Fear of food

Chapter 32 Domain
"No, Cookie, what exactly did you do?"

Looking at the crowd that surged forward and engulfed the butcher, Zhui Feng and the others asked in trembling voices.

"I just wanted to see if this would kill the parasite."

Chen Qi noticed the strange looks he was getting from the group members and explained, "They eat weird food every day and are already being controlled, so what's wrong with them taking a couple of bites of meat?"

"But how exactly did you do that?"

"What abilities did your derivative foods grant you?!"

Coffee looked incredulous, her pupils dilated with shock. She pulled out a cup of coffee from somewhere, took a sip, and immediately calmed down a bit.

The other people's faces also showed a mixture of shock and curiosity.

Although they hoped for a miracle, they didn't dare set their expectations too high.

They were hoping that Chen Qi's derivative food would have some unexpected effect and help them escape successfully, which would be a great blessing!
Who would have thought Chen Qi could defeat the butcher?
That's a ruthless character who even chopped down Big Pancake's Golden Retriever with a single stroke!

Chen Qi didn't hide anything and said directly, "After eating that cookie, I felt like I could control the appetite of everyone around me."

Big Pancake's eyes lit up: "Wow! That sounds really interesting. They can even control ours?"

Chen Qi nodded: "Yes, including your golden retriever."

The swill said, "It's a good thing the parasites don't have your abilities, otherwise we'd be kneeling on the ground eating shit in no time."

Coffee retorted sarcastically, "No need, you'll find your own food."

“You…” Gan Shui wanted to retort. He was clearly eating swill, which was different from excrement, but he thought it wouldn’t be a good thing to say it out loud, so he could only swallow his anger.

Zhui Feng said with some emotion, "I really didn't expect that your ability to forage for food by picking up trash would actually give you such powerful combat strength after eating derivative foods!"

Coffee nodded: "Biscuit's ability is indeed too domineering!"

None of them expected that Chen Qi's derivative foods would be so powerful!
This even feels stronger and has a higher potential than the "dog control" ability of the big pancake.

"This newcomer is pretty impressive!" several middle-aged men exclaimed.

Big Pancake, oblivious to the danger, said, "What's so strange about that? I used to fight dogs for food, who would have guessed I'd be such a strong fighter?"

He then patted Chen Qi on the shoulder: "Biscuit, I'm so happy to have you join us. At least I won't have to do these kinds of fights all by myself anymore."

"You have no idea how much pressure I'm under!"

His words made the others feel a little embarrassed; they were a group of older people who needed to be protected by two younger people.

But it's the truth, and they can't refute it.

At this moment, the swill suddenly slapped his forehead, as if he remembered something, and quickly took out his phone, pointed it at the butcher, and started recording.

But the phone screen was covered in static, and I couldn't see anything...

"Damn it!" Swill was so angry that he yanked his hair. "Isn't this cheating? Everything was fine before."

Seeing this, others also took out their phones and found that they were all in the same situation; whether they were recording videos or taking photos, all they could see was static.

"Not only can't I take pictures, but there's also no signal!"

"I can't make phone calls or go online."

"What the hell!"

"The parasites have even gotten high-tech stuff?"

Coffee took another sip of coffee, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes, and said, "It should have started when the crowd lost consciousness."

“Look at those chandeliers, they’re flickering a bit now. I don’t know if you noticed, but they were working fine when we came in. They must be affected by something.”

Chen Qi looked up at the chandeliers in the market and found that they were indeed flickering slightly, but the frequency was not high and not obvious.

He didn't know when the chandelier started flashing.

Such keen observation... Chen Qi couldn't help but glance at the coffee a few more times.

Coffee continued, "It's easy to verify this; just try it again when the crowds return to normal."

"Besides, the scope of this impact should be limited..." Before Coffee could finish speaking, the swill had already run straight out of the vegetable market.

A moment later, he jogged back.

“That’s true!” said Gan Shui. “The phone works perfectly fine outside, but it’s still hard to take clear pictures of the inside from the outside. It’s not that there’s static, it’s just that the light is insufficient, and the market is dark.”

Zhui Feng said, "It seems to be an area-of-effect skill."

Big Pancake said, "Isn't that a domain?"

By this time, thanks to the efforts of the crowd and the pig-headed baby, the butcher had disappeared.

The pig-headed babies also turned into puddles of viscous liquid. Clearly, without the butcher as their main support, these summoned creatures could not survive on their own.

Suddenly, those who had eaten the meatballs began to vomit violently, and soon they vomited out all sorts of colorful, live meatballs.

Then, like machines that had been disconnected and then reconnected to the internet, these people regained their senses after a brief period of confusion.

"It seems it can't be digested," Zhui Feng sighed. "Your method won't kill the parasite either."

Once people regained consciousness, they went about their own business, some buying vegetables, some selling vegetables, as if nothing had happened.

Only at that pork stall, there was neither meat nor the owner.

When Chen Qi and the others picked up their phones again, they found that everything had returned to normal.

The chandeliers in the market have stopped flashing.

"It seems Coffee was right."

"Alright, alright, let's go find somewhere else to talk," Zhui Feng waved his hand and said.

Chen Qi nodded. The ability to control his appetite that the Ghost Face Cookie had given him had long since expired, and there was nothing he could do by staying here.

A group of people jogged out of the market.

Shortly after they left, two people arrived outside the market.

One of the middle-aged men was wearing camouflage clothing. He was tall and burly, the kind of man whose size would leave a lasting impression after just one glance.

The woman next to him, who was not short, appeared petite and delicate in comparison to him.

The woman said, "It looks like they escaped successfully."

The man nodded: "Let's go, it seems we don't need to do anything."
-
Chen Qi and his group left the market and each took their own means of transportation, some driving and some cycling, to meet at a small park a few kilometers away.

Coffee's gaze fell on Chen Qi, and she teased with a smile, "What a surprise! The newcomer is such a handsome young man. Let's get to know each other formally. I'm Coffee, welcome to our little group."

Zhui Feng said sourly, "Coffee is the richest woman in our group. Not only is she rich, but she's also incredibly lucky. She's eaten high-end food three times."

The swill-washer standing nearby said indignantly, "Yeah, Coffee is such a rich guy, and he's also incredibly lucky. It's really enviable!"

Zhui Feng pointed to the swill and introduced it: "This is swill. He's the toughest guy in the group. Don't eat with him unless you have to."

Swill rolled her eyes: "You're making me lose face in front of the newcomers."

Dabing introduced himself: "I am Dabing, and this is my dog, also named Dabing. I am a veterinarian and currently run a pet clinic."

"Hello everyone, I'm Biscuit. I just graduated from university and am currently unemployed."

After giving a brief self-introduction, Chen Qi got to know several group members.

Coffee remarked, "I was thinking of getting together offline when I saw that some new people had joined the group today, but I never expected that we would meet for the first time under these circumstances."

Zhui Feng laughed and said, "Isn't that great? Biscuit has been through thick and thin with us, and we've built a foundation of friendship right away."

"Oh right, I should let the group admin know I'm safe."

Coffee had just picked up her phone when she saw a message from Momo.

Momo: You guys should have gotten away safely, right? My friend rushed over and said you'd already left.

(End of this chapter)