Chapter 23

The single room in the guesthouse, like this eerie place, provided no sense of security.

Of course, it’s not that it was drafty or unable to shield from the wind and rain.

On the contrary, the walls of the room were tightly enclosed, and the narrow, dim corridor outside the door led to a dead-end. There was no other way out besides the stairs leading back to the living room. If any danger were to occur, there would be no escape.

Feeling uneasy, Xiyu checked every possible place, confirming that there were no hidden rules as the system had mentioned. Only then did they sit down on the hard earthen platform, carefully examining the few gold coins: Could these items really be for exchanging for tools with Lily?

...No, wait!

The tour guide, Xu Lei, had mentioned that wherever the army ants passed, only bones remained. So, how could there be bodies with flesh and blood left for Lily to turn into strange objects?

At least one of them must be lying.

Just as they were deep in thought, there was a sudden knock on the wooden door.

Xiyu hid the gold coins and called out, "Come in."

However, the one who entered was not any of the players, but an unfamiliar, gentle woman.

She looked to be around thirty years old, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, her hair arranged in a soft braided style. She smiled and bowed, "Hello, guests. Welcome to stay."

As she spoke, she brought in a fruit plate.

The oranges on the plate were shriveled and wrinkled, with ominous black spots decorating them.

Xiyu remained silent for a moment, then looked towards the bucket and mop outside the door.

"I’m responsible for the cleaning at Yue Sheng Guesthouse. If your room is dirty, just shake this and call me," the woman said, touching a suspicious rope hanging by the bed.

"Okay, what's your name?" Xiyu blinked.

The woman seemed to ponder for a moment before answering, "You can call me Aunt Qing. I'm from a minority group, and my name is hard to remember."

Xiyu blinked again, "A minority group?"

The woman, who called herself Aunt Qing, smiled and nodded. "My ancestors have lived in Wasteland City for generations, making a living by working as housemaids for wealthy families. Wasteland City has many minority groups. Haven’t you been there before?"

Xiyu pretended to be interested. "Really? So what minority group are you from? I’m sure everyone in your tribe must be as beautiful as you."Aunt Qing seemed a bit embarrassed: "It's one thing if others say nonsense, but I can't accept such flattery from you."

As soon as her words finished, a child suddenly ran past the door like a gust of wind.

"A Lan, don’t disturb the guests!" Aunt Qing turned around and shouted urgently, then nervously looked down and apologized: "Sorry, that’s my adopted son A Lan. He’s usually very well-behaved and won’t disturb you."

Saying this, the woman wiped her hands on her apron and hurriedly went after the child.

Xiyu followed to the door and indeed saw Aunt Qing grabbing a little monkey boy.

The boy was covered in dust, struggling and wriggling as he was held: "Mom, Mom, let go of me."

Aunt Qing scolded, "Stop it, there are many important guests today."

"It’s okay, being naughty is part of being a child. Let him play," Xiyu generously replied.

Only then did Aunt Qing let go of A Lan, who blinked his big, shiny eyes and looked at Xiyu warily.

Xiyu patiently squatted down, awkwardly fumbling through his coat for a moment before finally taking off a decorative scarf and saying, "Nice to meet you, this is for you. I didn’t bring many fun things on this trip."

A Lan stood frozen, letting Xiyu tie the red scarf with black stars on him, suddenly looking like a well-behaved student.

Xiyu smiled, "Go play now."

A Lan seemed unsure of how to respond to this affection, awkwardly shrinking his neck and quickly running upstairs.

Xiyu stood up and explained to Aunt Qing: "Please don’t mind. There are no children where I come from. I really like kids."

"How can there be no children? Do you live in a military zone?" Aunt Qing asked, puzzled.

Xiyu casually responded, "Something like that."

"Oh, look at me, I forgot the time. The manager asked you all to remember to have dinner, or there won’t be any supper," Aunt Qing said, feeling embarrassed about her impolite words. She shyly added, "The traffic near the New Wilderness Desert is really bad, and food is scarce."

Xiyu nodded, "Alright, thank you for the hospitality."

Aunt Qing finally smiled with relief. Her face was gentle and harmless, but the dim light above her head cast a frightening shadow on it.

The fried rice, mixed with black particles, the purple vegetables floating in greenish soup, and the dark, glossy mysterious stir-fried dish took up the majority of the table... it was truly unbearable.When Xiyu arrived, the other players were already seated. He hesitated as he looked at the unappetizing dinner and couldn't help but estimate the possibility of starving for five days.

A young boy standing near the dining table lowered his head awkwardly: "The delivery truck only comes once a week, and fresh vegetables are hard to keep, so we mainly have mushrooms. Although it doesn’t look great, the taste is okay. Please don’t be angry."

Xiyu glanced at his messy, curly hair, which was as unsettled as his mood, and politely asked, "Who are you?"

The young boy replied, "I'm Lin Ye, I’m working here as a waiter during the winter break. You can call me Xiao Lin."

"The place isn’t big, but there are quite a few staff members," Xiyu thought for a moment and asked, "So... there should be a chef?"

Lin Ye paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, actually, Brother Wang is a good cook, but it’s a pity there’s no ingredients for him to work with."

Qian Lu, tired of hearing all these excuses, impatiently slammed his chopsticks down: "Where are all these excuses coming from? Isn’t it your duty to serve something edible to the guests? It looks disgusting, who could eat that?"

Wu Zhi whispered, "It’s just a game, it’s all fake, why get so angry?"

"Anyway, it’s a game, what does the NPC know?" Qian Lu rolled his eyes.

Lin Ye didn’t react to their words, just nervously fidgeting with the corner of his clothes: "There’s nothing I can do..."

"If you want to eat, eat. If it doesn’t suit your taste, just leave the group," Lily's voice finally emerged from behind the counter. "Xiao Lin, tell the staff it’s time to eat."

Lin Ye, as if grabbing onto a lifeline, immediately ran off.

Qian Lu stood up, holding a fork: "You run this place, what’s with your sarcastic tone? Be careful, I won’t be nice to you!"

To his surprise, Lily immediately pulled out a gun from behind the counter: "What do you want, sir? The contract clearly states the food standards, and if you get physical with me, I have the right to defend myself."

The players: "…"

Seeing the situation escalate quickly, Wu Zhi pulled Qian Lu back down and muttered, "Stop it, please."

Qian Lu, her beautiful face filled with displeasure, finally gave in and closed her mouth, still unwilling but silenced by the weapon.

Luckily, at that moment, Xu Lei appeared, rubbing her eyes, and helplessly reassured them: "You already knew the harsh conditions of the New Wilderness Desert. There’s no need to make a fuss now. If you don’t like it, leave the group; otherwise, accept the reality. It’s not really about the food, what matters is that you’re here to visit the scenic spots."

Zhao Zhusheng, who had been enjoying the spectacle, spread his hands and said: "Fine, so we’re eating this garbage three times a day?"

Xu Lei replied, "It’s two meals, breakfast and dinner."As she was speaking, Qing Yi had already dragged A Lan over and seated him at the corner of a nearby table.

Soon, a burly man resembling a small mountain brought over a set of identical food and silently placed it in front of the staff, before finding a seat for himself.

He reeked of raw meat and decaying vegetables, which was extremely unpleasant.

This must be Chef Wang.

Xiyu subtly observed him, then pondered: tour guide, cleaner, waiter, child, chef... Five players and five NPCs. What kind of game could they play together?

Unfortunately, before he could come to any conclusions, Qian Lu's noise escalated again: "Are you kidding? Didn't you say there were no fresh ingredients? Are you lying to us?"

Still sitting at the counter, Lily looked innocent, holding an alluring strawberry between her black nails, and frowned as she said, "I bought this with my own money. You guys didn’t pay me extra."

Qian Lu: "..."

Lily served the entire plate of strawberries: "Two gold coins, I'll sell them to you, unlimited."

"Forget it, these gold coins must be useful for something else, no need to spend them on food," Zhou Fangfang said, trying to persuade with a headache.

Qian Lu sat down, still angry.

Their argument caused no ripple in Xiyu’s mind, and he even felt a bit confused: had these streamers forgotten the reset crisis? Why were they so easily distracted by trivial matters?

...But then again, it was also understandable.

After all, how much difference is there for a doomed artificial person between streaming one show or a hundred?

Qian Lu seemed to have the worst temper, but perhaps she was the most fragile inside.

Her deliberate outbursts were probably just a way to cover up her anxiety.

Thinking of this, Xiyu smiled, picked up his spoon, and quietly began his dinner. In fact, as Lin Ye had said, although the meal didn’t look great, it was still bearable to eat.

Lily chewed the strawberry in her mouth and said, "At least some of you are reasonable. These days, customers are harder and harder to please."

Hunger itself isn’t scary, it’s the weakness that hunger brings that’s deadly.

In reality, everyone understood this, and with no other choice, they followed Xiyu and began eating their dinner.The dim yellow lightbulb on the table swayed, casting strange shadows on the cups, plates, and a withered flower.

Zhou Fangfang, who had been eating without tasting, hesitated for a long time before speaking softly: "Have you found the rules?"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

At the nearby table, the staff of the guesthouse were just mechanically devouring their food, showing no reaction at all.

Zhou Fangfang peeked over, then pulled out a round metal piece from her pocket. "I found one hidden in my blanket."

Everyone immediately focused on her. The metal piece had intricate demon drawings engraved on it, with small text along the edges.

[Rule #1: Money is life]

Zhou Fangfang put the metal piece back and bit her chopsticks, saying, "I don't know what this means."

"Is it telling us to make more money?" Wu Zhi scratched his head.

"At least don't lose the money," Zhao Zhusheng said with a faint smile.

Qian Lu muttered, "I wonder if there’s money in the boss’s cash register..."

Zhao Zhusheng finally lost his patience, "Can you stop being so clueless? Do you want to get shot by that NPC before you're happy?"

With the strange environment and the hostility from the team, Qian Lu’s expression worsened.

Xiyu forced a few more bites of food down, swallowing dryly, then stood up, saying, "I’m done eating. You guys continue talking."

Wu Zhi almost followed him but managed to resist.

Xiyu, of course, wanted to check out other rooms in the guesthouse and look for more rules. Unfortunately, by this time, Lily had finished the strawberries and was standing in the middle of the living room with a gun, saying, "It’s time to rest. All of you go back to your rooms. No matter what sounds you hear, don’t come out until the sun rises, and you’ll get a wake-up call. Understood?"

In "Crimson Demon Blade," players were also locked up at scheduled times.

So, none of them had much of a reaction, especially since the worn-out door of the guesthouse creaked for no apparent reason, making eerie sounds in the dead of night.

Wu Zhi, nervous, said, "Could it be the ants are coming?"

Lily flashed a brilliant smile, her tiger teeth gleaming in the dim light: "That’s a regular occurrence. Just follow the rules, or... be careful and become my merchandise."