Chapter 28: Can't Stop Eating the Delicious

Bereft of the loyal white fish willing to die for him, Chen Sixin could only exchange gazes with the large octopus behind the giant glass wall.

This octopus remained because of its sheer size and ferocity, proving too challenging for refugees to handle, even as a group.

Moreover, with few dishes requiring its culinary use, and other seafood already taken, it swam unchallenged.

But its dominance ends here,

Lacking Atlantic salmon, Chen Sixin still had to select the freshest ingredients for his meals to avoid hunger.

Thus, let this octopus too experience the power of desperation.

"Kid, stop staring at that octopus. Just now, several people tried to catch it and all failed, not to mention two got seriously injured and nearly strangled to death.

While there’s still time, better hurry and find something edible like carrots or potatoes. Making a meal is better than going mad with hunger and resorting to cannibalism at midnight."

A refugee, proudly holding a piece of fresh pork rib, kindly offered his advice.

Chen Sixin glanced at him, recognizing the familiar face – the motorcycle guy who could transform tractors with his hands using his power.

He smiled at him and approached the aquarium's glass wall to earnestly speak.

"Mighty octopus, you look so formidable and chewy. Please, crawl into the basket yourself and let me eat you!"

The motorcycle youth holding the pork rib: ???

Then, to his astonishment, he saw the previously ferocious octopus, likely aged fifty years, tremble as if struck by something, its eight tentacles parting in the tank to form two rows, then bending to shape four large hearts.

The next moment, all eight limbs simultaneously propelled it to the water's surface, and then, like a whirlwind, it squeezed into the shopping cart that seemed too small to contain it.

However, due to the octopus's natural inclination to squeeze into tight spaces, it successfully wedged itself into the cart, even extending a tentacle to delicately coil around Chen Sixin's clothing hem.

Shyly, as if holding hands.

Motorcycle youth: "Holy... cow."

He had never before seen or heard of such a harmless yet terrifying ability!

As Chen Sixin lifted the basket and turned around, the motorcycle youth instinctively stepped back: "Don't talk to me, okay! I will never voluntarily come to you to be eaten!"

Chen Sixin: . Forced smile.jpg

If I really did speak to you, your fate would be uncertain.

Dragging the cart, he walked away but stopped after two steps, turning back to the motorcycle youth: "You seem to be from the Thunderbolt Team, right? Does the Thunderbolt Team have any good strategies for surviving in this devouring world?"

The motorcycle youth wasn't surprised by this question.

After all, nearly fifteen hundred refugees from their gathering place were swallowed by a high-level devourer in the Culinary Capital this time.

The three most powerful teams in the gathering place were the Thunderbolt Team, the Nature Team, and the Mutual Aid Society.

It was only natural for other scattered refugees to seek their help and guidance.

However, Tiger Brother, Cloud Sister, and White Spirit, the leaders of the three teams, and eleven third-level refugees had already met to discuss and concluded that apart from those vile methods of sacrificing lives, which the high-level devourers always seemed to force upon them, they haven't thought of any other way to complete the survival tasks normally.

Using others' lives to save their own.

The devouring worlds of high-level devourers are always so despicable and shameless.

But if given a choice, they still wouldn't want to survive by "eating others." Once they start, they might someday become those monstrous beings that eat humans.

"Sorry, brother, we haven't figured out a way yet."

"But we still have two days; we can all try a bit harder. If all else fails, maybe we'll forcefully trigger a world quest. Our gathering place boasts fourteen third-level refugees!"

"Together, it's not like we can't go head-to-head."

"Too bad we couldn't find Chen Sixin. If he were here to pray for us all, there'd probably be an 80% chance of directly counter-killing successfully."

Chen Sixin himself: .

"Even with his prayers, without finding the core, it's pointless, isn't it?"

Besides, a bunch of noobs fighting what boss? He might as well do it himself.

The motorcycle youth choked: "There must be a way out when the car reaches the mountain! I refuse to believe I'll die here!"

"...Yeah, you won't die here, but your forehead looks dark. Be careful today."

Luo Bu's voice emerged faintly beside them, startling the motorcycle youth.

"Damn, you fake fortune-teller! Don't curse me!"

After saying this, he paused for a moment: "3 energy points, how to break the curse?"

It was clear the two knew each other.

Luo Bu chuckled: "Stay away from water."

Then he eagerly approached Chen Sixin: "Brother Sixin! Let me help you push the cart!"

"Wow, such a fierce octopus today! Brother Sixin, you really have a way with seafood! So charismatic!"

Chen Sixin: ...

Motorcycle youth: Damn.

He had never seen the so-called fortune teller be so obsequious.

But what was stranger was the innocent-faced young man.

He felt somewhat familiar yet couldn't recall ever seeing this face, and he knew everyone in the gathering place well. Was this person new, having arrived just a few days ago?

With this slight doubt, the motorcycle youth left.

The young man's ability seemed interesting but appeared only effective on seafood and animals, likely not much help for their situation.

Meanwhile, Chen Sixin, Luo Bu, and Fish Brother had already regrouped at the entrance of the food market, with Fish Brother clutching a small bag of flour and three potatoes, complaining bitterly as he arrived.

"This is all the edible stuff we managed to grab."

"This supermarket is utterly ruthless. Today, they only had a total of 100 kilograms of staple foods like rice and flour. I fought tooth and nail just to grab 200 grams of flour."

"But with this flour, we should be—holy crap! What on earth is this?!"

Fish Brother turned to see the giant octopus squished into the cart, its tens of kilograms of wriggling red flesh was quite the visual shock!

Chen Sixin bashfully said, "This is a kind-hearted giant octopus that will help us overcome our hunger."

The octopus waved all eight of its tentacles, forming four hearts.

Correct! The fish volunteered itself!

Quick, let's eat it! Then we'll be united in flesh and spirit!

Fish Brother took a deep breath.

Despite having killed fish for ten years at Big Runfa, he had never encountered such ferocity.

The trio quickly returned to the Royal Restaurant.

Upon entering the kitchen, they were greeted with stares from everyone.

Even the tuxedo-clad chef, who had been waiting there, couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he saw the octopus, which had clambered from the cart to the metal table to form hearts.

"…You really are exceptionally charming."

This giant octopus, known as the most difficult to deal with ingredient in the food market, had now climbed onto the table by itself.

This human is quite extraordinary.

However, the tuxedo-clad chef smiled again at the sight of the octopus: "I recall you ordered sashimi salmon. If the wrong dish is served, it will be marked as a failure."

Chen Sixin nodded: "I'm aware. I'll make an effort to find fish earlier tomorrow. Let's just accept today's failure."

The chef's lips curled up in pleasure instantly.

That smile was utterly genuine, even malicious.

"What a pity. I wish you all the best for tomorrow."

Chen Sixin squinted at his smile.

Given today's competitive situation at the supermarket, he feared he wouldn't find any salmon tomorrow.

Thus, he was certain he wouldn't complete the task in the City of Gourmet.

As Chen Sixin pondered, eight people walked into the restaurant in succession.

The others who were still alive gasped when they entered.

Chen Sixin looked up, also startled—

Among these eight, one was the fried chicken uncle who was excluded from the second-floor resting area last night and had vanished this morning; the remaining seven were those who had gone mad with hunger in the resting area last night, attempted murder, and then fled.

They hadn't shown up in the kitchen restaurant this morning, and Chen Sixin hadn't seen them at the food market either, thinking they would continue to hide. Yet now, they had appeared.

Each of them was still holding a piece of meat.

But they look far too different from yesterday!

These eight people were not exactly vibrant and robust yesterday, but they were at least healthy, youthful individuals.

Now, each one has dark circles under their eyes, protruding bones, as if they lost half their flesh overnight, not yet skeletal but thin to the brink of health.

"What on earth happened?"

"Terrifying!"

The others whispered among themselves.

Yet, the eight paid no heed, like eight dangerously ominous spirits, proceeding directly to the long table to chop meat.

Chen Sixin's eyelids twitched at the sight of the meat being chopped.

Even though these pieces of meat no longer bore the clear characteristics of being human, a close look at their size, texture, and flesh revealed their true nature.

The chunks of meat in the hands of the eight could, perhaps, just manage to piece together a human form.

Chen Sixin: ...

Thus, the answer to the resting chair in the resting room, stained with blood but missing its occupant, was found.

The singing girl couldn't bear it; she turned and covered her mouth.

Tang Yuan's face turned pale.

If she hadn't forcefully eaten that plate of salmon yesterday, would she be like these people now?

She'd rather die!

Everyone recognized the issue, but by then, it was too late to stop those engulfed in their hunger for "delicacies."

The few who remained lucid silently prepared their own meals, acting with caution to avoid any mishaps.

Meanwhile, the eight had begun their cooking. As the meat, cut into chunks or sliced, was fried and sautéed, an irresistible fragrance gradually filled the kitchen of the restaurant.

“……”

No one spoke, yet nearly everyone found themselves involuntarily taking a deep breath.

Could it be this aromatic?

Too aromatic, indeed...

Compared to this aroma, what garbage were they cooking?

The dishes prepared by the eight were completed one by one, and the unique aroma in the restaurant grew stronger and more tempting.

As Chen Sixin was frying octopus tentacles, he noticed Tang Yuan and Fish Brother dropping their knives, drawn towards the direction of the eight, while Fish Brother and the singing girl, though still in place, couldn’t help but glance over incessantly.

He looked their way.

Before anyone realized, half of the people had gathered around the eight, their eyes fixed on the delicacies laid out on the long table, incessantly swallowing saliva.

"It smells so good..."

"It smells really, really good!"

"Let me have a taste, just one bite?"

The eight grinned, "Eat up."

"Such a delicacy, irresistibly delicious!"

Immediately, hands reached out to grab the meat, aiming to shove it into their mouths.

Chen Sixin, watching their behavior, put down his knife and lowered his eyes.

"Power to lift mountains, spirit to cover the world."

Then, he grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it upwards with force!

Boom!!!

The heavy metal dining table, along with all the dishes on it, crashed through the restaurant’s ceiling, creating a huge hole before falling back down through it.

It landed in front of a group of people, leaving them dumbfounded.

The seemingly harmless-looking young man revealed a vicious, cold smile at this moment, completely at odds with his appearance.

"Enjoy eating air."

The smile froze on the face of the tuxedo-clad chef.

The black cat, just returning from a stroll outside, slipped, executed a 360-degree leap, and mentally applauded the delicious drama unfolding.

Truly worthy of being the unparalleled delicacy it fancied!

It smells even more fragrant now.

Without the temptation of gourmet food, the dozen or so people who had just thought about eating human flesh suddenly came to their senses, showing expressions of having survived a catastrophe.

However, the eight people who had used human flesh as food went from stunned to instantly crazed.

"How dare you flip the table!"

"Ahhhh! You actually dared to smash my gourmet food!!"

"You're dead!"

"You're dead, you're dead!!"

"I'll eat you, eat you, eat you!!!"

These eight individuals collectively lost their sanity and unleashed their most potent abilities against Chen, but Chen turned and ran, knowing no one could catch him if he didn't want them to.

However, once outside, he realized he no longer needed to run; the dozen or so sober individuals in the restaurant were joining forces to subdue the eight who had gone mad.

Then, standing outside the restaurant, he heard cries of alarm and chaos emanating from neighboring or opposite restaurants.

Clearly, the other exiles grouped in this Gourmet City were not faring any better.

He stood at the entrance of the Royal Restaurant, inhaling the world's irresistibly exotic fragrance and witnessing the world's endless malice.

"Alas, it seems most guests who come to Gourmet City fail to gain its approval."

A familiar sardonic voice reached his ears.

The tuxedoed chef approached him.

"Perhaps being devoured is their eternal fate."

Chen clicked his tongue in response.

"I know a guy from a royal hotel who also loves to wear slit dresses and always has a sharp tongue. Do you know what happened to him?"

The tuxedoed chef: ……

"What happened?"

Chen sneered, "He gave me a gold card. Even acknowledged me as his boss."

"But I found him too tacky to keep."

The tuxedoed chef: ………………

Who acknowledged you as their boss?! Who acknowledged you as their boss?!

"I mention this just to tell you."

"Silence is golden."

"And who said they can't gain approval?"

"This time, the one who gains approval will be the finest in Gourmet City."

After saying this, Chen returned to the restaurant.

Then, looking at the remaining sober individuals who had tied up the eight madmen but didn’t know what to do next, he flashed an innocently harmless smile:

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems the usual methods won't suffice for completing the survival task."

"How about we... pull off a big one?"

The room paused, and heads slowly lifted.

What's this? Why does it sound so familiar? As if heard somewhere before.

Loquat rubbed his face: "How? And on whom?!"

Chen smiled.

That afternoon, the dozen or so people from the royal restaurant visited the eateries where the exiles were gathered.

Sneakily gathering crowds to whisper something.

Every restaurant chef frowned, sensing an ominous vibe but unable to eavesdrop on their whispers.

They could only see those faces, initially angry and frustrated, transforming through shock, then conflict, and finally into excitement.

And hear them gritting their teeth with excited expressions, saying:

"Let's do it!"

The chefs: ……

What exactly are you planning to do! What on earth?!

That night, three hundred people willing to take a risk appeared at the entrances of various restaurants, their heads covered, and saw the figure leading them in the dark, gleaming with a golden light—

A person wearing a golden fish head mask. Next to him, a black cat was vigorously licking the mask.

The golden fish head spoke in a deep voice, raising his middle finger high:

"Brothers, no need to say or ask anything, just follow me and act! I guarantee you'll make it through!"

Three hundred people raised their middle fingers together.

Let's do this!

Then, the City of Gourmet encountered the most unprecedentedly rebellious group in its history tonight.