Lose, and you'll become braised Himeko rice

It had taken less than twenty seconds to finish off the enemy cleanly. It looked easy, but only Himeko knew just how weak she was now.

She panted after just a few steps and could barely hold on to her saw. She had only beaten Ali in a few moves because he was rather pathetic and had also been blinded by Huaxia.

Against that damned Pig Trotter Rice King, she might not be able to protect the other two.

Himeko hurried downstairs and quickly located Taco and Washana.

"Something's changed. Get out of here first!"

Himeko's shout reached Taco's ears. He could hear the seriousness in her voice, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately ran outside.

He was also carrying a cleaver from the burger shop, used for chopping meat.

"What happened? Miss Himeko, did some fool dare to mess with you?"

"Get out first. Where's Washana?"

"I'm here."

Washana was dragging the contestant whose arms and legs had all been broken, looking somewhat strained.

"And who's this?"

"Some unlucky guy who was being mind-controlled by who knows who. He attacked us just now, and we subdued him."

"Bring him out first. We're short on time."

Taco simply grabbed the contestant, who had regained his senses and was wailing nonstop, and ran out of the Restaurant as Himeko had instructed.

Just as the three reached the outside, the sixty-second countdown ended.

"Ms. Himeko, did something unexpected happen? Why the rush?"

Himeko said nothing. Her eyes were fixed on the center of the Restaurant, where a bowl of... enormous Pig Trotter Rice fell from the sky, smashed through the ceiling, and slammed into the floor.

"Ah... my hands... my legs... my head..."

"What's that?"

Taco scanned it with his smart glasses and obtained its information.

[Pig Trotter Rice King: Elevated to Level Three Danger by its sheer deliciousness. A certain contestant wasted far too much food, causing him to appear here. Enraged, he has sworn to utterly crush the impudent food-waster inside the Restaurant-although this introduction sounds high-minded, anyone with eyes can tell that this thing is actually inedible. Still, he really is delicious.]

"Wasting food? Does that mean those pizzas, burgers, and colas that wanted to eat us?"

Himeko nodded, confirming Taco's question.

"You two leave first. He's after me."

Taco glanced at Himeko again.

[Huaxia contestant: Himeko, Level Three Danger, mentally damaged, weakened, 9 minutes remaining.]

"Can you handle him... never mind, that was a pointless question. With our strength, we wouldn't be much help anyway."

"Um... I'm in a lot of pain. Does anyone know what happened?"

"Mm. Find somewhere safe first. I'll come find you after I deal with him."

Himeko held up the Monomolecular Saw, indicating that she could handle it.

"Don't forget, you're not alone."

Himechi Cat raised an identical briefcase. "I'm a navigator just like you, after all. How can I have so little presence?"

"Could you pay some attention to me, please, you three?"

"Of course. I knew you'd come with me."

"Have I gone mute, or have you gone deaf? Hey! Hello? Konnichiwa? Hallo? Bonjour?"

Only when the poor contestant on the ground had nearly shouted himself hoarse did Taco give him a kick.

"Quit yapping. We'll give you a couple of pills in a bit, and you'll be fine."

"So you can understand me! Will someone tell me what's going on?"

"You were being mind-controlled by someone. The person controlling you has probably already been dealt with by Ms. Himeko, but we've got bigger trouble now. Open your mouth."

Washana pried his mouth open and dumped an entire bottle of medicine into it.

"Cough, cough-water-I need water-"

"You're just going to heal him like that? I don't think that's a good idea. Better let him hurt a little longer and wait until the negative effects on Himeko wear off."

Taco completely ignored his half-dead appearance. With [Emergency Medicine] available, he wouldn't die.

"There's no need. Ms. Himeko is a very good judge of people. If she'd thought something was wrong, she'd have dealt with him immediately. Since she didn't, that means he's fine."

"Already following her blindly, huh?"

As the two spoke, they dragged the contestant, who had yet to recover fully, farther and farther back, finding a relatively safe spot.

Inside the Restaurant,

After appearing, the Pig Trotter Rice King immediately locked on to Himeko, the accomplished food-waster who had lured him out.

"Wasting... food... is shameful!!!"

The Pig Trotter Rice King roared, and a terrifying blast of air erupted around him with his cry.

"You're not human food, either."

Himeko felt that this Pig Trotter Rice that had come to life was rather presumptuous. In reality, no one would ever want to eat...

Thinking of people's mental state these days, Himeko decided against making such an absolute statement.

Better to leave some room.

"Battle is a meticulous design."

Himechi Cat whipped out a Monomolecular Saw formed through Imagenesis, flames igniting all over her body.

"Are you really going to be all right?"

Himeko hadn't forgotten that, besides the power of Imagenesis, Himechi Cat's body also contained a great many blocks of wax.

"Don't worry. Though our personalities might not quite match, I really am another you. You don't need to worry about my condition."

Himeko really wanted to say that she suspected Himechi Cat was putting on a brave face precisely because she was another version of herself reflected by the Wax Museum. But the situation no longer allowed them to keep dwelling on that question.

The enraged Pig Trotter Rice King had already charged at them with a roar, waving the Seasonal Vegetables in his hands and throwing enormous Braised Eggs as he ran.

"Here we go."

Himeko forced herself to rally. Gritting her teeth, she drove the flames along her saw blade into the rim of the Pig Trotter Rice King's bowl.

If this were the real world, and Himeko encountered a bowl in a restaurant that had fallen to the floor completely unscathed, without the slightest damage, she would certainly praise its manufacturer as an honest business that hadn't cut corners.

But now, Himeko only felt that there was no need to make a bowl so big or so hard.

Even the parts she cut open could repair themselves.

Is this ceramic? This looks like nanomaterial at the very least!

Although the Pig Trotter Rice King was a Level Three Danger, Himeko felt that the Rocking Ride she had faced at the beginning fell far short of him.

Over several exchanges, Himeko inflicted considerable damage on the Pig Trotter Rice, but he also used the Seasonal Bok Choy in his hands to send her flying like a baseball several times, splatting her against the wall.

Combined with the negative effects Pyramid Country had inflicted earlier and the mental attack that had yet to be resolved, she was already struggling to cope.

Himechi Cat was also limited by the materials making up her body. After several attacks, the high temperatures began to turn her soft and squishy, and her fluffy fur drooped.

Yet only five minutes had passed, with a full four minutes still remaining before the effects ended.

"Looks like I'll have to put preparing the Satellite Orbital Cannon on the agenda."

Himeko felt stifled, but there was nothing she could do.

She couldn't settle this with her fists anytime soon. If she kept clashing with him head-on, he could absolutely turn her into braised Himeko rice. Fighting it out had to be ruled out.

As for running away, he had been after her from the very beginning, and he was much faster than those previous two bowls of Pig Trotter Rice. Trying to escape in her current state was clearly not a wise decision.

She would definitely become Colonel Himeko Cubes once he caught up.

She had to find another way, think of some other trick.

By the time Himeko climbed up from the ground, she had an idea.