Chapter 421
Yu Xunge pondered for a few seconds before shaking her head in refusal. “I still have my limits.”
The little seahorse was momentarily taken aback. So you thought about it for a few seconds, huh?!
It silently cursed under its breath and finally handed Yu Xunge three small pieces of white coral. “That’s it, no more!”
Yu Xunge accepted the coral, knowing when to stop. She agreed to make a little extra for each dish and even packed a portion for the little seahorse.
At 7:32, Rabbit No. 4 returned, carrying a large bag full of ingredients. It urged Yu Xunge to hurry and whip up as many dishes as she could, and it even placed an order.
When the Octopus Barrel came over to check the ingredients, it nodded in agreement with the proposal and also placed an order.
The little seahorse, who had just finished trading with Yu Xunge and was planning to take credit once the crab returned, was left speechless.
Yu Xunge showed no intention of asking why they were doing this. “Okay, I’ll do it as quickly as I can.”
As Rabbit No. 4 and the Octopus Barrel returned to the front of the restaurant, the little seahorse whispered, “Give me back my coral!”
Yu Xunge chuckled, her voice completely flat. “Heh, you might as well just kill me.”
Before the little seahorse could blow up, Yu Xunge quietly added, “Don’t make a fuss. I have a three-star delicacy I made earlier; I’ll give you two portions, but that’s all.”
Only then did the little seahorse quiet down.
Time was tight, so Yu Xunge could only whip up some quick dishes, using three pots simultaneously.
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed through the food street.
At the same time, a game notification chimed in.
“Restaurant No. 12507 has been deemed a low-quality restaurant by the inspector. All restaurant staff have been eliminated. Please rest assured, dear diners.”
“Restaurant No. 12507 is now offering four job positions. Players with job cursors can automatically join this restaurant upon entry, first come, first served.”
Yu Xunge’s knife paused in mid-air for a few seconds as she turned to the little seahorse. “You just like to talk trash, while the divine game…”
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rabbit No. 4’s ears suddenly perk up, and she decided to keep quiet.
The little seahorse jumped in to play along. “Are you trying to say I just like to talk trash, while the divine game is the real trash?!”
Yu Xunge quickly deflected. “That’s what you said, not me.”
The sounds of players rushing through the food street behind Restaurant No. 353 were already echoing.
She glanced back and saw familiar faces from the ladder rankings.
Clearly, they were trying to corner the inspector.
Even though the restaurant number didn’t have to be disclosed, the game insisted on broadcasting it, almost as if to lure players to swarm and trap the inspector hidden among the diners.
But formal employees couldn’t attack each other, so what would happen if they cornered them?
How convenient—Restaurant No. 12507 was just diagonally behind Restaurant No. 353. Yu Xunge could see the kitchen of Restaurant No. 12502 from her spot, so she decided to turn off the heat, fly up above the restaurant, and look down at the scene unfolding in front of Restaurant No. 12507.
She saw over twenty demon-level bosses surrounding a mango, trying to drag it back to their own restaurant.
She also spotted the Mai Mang Crab, who was struggling to stand on the outskirts, unable to squeeze in… Its back looked so helpless…
They couldn’t attack, and their skills had no effect. The group of strong players was just pushing and shoving each other, dealing zero damage.
Yu Xunge also noticed the Zichuan Grapefruit, a boss of the Yuguo tribe, hovering in the air with a cold expression, clutching the mango inspector’s pointed tip.
Though a level 19 boss, her attacks were ineffective now, and during the tussle, no one was giving her any leeway. “You’re level 19, and so am I! Why should I let you go first?”
The antlers of the Tingzhou Qiu Deer accidentally hit her several times, and Yu Xunge could sense that this big shot was about to explode with rage.
“Inspector, come to our restaurant! We have six-star delicacies!”
“Follow me, Inspector! Our restaurant is free!”
“Who are you kidding? Your restaurant has no ingredients left; what are you going to cook with?”
“We just restocked, okay?!”
For a moment, Yu Xunge felt like she had stepped into a food street at a tourist spot or the exit of a train station during the Spring Festival…
The Mai Mang Crab was pushed back several steps, glaring at the mango inspector, who was surrounded by layers of players, and angrily thumped the ground with its claws.
The little seahorse smacked its lips and said, “What’s going on? Why does this look so pitiful? That crab reminds me of my elderly grandfather.”
At some point, Rabbit No. 4 had flown up and shook its head, clicking its tongue. “What a tragedy.”
Yu Xunge didn’t know which of its companions it was referring to, but she agreed. “What a scene.”
It was quite a sight, and Yu Xunge almost wanted to record it.
The little seahorse felt sorry for the crab and sighed, “Can’t we find a black market player to take care of it?”
Rabbit No. 4 explained, “The skilled black market players are all hiding. No one’s foolish enough to act at this moment; they wouldn’t want to give their competitors an advantage. The strong employees wouldn’t be keen on letting other players benefit either.”
Sakura Orange White clutched the mango, its cat paw pressing down on the Zichuan Grapefruit’s face, trying to push her down. The latter’s feet were on the Tingzhou Qiu Deer’s antlers, attempting to kick it away, while the Tingzhou Qiu Deer’s hooves were angrily kicking the rear tire of the Furious Motorcycle, which was crashing into the Zichuan Guava.
The latter was also from the Yuguo tribe, standing about the same height as the Furious Motorcycle’s tire, so the tire was practically rolling over its face.
The top five on the ladder were all here: Zichuan Grapefruit in first, Sakura Orange White in second, Furious Motorcycle in third, Zichuan Guava in fourth, and Tingzhou Qiu Deer in fifth.
The mango inspector stood elegantly in the center, allowing everyone to tussle around her.
Yu Xunge pointed at the commotion not far away and said, “Isn’t it more interesting to see them stepping on each other like this?”
Rabbit No. 4: “…” It felt like this mechanism was something that Qihua came up with; she had the worst sense of humor.
However, this tussle didn’t last long, as a series of loud explosions erupted throughout the food street in the following minutes.
This time, Yu Xunge didn’t miss a beat. Watching from start to finish, she realized the explosions were caused by eliminated players, each one exploding into a burst of fireworks.
After that, almost every few seconds, a new restaurant was marked as low-quality by the inspectors.
With more inspectors around, the level 19 bosses stopped their tussling. After a brief exchange, they each took on one inspector, and as more inspectors appeared, the players scattered completely.
Yu Xunge returned to the restaurant to continue preparing the dishes.
She glanced at the front counter and noticed that the Octopus Barrel had also left the restaurant at some point.
7:49.
Not only had the Mai Mang Crab and the Octopus Barrel not returned, but Rabbit No. 4 had also left the restaurant.
The little seahorse was still diligently attending to the guests, and Yu Xunge continued to work on the orders, prioritizing the customers’ requests.
The little seahorse watched Yu Xunge busy at work and said, “So you chose to gamble on the surprise egg, right?”
Yu Xunge indeed had many ideas, but she still needed to experiment. However, she wouldn’t share this with the little seahorse. “Let’s take it one step at a time, but I did choose the surprise egg.”
Whether it was becoming a black market player or intentionally falling outside the top 8000, the danger level was about the same for her.
If she became a black market player and didn’t secure a position before the countdown ended, she would lose three recently used skills, which meant that both 【Phoenix Seat】 and 【Stubborn as a Mule】 would be at risk.
Falling outside the top 8000, while the least damaging, was still like drinking poison to quench thirst. In twelve rounds of the game, each time she fell outside the top 8000, it meant she was one step closer to being hunted down by the strong…
In comparison, the surprise egg was indeed a bit better.
But still, could she really gamble once, twice, and then twelve times?
However, the initiative was certainly not in her hands right now.
Yu Xunge raised her gaze, looking past the dining area toward the restaurant’s entrance, where the Octopus Barrel and the Mai Mang Crab were escorting a Flame Peach inspector into the restaurant, one on each side.
This was a fruit from the Strange World, resembling a starfruit but entirely gray, with a cluster of white flames burning at its tip.
The Flame Peach inspector was lifted off the ground, almost carried into the restaurant by the Octopus Barrel and the Mai Mang Crab.
It wasn’t until the inspector was pressed into a seat that Yu Xunge noticed Rabbit No. 4 trailing behind.
The Mai Mang Crab shouted, “Hey, Sea Kid! We have a guest!”
Yu Xunge immediately quickened her pace, not even waiting for the last dish to finish cooking; she simply plated it up.
She quickly stowed all the knives into her backpack.
B8017913: “Are you in that much of a hurry?”
Yu Xunge: “That’s the little seahorse!”
As she finished plating the last bit of food, she looked up just in time to see the little seahorse jump up and slap the inspector hard.
—“I told you there’s no such dish! Why did you order it? Are you looking for trouble?!”
—“I just sat down, and you didn’t even give me a menu!!”
—“Well, why didn’t you ask?! Do you know whose restaurant you’re in?! It’s Yu Xunge’s restaurant!”
Yu Xunge: @#%@%！#%！@￥#@！%
Her hand trembled, nearly spilling the food!
She shouted, “Mai Mang, little seahorse, do you want to die?!”
The little seahorse replied, “Listen to how mad you’re making Yu Xunge!”
Yu Xunge: “…” Sooner or later, she would turn the little seahorse into a dish and flush it down the toilet.
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