Chapter 49: Did You Become Beautiful Today?

Chapter 49: Did You Become Beautiful Today?

Cai Haitao squatted in the corner, his mouth greasy, his gaze blank but occasionally crazed, as if his whole life's meaning had been reduced to eating, listening to eating, and then becoming more and more beautiful.

Even though he looked like a living ball of meat, far from beautiful.

His condition made all the exiles who saw him change their expression, with some even starting to retch, finding him even harder to stomach than the food that tasted like pure fat.

"My God... is he, is he even human anymore?" Zhao Xiaofeng murmured to himself.

"...Who knows, but I definitely don't want to end up like that," Zhou Mo clenched his teeth, "All my brothers and sisters, keep an eye on me. If I ever start eating uncontrollably, you have to wake me up with a big slap!"

Although he didn't believe he'd get addicted to those greasy special foods, he never doubted the world's ultimate malice.

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other, then the more experienced ones grouped together, eating the special food in stages and order, firmly eliminating any chance of indulging in overeating.

Thus, in front of the Royal Dream Delicate Beauty Salon, several dozen exiles appeared, their faces twisted in agony, eating as if each bite was poison.

Even Chen was no exception, wearing a mask of pain along with everyone else.

How could food be so disgustingly greasy and unpalatable!

Yet, the tailcoat-wearing beautician continued to watch them as if watching a comedy, "Ah, why go to such lengths? Indulging in gourmet food to gain weight and beauty isn't as efficient as just getting surgery!

Surgery only requires lying on the operating table for half an hour to perfectly gain 20 pounds, isn't that better than eating these nutrient-lacking special foods?"

Chen stuffed another piece of cake into his mouth with an expressionless face, struggling to recover.

While gulping down a sickeningly sweet weight-gain cola, Lu Jun rolled his eyes, "Pfft! Don't think we don't know what you're up to! Going under the knife is far from safe!"

Eating something no matter how unpalatable is better than not knowing what they're filling your body with on the surgery table!

The former is only uncomfortable while eating, but the latter could have unknown risks that might catch you off guard.

The smile on the tailcoat-wearing beautician's face faded slightly: "I meant well, but if you're not appreciative, so be it."

"Then continue here, consuming twenty pounds of special food raw."

After saying this, he turned and entered the beauty salon, leaving behind a group of exiles with pained expressions, persistently eating greasy food.

It was then that Chen ate his third piece of chocolate, utterly lacking in sweetness, making his scalp tingle.

Finally, he could no longer hold it in and rolled his eyes skyward, ready to speak.

He had intended to take advantage of the world.

But he would rather eat himself.

"Increa-"

Snap.

“？”

Chen was startled, where did that snapping sound come from? And was that a flash?

Snap snap snap snap.

Quickly, Chen located the source of the sound—a colorful parrot, clutching a smartphone in its claw, frantically taking pictures of him!

Then, he immediately noticed the parrot's icy blue eyes.

At this moment, the parrot continued to fly around him, taking pictures, and shamelessly added voiceovers: "Look at me, beauty! Look at me, beauty!"

"360-degree flawlessness! A beauty slim as a reed!"

Chen Qiang: Ha.

This is not surprising at all, right?

Though the pervert's joy comes late, it's as if the entire land of exiles is this creature's ubiquitous playground of happiness.

On the parrot's third circle around Chen Qiang, Chen swiftly grabbed the noisy fellow, "Shut up. Turn off the phone!"

The parrot affectionately rubbed its head against Chen Qiang's palm, looking pleased, but its claw clung tightly to the special smartphone, continuing to take pictures.

What fun is there if the phone is turned off?

Just as Chen Qiang squinted, preparing to take forceful action, the citizens waiting to gain weight and become beautiful in the city of beauty cried out in surprise, looking at the parrot:

"Oh! The Beauty Discovery Officer!"

"Today the Beauty Discovery Officer actually came to our side to take pictures, what luck! I so want my beauty shot on the big screen!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Show off your best side! Oh no, I haven’t gained enough weight, I definitely won’t be photographed like this!"

"Move aside, everyone! Let me show off in front of the Beauty Discovery Officer! I already weigh 180 pounds!"

"Hey, you must treat the Beauty Discovery Officer of Beauty City well! Don't harm it, or you'll become the public enemy of Beauty City."

Chen Qiang's hand, initially poised for a stern reprimand, ended up giving the parrot a couple of vigorous head rubs.

"Hehe, of course, I'll treat it well. Very well, indeed!"

Protected by the citizens, the colorful parrot's blue eyes gleamed with pride as it perched on Chen Qiang's shoulder, continuing to take photos with one claw of the plump citizens parading by.

Throughout the day, Chen Qiang numbly observed the citizens growing progressively fatter before him, witnessing weight limits he'd never seen in reality, from 180 to an astounding 810 pounds.

When a "giant" weighing 810 pounds, using two crutches to move ponderously, requested a photo, even Bear Brother, standing next to him at 190 cm tall and green-faced from gaining 20 pounds, looked like a petite cutie.

Bear Brother was dumbfounded: "Now, I feel like I'm even thinner than yesterday."

Everyone remained silent.

It then dawned on Chen Qiang that there's a limit to how thin a person can get since bones and organs have a certain weight.

But it seems there's no upper limit to gaining weight, as long as the body can bear it, one can keep getting fatter.

However, that's not the point.

The crucial issue is, if all these citizens strive to get fatter, is their mere 20-pound weight gain inadequate?

The neighborhood aunt's morning advice was that gaining 20 pounds was the requirement to enter the community, not the criterion to avoid being deemed ugly.

When the citizens of Beauty City collectively grow fatter without limit, being normal becomes being extremely thin, and even slightly overweight is considered slender.

Chen Qiang suddenly noticed that the 810-pound hefty citizen across from him was staring at him with eyes squeezed to slits by flesh.

His heart skipped a beat and without thinking, he blurted out: "Gain thirty pounds." N-600

Originally lean, having lost fifteen pounds under the "thin is in" beauty standard, his weight had dropped to 120 pounds. Now, with an added thirty pounds, he visibly grew fatter, to the point where his clothes and waistband were nearly bursting.

Chen Qiang's mouth twitched as he quickly added: "Clothes two sizes larger."

Snap!

The parrot, now flying, excitedly captured his plumper appearance from all angles in a 360-degree photoshoot.

Chen Qiang gritted his teeth: "Get lost!"

The parrot joyfully rolled twice in the air: "Ah! Beauty! Even slightly chubby, you're at your most beautiful!"

Chen Qiang ignored the gleeful parrot, focusing intently on the super hefty citizen opposite him. Sure enough, the hefty citizen, about to speak, reluctantly closed his mouth, but his unhappy panting was still loud enough to be annoying.

"Hmph, only gained so little... You're far from being a beauty!"

Then, the hefty citizen stood still, surrounded by other fatties who were either one or two sizes slimmer than him, taking their cue from him and remaining motionless beside the exiles.

Compared to the citizens who prize thinness, resembling a porous fence of skeletal walls, the closely packed fatties now formed a flesh wall, sealing off space without any gaps.

It was oppressively imposing at first glance.

Chen Qiang didn't need to think too hard to guess that being trapped in a circle by these fatties meant there was no escape.

"...C-cousin, I think I might need to eat some more food to calm my nerves."

Lu Jun shivered a bit at the sight of these fatties.

The other exiles also looked on with caution.

Chen Qiang nodded: "Eat another ten pounds then."

"Even though we now have a beauty standard, don't forget, beauty is always relative."

It can even be said that it's the contrast that creates the concepts of beauty and ugliness, regardless of whether the subjects themselves have considered beauty or ugliness.

Everyone's heart sank, and then they started to eat the food painfully.

As they ate, everyone silently cried inside, relieved that this terrifying fat hell would only last for two days. Any longer, and they would collapse both physically and mentally.

As they miserably stuffed themselves with greasy food, Lu Lu and about a dozen other exiles formed a group and passed by them.

Or rather, they didn't just pass by; they came specifically to look, carrying an indescribable, secretive sentiment.

They didn't say anything, but the scorn and dismissiveness on their faces were all too clear.

Now, they looked drastically different from their straw-like thin selves from the day before; they had fattened up as quickly as possible, and it seemed they chose to directly fill their bodies with fillers at the beauty salon—

Because their current appearance was strikingly similar to those fattened citizens, just slightly smaller in size.

"...Lu Lu, how much weight have you all gained? Don't forget why you entered this city, and don't forget who you are," Yun Xia, as the leader of the natural group who knew most of the people in their gathering, couldn't help but speak out as she saw them looking almost like they had lost themselves.

However, her warning evidently fell on deaf ears.

Or it could be said that those who are ill never realize they're sick.

Lu Lu lifted her chin: "Of course, I know who I am. And I know what my mission is."

"All I need to do is follow the beauty standards of Beauty City for the next four weeks, become a beauty who isn't called ugly, and I'll survive! How hard can it be? I'll keep up with the trends and change as quickly as needed!"

"Instead, it's you who should stop dreaming of unrealistic world missions. No one can complete those!"

After saying this, Lu Lu and her group of exiles left, their backs exuding confidence and determination.

Yun Xia didn't say anything more; there was no need.

Only after everyone had gained thirty pounds did the citizens of Beauty City, resembling large meatballs, reluctantly make way for them to leave through a narrow path.

On their way back, everyone felt as if they were being chased and blocked by some terrifying force, running as fast as they could.

Chen Qiang wasn't any better off; the shock of the entire city transforming from skeletons to meatballs was overwhelming. Upon seeing a line of meatball aunties at the entrance of the community, he couldn't help but curse softly.

What kind of cursed world is this!

Lying in bed at night, Chen Qiang slapped away the colorful parrot sneaking under his blanket, aiming for his sensitive spots, and began to ponder life again.

He had thought that changing the beauty standard from seven days to two would buy him more time, at least enough to complete the survival task and consider how to initiate the world mission.

But today's city full of fatties made him realize he had been too optimistic.

He needed to find a chance to check the big screen again, to see if there was any room for adjustment.

Or find another way to break the game.

He had a premonition that in this world-devouring realm of supreme rule, even a two-day beauty standard could utterly doom someone.

And the beauty standards to follow would likely become increasingly... insurmountable.

Bad premonitions tend to come true.

Chen Qiang had a restless night and then directly witnessed the gruesome deaths of a dozen people the next morning—

It was still that square symbolizing beauty where the exiles had formed a habit of gathering.

Chen Qiang and others had just congregated and were again miserably stuffing themselves with oil in front of the Royal Dream Delicate Beauty Salon to gain weight.

Perhaps being fat rather than thin had this slight advantage—they no longer felt hungry, yet they couldn't bear the thought of eating anything else for the next month.

As everyone was desperately shoving food into their mouths, they saw from afar the 810-pound super fatty leading other mountain-like fatties towards them.

From their squinted eyes and earth-shaking steps, it was clear they meant no good.

The already green-faced exiles turned even greener. How had these relentless figures come back? Who knew what dreadful consequences would follow from being compared with this limitless group of super-sized fatties?

But now the city is filled with these moving meatballs, what can we do?

Then, everyone heard a soulful tip from Mouth Brother:

"What are you standing around for? Grab something and run! As long as they can't catch up to us, no matter how fierce they are, isn't that enough?"

The exiles, with bitter faces, quickly caught on, and Feng Tianhuo, with a face as round as a bun, suddenly laughed: "Hahaha, right, how did I forget this! Though I'm fat, I'm not so fat I can't move! Let those fatties get within five meters of me, and I'll consider it a loss!"

The other exiles also thought of the kite-flying tactic; those agile skeletal thin people were hard to dodge before, but aren't these waddling fat balls much easier to avoid?

They might be fat too, but compared to those fat balls, they're super agile beauties!

As long as they run fast enough, the terrifying contrast of fat and thin, beautiful and ugly, can't catch up to them!!

So, while stuffing as much weight-gaining special food into their arms as possible, they started to scatter and run in zigzag patterns, keenly observing their surroundings, trying to maintain a safe distance from any super-sized fatties.

Clearly, such a reaction caught the leading 810-pound fatty and his hefty companions off guard, making the mountain-like 810 unleash an unhappy roar: "Don't run! Stop and compete in beauty with me!"

Chen Qiang chuckled inwardly.

Lu Jun swayed his hips coquettishly: "Come on, fatty bro! Chase me! If you can catch up, I'll let you compete in beauty~"

Chen Qiang smacked Lu Jun on the back of his head, manually silencing him.

But the 810 and his entourage of 500+ were all fuming with rage, attempting to speed up the chase but unable to due to their massive sizes, eventually only able to glare as the more nimble smaller fatties weaved through the crowd of larger ones.

It was at this moment that the tragedy occurred.

For some reason, Lu Lu and the others who had made a round yesterday decided to show up again today.

Perhaps they felt that yesterday's show-off or confrontation wasn't enough.

So, today, after getting beautified at the beauty salon, they once again arrived in front of the Royal Dream Delicate Beauty Salon.

Only, when they slowly approached, they found no one there.

"Where is everyone?"

"Seems like they've all dispersed?"

"What happened?"

The exiles started looking around, bewildered, not realizing that they had somehow ended up standing alongside the group of 500+ fat balls.

When Lu Lu looked up, she saw a citizen in front of her resembling a massive ball of meat, and as their eyes met, Lu Lu's heart skipped a beat, feeling an intense unease.

She turned to leave but suddenly went pale, clutching her heart, while feeling her legs and limbs stiffen.

"What's happening? Why do I feel so weak and unable to move?"

Lu Lu cried out in panic.

Several exiles nearby also felt their bodies stiffen and slow, along with sharp pains emanating from their organs.

"Oh dear, you went to Dream Delicate Beauty Salon for painless weight gain, didn't you?" The tailcoat-wearing beautician's voice coolly sounded, "Dared to visit that black-hearted beauty salon that's always imitated us but never surpassed?"

"Did they offer you weight gain along with some 'energy points'? Didn't you think if pies fall from the sky? The toxic garbage oils and fillers they used on you must be poisonous."

"Now you see, the side effects have appeared, right?"

"Better lie flat and stay still, you might still save your lives. Whether you live or die... well, that's down to your luck."

Following the tailcoat-wearing beautician's words, Lu Lu and others who had gained weight at the beauty salon were now lying on the ground, gasping in pain.

First, Lu Lu's chubby cheeks and pillar-like limbs began to show black spots, rotting and oozing pus, followed by another exile next to her convulsing, vomiting, screaming, and rolling on the ground in agony.

The others weren't much better off; some vomited black blood, while others suddenly found their limbs so weak that lifting an arm caused the bones to snap in half.

From a distance, Lu Jun and other exiles who had come running could only gasp in shock at the sight of each person in worse condition than the last.

"My God!"

Just as Lu Jun exclaimed, among the howling exiles, one who seemed to suffer milder symptoms stumbled to his feet, his face smeared with tears and snot, reaching out towards Chen Qiang:

"Save me, please save me! I don't want to—ugh!"

As he staggered forward, he accidentally bumped into the massive fatty mountain of a citizen, the 810-pounder.

Then, somewhat dazedly lifting his head, he saw the corpulent citizen smile at him before a giant meaty palm came crashing down.

"Move! Get out of the way!"

With just that slap, the exile was sent flying and smashed against the wall of the Royal Dream Delicate Beauty Salon.

Then, all the surrounding exiles witnessed the round body hit the wall and instantly burst into a grotesque bloom of flesh and blood.

Like a... soup dumpling with a thin skin smashed against the wall into a pulp.

"Ahhhhhhh—"

Someone screamed unbearably.

Amidst this scream, Chen Qiang forcefully shut his eyes.

Damn it.

He had to destroy this cursed world of beauty.

Snap.

A colorful parrot snapped a photo capturing the various expressions of the exiles.

"Ah, it seems these people aren't very lucky, are they?"