Fear of food

Chapter 8 Unleashing the Power of Food
Chen Qi had decided to eat in the elevator, but there were some considerations when choosing an elevator.

"Assuming the elevator does not stop during operation, then an elevator that stops at a single floor can go from the 1st floor to the 15th floor."

"And the elevator that stops at two floors can only go up to the 14th floor at most."

"In other words, a single-floor elevator can give me an extra floor of time."

"Double-decker elevators are obsolete!"

"While an elevator that stops at every floor can go directly to the 15th floor, the risks are doubled..."

Chen Qi chose to eat in the elevator because of its enclosed space; his biggest fear was that the elevator might be stopped mid-journey.

A single-floor elevator may only stop on odd-numbered floors.

However, in a full-floor elevator, there is a risk of the elevator being stopped on every floor!
Therefore, Chen Qi undoubtedly chose the single-floor elevator.

All elevators were currently stopped on the first floor. Chen Qi activated the two full-floor elevators and the single-floor elevator one by one, went in, pressed a floor button, and then came out.

The three elevators quickly ascended, and Chen Qi kept observing the changes in the elevator floors, silently counting and calculating the time.

Ultimately, the three elevators stopped at the 5th, 7th, and 9th floors respectively.

There was also a single-floor elevator stopped on the first floor, which was the elevator Chen Qi was about to take.

"It's about to begin!"

"I can do it, and I must do it!"

Chen Qi glanced at the two large clumps of wild food in his bag; these were key to his recovery.

Once he eats these foods and his body is no longer weak, proving that his condition has improved, he will have sufficient reason to refuse the feeding tube.

She can also tell her parents that she is cured and ask them to take her home.

Chen Qi first took a sip of water to moisten his mouth and esophagus, so that the following food would be easier to eat.

Then he picked up his homemade steamed bun hamburger and put it to his mouth.

The large hamburger, filled with lettuce, braised pork head meat, and duck neck, was so big that Chen Qi could barely hold it in one hand.

He took a deep breath, knowing that if he took a bite, it would be like flipping a switch, instantly attracting the hatred of the surrounding "NPCs".

"It's mealtime!"

With a determined look in his eyes, Chen Qi resolutely took a bite of the hamburger.

This bite is just the right size; if you take a bite that's too big, it becomes inconvenient to chew and slows down your eating.

He chewed quickly, the rich layers of flavor complementing each other. The meat juice from the lion's head meatball relieved the dryness of the steamed bun, while the freshness of the lettuce neutralized the greasiness of the lion's head meatball.

Wild foods are all delicious to Chen Qi, and the taste is never bad.

The combination of the four wild foods produced an unexpected and delightful effect.

Chen Qi's taste buds were satisfied like never before, making him want to close his eyes, slow down his chewing, and savor the moment.

But reason told him he couldn't do that!
He had to finish eating as quickly as possible, and while eating, he also had to keep an eye on his surroundings to avoid a sudden gank.

Chen Qi didn't rush into the elevator. He pricked up his ears, keeping a close watch on everything around him.

Fortunately, the hospital building was completely silent at this time, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and he could immediately detect any movement.

There are no wards on the first floor of the inpatient building.

Late at night, there was only one security guard on duty on the entire floor.

This is also why Chen Qixuan ate in the early morning. If it were during the day, he would have been forced to eat wild food on the first floor and would have been subdued by now.

Chen Qi's eyelids twitched as he noticed the security guard, who had been sound asleep in his chair, suddenly stand up.

"It even has a wake-up function?"

Chen Qi cursed inwardly and pressed the elevator button.

The single-floor elevator that was stopped on the first floor immediately opened its doors.

He didn't rush into the elevator; he was trying to stall for time while observing the mechanism by which wild food marked his location.

He is now eating in front of the elevator door, and the wild food exposes his location to the medical staff, revealing his current position.

But if he enters the elevator and eats while moving upwards, will the medical staff stay on the first floor or go upstairs to chase him?

If it's the latter, it means that wild food constantly updates his location during feeding.

The sound of a security guard dragging a chair from the exit was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

A security guard in his forties, with a beer belly, strode briskly toward the elevator lobby.

Because of the angle, he couldn't actually see Chen Qi, but it was as if he had activated a wall-penetrating cheat, directly locking onto Chen Qi's position.

At the same time, Chen Qi heard hurried footsteps coming from the stairwell, indicating that someone was rushing down the stairs to the first floor.

“Someone from upstairs came to arrest me.”

"Can't wait any longer!"

Chen Qi stepped into the elevator, pressed the button for the 15th floor, and then frantically pressed the close button while eating voraciously.

The elevator doors responded with a delay, closing slowly after two seconds.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close completely, Chen Qi vaguely saw several figures rushing towards him through the crack in the door.

Fortunately, the elevator doors closed successfully, and the elevator then slowly accelerated upwards.

Chen Qi dared not relax, continuing to eat while keeping a close eye on the floor display panel inside the elevator.

As the numbers on the panel changed from 1 to 2, and then to 3, Chen Qi's heart jumped!

他乘坐的单层电梯，会停靠的楼层有1、3、5、7、9、11、13、15这八层。

Therefore, the 3rd floor is the first floor where the elevator might be stopped!

"There are very few medical staff on duty at night. The medical staff on the second and third floors should all be attracted to the first floor to find me."

"When they got down to the first floor, I took the elevator to the third floor. By then, even if they thought of coming to the third floor to press the elevator button, it would be too late."

"Even if people on the fourth floor rush to the third floor, there won't be enough time!"

"After all, if you want to stop the elevator on the third floor, you have to press the elevator button for the third floor when the elevator passes the second floor. Otherwise, the elevator won't have time to react and won't stop."

Although Chen Qi had considered all aspects, no one could have predicted the unexpected event.

Chen Qi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the number on the floor display panel change to 4.

Thankfully, no accident occurred!
Crunch, crunch... thud...

Chewing and swallowing, Chen Qi mechanically repeated these actions, like a heartless rice-cooking machine.

When the elevator arrived at the 5th floor, Chen Qi heard noisy footsteps outside through the elevator doors.

His eyes narrowed. At that moment, a group of people gathered in the elevator lobby on the 5th floor, undoubtedly there for him.

Moreover, it's unlikely to be the group that just went to the 1st floor. The people who could get to the 5th floor elevator lobby so quickly are probably from the 5th floor.

This confirms his earlier hypothesis that wild food constantly updates his location and attracts people in the vicinity while he is feeding.

It's important to understand that the ability of wild food to attract attention is limited. If Chen Qi is eating on the first floor, he can probably only attract the hatred of people on the third floor at most, and it's impossible for him to attract all the medical staff in the building.

But now people on the 5th floor are stopping him, which means that as the elevator goes up, he is attracting more hatred as he continues to eat.

Despite this, Chen Qi was only slightly nervous, but not flustered.

In Chen Qi's plan, the 5th floor was safer and more secure than the 3rd floor.

Not only the 5th floor, but also the 7th and 9th floors are the same.

He had a reason for relocating the other three elevators to floors 5, 7, and 9 in advance!
In this way, once someone presses the elevator button on any of these three floors, the elevator that is stopped on that floor will open immediately. Elevator operation will follow the principle of proximity; if there is an available elevator on that floor, it will be given priority to pick up passengers.

It will not stop the elevator that is in operation.

This means that no one on these three floors can stop the elevator that Chen Qi is riding!
3楼有时间差，5、7、9楼有三部电梯护驾，为陈启创造了一个从1楼到10楼都十分安全的进食环境。

This is Chen Qi's plan!

He could eat without worry while the elevator went up from the 1st floor to the 10th floor.

What he was really worried about was the 11th floor!
On that level, he had no protection, made no arrangements, and was very likely to be intercepted.

Knowing the risks involved, he had no way to avoid them, so he could only try to eat faster and finish before reaching the eleventh floor.

The numbers on the elevator floor panel kept changing: 5, 6, 7...

As Chen Qi passed the 7th floor, he heard a commotion outside. Someone was frantically banging on the elevator buttons, but then he heard a "ding," as if the door of the elevator next door had opened...

Chen Qi paid no attention to the commotion outside. His face was flushed red as he kept munching on the steamed bun and hamburger in his hand.

There's not much time left.

You must finish it!

He uses his masseter, temporalis, medial pterygoid, and lateral pterygoid muscles to their fullest extent, allowing him to chew at lightning speed.

The rapid contraction and relaxation of the pharyngeal muscles, repeated continuously, helps him complete high-frequency swallowing.

The esophageal muscles contract and peristalse continuously, making his esophagus act like a high-speed channel, rapidly pushing food into the stomach.

"eat!"

Eat it all up!

He shouted in his heart, his eyes filled with nothing but determination!
"Faster!"

"It can be faster!"

This is not my limit!

The food in my hand is running out, the elevator keeps going up, and time is passing by.

As they passed the ninth floor, the elevator doors were banged on loudly. Someone forcibly pried the doors open a crack, and Chen Qi vaguely saw an eye through the gap!
This scene made Chen Qi's already tense emotions even more strained.

The fact that someone pried open the elevator door on the 9th floor shows that they had plenty of time to press the elevator button to stop it. The reason they failed was because there was another elevator that Chen Qi had prepared on the 9th floor.

However, there are no other elevators on the 11th floor, which means that the elevator will most likely be stopped on the 11th floor!

There are two more floors before the elevator doors open.

This overwhelming sense of urgency sent Chen Qi's adrenaline soaring. His eyes were bloodshot, his spirits were extremely high, and he unleashed his full power, beginning his final sprint.

Previously, he would try to control his bites to avoid making large mouthfuls, so as not to affect chewing and slow down his eating speed.

But that was for the sake of continuous eating; now that we're in the final sprint, we don't need to worry about that anymore.

Take as big a bite as you can, and eat as much as you can fit in!

With his mouth filled with food, Chen Qi's mouth, throat, and esophagus were like a high-speed machine, operating at maximum power, even exceeding its operating frequency!

My cheeks were incredibly sore and swollen, and my throat was aching slightly.

But none of this could stop Chen Qi's determination!
"My eating power is not limited to this, speed up, speed up!"

"I've been starving for a month. I can eat it, and I have to eat it."

He kept telling himself and encouraging himself.

As the elevator reached the 10th floor, Chen Qi transformed into a glutton, devouring the entire large steamed bun hamburger in a frenzy.

Without pausing, before he had even swallowed his food or taken a sip of water, he pulled out a bag of instant noodles wrapped with sticky rice cakes.

Prepare for seamless eating.

At the same time, the large amount of food in his stomach was quickly digested, making Chen Qi feel that his body was recovering rapidly.

The hunger and weakness caused by not eating all day disappeared instantly, and his body felt like parched land suddenly nourished by sweet rain.

The body, which had been feeling weak, quickly regained its strength, and the pale skin regained its color.

The giant steamed bun burger may look like just a homemade burger, but it actually contains four wild foods: a whole steamed bun and a whole head of lettuce, a large lion's head meatball, and a duck neck.

Wild foods are far more nutritious than ordinary foods. After eating four servings, Chen Qi's nearly depleted health bar instantly recovered.

"I'm alive!"

This is Chen Qi's most direct feeling.

It's like being targeted by a skill while escaping with a sliver of health, only to be healed back to life.

The surprise and excitement were indescribable.

But just four wild foods are far from enough to restore him to full health.

Chen Qigang swallowed the food in his mouth and prepared to continue eating the sticky rice cake in his hand.

Just then, the elevator suddenly slowed down and finally stopped on the 11th floor.

Chen Qi tensed up instantly, his eyes fixed on the elevator doors that were about to open.

My worst fears have come true!

After a slight hesitation, he put the sticky rice cake back into his handbag.

After he finished eating the steamed bun and hamburger, he didn't start eating the sticky rice cake. Logically, the hatred the surrounding medical staff felt towards him should have disappeared.

So now is actually a gap period.

As long as he stops eating sticky rice cakes, he won't attract more hatred.

"Let's finish dealing with the people outside on the 11th floor before we continue eating."

Having made up his mind, Chen Qi slowly took out a sip of water.

With a "ding," the elevator doors finally opened.

There was a male doctor and two female nurses standing outside the door, a total of three people.

The doctor looked to be in his fifties, short in stature, and sported the Mediterranean hairstyle that was fashionable for his age.

The doctor asked with a stern face, "What are you doing here?"

Chen Qi looked completely bewildered: "Of course you take the elevator when you're in one."

Seeing that the newcomers were up to no good, he took two steps forward and blocked the elevator door, preventing the three from entering.

Generally speaking, there's not much that can be done about people who are attracted by wild food unless they're caught red-handed.

But they usually won't leave directly; they'll always cause him some trouble. Even if they can't find any evidence against him, they'll notify the medical staff in his 4th-floor ward to take him back.

"Which ward are you in? Why are you wandering around at night instead of sleeping!" the Mediterranean doctor scolded.

"Can't I even go for a walk if I can't sleep?" Chen Qi retorted.

The Mediterranean doctor's gaze darted up and down, finally settling on the handbag in Chen Qi's hand.

What's in the bag?

"My underwear."

"Open me..." Mediterranean swallowed back the words "take a look" that were about to come out of his mouth.

(End of this chapter)