Fear of food

Chapter 18 Humanoid Food Detector

Chen Qi walked down the hospital corridor as if taking a stroll, but his eyes kept scanning around.

He's out looking for food!
Around 4 PM, while not as convenient as late at night, is still a good time to find food.

Because most patients are playing on their phones, medical staff tend to be more relaxed.

Chen Qi was going to force his way out of the hospital that night, so we had to act now.

After eating the jianbing guozi, Chen Qi didn't feel hungry for the time being. His main purpose in coming out to forage for food was to find suitable wild food for Sun Xuechao.

“All the medical staff and patients were trying to stop me from eating wild food.”

"But Dr. Zhao kept coercing and enticing me to eat strange food."

"So, are bizarre foods and wild foods two opposing concepts?"

It was based on this consideration that Chen Qicai thought of letting Sun Xuechao try eating wild food.

After all, Sun Xuechao's abnormalities were caused by eating strange food.

Seeing that there was no one in the corridor, Chen Qi quickened his pace and headed straight for the elevator lobby.

After being moved to a different ward, the distance from the ward to the elevator lobby became much longer, and he had to pass the nurses' station in between, which made it much more difficult for him to go out to find food.

As he approached the nurses' station, Chen Qi stopped and glanced at it. Seeing that the nurses were all busy with their work, he immediately bent down, half-squatted, and moved forward quickly.

Chen Qi darted past the nurses' station like a cat, moving quickly without making a sound.

Because he hadn't yet regained his weight, his lightness made him more agile.

Having successfully bypassed the nurses' station, Chen Qi unleashed his full speed and rushed toward the elevator lobby.

He didn't have much time; Xu An'an would be over at 5:30, and he needed to finish foraging before then.

As he passed a ward, Chen Qi suddenly slammed on the brakes, his gaze turning to the adjacent ward, room 412, with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

A faint, alluring force was emanating from the ward!

This attraction was exactly the same as the attraction of jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), only much weaker, less than one percent of the attraction of jianbing guozi.

But it truly exists, and Chen Qineng could genuinely feel it!

If there's any difference, it's that the allure of Jianbing Guozi only works when Chen Qi sees it.

But now, this attraction is being conveyed to Chen Qi through the wall.

After a slight hesitation, Chen Qi pushed open the door to room 412, swaggered in with his hands behind his back, and pretended to be just visiting.

As a result, we saw that both patients on the two hospital beds were holding their phones, staring intently at the screens, and no one was paying any attention to them.

Chen Qi strolled over and greeted the two of them as if they were old friends, but they only gave a perfunctory "hmm".

Chen Qi went over to take a look and saw that one person was watching suggestive videos and the other was watching videos of repairing donkey hooves. He immediately felt relieved and then searched in the direction of the attraction.

The attraction was so clear, it guided Chen Qi like a navigation system, allowing him to pinpoint the location and finally find a bag of spicy strips in the gap between the wardrobe and the wall.

Chen Qi squatted down and pulled out the spicy strip. Seeing that the two patients had no reaction, he quickly left the ward, then strode into the elevator hall and into the corridor.

He examined the bag of spicy strips carefully but couldn't see anything special about it.

It looks like a regular bag of wild spicy strips.

Chen Qi suppressed his doubts and continued to look for food, but soon while searching the corridor, that faint attraction reappeared!

This time, drawn by its allure, he found a bucket of wild instant noodles.

"This instant noodles, like the spicy strips from before, should just be ordinary wild food."

"I was on the fifth floor of the stairwell, and I could feel the attraction coming from the sixth floor of the stairwell above me."

"But why would ordinary wild food be attractive to me?"

If the wild food hasn't changed, then the problem lies with yourself.

Chen Qi had a vague guess in his mind: Could it be that after eating the jianbing guozi, I was able to sense the wild food nearby?
The subsequent foraging process confirmed Chen Qi's guess.

As long as wild food appears within about three meters of him, he can pinpoint its location precisely using that attraction!

"Have I become a human wild food detector?"

"I knew it! Jianbing guozi shouldn't only serve the purpose of restoring health!"

Chen Qi quickly accepted the fact that he had suddenly gained such a strange ability, and did not find it unreasonable.

After all, the world is in such a state of flux that even if he were to encounter a ghost one day, he wouldn't find it particularly strange.

He was overjoyed; this ability was incredibly useful to him, greatly improving his foraging efficiency.

Without this detection ability, he would never have been able to find some well-hidden wild foods.

In less than twenty minutes of foraging, we found four wild foods, something we would never have dared to imagine before!
Chen Qi looked at the four wild foods he had found: a bag of spicy strips, a bucket of instant noodles, a section of lotus root, and a twisted fried dough stick.

None of them quite suited his taste.

His main purpose in coming out this time was to find food for Sun Xuechao. Considering that eating wild food would attract the attention of medical staff who would protect the food, it would be best to find wild food that was easy to eat.

Choose small, easy-to-swallow foods.

The four wild foods found so far are not easy to eat. Even if Chen Qi were to eat them himself, he would have to take advantage of the elevator's operation mechanism and finish eating as quickly as possible.

Sun Xuechao, however, clearly did not have such conditions in the closed ward.

Chen Qi could only continue searching for suitable wild food.

Fortunately, after recovering, he had plenty of energy, unlike before when he would often run out of energy and have to stop and rest halfway through.

With a strong physique and the ability to detect wild food in a wide area, Chen Qi has become a ruthless and efficient foraging machine, and no wild food can hide from him!

"This detection capability is amazing!"

As he continued foraging, Chen Qi felt the power of the detection capabilities more and more, especially in areas like the wards where it was incredibly useful.

He doesn't need to enter the ward; he can roughly tell whether there is wild food inside just by passing by, which saves him a lot of time.

Chen Qi began searching floor by floor, and finally found two suitable wild foods on the 11th floor: a lychee and a sponge cake.

Having arrived here, his foraging task was complete.

However, he checked the time and it was only a little past five o'clock, so he decided to continue looking for food.

He's escaping the hospital tonight, and he'll need to eat outside, so it's good to bring some extra wild food with him.

Once you leave the hospital, you won't be able to find wild food anymore, and you'll have to go to other hospitals to forage next time.

Chen Qi searched upwards and soon reached the 13th floor, which was the closed ward area.

Chen Qi was unable to enter the closed wards on floors 13 to 15, so he could only search the corridor area.

However, when he stepped onto the 14th-floor staircase and prepared to continue upwards, his body froze as if under a spell, and his eyes widened suddenly.

He turned his head to look at the wall behind him. Just a moment ago, as he brushed past the wall, a powerful attraction flashed by!
Chen Qi moved his feet, taking a step closer to the wall.

Instantly, that intense attraction reappeared!
Chen Qi felt as if he had become a piece of iron, and at that moment, an incredibly powerful magnet was firmly holding him, trying to attract him.

He felt this attraction was even stronger than that of jianbing guozi!
So powerful that he could neither refuse nor resist.

I wish I could just walk through the wall and devour that unknown wild food!

His thoughts were like boiling water, constantly churning and unable to stop.

It also prevented him from thinking normally.

With immense willpower, Chen Qi took a step away from the wall, thus escaping the terrifying attraction.

He took a deep breath, slumped down on the steps, and it took him a long time to calm himself down.

"High-grade wild food!"

"It might even be more advanced than Jianbing Guozi!" "But not necessarily, it could also be on the same level as Jianbing Guozi."

Although the allure of that unknown food was stronger than that of jianbing guozi (a type of Chinese crepe), it cannot be ruled out that this was because Chen Qi himself was more sensitive to the attraction of wild food.

However, that unknown wild food is at least on par with Jianbing Guozi (a type of Chinese crepe).

"Eating a jianbing guozi restored my body to its peak condition and also gave me the ability to detect wild food."

What would happen if we ate another high-quality wild food?

Chen Qi considered many possibilities, such as making his already peak-recovered body even stronger, turning him into a "slender hound".

Or perhaps upgrading his food detection ability might awaken new abilities!

The idea is wonderful, but obtaining this high-quality wild food is indeed quite difficult.

"The other side of the wall is the closed ward area, and judging from the location, it should be inside a ward."

When Chen Qi got close to the wall, he could barely feel the attraction. The high-grade wild food was about three meters away from the wall, which was exactly within the limit of Chen Qi's food detection ability.

He wouldn't have been able to spot this high-quality wild food if he had gone any further.

But for Chen Qi, that three-meter distance was almost insurmountable.

"I want to get into a closed ward, but I'll probably only be able to get in as a patient, and then I won't be able to get out."

"If we can only ask others for help, why not let Xu An'an give it a try..."

"If it can be accomplished, great; if it really can't, then we have no choice but to give up!"

Chen Qi gritted his teeth. Although he was salivating uncontrollably from the wild food, he still knew what was important and what was urgent.

No matter how fine the food, it's nothing compared to freedom. Everything else has to take a backseat now; nothing can affect his plan to be discharged tonight!
Chen Qi finished foraging for food and returned to ward 423.

But he found himself still longing for the high-end wild food on the 14th floor.

The kind of feeling that makes your mouth water just thinking about it.

The attraction was so powerful that even though he was out of its range, it was as if it had left a mark on his soul, constantly reminding him of the existence of that high-quality wild food.

"The aftereffects are really strong."

"I can't sleep soundly until I get it."

Chen Qi shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions. He opened the wardrobe door and hid all the wild food he had found that day inside, covering it with his own clothes.

He found enough wild food during this foraging trip to last him a week.

The wild food for Sun Xuechao has been prepared; the next step is to figure out a way to get it to him.

Chen Qi checked the time; there were still several minutes until 5:30. He opened the "Passerby" app and left a comment for Momo.

Chen Qi: I might be discharged from the hospital soon. Would it be convenient for us to meet?

Momo replied quickly: Contact me again after you get out.
Chen Qi locked his phone and waited quietly for Xu An'an to arrive.

A moment later, the door to the ward was pushed open, but it wasn't Xu An'an who walked in; it was Nurse Xiao Ru.

"Take off your clothes, lie down, and I'll apply the ointment for you."

Chen Qicai remembered this matter and had no choice but to obediently do as instructed.

A moment later, the door to room 423 was pushed open again, and Xu An'an stepped in, just in time to see Nurse Xiaoru applying medicine to Chen Qi, who was shirtless.

She paused, then said, "It seems I've come at the wrong time."

“No, you’ve come at just the right time,” Nurse Xiaoru said. “I’ve already finished applying it.”

Nurse Xiaoru packed her things and stood up, saying with a hint of teasing, "I should be going off duty now, so I won't bother you any longer. Oh, and I'll take your phone with me."

After saying that, Nurse Xiaoru took Chen Qi's phone and left.

Chen Qi got up and put on his hospital gown, then said to Xu An'an, "Dr. Xu, I have two things I'd like to ask you."

"what's up?"

"Sit down and let's talk," Chen Qi said with a smile, bringing her a chair.

Seeing Chen Qi being so polite, Xu An'an frowned slightly. Unsolicited kindness was never a good thing.

Chen Qi was actually unsure whether Xu An'an would agree to his request.

Although he had only known Xu An'an for two days, Chen Qi believed he had already figured out Xu An'an's code of conduct.

Xu An'an is kind-hearted, a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and also has a sense of justice and is willing to help others.

However, they have a strong sense of self-protection; they are willing to help others, but only if it does not harm themselves.

The matter he was entrusting to Xu An'an actually carried a certain degree of risk.

Chen Qi didn't get to the point directly, but instead said, "Sun Xuechao, who was my former roommate, was forcibly sent to a closed ward after you left this afternoon."

Xu An'an's pupils contracted slightly. After thinking seriously for a few moments, she asked in confusion, "Why weren't you sent in too?"

Why is her focus so strange...? Chen Qi explained, "His family members have signed their consent, but my parents haven't agreed yet."

Xu An'an nodded: "So what do you want me to do?"

"Could you take something to him for me?"

Chen Qi took out two pieces of wild food that he had prepared beforehand.

Xu An'an glanced at the rotten lychees and the moldy sponge cake, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said:
"If it's just for him to try, one piece should be enough, so I'll bring lychees."

Chen Qi nodded: "Thank you."

Xu An'an is right. This time, the main purpose is to let Sun Xuechao try some wild food. Bringing one type in will be enough.

Moreover, in terms of eating, lychees can be swallowed in one bite with almost no risk, while sponge cake requires at least a few chews.

"There's one more thing," Chen Qi paused, "help me bring something out of the closed ward!"

"what?"

Chen Qi gestured and said, "It's on the 14th floor of the ward. Go in from the elevator lobby, turn left and go about five or six meters away. Can you keep an eye out for any wild food, or what you consider spoiled food?"

Fearing that Xu An'an wouldn't understand, Chen Qi simply took out paper and pen and drew her a picture, marking the approximate locations of the high-grade wild food.

Xu An'an frowned and remained silent.

This is far riskier than bringing in rotten lychees.

After all, lychees are small and easy to carry.

The size of the things Chen Qi asked her to bring out is still unknown.

Moreover, this is a clear violation of hospital regulations, and the consequences would be severe if caught.

Just as Xu An'an was hesitating, Chen Qi tentatively said, "I can give you money."

"How much?" Xu An'an asked, looking up.

Chen Qi gritted his teeth and extended one finger.

He had only recently graduated and was hospitalized before finding a job. He didn't have much money; a thousand yuan was already a significant amount of bleeding.

"One hundred?" Xu An'an's eyes lit up, and she nodded, "Okay."

It's tough, guys. We were eliminated in the first round of recommendations, and now we have to play in the revival round.

The main problem was that our traffic generation was terrible the past few days. At the same time, other urban content creators were all featuring Jing Tian and Liu Yifei, so how could our food-themed posts compete with them?

I'll be relying on you guys for next week's revival match. Please read Tuesday's episode in advance!
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(End of this chapter)