Chapter 111

Chapter 111

"Sorry, but these are all that's left now."

Ji Xinghai silently looked at the menu filled with red crosses. Despite the restaurant being practically empty, by nearly one o'clock, only the unpopular dishes remained.

That was bad enough, but the prices were exorbitant. Even with his current wealth, he couldn't indulge freely.

Actually, along the way, he had seen three restaurants of varying sizes, many of which already had students eating inside, heads down, furiously consuming their meals with knives and forks.

However, Ji Xinghai only stopped when he reached this particular restaurant.

"Is the famous 'Stargazing' dish still available?"

"Hahaha, you must be joking, sir. This is a well-known delicacy." The cat girl laughed like a bell.

Fortunately, she was the only customer in the store, with no other NPCs around to be frightened.

Ji Xinghai flipped through the menu from top to bottom and then back again, only to find that all the tasty and edible dishes were marked with red crosses. The remaining options were either notorious dark cuisine or simple items like fried fish fillets, lettuce salad, and fruit salad. He began to have some suspicions.

"Are these red crosses really because they're sold out? Or are they just not available at all?"

The cat girl's pupils turned into slits. Her gaze shifted to the ceiling and then quickly returned, staring sincerely into Ji Xinghai's eyes. "How could it be, sir? It's just an unfortunate coincidence."

"...You know, when someone tries to lie, they often stare directly into the other person's eyes, trying to convince them," said Ji Xinghai.

Of course, this behavior alone doesn't determine if someone is lying; it must be considered in context. But the cat girl's series of actions had already exposed both herself and the restaurant.

So she immediately looked away guiltily. "I don't know, sir. I'm just a poor worker. Please don't make things difficult for me."

Her response only piqued Ji Xinghai's interest more. He loved challenging people.

Thus, Ji Xinghai took out two game coins and placed them on the table, as if he were a wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood. "Come on, let's chat for two coins?"

Before entering, he had noticed a hiring sign outside. Servers earned only one game coin every two hours, making them as cheap as college students.

Two coins equaled four hours of work.

The cat girl's gaze lingered on the game coins.

She glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then sat opposite him, her fingers tapping over to press on one of the game coins. "It's not about the money; it's mainly because the boss instructed us to treat customers well."

Ji Xinghai smiled without speaking, waiting until she reached for the second coin before pouring himself a glass of water to soothe his throat. "Is the chef's skill lacking?"

The cat girl pursed her lips. "What does skill have to do with it? There are no ingredients."

"Really?" Ji Xinghai sipped his water. "But I see other restaurants doing well. Don't they have ingredients?"

"Well, our useless boss can't even grease palms or curry favor. Other restaurants easily get their applications approved for 'evil meat.'"

"Evil meat?"

The cat girl narrowed her eyes, which had seemed harmless moments ago, now revealing a sinister side. "In human terms, it's the offspring produced by mating with one's parent or child."

Her eyes became vertical slits, staring intently at Ji Xinghai. "Though called evil meat, it's a delicious creation formed through breeding, with exceptionally tender and addictive flesh."

"..." The method used on animals to produce a stable 'purebred' variety was now applied to humans?

Ji Xinghai recalled the students in the previous restaurant, stuffing their mouths, even with bleeding corners of their mouths.

In this light, the 'Stargazing' pie was indeed conscientious. Hopefully, those who haven't entered yet won't order meat dishes, or even meat soups. Pure vegetarian would be best.

Ji Xinghai took out another two game coins and placed them on the table, but when the cat girl looked over, he pressed his fingers on the coins. "What happens if you don't eat and stay hungry?"

"Well..." The cat girl tried to raise her price.

He added another coin. "Once you step out that door, we'll be strangers."

"You can feel it yourself, why ask me?"

With that, Ji Xinghai understood.

Since entering the amusement park, he had felt energy draining, manifesting as increasing hunger. Additionally, there was a force attempting to affect his emotions and state.

This place was similar to the previous doll school, though not as overt.

However, not everything within the amusement park was like this. Once indoors, the feeling was isolated.

This probably explained the task hint: 'Do not linger outdoors for long.' In other words, students should minimize their time in open areas and ideally stay in hotels.

At this moment, he remembered the restaurant's prompt: 'Adequate food will keep you in good spirits.'

This almost suggested that food could counteract the negative effects and replenish the stolen energy. And this food wouldn't be the uncontrollable 'evil meat.'

Before entering this restaurant, he had eaten food provided by a prop, but the hunger didn't subside. Clearly, ordinary food couldn't keep up with the energy drain or neutralize the negative effects.

He guessed that the food that could 'keep you in good spirits' might refer to specific places, like 'Jeff's Restaurant.'

"Traveling has worn me out. What food can restore my spirit?"

This time, Ji Xinghai didn't press the game coins. He released his fingers, resting his hands on the table, interlocking his fingers.

The cat girl swiftly snatched the coins. "Anything will do. Of course, if you have concerns about the ingredients, you can bring your own materials for processing. We only charge a small fee."

After the conversation, Ji Xinghai spent about thirty game coins on the 'Stargazing' pie, fried fish fillets, fruit salad, and kale soup.

As he ate, the stolen energy returned, and the disturbing negative energy was isolated. His entire being received a boost.

"Dear visitors, the mermaid performance at 2:30 PM is about to begin. Interested visitors, please head to the aquarium for a close-up view," came the enthusiastic voice of an NPC from the loudspeaker outside.

At this moment, the cat girl was clearing the plates and, upon hearing the announcement, her mouth watered: "Is it an aquarium show? There must be a lot of fish." She couldn't help but remind them, "The fish there are really delicious."

"Aquarium?" Ji Xinghai thought about the location of the aquarium, which wasn't far from here.

The loudspeaker rarely worked, and even those who had no interest in the aquarium couldn't help but pay attention to this event. Conveniently, the brochure explained that watching the mermaid performance could earn up to ten game coins. Most of the nearby students went over, and by the time Ji Xinghai arrived, a crowd had already gathered.

"Why won't you let me in?"

"Dear visitor, you haven't bought a ticket yet. Please purchase one at the ticket booth before entering," said the octopus at the entrance politely.

Buy a ticket?

We need to buy a ticket here?

The newly arrived students looked at each other. They waited for others to buy tickets before gathering around: "How much is it? Does buying a ticket get us a stamp?"

If they could exchange game coins for stamps, they would be willing.

"You can only get a stamp after watching the performance," said a student who had bought a ticket. "There are three types of tickets: VIP tickets for 10 game coins, regular tickets for 3 game coins, and discount tickets for just 1 game coin. I bought a regular ticket." He waved his ticket, "Move aside, I'm going in."

The students watched him enter the aquarium: "Should we buy tickets?"

They were conflicted. To enter, they needed to buy tickets, and there must be some special benefits inside the aquarium. Places with entry fees usually have good things.

But their game coins were limited, and they had to use them to buy tickets?

To say nothing else, they couldn't even afford lunch and were still hungry.

Most students had only saved up a dozen or so game coins after playing all morning. Few had found a way to earn game coins like Ji Xinghai did at the childcare center.

By then, Ji Xinghai had already bought a ticket and entered. He bought the discount ticket.

He believed in taking greater risks for greater rewards, so he bought the discount ticket without hesitation, knowing it likely came with significant risks.

Most of the other students who entered also bought discount or regular tickets; almost no one bought VIP tickets, as they were too expensive—only 10 game coins for a single performance.

From the entrance, they entered the jellyfish hall, where different species of jellyfish floated in glass cylinders of various sizes. Besides common species, there were also highly toxic box jellyfish, each as large as a soccer ball, indicating they were adults.

Ji Xinghai stopped to look closely, but most students hurried past, not giving them a second glance. They were heading to the grand theater for the mermaid performance.

The mermaid performance was still half an hour away, so Ji Xinghai walked at his own pace.

He slowly passed through the jellyfish hall and entered the coral reef exhibit.

Coral reefs from different seas were separated into different rooms, each over a hundred square meters.

Ji Xinghai first saw the first room on the right.

Besides the colorful tropical fish familiar to everyone, the coral reefs were home to many sea snails, nudibranchs, octopuses, and even sea snakes.

The sea snakes gliding over the sand were highly venomous, their toxins several times stronger than their terrestrial counterparts.

"Abalone? Sea cucumbers? Sea urchins?" Ji Xinghai also spotted a line of lobsters marching in the aquarium tanks.

He moved from room to room until he reached the underwater corridor. The transparent tunnel led to an endless underwater world, where even manta rays, tiger sharks, sea turtles, and sunfish could be seen.

Even if he gained nothing, paying one game coin to see so many marine creatures was worth it.

"There's nothing here. Could it really just be to watch marine animals at the aquarium?"

"Wait for the mermaid performance. These shows often have interactions, so there might be opportunities to score points then." Two students walked past Ji Xinghai, discussing as they went. They seemed to have already toured the entire aquarium and found nothing.

Ji Xinghai remembered the mermaid performance was about to start and quickened his pace through the long underwater tunnel. Then he took the underwater elevator upstairs, where the grand theater was. Many students were already entering with their tickets.

He joined the crowd and quickly found his seat—a bit strange, as the number on his discount ticket was in the row closest to the stage.

Not many students had entered, only about thirty, with only two sitting in the distant VIP seats. The rest were concentrated in front.

These students felt something was off. They looked at the transparent glass in front of them: "Could there be monsters inside? Sirens?"

They wanted to stand up and move to the empty seats at the back, but just as they were about to act, the blue wave painting on the wall suddenly transformed into a massive splash.

Splash!

Briny cold water poured down, and Ji Xinghai heard a ringing in his ears. When the noise subsided, the circular seating area had turned into an endless dark sea.

He moved, feeling as if his legs were bound, and sensed an odd sensation behind his ears, as if openings had appeared, swallowing seawater.

"Aaaaah—" Before he could think, a sharp voice sent sound waves rippling through the water.

Ji Xinghai turned around, and in the dim blue water, he saw something moving at incredible speed. It emerged and bit the student in front, while that student...

"A mermaid?"