Global Collapse-Chapter 485 - 458: Human Head Covered Rice [Five Thousand Words]_3
The two of them held their flashlights, tiptoeing into the main entrance of the restaurant on the fourth floor.
Just then, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the staircase behind them!
Run! Both of them, jolted with fear, rushed forward without a second thought.
At that moment, Li Xueqi tripped over something and fell heavily to the ground, her flashlight clattering away to one side.
By the time she struggled to push herself up, the footsteps had stopped. Then, in the faint beam of her distant flashlight, she saw a pair of worn-out shoes appear right in front of her.
...
Meanwhile, Gu Mian had already reached the third floor of the restaurant. Just as he was using his flashlight, trying to figure out which way to go, he suddenly heard something crash onto the floor above.
The sound seemed to be coming from the fourth floor.
He looked up at the ceiling. What in the world is going on up there?
However, he didn’t have time to worry about what was happening upstairs. Gu Mian looked at the contents of his test paper, seriously considering which way to go.
I remember the left side has a revolving hot pot, chicken pot, rice noodles, malatang, dumplings, and wontons, while the right side has beef soup, mutton soup, curry rice, fried chicken and beer, and pork rib soup.
...
"Are you okay?"
A voice came from above her. Li Xueqi immediately looked up. A normal face met her eyes. She quickly tried to open the player status panel of the person in front of her. Seeing a player nickname, she finally relaxed.
The young man standing before her was named Liu Xuan.
Behind Liu Xuan were two other boys: one named Feng Zitao, and the other, Wang Longxiang.
"We came for the covered rice," Liu Xuan said, helping Li Xueqi up from the floor. "Flavored Covered Rice. You too?"
"Yes," Mingyue replied, having returned from the front. "We were trapped on the stairs for a long time. We got so scared when we suddenly heard a noise, so we just ran."
"It’s alright." Liu Xuan took a couple of steps forward. "Let’s stick together."
The restaurant looked as if it had been abandoned for years. The beams of their flashlights revealed a thick layer of dust covering the tables.
The stall’s signboard was so dilapidated it looked like it was about to fall off. Behind the food-serving window, the stall was dark and oppressive; their flashlights faintly illuminated haphazardly stacked bowls and overturned pots.
After walking for less than a minute, they saw the sign reading "Flavored Covered Rice."
They heard a gurgling sound and were assailed by a repulsive, nauseating odor.
Mingyue peered towards the source of the sound. Behind the cafeteria window, she saw a humanoid figure moving beside a large pot filled with some unknown substance.
This was her multiple-choice question.
Choosing between Salt and Pepper Covered Rice or Tomato Covered Rice... after seeing the unknown contents of that pot... am I really supposed to eat it?
The group hesitated for a moment. Finally, Liu Xuan and his friends stepped forward and spoke to the figure behind the window, "We want Salt and Pepper Covered Rice."
Seeing them make their choice, Mingyue also stepped closer. As she did, the strange, sickening stench assaulted her nostrils. The blurry figure behind the glass moved towards her, its face almost touching hers.
"I want Salt and Pepper Covered Rice!" she blurted out almost immediately.
A plate of stinking, black mush was placed before her. Mingyue, suppressing her revulsion, carried the plate to a table and sat down beside Liu Xuan. Li Xueqi sat opposite Mingyue. This wasn’t her multiple-choice question, so she obviously wasn’t going to voluntarily order the covered rice.
At this moment, Liu Xuan and his two friends were also staring at their plates, looking troubled.
Mingyue clutched her test paper. I only have to eat it, right? Not necessarily finish it? As long as my choice registers on the test paper, I’ll stop immediately. Thinking this, she gingerly picked up a bit of the substance from her plate with her fingers and brought it to her lips.
BLECH— No, it’s too disgusting!
I regret joining this event, she thought. Not only did I run into the person who murdered me, but now I have to eat this revolting food.
Still, at least there are others eating it with me. That thought offered a sliver of comfort.
As she was thinking, she glanced at Liu Xuan, who was eating beside her.
Huh? He...
She saw Liu Xuan, who at some point had lifted his plate and was now frantically stuffing food into his mouth with one hand. He chewed constantly, making loud, smacking sounds, and viscous black ooze covered almost the entire lower half of his face.
A chill ran down Mingyue’s spine, and her fingers began to tremble.
The other two guys were doing the same thing!
They were all ravenously devouring the contents of their plates!
Li Xueqi seemed to have noticed something was amiss much earlier. She stared at the three of them, her body rigid, not daring to move her head in the slightest. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Just then, Liu Xuan abruptly stopped.
He turned his head, his eyes wide, and stared at Mingyue. "Why aren’t you eating?"
The other two also stopped and turned their heads. "Why aren’t you eating?"
Fear instantly coursed through her entire body.
Run!
Li Xueqi grabbed Mingyue’s hand, and they bolted desperately towards the stairs.
Mingyue, regaining her composure, sprinted forward, overtaking Li Xueqi. Hand in hand, one pulling the other, they sprinted frantically across the fourth floor.
A shuffling sound came from behind. Mingyue glanced back. In the darkness, the three figures were closely following them, their movements unnervingly bizarre.
But before she could run much farther, the sounds from behind vanished. Mingyue looked back, mystified. The three figures had disappeared.
So had Li Xueqi, who had been right behind her.
She looked down at her hand; she was only clutching a severed hand.
Li Xueqi...? Where is Li Xueqi? Mingyue stared blankly at the severed hand.
Just then, a faint, soft sound reached her ears. Following the sound, she looked through the food-serving window and saw a familiar human head.
...
Gu Mian’s choice was the eastern side of the third floor, where the revolving hot pot was located.
He missed the school’s food, but this cafeteria seemed completely different from before. There were none of the familiar signs Gu Mian remembered, only rusted iron frames about to fall off and dilapidated windows.
Just as Gu Mian stepped into the eastern area, the answer was automatically filled in on his test paper.
Throughout this time, a loud CLANGING AND BANGING came from upstairs, as if a world war was being fought.
For some reason, it seemed he was the only person on this floor. Gu Mian walked east along the windows for a minute and finally saw something moving: a figure that looked charred and was oozing pus.
It was behind a window. The sign above its head read, "Mixed-Meat Soup."
Gu Mian walked quickly to the window, almost pressing his face against the glass. "Do you have anything to eat?"
