The two of them held their flashlights, tiptoeing into the main entrance of the restaurant on the fourth floor.
Just then, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the staircase behind them!
Run! Both of them, jolted with fear, rushed forward without a second thought.
At that mont, Li Xueqi tripped over sothing and fell heavily to the ground, her flashlight clattering away to one side.
By the ti she struggled to push herself up, the footsteps had stopped. Then, in the faint beam of her distant flashlight, she saw a pair of worn-out shoes appear right in front of her.
...
anwhile, Gu Mian had already reached the third floor of the restaurant. Just as he was using his flashlight, trying to figure out which way to go, he suddenly heard sothing crash onto the floor above.
The sound seed to be coming from the fourth floor.
He looked up at the ceiling. What in the world is going on up there?
However, he didn’t have ti to worry about what was happening upstairs. Gu Mian looked at the contents of his test paper, seriously considering which way to go.
I rember the left side has a revolving hot pot, chicken pot, rice noodles, malatang, dumplings, and wontons, while the right side has beef soup, mutton soup, curry rice, fried chicken and beer, and pork rib soup.
...
"Are you okay?"
A voice ca from above her. Li Xueqi imdiately looked up. A normal face t her eyes. She quickly tried to open the player status panel of the person in front of her. Seeing a player nickna, she finally relaxed.
The young man standing before her was nad Liu Xuan.
Behind Liu Xuan were two other boys: one nad Feng Zitao, and the other, Wang Longxiang.
"We ca for the covered rice," Liu Xuan said, helping Li Xueqi up from the floor. "Flavored Covered Rice. You too?"
"Yes," Mingyue replied, having returned from the front. "We were trapped on the stairs for a long ti. We got so scared when we suddenly heard a noise, so we just ran."
"It’s alright." Liu Xuan took a couple of steps forward. "Let’s stick together."
The restaurant looked as if it had been abandoned for years. The beams of their flashlights revealed a thick layer of dust covering the tables.
The stall’s signboard was so dilapidated it looked like it was about to fall off. Behind the food-serving window, the stall was dark and oppressive; their flashlights faintly illuminated haphazardly stacked bowls and overturned pots.
After walking for less than a minute, they saw the sign reading "Flavored Covered Rice."
They heard a gurgling sound and were assailed by a repulsive, nauseating odor.
Mingyue peered towards the source of the sound. Behind the cafeteria window, she saw a humanoid figure moving beside a large pot filled with so unknown substance.
This was her multiple-choice question.
Choosing between Salt and Pepper Covered Rice or Tomato Covered Rice... after seeing the unknown contents of that pot... am I really supposed to eat it?
The group hesitated for a mont. Finally, Liu Xuan and his friends stepped forward and spoke to the figure behind the window, "We want Salt and Pepper Covered Rice."
Seeing them make their choice, Mingyue also stepped closer. As she did, the strange, sickening stench assaulted her nostrils. The blurry figure behind the glass moved towards her, its face almost touching hers.
"I want Salt and Pepper Covered Rice!" she blurted out almost imdiately.
A plate of stinking, black mush was placed before her. Mingyue, suppressing her revulsion, carried the plate to a table and sat down beside Liu Xuan. Li Xueqi sat opposite Mingyue. This wasn’t her multiple-choice question, so she obviously wasn’t going to voluntarily order the covered rice.
At this mont, Liu Xuan and his two friends were also staring at their plates, looking troubled.
Mingyue clutched her test paper. I only have to eat it, right? Not necessarily finish it? As long as my choice registers on the test paper, I’ll stop imdiately. Thinking this, she gingerly picked up a bit of the substance from her plate with her fingers and brought it to her lips.
BLECH— No, it’s too disgusting!
I regret joining this event, she thought. Not only did I run into the person who murdered , but now I have to eat this revolting food.
Still, at least there are others eating it with . That thought offered a sliver of comfort.
As she was thinking, she glanced at Liu Xuan, who was eating beside her.
Huh? He...
She saw Liu Xuan, who at so point had lifted his plate and was now frantically stuffing food into his mouth with one hand. He chewed constantly, making loud, smacking sounds, and viscous black ooze covered almost the entire lower half of his face.
A chill ran down Mingyue’s spine, and her fingers began to tremble.
The other two guys were doing the sa thing!
They were all ravenously devouring the contents of their plates!
Li Xueqi seed to have noticed sothing was amiss much earlier. She stared at the three of them, her body rigid, not daring to move her head in the slightest.
Just then, Liu Xuan abruptly stopped.
He turned his head, his eyes wide, and stared at Mingyue. "Why aren’t you eating?"
The other two also stopped and turned their heads. "Why aren’t you eating?"
Fear instantly coursed through her entire body.
Run!
Li Xueqi grabbed Mingyue’s hand, and they bolted desperately towards the stairs.
Mingyue, regaining her composure, sprinted forward, overtaking Li Xueqi. Hand in hand, one pulling the other, they sprinted frantically across the fourth floor.
A shuffling sound ca from behind. Mingyue glanced back. In the darkness, the three figures were closely following them, their movents unnervingly bizarre.
But before she could run much farther, the sounds from behind vanished. Mingyue looked back, mystified. The three figures had disappeared.
So had Li Xueqi, who had been right behind her.
She looked down at her hand; she was only clutching a severed hand.
Li Xueqi...? Where is Li Xueqi? Mingyue stared blankly at the severed hand.
Just then, a faint, soft sound reached her ears. Following the sound, she looked through the food-serving window and saw a familiar human head.
...
Gu Mian’s choice was the eastern side of the third floor, where the revolving hot pot was located.
He missed the school’s food, but this cafeteria seed completely different from before. There were none of the familiar signs Gu Mian rembered, only rusted iron fras about to fall off and dilapidated windows.
Just as Gu Mian stepped into the eastern area, the answer was automatically filled in on his test paper.
Throughout this ti, a loud CLANGING AND BANGING ca from upstairs, as if a world war was being fought.
For so reason, it seed he was the only person on this floor. Gu Mian walked east along the windows for a minute and finally saw sothing moving: a figure that looked charred and was oozing pus.
It was behind a window. The sign above its head read, "Mixed-at Soup."
Gu Mian walked quickly to the window, almost pressing his face against the glass. "Do you have anything to eat?"
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