TN –
This is the 3rd out of 10 extra chapters. Thanks to “Pls ignore me”
Lamb scorpion, boiled lamb, grilled lamb chops, and donkey meat pastry were piled on a large plate…
Adding a few dishes and drinks made it quite a challenge to squeeze onto this two-person table. The waitress placed two more plates of fatty lamb and three plates of beef rolls on this already crowded table, glancing at the two guests while clearing the stacked empty plates.
Not just her, but all around, the customers were absentmindedly eating while sneaking glances at this table.
After all, even in a city like Jing, where the entertainment industry thrived, it wasn’t common to see two handsome guys who didn’t seem overly dressed up but radiated charm when seated together for a meal, occasionally sharing dishes and drinks. Their combined charisma immediately stood out, prompting some customers to discreetly search for hidden cameras, suspecting they’d stumbled into a filming scene.
Occasionally, someone like Zhang Li sitting at the adjacent table would be head down, fingers flying as she chatted frantically in her girlfriend group, feeling mocked for missing an incredible opportunity. Encountering such naturally charming and high-quality handsome guys was possibly a once-in-a-lifetime event!
LiLi: I swear by my countless assessments of men!
LiLi: All-natural! No surgery! Flawless from every angle!
LiLi: It’s too much! How fortunate am I to witness such a feast for the eyes for free? Just looking at that face, I could eat three bowls of rice!
In the center of attention, Xiao Qing calmly poured a glass of orange juice for Xu Yintang, rattling the empty bottle, and asking, “More orange juice or a different flavor?”
Equally composed, Xu Yintang rolled the lamb in sesame sauce. “I’ll have a cola.”
“Drinking too much cola leads to osteoporosis, you cola fanatic,” Xiao Qing teased, waving to the waitress for a large bottle of cola. As he turned his head, he coincidentally faced the smartphone lens sneaking shots from the adjacent table.
Xiao Qing blinked, understanding the embarrassed expression of the blushing girl next to them in a split second. He reached out and nudged the focused-on-meal Xu Yintang, gesturing for him to face the camera and struck a cool ‘V’ sign.
Xu Yintang, clueless, glanced at Xiao Qing and then at the blushing girl at the neighboring table. He swallowed the meat in his mouth, put down his chopsticks, imitated Xiao Qing’s action, and flashed a polite and perfectly concealed smile at the strangers on the adjacent table.
– If you don’t know what happened or how to react, just maintain eye contact and offer a polite smile. From Blueon’s beginner’s guide.
Other players’ additional points below:
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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After taking the photo, she didn’t have the courage to stay at this restaurant any longer. Covering her face, she grabbed the bill and hurriedly settled it at the counter before fleeing.
LiLi: Waaah, it’s all your fault! QAQ
LiLi: Got caught taking sneaky shots! QAQ
If it weren’t for all of you shouting “no photo, no proof” and the once-in-a-lifetime encounter needing to be captured for reminiscence, how would she have gathered the courage to lift the evil camera lens toward these handsome guys?
Unfortunately, no one in the girlfriend group cared about her shattered pride; they only cared if she captured a photo of the handsome guys. After sharing the picture, she fell into a brief state of silent shock until her friend, who had been feeling unwell and ditched by Zhang Li, climbed back in. She spammed the chat with ‘OMG, OMG, OMG?’
While I suffer from post-scenario trauma and have to bail on lovely and cute little girlfriends, you two with your prominent eyebrows and eyes are having a grand time offline, meeting up and having a feast?
People these days, huh???
Huahua, with an ice pack on her forehead and having just taken painkillers, crawled into the game while chatting in the room, reprimanding Xu Yintang and Xiao Qing’s sneaky behavior a hundred times.
Indeed, the world is small, and coincidences happen. Seated beside Xiao Qing and Xu Yintang, Zhang Li, Huahua’s best friend in real life, expressed her frustration. She lamented the ice-cooked lamb she had been looking forward to and cursed her terrible teammates in the previous mission a hundred times!
However, neither Xu Yintang nor Xiao Qing was online. Old Wang, another player, was usually silent due to his busy work. Tiantian tried to console Huahua a bit, complaining about the terrible taste of the monster meat in the new mission, which even their best-reviewed hot pot base couldn’t salvage.
Huahua, feeling her headache intensify, couldn’t believe there could be a dish in the world that even hot pot base couldn’t improve. Then, she saw Tiantian expressing disbelief too, claiming she had brought back a large piece of meat and vowed to find the right way to make the monster meat taste better.
Huahua: …
Huahua: How about coating it in breadcrumbs and frying it? Anything can be turned into tempura, right?
As expected, happy missions were alike, while unfortunate ones each had their own misfortunes.
The group’s conversation gradually shifted to the topic of food. Xiao Qing and Xu Yintang, happily enjoying lamb and washing it down with ice-cold drinks, were oblivious to this. Being captured in a photo by the adjacent table was just a minor incident compared to the meat sizzling in the pot.
The lamb was tender, marbled with fat like jade, and after a quick dip in the bubbling water, it turned into a beautiful golden color. When dipped into the sesame sauce mixed with fermented tofu, it offered a rich fragrance distinct from the spicy hot pot.
However delicious it was, it couldn’t heal the emotional wounds Xiao Qing suffered in the previous mission. Not only did he encounter a cursed house-type mission, but his teammates were also incompatible, and facing vengeful ghosts made it a test of his willpower to maintain sanity. He found himself repeatedly doing sit-ups in the mission.
If he lay flat and did nothing, at least half of his idiotic teammates would become sacrifices. So, pinching his nose and trying to rescue a few…
“Forget it, it’s giving me a headache. Almost got killed in there by them,” Xiao Qing expressed his frustration. “I’ve exhausted all my profanity in that place; it’s beyond belief.”
Those who just screamed, argued pointlessly, empathized with the vengeful ghost planning to exterminate them, and those who didn’t speak but still managed to enrage the boss into a frenzy…
“I miss the Fair Hotel so much. Please, rank up to save us from these kids. I don’t want to face a bunch of terrible teammates alone again. QAQ.”
Without ever encountering compatible teammates, Xiao Qing wouldn’t have any reference or hope.
Considering most missions in this game were high-risk, short-time, high-pressure scenarios with frequent fatalities, players who survived had strong personalities. It was normal for players to think of their teammates as idiots. Even the old teammates who had scrubbed thousands of games together, like the laundry detergent team, occasionally saw heated arguments in forums.
But the seven-day vacation at the Fair Hotel was just too joyful, so much that Xiao Qing didn’t want to face the frustrating teammates anymore. The thought of the next mission being equally lonely and miserable made him so sad that even the lamb in his mouth lost its taste.
He looked at Xu Yintang with longing eyes, sighing like a poor office worker exploited by an evil corporation.
Currently unaffected by idiotic teammates, Xu Yintang felt sorry for Xiao Qing. He thought for a moment and came up with a possibly useful idea: “I’ll reach C-level in the next mission. Although I can’t invite you yet, if you’re willing, we can try our luck.”
“There won’t be many players entering the C-level mission at the same time. I saw some potions and items in the trade market that can enhance luck. If we use those items and enter the mission simultaneously, there’s a good chance we’ll end up together.”
Xiao Qing perked up, “Sounds feasible! My next mission deadline is in ten days. Can you schedule around that?”
“I’ll be ready in thirteen days, but entering a bit earlier is fine.”
Excitedly, Xiao Qing said, “I’ll buy the items as soon as I get back, and we can set a time to start the new mission together. With a luck boost, even if we don’t end up together, at least we might get a reliable teammate.” Then, considering the prices of such items, he asked, “Do you have enough points? If not, I can cover it. I haven’t used the points from that intel purchase before.”
The average trading price for a bottle of the highest-quality, long-lasting Luck Potion ranged between 300,000 to 400,000 points. Even the lowest-tier talisman that maintained a lucky state for a while cost at least 500,000 points. Some advanced ones with divine blessings could fetch prices in the seven or eight digits.
“I haven’t used many of my points,” Xu Yintang smiled. “I can afford the Luck Potion.”
“Alright.” Seeing a glimmer of hope for the next mission, Xiao Qing ordered two more plates of lamb. To lift the spirits further, he enthusiastically chatted with Xu Yintang about their planned midnight stroll to explore the haunted old grave building for some late-night snacks for the kids.
The so-called old grave building wasn’t exactly a single structure but rather a large area in the far-east outskirts of Jing City. Initially, it was known as an old burial ground, rumored to contain countless unidentified remains.
“Originally called the Old Grave Mound, but during wartime when the casualties piled up beyond capacity, they had to stack the bodies layer upon layer. Eventually, it became the Old Grave Building because of the stacked layers resembling floors in a building.”
Regardless of its name, the area had been notorious for paranormal activities for generations in Jing City. Tales of haunted bus routes, drowned ghosts, and even zombies with hideous faces were associated with this place. Search for horror stories related to Jing City online, and at least one-third of the narratives were set in this area.
“According to the information from the National Supernatural Bureau, there indeed was something down there. Several masters jointly subdued it decades ago, and since then, there hasn’t been any trouble.”
“However, in the last couple of years, they planned to attract investments and develop the area. But before they could even start, several homicides occurred within half a month, all young men in their twenties. People are terrified to step out at night, and it’s caused panic in the area. All construction projects have been halted.”
Xiao Qing tapped his chopsticks against the bowl and continued, “I’ve been going there every night recently. Didn’t catch anything fishy yet, but I smelled something. I’m not sure if it’s the same thing that was suppressed years ago, but it definitely isn’t related to humans.”
…
As the night grew deeper, in the eerie darkness devoid of stars and moon, a bus with the number “000” appeared at the corner leading to the old grave building. The driver’s face was pallid, adorned with an eerie smile. Slowly, he parked at the roadside and picked up several ethereal figures floating near the intersection.
A youngster with faded, somewhat shabby yellowish hair followed at the end of the line. Seemingly inebriated, he couldn’t distinguish whether the figures before him were human or ghostly. He mumbled incomprehensibly, swaying as he attempted to board the bus.
Before his foot could touch the step, the driver’s expression changed drastically. He stepped on the gas pedal, and the bus bolted away like an unbridled steed. The youth, grasping onto the door, managed to run alongside for some meters before being forcefully flung off the road by the driver’s sharp turn.
“Dammit!”
The driver, gazing at the diminishing figure in the rearview mirror, spat out bitterly, “He smells like a cop and hasn’t cleaned himself properly, yet dares to act ghostly in front of me!”
Author’s Note –
Lin De’an: ???
Lin De’an: I took a shower!!! [Focus on mistake]
Ghost bus on the way to the cemetery? Thanks for the update ❤️
Damn the disdain 😂😂😂
Apparently even ghost bus drivers don’t like cops 🤣
Lol, ghosts think ACAB.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING AWESOME!!
Discriminate by ghost
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚