaurant, there has never been any mention of Manager."

"Really? But there are some things you might not want to know."

She looked up at him, and he turned away, his figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.

"In my time, there were no Player like you..."

--The last sentence, drifting out from the darkness, was so soft that Bai Zhi would not have heard it at all unless he was paying close attention.

For some reason, Bai Zhi felt an unprecedented... sorrow from the other person's words.

When the clock struck six, Bai Zhi returned to the Dormitory Area from the kitchen.

He spent a full six hours in the kitchen, from midnight until 6 a. m.

While he didn't experience a headache from the depletion of his Sanity Value, the physical strain was unavoidable. When he returned to the Dormitory Area, the ground beneath his feet felt like cotton, and he felt completely limp.

However, these are nothing compared to the intelligence he has gathered.

There has always been a question that has troubled all Player for a long time.

--Where do these Anomaly come from, and why did the system appear?

Now, Bai Zhi realized that he had vaguely touched the edge of this problem.

The Young Girl miraculously recovered from that state due to her own actions seemed to come from a distant era before the system even existed.

Even if she's unlikely to know the truly detailed things, what she does know is enough to clear up some of the doubts...

While lost in thought about this matter, Bai Zhi reached out and opened the door leading to the Dormitory Area.

As luck would have it, just as he opened his door, Positive and Negative, on the other side of the long corridor in the Dormitory Area, also pushed open his door and walked in from the other side of the corridor.

Upon seeing the other person, Bai Zhi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and the other person, seemingly not expecting to run into him at this time, was also stunned for a moment as well... However, the reasons for their stunned reactions were completely different.

--The white coat Positive and Negative was now stained crimson with blood.