Generally, the ordered dishes are served during mealtime, but not long after Ren Yifei spoke, a mousse cake cut into triangles, sprinkled with chocolate shavings, and slightly cool to the touch appeared in front of him.
On top of the triangle cake, there is a small, twinkling star.
Ren Yifei: ...A token from the Eastern Star Continent?
He reached out and tapped it, and sure enough, the little star disappeared incredibly fast, as if it couldn't wait.
Um, is this on today's menu?"
"Didn't you call last night to ask for a cake for a late-night snack? So we prepared it in advance," the staff member said with a smile.
last night?
Ren Yifei remembered that he had suddenly glimpsed the truth of the world last night and inexplicably had a craving for dessert, so he got out of bed and called the production team, asking for caramel or coffee-flavored mousse cakes for breakfast.
However, after taking a nap, he forgot about it.
"Ah, I see. Your production team is so considerate."
The young staff member's lips twitched briefly, but he quickly regained his polite demeanor and said, "Please have your meal." Then he left.
Seeing the staff hurrying by, Ren Yifei used a silver metal fork to scoop up a piece of mousse covered in chocolate shavings and put it in his mouth: "Mmm, it melts in your mouth, with a strong coffee aroma and a hint of alcohol. The chocolate shavings on top melt, adding another layer of bittersweet fragrance."
He looked at the live-streaming fly and asked, "If I ask for the recipe, wouldn't it seem impolite and like I'm pushing my luck?"
The audience didn't answer his question; they were busy breathing in the fresh air.
These people are all here in this live stream to enjoy the peace and quiet and catch their breath.
There are only three minutes left. The atmosphere in the next live stream is so tense it's about to explode. People with low mental fortitude can't stand it and come to this live stream to catch their breath.
After catching my breath, I had to go over there, so I kept going back and forth like that.
I can't help it, I really want to know how it ends.
Deep down, they knew those people were actually very successful antisocial individuals, but seeing them crying and professing remorse, they felt...
Well, anyway, if it were them, they probably wouldn't be able to press that explosion button; they're not the kind of people who can do great things.
"Seeing the streamer eat spoonfuls of cake gives me a real sense that the world is still at peace. I'm speechless, let me have a sip."
The live stream room resembled a cat-cuddling session. Just as Ren Yifei was about to eat the cute little cream flower sprinkled with cocoa powder on the far right, a loud sound, like a fan turning, came from outside the door.
"The sound is like a helicopter."
He thought for a moment, picked up the cake plate, and went outside. The little fly, curious, followed him out.
The wind was strong outside, and he carefully protected the cake plate in his hands while squinting at the sky. Above the villa, the helicopter's rotors were whirring loudly, and it seemed that there were several people inside the cabin.
Are we leaving?" he wondered.
Once the helicopter had taken off, Ren Yifei lowered his hand from the cake plate, calmly scooped out a spoonful of cake, and devoured it in one bite: "Delicious."
"...No, host, didn't you see the helicopter? Isn't the focus a little off?" The viewers were going crazy for him through the screen.
bong!
With a deafening explosion, Ren Yifei felt a blast of air, and the ground seemed to tremble slightly. He expressionlessly forked off the remaining cake; at that moment, only sweets could soothe his heart.
I wonder how this event will go, whether he will be the final winner, and if not... let's give the desolate corner a makeover as a sacrifice.
Ren Yifei let out a weary sigh.
"It's over." People sitting in the helicopter could easily see what was happening over there.
To ensure the safety of others, the detonation site was chosen in an open corner, far from crowds and buildings. Furthermore, the amount of explosives used this time was very small; the effectiveness was indeed due to the dust.
The shockwave from the explosion seemed to have destroyed the makeshift house as well, making it almost impossible for anyone inside to survive.
"Boss, let's go... Boss?" The assistant, who was holding onto the armrest to maintain his balance, turned around and found that their boss was looking down.
He peeked out and saw the contestant who had just asked the kitchen for a cake calmly eating it amidst a group of panicked people. That cake was a special privilege granted by the boss. Only this one piece of the entire eight-inch cake was kept; the rest were all thrown in the trash.
"Whether or not these unexpected events happened, he would still be the final champion." The assistant couldn't help but sigh, "He was so calm."
He casually ignored the explosion, the shockwave, and the chaotic crowd.
The scene was hard to describe, but once you've seen it, you'll never forget it.
Viewers in the live stream agreed remotely: "The sky was falling outside, but the streamer calmly kept the situation under control."
This calm and composed aura can be described as a "big boss" aura, which makes people feel at ease just by looking at it.
"Let's go." Lin Guanyue had already turned around. He took off his glasses, shedding his facade of gentle refinement. "How's business over there?"
"The newly developed game has been released, and we are now increasing its popularity by soliciting fan works."
Amidst the chaos, the helicopter flew off in another direction, and the conversation inside could be heard faintly in the distance.
Even after Ren Yifei finished eating his cake, the chaos had not yet subsided, and the live stream was in complete disarray.
The other players' live streams had disappeared. For some kind of 'protection' purpose, the live streamer stopped working at the last moment, before the explosion, and the screen went black.
Staring at the pitch-black screen, the audience's hearts sank into the deep sea, feeling both cold and terrifying upon closer inspection.
At this moment, viewers in Ren Yifei's live stream rushed over: "It really exploded! There was a loud bang in He Zhaoming's live stream."
"It actually exploded!" The person who shouted the loudest, seemingly fearless, was now trembling violently. They thought it was just a thrilling and exciting show. But it wasn't.
Viewers flooded into the only live stream that was still running, shouting, "Streamer, what happened?"
"Stop shouting, he can't hear you."
The audience was getting anxious, but it was no use; Ren Yifei was still asking about the situation.
"It seems a temporary building in the suburbs exploded. There's no confirmation yet on whether there were any casualties. However, the NPCs were ordered this morning to concentrate in the eastern area, near the villa, so there shouldn't be any major casualties. The cause of the explosion is still unknown."
Ren Yifei frowned as he spoke to the live-streaming fly about the situation on site.
Then he changed the subject: "But I noticed something even more interesting. Among the crowd that came out, there didn't seem to be any of the waiters we always see at our meals. And just now, a helicopter left this place, which makes it hard not to make connections."
"However, these are just speculations at the moment, and there is no solid evidence, so I will not say more."
"No, please tell us, streamer!" The audience cried out, eager to know the truth, but Ren Yifei remained cold and ruthless, saying nothing more, and simply led the little fly of the live stream to swat the other NPCs.
"That's strange. Have you seen the other two contestants? Haven't they come out yet? Where is the exam room?" Ren Yifei stopped the staff who had dropped him off that morning.
But the staff member panicked and said, "I don't know either, we can't get in touch with the person in charge right now."
The root of the chaos lies in this: these NPCs can no longer contact their direct superiors, leaving them in a state of leaderlessness.
However, Ren Yifei believed that this situation would not last long, because since the person in charge chose to expose this matter at this time and immediately carry out the revenge plan, there must be something that threatened him.
"..." He recalled the 'cyanide poisoning incident' he had revealed to the audience.
Just as he guessed, about twenty minutes later, a group of handsome armed police officers from the mainland appeared. Although they rudely chased him and the other NPCs back to the villa, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
To be precise, they felt immediately reassured when they saw the military identification.
"Although I don't know what happened, or whether it will affect us, seeing them suddenly made me stop worrying. Now I just want to go home."
The young NPC was overcome with sorrow: "I should have known that high salaries always come with a trap, but I just wouldn't listen to advice. Now that I think about it, I really regret it."
"Yes, although the salary here is quite high, I never feel at ease. I think I should go back to China," a kitchen worker said with great emotion.
"I just don't know how this show will turn out. I'm already halfway through," Ren Yifei said, looking gloomy and somewhat listless.
Everyone was in low spirits.
After an unknown amount of time, the villa's gate opened again, revealing armed police officers in black uniforms standing at the entrance. Other NPCs, looking tense, stood beside them.
A middle-aged military officer approached and said, "Due to an unexpected situation, you need to evacuate from here immediately and return home."
Then he looked at Ren Yifei in the crowd: "You are He Zhaoming? Let's pause the live broadcast for now."
"Oh." Ren Yifei turned off the live stream.
"Don't be nervous, we're here to take you home." The officer patted him on the shoulder. "Go home now."
Everyone lined up and followed the signs toward the beach. Ren Yifei, however, walked empty-handed, his mind still preoccupied with his mission.
There's still one token missing, and we haven't won the final prize. If things continue like this, the mission will fail. I wonder how the Wasteland will handle this.
Actually, Ren Yifei himself wasn't too worried. If he stayed longer, he wouldn't be the one crying.
Following the signs, they walked for more than ten minutes and then saw the boat that had brought the contestants there. A group of eliminated contestants stood at the bow of the boat waving their hands, and when they saw Ren Yifei, they waved their hands even more vigorously.
"I've been watching your live streams for the past ten days or so," said one of the eliminated contestants. "I originally wanted to learn from you, but you're just too amazing."
"You guys are all... watching the live stream?" Ren Yifei stared at them blankly.
The eliminated contestants surrounded him, their smiles somewhat mischievous: "Want to know what's been happening these past few days?"
"...No."
"Grab him."
Ren Yifei was instantly engulfed in a sea of people's praise.
There was no other way. Out of a hundred people, the four who died were eliminated. Ren Yifei was the only one who hadn't experienced being eliminated yet, and everyone really wanted him to experience it too.
Even if you can't do it physically, you should still use words to make him feel it.
After the commotion, everyone dispersed, and the fear of almost facing death seemed to lessen.
Ren Yifei looked like he had just come out of a washing machine. No one took the opportunity to hurt him; they just particularly liked to ruffle his medium-length hair.
"These are your things." The ship's worker found his luggage, along with his cell phone and other items in a sealed bag. "Your room is still the same."
"Thank you." He took the luggage.
The original owner's phone had long since run out of battery, so he immediately found a place to charge it after returning to his room.
Three to five minutes later, he felt that the time was about right, so he pressed the button to turn on the phone. A series of message notifications popped up, including messages from the original owner's relatives and friends, the original agent, and the landlord.
Suddenly, a text message from a stranger that had just been sent caught his attention.
"Congratulations, champion! Did you enjoy the cake?"