Give Me the Supreme Set Meal

Xin Jiu asked in confusion, "A massage?"

"Yes," Xiongxiong said with a smile. "Our massage therapists are very skilled. A massage can increase your strength stat by 1."

Xin Jiu nodded. "Sure. When can I go?"

Xiongxiong pulled up a schedule. "The earliest slot is from seven to nine tonight. Tomorrow, any time is available."

"Seven, then."

"Certainly. Someone will come to your room to escort you at that time."

Under the envious gazes of the other players, Xin Jiu followed a little guide bear to her sea-view room.

The players crowded forward to ask about the massage fee. When they learned it cost a thousand points per session, most gave up. They couldn't help it-they were simply too strapped for points.

The VIP sea-view room was a detached wooden cabin.

The room wasn't particularly large, but it was exquisitely designed. Through the glass floor, she could see the waves moving below. Farther out, the sea sparkled, and she could even see seagulls flying past.

There were jet skis, beach chairs, umbrellas, and so on along the beach.

Everything was so beautiful that Xin Jiu, who had just left a dungeon, found it unreal.

She admired the view for a while, took a shower, changed into a bathrobe, and flopped onto the bed.

The mattress was soft, and the covers smelled of sunshine. She stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then pulled up her panel and opened the chat channels.

There were three channels in total: the World Channel, the Nine Provinces Channel, and the Private Chat Channel.

Xin Jiu clicked into the Nine Provinces Channel.

[Nine Provinces Channel players online: 38,567,842]

Millions of messages had already flooded the channel.

Truly terrifying.

[Everyone, guess what the next dungeon will be! Will it be the polar region?]

[The order's all scrambled. Who knows?]

[Has anything good shown up in your shops? I got a B-rank spear, but it costs three thousand points. I can't afford it!]

[I need amoxicillin capsules. Is anyone selling? I'm willing to pay three hundred points.]

[The resort rooms are so expensive. I asked Xiongxiong if five people could share a standard room, and Xiongxiong told me to sleep on the beach if I didn't have points. My life is so hard...]

[You've given me an idea. I'll sleep on the beach tonight and use the points I save to buy items.]

[Good idea!]

Xin Jiu skimmed a few messages and was about to leave when her finger accidentally slipped.

[(Smiling emoji)]

"..."

The channel instantly exploded.

[Holy shit, number one! It's number one!!]

[Even number one's font looks better than ours. It glows, too.]

[Jiu'er, sis, look at me! I'm your long-lost little brother! Sis!!!]

[Number one, can I add you as a friend?!!]

[Sis, why can't I send you a friend request? Sis! Are you still there?]

[I'm Xin Yue. Hurry up and add me. I need twenty thousand points!]

Before Xin Jiu could even make out what they were saying, the messages had already scrolled out of sight.

That included Xin Yue's message, of course.

[Notice: To protect expert players' privacy, the system has enabled anti-harassment mode for you. Players ranked in the top five hundred will not receive friend requests from players outside the top five hundred, but may add other players themselves by searching for their IDs.]

There was even an anti-harassment mode. Pretty nice.

Heartless Dao Dabao and Hash Brown Heavy Dependence were also resting in sea-view rooms.

Heartless Dao Dabao's real name was Sang Yi.

She had bought a bottle of Moutai for 3,000 points from the resort shop and sat by the window, leisurely drinking as she admired the sea.

The Moutai was a little strong and left her a bit tipsy, so she decided to switch to beer tomorrow.

A casual glance brought the messages in the Nine Provinces Channel into view.

They certainly could chat, and they were so noisy... Wait, number one had posted?

Sang Yi sat up straight and tried to scroll back to look, but the players were too enthusiastic. Tens of thousands of messages had poured in within less than a minute.

Sang Yi was a little angry.

She searched for Xin Jiu's ID.

A little golden crown icon followed Xin Jiu's ID-the honor awarded to the global number one.

It was so pretty... She wanted one too.

Her finger hovered over the add friend button for a long while without pressing it.

What should I say after adding her?

Hello... Would that be too formal?

How did you get so many points?

So stupid.

Sang Yi ruffled her hair in irritation. In the end, she still didn't add Xin Jiu, muttering haughtily, "She's number one this round, but she might not be next round. If I take first place, maybe she'll add me herself."

Hash Brown Heavy Dependence was hesitating too.

Xin Jiu used her real name in the game. He had followed her during the open beta and knew she had climbed to the twenty-fifth floor in the first year after launch, but she seemed to have spent a year grinding through the last five floors.

Some people said she was stuck, while others said she had actually cleared the game long ago and simply hadn't made it public.

He had watched many of Xin Jiu's livestreams.

His intuition told him she had probably cleared it.

He had only reached the twenty-third floor himself and knew next to nothing about the later stages.

After hesitating for two minutes, he decided to add Xin Jiu as a friend.

But during those two minutes, almost every player in the top five hundred had sent Xin Jiu a friend request.

Faced with the densely packed requests, Xin Jiu opted for out of sight, out of mind and closed the friend request screen.

Hash Brown waited nervously.

Five minutes later, there was no response.

Ten minutes later, there was still no response.

He cried out, "Seriously? Even seventh place isn't good enough for you?!"

After resting for half an hour, Xin Jiu changed and was about to go out for a meal when she caught sight of the blue-and-white employee badge on the table.

It had appeared out of thin air after she submitted her evaluation in the previous dungeon.

[Game Inspector: Xin Jiu]

It really did look like a corporate slave's employee badge.

She put the badge in her pocket and went to the resort restaurant.

The restaurant was huge and lavishly decorated, looking much like a modern Michelin restaurant.

As soon as she sat down, an Xiongxiong waiter handed her a menu.

[Economy set meal: rice + one meat dish and two vegetable dishes + soup (200 points)]

[Standard set meal: rice + two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes + seafood soup + dessert (500 points)]

[Deluxe set meal: rice + three meat dishes and four vegetable dishes + any soup + dessert + a set beverage (1,000 points)]

[Supreme set meal: prepared on-site by a chef, premium ingredients, premium flavors, your choice of beverage (1,500 points)]

There was another line in small print at the bottom of the menu.

[For consumption within the service area only.]

"I'll have the supreme set meal."

The Xiongxiong waiter's eyes lit up, and it said respectfully, "Please wait a moment. The chef will begin preparing your meal right away. For drinks, we have red wine, brandy, freshly squeezed juice, and Mou..."

"Blueberry juice will do."

"Certainly."

There were quite a few players in the restaurant, most of whom had chosen the cheap economy set meal.

When they saw Xin Jiu order the supreme set meal, they began whispering among themselves.

Xin Jiu didn't mind their discussion. According to Meow-Meow-chan's explanation, players who knew her wouldn't recognize her face in the next dungeon, so it didn't matter if she was a little conspicuous.

The food was soon served.

It certainly lived up to the price.

The appetizer was a caviar taco, and the main course was premium Wagyu beef, with lobster among the side dishes. An Xiongxiong chef even stood beside her making sushi on the spot.

Xin Jiu ate at an unhurried pace.

The players looked at their economy set meals, with their two small plates of vegetables and few slices of meat, and sorrow welled up within them.

They really wanted Wagyu beef and lobster too...

When she had nearly finished eating.

The brown Xiongxiong waiter stepped forward and bowed.

"Honored guest, your reserved royal spa treatment is about to begin. Would it be convenient for you to go now, or would you like to rest a little longer?"