Forty-five minutes later.
"Damn it, my hand's getting sore from all this grilling."
Su Yuan rubbed his aching wrist and stared at the girl in front of him who was devouring the grilled meat and various main dishes like a bottomless pit.
He wanted to take back his previous advice about all the principles of eating at a self-service restaurant.
With appetite like a numerical monster, no matter what she eats, it's guaranteed she'll get her money's worth. Can anyone really match that?
"Hey, hey, don't eat the bones!"
Seeing Chen Nuoyi crunching down on a piece of bone-in pork chop, Su Yuan quickly pulled the remaining half out of her mouth.
"What's wrong? Bones should be edible too, right?"
Chen Nuoyi, with her mouth full of bone fragments, asked incomprehensibly:
"I checked online, eating more bones can supplement calcium, and from my dining experience, bones give the most satiety among all edible foods."
What kind of experience is that? So, you were so poor before you had to gnaw on bones to survive?
Su Yuan was speechless. He genuinely wanted to know how Chen Nuoyi managed to live when her family just went bankrupt.
But anyway, cultivators eating bones won't suffer poor digestion, so let her be.
He picked up a freshly grilled piece of meat, dipped it in seasoning, and tossed it into his mouth, savoring the delicious flavor.
"Weird, why do I already feel full?"
Su Yuan rubbed his stomach; he hadn't eaten much at all, certainly not nearly as much as he usually does.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt cheated. There's still more than an hour left of dining time, but now he's already full? If only he could eat a blue pill...
As he was thinking this, suddenly a waiter pushing a bus cart walked past, carrying not just a pile of used plates but also a significant amount of leftovers.
A flash of insight struck Su Yuan's mind. Since he could once extract blue pills using Demon Technique·Finger Spirit from cafeteria leftovers, could he do the same with the leftovers from this self-service restaurant?
With this thought, Su Yuan quickly scanned the layout of the entire self-service restaurant. Based on his long experience as a delivery driver, he quickly determined the back door location.
"I'm going to the restroom; you keep grilling."
Su Yuan said, avoiding the staff and surveillance cameras, he sneakily went through the employee passage and entered the restaurant's back door, where several buckets filled with leftovers were yet to be sent to the garbage station.
I absorb!
Taking advantage of the emptiness, Su Yuan directly used Demon Technique·Finger Spirit.
Numerous light dots surged out from the leftovers, transforming into two deep yellow spirit pills that fell into Su Yuan's hand, accompanied by the pill introduction appearing on the system panel.
[Unnamed Yellow Pill: When consumed, greatly increases satiety, with effects lasting up to a week before requiring food again. Side effects include a natural aversion to greasy food, lasting until the effects end.]
Su Yuan: "..."
Damn it, why is this useless pill doing the opposite of what I want?
Isn't this the Fasting Pill?
Wait! Something's not right!
Su Yuan, who was internally ranting, suddenly realized something.
The effects of the spirit pills conjured by Demon Technique·Finger Spirit differ according to the ingredients extracted.
Thus, the yellow pill increases satiety because of the high satiety components in the restaurant's leftovers?
"No wonder I barely ate much and I'm totally stuffed already."
Su Yuan's face darkened.
Truly, the Dao grows one foot, the demon grows ten! While he snags large discount coupons from various channels, the merchants have infallible methods ensuring they don't lose money!
So, the question arises, does the appearance of the blue pill mean that the cafeteria food indeed contains pointy-headed ingredients?
Su Yuan fell into contemplation.
Until a waiter pushing a bus cart arrived at the back door and called out to him, snapping him back to reality.
Su Yuan pressed down various distractions in his mind, explained his wrong turn searching for the restroom, then hurriedly feigned going to the restroom before returning to the table.
Seeing the pile of meat on the grill, charred into total carbon, Chen Nuoyi looked like a guilty child, her head bowed, saying:
"I really tried hard to turn the meat, but I didn't expect it to burn so quickly."
Su Yuan sighed and said:
"Class monitor, being a barbecue waiter isn't as easy as it seems; let me handle it."
After changing out the grill rack, Su Yuan no longer fretted about whether they'd get their money's worth, instead focusing entirely on grilling for Chen Nuoyi until they finished eating two full hours later, and left under the owner's coal-black face.
Yet, Su Yuan felt not a trace of guilt.
If it weren't for Chen Nuoyi, this numerical monster, the two of them would've likely been taught a lesson by the owner today.
After stepping out of the restaurant's door, it was already past three in the morning, just enough time to go back, rest for a bit, and then get up immediately for school.
Considering cultivators, whether they sleep or not doesn't matter, Su Yuan decided to start squeezing this Righteous Saintess, i.e., tutoring.
Have any one of you seen Taihua City at three in the morning?
Oh right, it's already the next day; might as well check Chen Nuoyi's newly refreshed fate count, maybe it's related to his studies.
With this thought, Su Yuan directly used Demon Technique·Finger Fate to check Chen Nuoyi's fate count for today.
Then, he saw pitch-black ink characters appear above the girl's head!
[Eternal Fall into the Abyss (unfulfilled)]
???
No way.
Isn't fate count refreshed daily? How did it suddenly get so heavy?
Falling completely in just one day? Isn't that a bit fast?
Who did it? Who did it?
I damn well ask who can make a Righteous Saintess fall completely in one day?
It certainly can't be me!
Su Yuan really wanted to separate himself from the changes in Chen Nuoyi's fate count, but... are there any other demons besides himself at Taihua High School?
If there were, they'd be dealt with by her Dragon King dad before getting close to Chen Nuoyi, right?
In other words, the demon destined to be cut down by Chen Nuoyi's Dragon King dad next is him, Su Yuan!
Su Yuan shivered in fear.
Yet at that moment, the system popped up with a {ding} sound.
[By peering into another's fate count, you unexpectedly discover, the Righteous Saintess's Saint Fall Level will surge from 20% to 100% within a single day, a point of no return!]
Sorry, I'm not at all excited, just terrified.
[What wicked and fallen things ultimately trap her into the abyss? Facing the abyss that determines fate, the Righteous Saintess will unconsciously resist, attempting to escape this desperate fall. How should you guide her toward such an outcome?]
[Timed Demon Mission Triggered]
[Mission: First Follower (in progress)]
[As a qualified demon, you should have countless loyal followers; turn the fallen Saintess into your first devoted follower!]
[Mission Progress: Saint Fall Level: (20%/100%)]
[Mission Reward: Abyssal Magic Vein]
[Mission Deadline: By the end of the day]
Oh boy, now things are really troublesome.