After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 65 Catfish Boss Hot Pot Restaurant (13)

The bubbling sound of the hot pot seemed to be playing a prelude to death to some kind of rhythm, and the empty tables became the most glaring signs in the entire eerie place.

An Jing stood up and slowly scanned the entire hall with her gaze.

There are still quite a few people alive, scattered around various dining tables. Some are still mechanically picking up food, some are bowing their heads in silence with murky, empty eyes, and some have already eaten until their eyes are red.

Those who are sober are becoming fewer and fewer.

She could see it clearly.

At two tables, people were eating and weeping, as if they were still conscious but completely unable to stop what they were doing; at another table, a man and a woman were pushing and shoving each other over the last few pieces of meat in the pot, arguing incoherently, but their eyes were so empty that it sent chills down one's spine.

"If this continues, they'll all die."

An Jing couldn't help but feel a little irritated.

You're too anxious.

A clear voice suddenly rang in her mind. It was the system, with its usual calm, even somewhat irritating tone.

The more anxious you are, the more likely you are to make a mistake. That mysterious entity would love for you to make a mistake.

An Jing paused slightly, her brows furrowed.

"There are fewer and fewer people now. Even if we survive, we'll die sooner or later. This place will be finished off smoothly. What's the point of talking about reversing things then?"

The system's tone was calm and measured: "You're here to solve the problem, not to become a martyr. Why are you so certain you'll die? Being as anxious as a candle that can solve the problem by burning itself out won't do you any good."

Stay calm, observe, and identify the problem.

However, the system paused slightly, then added in a somber tone, "You've really lost out."

"what?"

[Such a difficult and mysterious magnetic field, yet there are only a few mysterious aspects, and it's so brain-teasing, you can't even get a chance to draw cards, it's purely a game of life and death.]

An Jing choked and stumbled.

It really is.

It's infuriating! This godforsaken place can't even yield a single mystery. I'm racking my brains trying to figure it out.

She raised her hand to her forehead and took a deep breath.

"Now that you say that, I've calmed down quite a bit."

She paused for a moment and looked into the store.

The customers at each table seemed to become shadowy figures in the steaming hot pot, sitting on a gradually tilting balance scale.

Without further intervention, they will soon be quietly "erased" like the people at that table in the corner.

Her eyes flashed, and she suddenly smiled.

Then he turned to look at the doctor beside him, who was idly stirring the bottom of the pot with a soup spoon.

He was lazily resting his chin on his hand, staring at the bubbling meat slices in the pot, his face full of negative emotions that said, "I want to eat."

Noticing An Jing's gaze, he frowned slightly, a bad feeling creeping over him, and turned to look at her.

"what?"

An Jing smiled, a smile that was exceptionally sweet, as if she had just eaten honey.

“My dear employees,” she said in a lighthearted tone, “aren’t you ready to get some work done now that you’ve eaten your fill?”

The doctor in the video: "..."

He jolted awake and slammed the ladle into the pot.

"I'm not full!" he immediately denied three times in a row, shrinking back warily. "You're definitely trying to make things difficult for me with that look on your face."

An Jing ignored his protests and raised her chin: "Can you purify these people's minds? It doesn't have to be thorough, just enough to keep them slightly conscious."

"Are you crazy?" The doctor in the video stood up abruptly. "So many people? Do you think I'm some kind of cattle?"

"If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it well."

An Jing still smiled and said, "You ate the most just now, don't think I didn't see it."

The doctor couldn't help but grit his teeth: "You, you, what's wrong with eating a few bites of your food? That's my salary, you heartless capitalist."

"Oh?"

In short, I refuse.

As soon as the Shadow Doctor finished speaking, the system calmly replied: "Shadow Doctor, you have already gone through the card opening process and voluntarily obeyed the signatory. You cannot refuse the signatory's orders. If you really want to refuse, the signatory can choose to return the card to the card pool and exchange it for another one."

The doctor in the film: "..." An Jing's eyes lit up.

Can I get another one?
Although the Shadow Doctor complained, he really didn't want to go back to the gacha pool.

There was nothing there, only endless darkness.

A minute later, he resignedly slid off the chair, muttering something under his breath.

"Zhou Bapi, slave owner, evil capitalist, damned landlord."

"I'll learn the labor law and sue you someday."

He had just stepped down from the table when a red light suddenly illuminated the hot pot restaurant.

A figure appeared silently beside the table; it was a shadowy waiter.

It drifted silently toward the doctor, its footsteps soundless, yet each step carried a sense of oppression.

The doctor squinted, watching it approach step by step.

The waiter was expressionless, his eyes filled with an abyss-like darkness, as if he were warning him something.

The doctor gave a cold laugh.

"What? I'm just going out to digest my food, is that any of your business?"

The waiter didn't speak, but simply stood a step in front of him, yet the oppressive feeling enveloped him as if it were a tangible reality.

The doctor, with a stern face, touched his palm and said in an unfriendly tone:

"I'm warning you, I'm in a bad mood right now."

"Don't yell if I beat you up later."

The waiter remained still, but the surrounding light seemed to dim slightly.

An Jing stood up, took a step forward, and spoke in a cold tone.

"He is a customer."

"Customers can engage in activities after finishing their meals without violating any rules."

She looked at the waiter with a sharp glint in her eyes, her voice low yet unusually piercing.

The air stagnated.

The next second, the waiter suddenly took half a step back, turned around and disappeared into the mist.

It was as if they had never been there.

The doctor clicked his tongue softly, then glanced back at An Jing: "At least you have a little conscience."

"Stop dawdling," An Jing replied impatiently. "Hurry up."

Helpless, the shadow doctor could only flick his sleeves, and streams of pale black shadows slid from his fingertips, transforming into invisible ripples that silently spread to each table of customers.

"Let me try to see if I can purify some of it."

"There are so many people here, don't treat me like a cabbage."

An Jing nodded: "Every table that can stay sober is one table at a time."

She looked up at the entire restaurant, which seemed to be a misty world drowning in the steam of a hot pot.

The situation has only just begun to show a slight crack.

But she knew that this time the enemy was not only the strangely shaped catfish-headed boss, but also the carefully constructed closed loop deep within the rules.

Once humanity reaches its limit of self-destruction, malice will quietly come to an end.

She would never allow this to happen.
The catfish vendor narrowed his eyes, clearly knowing what they were about to do, and then waved his hand.

After the mealtime ends, it's time to order food.

The ordering process only lasted half a minute.

An Jing immediately ordered the same three items as before, but no new rules were introduced.

However, she noticed something.

The first page of the menu originally had five stars.

There are only four and a half left now.

(End of this chapter)