The First Taste

So, should he go or not?

That light was like a moth lamp, flickering with an unsteady glow that lured in everything from the outside.

Zhou You found himself caught in a dilemma.

If he went, the sudden appearance of such a bright light in this ghost city was likely a trap; haven't we all seen how horror movies often use lights to lure in victims?

But if he didn't go, the thing was sitting right in the middle of the road, and it was impossible to bypass it without being discovered.

So, after thinking for a long time and glancing at his remaining respawns, Zhou You made up his mind.

He first tied on the brass bell given to him by Building 4—which he had kept hidden in his coat to avoid triggering any jump scares—then took a deep breath and walked toward the light.

Although he didn't have Infinite Coins anymore, he still had plenty of respawns left, plus this warning bell, so it should be fine...

Right?

Walking closer, he realized the light was actually a small food stall.

This was a common sight in the city where Zhou You grew up. It was a remnant of the heavy industry era; the vendors were mostly laid-off workers who would set up a pushcart, mount a stove or two, and turn it into a tiny stall.

Zhou You lifted the greasy curtain and the first thing he saw was a face etched with hardship.

The man didn't look particularly old, probably only in his forties, but time had carved too many marks into his face. His frame was hunched, his back bent deep like a heavy stalk of wheat, and he was even missing a few fingers. At first glance, he didn't look like a middle-aged man, but rather an old man of sixty or seventy.

At this moment, the man was staring with vacant eyes and said to Zhou You:

"Young man, you're here to eat, right?"

Zhou You had only intended to scout the situation, but since the other party had already spoken, he had no choice but to sit down.

But the moment he was about to settle into his seat, his body suddenly froze.

Right beside his ear, that mechanical female voice suddenly rang out.

Respected player, you have triggered a side quest: Drink the Soup.

Quest Requirement: Obtain a bowl of normal soup from the shop owner.

Reward: A special enhancement effect limited to this dungeon, and one Green-quality consumable.

...There are side quests in this dungeon?

"--Guest, what's wrong?"

Hearing the owner's somewhat urgent inquiry, Zhou You ignored the prompt, looked up, offered a polite smile, and took his seat.

The stool and the counter were covered in grease, feeling sticky and uncomfortable. Unlike a typical snack stall, there were no barbecue grills or braised snacks here; instead, two large pots were set up, bubbling and emitting steam.

Although the lids were on and he couldn't see what was stewing inside, the faint aroma drifting out suggested the food didn't smell too bad.

Inhaling the enticing scent, Zhou You found himself swallowing hard for no apparent reason—at this very moment, it was as if something was surging in his heart, urging him to have a bowl—but he ultimately forced down this inexplicable impulse and smiled at the hunched man.

"Hard work, boss. Still out here selling this late?"

The pushcart owner just offered a completely numb smile.

"What else can I do? My family depends on this business to survive. If I don't set up shop, everyone will starve, so I have to keep going no matter how late it is."

Zhou You fell silent for a moment, but continued the conversation as if just making small talk.

"But boss, your location isn't great. There isn't a soul around here; who are you selling to?"

"No one? This place is quite lively." The pushcart owner looked up, scanned the surroundings, and his already poor complexion darkened further. "Ah, maybe a crowd just dispersed. But I have to stick it out even if there's no one. Later in the night, when the youngsters come out for a late-night snack, things will pick up. By the way, guest, what would you like to eat?"

No, in this bizarre and inexplicable environment, how could I dare to eat your food?

Zhou You smiled and was about to politely decline, but...

I'm not hungry for now.

Before the words could leave his mouth, they were jammed back into his throat.

At this moment, the owner had opened one of the pot lids. Milky white soup swirled within, with emerald greens mixed with red and white meat. The aroma, which had been faint and teasing like scratching an itch, suddenly became rich and pungent. The heaviness of the meat and the freshness of the greens tugged at his nerves. In just a few seconds, Zhou You felt famished, wanting nothing more than to devour the entire pot of soup.

But just then.

"Ring, ring, ring."

A bell suddenly chimed.

Although the sound wasn't loud, it was enough to snap him out of his thoughts.

In an instant, Zhou You regained his senses.

When he looked back at the pot of soup, there was no longer any salted meat or vegetables inside.

There was only a head, boiled until it had turned white.

.

"Guest? Guest?"

The hunched-over boss stirred the soup pot. He still called out to Zhou You with a kind and benevolent expression, but compared to before, his voice had grown increasingly eerie, and his face began to distort and rot...

"Splat."

Half of his face's rotting flesh fell right into the pot, yet the boss seemed completely unaware, continuing to speak.

"Guest, what is that thing in your hand that keeps ringing? It sounds quite pleasant."

Zhou You stared at the pot of soup for a moment, then suddenly smiled. He then openly placed his hand on the table, letting the boss see the brass bell, which was still stained with blood.

"It's nothing much, just a handbell a friend gave me a long time ago. It rings whenever the wind blows. Perhaps the wind is too strong tonight, so it's making a bit more noise. I'm truly sorry for the disturbance."

Seeing that expression, which lacked any hint of pretense, the boss tilted his head. He didn't suspect anything, instead pulling a porcelain bowl from a compartment in his cart, scooping a ladle of soup from the pot, and pushing it in front of Zhou You.

"Since you've been delaying ordering, I've taken the liberty of serving you. Drink it while it's hot; it won't taste good once it goes cold."

No, if I drink this, I'll be the one who's truly cold, right?

Looking at the bizarre bowl of soup, Zhou You began to carefully consider the countermeasures he should take.

Should he activate Wuwo Ruding and just tank the attacks to make a run for it?

Zhou You glanced at the pitch-black street outside the stall, then looked at the boss's increasingly rotting body, and gently shook his head.

What lay ahead remained an unknown variable. Furthermore, he was unfamiliar with the surrounding layout; in such extreme darkness, he doubted he could get very far even if he tried to run.

Then, drink the soup?

From every angle, this was a guaranteed death sentence. Besides, with the rotting flesh and pus floating on the surface of the soup, this option was never even in the realm of consideration for Zhou You.

However, the other party was unwilling to wait for him any longer. Seeing him hesitate to eat, the stall owner's face twisted further. The head inside the pot resurfaced, opened its boiled-to-mush mouth, and suddenly let out a mocking, raucous laugh.

"If you don't drink it, you will end up just like me."

"If you do drink it, you will still end up just like me."

"No matter what, you cannot escape! Hahahahahaha!"

...Zhou You didn't pay him any mind.

He was a man with two very distinct personality traits: first, he was petty—extremely petty—and if someone provoked him, he would definitely find a way to get back at them.

Second, he was calm. The more critical the crisis, the calmer he became. At the brink of life and death, he could even calmly consider ten different ways to escape without changing his expression.

So, at this moment, facing a snack stall that was about to turn into a ghost realm, he actually had the leisure to ponder.

"From a gaming perspective, since they specifically arranged this scenario for me, it can't just be to have a ghost jump-scare me and force me to waste a resurrection coin."

"So, there must be a clue here."

"But I don't think I made any mistakes in our dialogue. The evidence is that he didn't turn into a ghost at the very beginning. There must be a key point I missed earlier."

"So, what exactly is the point I missed..."

..

.

"That's it, the newspaper!"