Deception

"I can't take it anymore! I'm starving!"

"I want to eat, eat, eat!"

In Gourmet Appreciation Class, more and more students turned into "hungry ghosts," losing all semblance of gourmet refinement.

Only a handful remained composed. Though their mouths were watering too, they gazed at the Golden Corn with appreciation.

Among them was Wen Shiyan, who sat beside Lu Zhan.

I never imagined the gap between Senior Wen and me would be this huge!

I'm so hungry I want to eat the table.

But for the sake of my teeth, I have to hold back!

As he suffered through his hunger, Lu Zhan stole a glance at Wen Shiyan.

When he discovered that she was watching him too, he blushed a little.

After all, he had just secretly left a tooth mark on the table.

"Junior Lu, there are tricks to dealing with hunger."

"You can imagine happy things and use other emotions to distract yourself from the hunger."

"You can also deceive your body into thinking you've already eaten your fill."

"That feeling of fullness comes from all the food we wolf down during our three daily meals."

In Wen Shiyan's opinion, Lu Zhan was doing quite well.

She had held back the "content" of Gourmet Appreciation Class not only to preserve a few surprises for him, but also to put him to the test.

The composure and endurance he displayed now had already far exceeded her expectations.

So she shared a few little tricks with him.

Distract myself and deceive my own cells?

So that's an option too!

I've been too arrogant, dismissing my predecessor's eighteen years of life experience.

In my previous life, I never went hungry. In this life, I've had experience and techniques for fighting hunger since childhood.

Who would've thought going hungry as a child could be a valuable asset too?

Lu Zhan subjected himself to some serious soul-searching, but he had no intention of using either trick.

He also believed that both tricks would definitely work.

The students who remained composed were the best proof.

But the question was, if these "test-taking tricks" worked so well, why hadn't Su Yuyan mentioned them to him?

Su Yuyan is definitely a competent teacher, and a good one at that.

She's been guiding me attentively all along.

She must know both of these tricks.

If she hasn't mentioned them, she must not endorse them.

These tricks do reduce hunger, but they also reduce the rate at which the cells devour one another.

That's slacking off during evolution!

Having seen the true nature of autophagy clearly, Lu Zhan decided to keep fighting his hunger in the most basic way.

Still, he committed both tricks for "passing" to memory.

The second, in particular, was a perfect match for someone with the Eye Art like him.

It even opened up a new way of thinking about how to use his Eye Art.

Amid the hunger, time seemed to stretch endlessly.

Lu Zhan discovered that there were quite a few other "fools" suffering through it just like him.

He was able to spot these "kindred spirits" because they were gnawing on their tables too.

Since the tables were made of iron, all they could leave were a few tooth marks.

But the scraping sounds were still far too conspicuous.

"Do you know why they're struggling so hard to hold on?"

"Of the two tricks Wen Shiyan told you, only the second truly works."

"When hunger crashes over you like a tide, mere distraction won't keep you going for long."

"But if you choose to deceive [hunger], it will retaliate against you too."

"You've actually already seen the price you have to pay."

At some point, Su Yuyan had come to stand beside Lu Zhan.

Using a unique technique, she transmitted her voice into his ears, while everyone around him showed no reaction.

After saying her piece, Su Yuyan headed back toward the lectern.

It was as though she had appeared solely to clear up his confusion.

Deceiving [hunger] comes at a price?

Since this method hasn't been explicitly forbidden, that means the price is entirely acceptable.

I get it!

"Brilliant" as he was, Lu Zhan instantly understood the so-called "price."

At the same time, images of the vast majority of his classmates nibbling on vegetable leaves in the cafeteria surfaced in his mind.

That was the price of deceiving hunger!

From then on, your body would tell you it "wasn't that hungry."

It wouldn't need much food to feel full.

Sure enough, clever little tricks are no good. Taking shortcuts isn't a great idea.

But if so many people have chosen that shortcut, and it's even tacitly permitted, that can only mean enduring this really puts people to the test.

But why did Su Yuyan come over specifically to tell me this in private?

With her abilities, I'm sure she could have transmitted her voice straight into my ears from the lectern, even if she only wanted me to hear her.

So she must have had another reason for approaching me.

Su Yuyan had said the first method wasn't very effective, but Lu Zhan disagreed.

When he concentrated on thinking, his awareness of his hunger did indeed diminish.

He even felt as though the hunger had made him smarter.

Otherwise, in his normal state, he would never have realized that Su Yuyan had another reason for "approaching" him.

Is it because the [autophagy] inside my body is far more intense than in ordinary students?

To a teacher, a student like me must count as [exceptionally gifted], right?

So I'm worth keeping a close eye on, to make sure nothing serious happens to me.

Lu Zhan quite naturally worked out Su Yuyan's "reason for coming."

At the same time, he finally figured out why the first method worked for him.

Because intense thinking

interfered not with [hunger] itself, but with the [Blood-Red Antenna].

With the Blood-Red Antenna's amplification, the hunger Lu Zhan experienced was five times that of an ordinary student.

But when he was deep in thought, that figure dropped to three times.

With such a massive decrease, it was only natural that Lu Zhan would find the first method effective.

Lu Zhan didn't dwell on having drawn Su Yuyan's attention.

He had wanted to be a "good student" all along, so he had more or less gotten his wish.

All he needed to do now was keep enduring.

Time ticked by, and several times, Lu Zhan felt he had reached his limit.

But in the end, he didn't give up early. He gritted his teeth and kept holding on.

The greatest credit for this went not to Lu Zhan's willpower, but to the "ugly cat" sprawled on the glass apparatus.

Perhaps Su Yuyan's "favor" had aroused the ugly cat's "jealousy."

Lounging on the glass vessel, its body bathed in a golden glow, the "ugly cat" kept staring fixedly at Lu Zhan.

Whenever Lu Zhan grew hungry enough to gnaw on the table, a trace of disdain appeared in its eyes.

That contemptuous look reminded Lu Zhan of himself when he had tossed it a bone.

No matter what, Lu Zhan would not let a cat look down on him.