Chapter 398
Yu Xunge shook her head, but her tone was firm. “Anyway, it definitely won’t be those players who didn’t get the restaurant management rights or the cosmic drifters.”
The little seahorse asked in surprise, “Why not?”
Yu Xunge replied, “That would be unfair. Our restaurant rules apply to all beings that enter the restaurant. We can modify four rules, which is a reward we received after triggering a special storyline and then holding a cooking competition.
“If it weren’t for all this, with the rules being public and unchangeable, employees and non-employees would be on the same starting line.”
The little seahorse looked a bit confused. “Huh?”
Yu Xunge explained, “This kind of fairness, where everyone is on the same starting line, is unfair to the winners of our cooking competition. It means that the outcomes of the competition would lose their significance, and that’s unreasonable.”
The little seahorse understood. “So you’re saying that those players who lost the cooking competition and the cosmic drifters will not only lose the restaurant management rights but also face punishment?”
Yu Xunge clarified, “Exactly. Otherwise, what’s the point of losing the restaurant management rights? They will either face extremely harsh rule restrictions or game tasks, or there will be crises targeting them in the food street. Moreover…
“Let’s take a step back. If the special storyline ‘Is this restaurant yours? Then you run it’ hadn’t occurred, wouldn’t there still be closing hours?
“If there hadn’t been a re-teaming and a cooking competition, the divine players would all be employees, and the cosmic drifters would likely leave the food street before it closed. How would the restaurant operate during the closing hours?”
Yu Xunge’s unease grew stronger, and she couldn’t help but ask her electronic pet, “In the world battlefield, besides the mechanical race, cosmic drifters, and divine game players, are there any other beings?”
B8017913 replied, “Of course, there are the gods and demons who created the game.”
**Chapter 585: Divine Game: Nonsense Restaurant 33**
—“Of course, there are the gods and demons who created the game.”
Yu Xunge didn’t share this information with the octopus barrel and the others; this was clearly a secret, and she had no intention of sharing it.
She handed a few bowls of seafood soup to the little seahorse, asking it to help deliver them to Mai Mang Crab and the octopus barrel, while she took her own bowl, having drunk half, saving the other half for after the closing time began.
Naturally, she violated “Game Rule 19: You can only eat dishes made by teammates,” and lost 7 points in constitution.
She asked B8017913, “If the gods and demons find you, won’t they destroy you?”
She didn’t believe that B8017913’s existence could escape the notice of the creators.
B8017913 replied, “No, if you take me with you, you are paying the corresponding price. What the gods and demons do not allow simply won’t happen.”
Yu Xunge said, “Alright, come on, soak in this bowl of soup first, and give the little seahorse a foot lick.”
B8017913 replied, “When I left Garbage Mountain with you, I never imagined I would have a day like this.”
She prepared another bowl, pouring in some water from the seahorse’s foot bath, and dipped her earring in it.
Ding—Ding—
As the bell rang again, a commotion erupted outside the restaurant, as if the world had suddenly canceled its mute mode, and countless languages and sounds rushed into her ears.
Yu Xunge quickly finished the remaining half bowl of seafood soup.
Then she flew to the restaurant door to look at the street.
She saw countless players and cosmic drifters fleeing down the street. Most of them would quickly glance at the rules posted at the restaurant entrance as they passed by.
Some players chose to rush into the restaurant, while others continued to flee, looking less like they were seeking shelter and more like they were escaping from something.
Naturally, Restaurant No. 353 attracted quite a few players, but none were willing to enter.
Mai Mang Crab whispered, “Do you think we set the dining time too short? They wouldn’t want to hide for an entire night, would they?”
Though she said that, her tone carried a hint of relief; thankfully, they had taken precautions and set a dining time.
No matter what these players were hiding from, the fact that several cosmic drifters were fleeing indicated that whatever they were avoiding was no trivial matter.
Curiously, Yu Xunge asked B8017913 in her mind, “Mai Mang Crab has been here for so long, can’t they guess that the gods and demons might also come down to play the game?”
B8017913 replied, “If I didn’t say anything, would you dare to think that?”
Yu Xunge fell silent for a moment, unable to imagine a scene where she suppressed her strength and fought alongside level 1 and 2 players.
Here, the gods coming down to play was like a chess master joining the game with toy pieces. Moreover, if their purpose was merely for fun, the gods and demons might even suppress their own strength. What was the point of that?
Were they that bored?
Yu Xunge sought confirmation, “To have fun, they would suppress their strength, right?”
B8017913 replied, “Of course.”
No wonder, then, that the consequences of suppressing strength could lead to disaster.
Which player would think that in the world battlefield, the ones who “died” at their hands were the gods and demons?
A few minutes later, the food street quieted down, returning to silence.
The nearly fifty thousand beings that had just crowded the street had hidden away. Some entered the restaurant, using its rules as shelter, while others hid using their skills.
Ding—!
The last bell rang.
In an instant, countless white balls of various sizes fell from the sky above the food street, landing gracefully and spreading out.
Mai Mang Crab exclaimed, “Game gift packs!”
Yu Xunge blurted out, “Rabbits?!”
In a reflex, she spoke in Chinese, and the little seahorse asked, “What are you talking about?”
Yu Xunge stared at the rabbits that, after landing, sniffed the air and began to scatter in all directions, explaining, “These… look a lot like a type of animal that carries wine.”
She then asked Mai Mang Crab, “What game gift pack?”
Mai Mang Crab pointed outside the restaurant. “These are what I mean.”
Just as she finished speaking, they saw a rabbit, at least 1.8 meters tall, standing upright as it passed by the restaurant entrance.
Seeing that Mai Mang Crab had no intention of explaining further, Yu Xunge asked her secretary, the little encyclopedia, “Do their forms change randomly every time?”
B8017913 replied, “Yes.”
No wonder the players hadn’t thought of the gods and demons at all. Yu Xunge asked, “Is there a difference between gods and demons? Does this question involve secrets?”
B8017913 replied, “This is an open secret. Demons are actually also gods, but gods are not demons. You can understand it as demons actively distinguishing themselves from gods due to differing ideologies, not wanting beings to equate them with gods.”
Yu Xunge understood. “So they’ve cut ties. Why?”
B8017913 explained, “Demons believe that gods are too hypocritical. In pursuit of fairness, they undermine the fun of the game. They think that gods should directly categorize the game into high, medium, and low tiers, rather than suppressing the strong and forcing them to play house with the weak in the same game pool.”
Yu Xunge couldn’t say who was right or wrong. If she followed the demons’ way of playing, she wouldn’t have been able to access “Midnight Exile” so early. Yet the “fairness” and “balance” of the world battlefield had provided her with much protection, but also many limitations.
B8017913 continued, “From the demons’ perspective, no being should be restricted. Limiting the advantages of certain players is inherently unfair.”
Yu Xunge nodded repeatedly; the demons had a point!
B8017913 added, “But because the demon faction is weaker than the god faction, the main planner of the divine game is still a god. However, many special storylines bear the shadow of demons.”
Yu Xunge said, “...No wonder, no wonder sometimes it feels like being suddenly stabbed in the back while playing.”
B8017913 remarked, “Looks like you lean towards the gods.”
Yu Xunge replied, “I leaned towards the demons when my cheat was banned, but when I was targeted by a big shot, I leaned towards the gods.”
B8017913 sharply commented, “Where there’s milk, there’s a mother.”
Yu Xunge said, “...” That didn’t seem wrong either.
As they spoke, the food street became lively again, this time with sounds of fighting coming from various corners.
Yu Xunge peeked out, just in time to see a rabbit the size of a small cat leap high, its hind legs kicking out and scattering a powerful-looking skill.
In mid-air, it spun—switched legs—then smoothly kicked the player in the face, sending that player, whose combat power was unknown, flying backward for over ten meters, landing on the ground motionless.
Yu Xunge’s head followed the player as they flew out, turning from left to right. “Are you sure they suppressed their strength?!”
B8017913 replied, “Yeah, they personally kicked out. Isn’t that called suppression?”
Yu Xunge exclaimed, “That’s so touching! What’s the difference between this and a game designer entering the game with all their cheats activated to beat up paying players? I want to quit the game!!”
B8017913 changed the subject suddenly, saying, “Every time the gods descend, they bring a lot of good things. Many veteran players, although they don’t know it’s the gods and demons, refer to this phenomenon of many powerful beings of the same type appearing as ‘game gift packs.’”
So that’s what Mai Mang Crab meant by “game gift pack.”
Recalling the phrase “what the gods do not allow will not happen,” Yu Xunge understood, “Are you saying? This is a gift from the gods? Can I obtain it in my own way?”
B8017913 replied, “Perhaps?”
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