They all call me an Outer God.

"Da da da--"

The sound of black leather shoes hitting the crimson marble floor of the upscale restaurant rang out, and countless waiters poured out from the doorway leading to the kitchen.

They carried silver plates, placing them one by one in front of each person. The patterns on the round lids of the plates were incredibly exquisite, but when viewed through their reflections, those staring at them felt as if their faces were being distorted into thousands of fragments by the intricate designs.

As usual, Ria and his party also received such a feast. When the plate was placed on the table not far from Ria, the waiter smiled at him as if he could not see anything unusual about Ria.

"Sir, please have your meal."

"This is the main course?"

"Yes, the real deal—angels. For this highly anticipated ingredient, you all need to pay with all your possessions."

Upon hearing this, Ria supported herself with her cane and stood up, walking towards that direction. Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, she was the first to lift the lid of the pure silver item.

All his savings vanished instantly.

More than seven billion yuan was gone in an instant, and the main course that had been absent from the greedy world was revealed on the plate.

A round object, like a colorless, transparent jelly, clearly reflected Ria's face, and then his face was completely imprinted on it. No matter where he turned, the gaze in the reflection would stare intently at him.

Despite enduring the backlash from the memetic contamination, Ria stared at the thing for a long time before trying to reach out and touch it. At that moment, the thing opened its lifeless eyes and uttered a single word.

"Run...faster!"

At the same time, the surrounding crowd screamed, probably because a talking reflection was something they had never heard of before.

The waiter's face lit up with even more joy: "These are all the finest ingredients. Just eat them and you will gain eternal life. Isn't that the very reason why a rich person like you comes here?"

Clarendon had already picked up his knife and fork: "Lord Kelcha, aren't you going to eat?"

"You dare to eat this?"

Transparent, unidentified, and bizarre ingredients—normal people would never have any appetite for such a thing.

But perhaps because their desire for immortality was too strong, Ria saw many people, after their initial fear, cautiously approach the heads, pick up knives and forks, cut them off, and savor them with expressions of pure bliss.

This jelly-like substance probably tastes pretty good, as most people look incredibly blissful while enjoying it.

Claden was also struggling with his inner conflict: "Lord Kelcha, if we eat this, we can leave this place. This level isn't difficult once we overcome our shady merchant instincts—but these conditions for passing are just too disgusting!!!"

"I hate slimes the most. They have absolutely no appetite."

He wailed and complained, while his reflection in the silver plate angrily cursed him for eating him. He cursed him to be lonely for life if he dared to eat him. Claden, hearing this, also angrily cursed his own head back, his previous fear vanishing.

People have a rebellious streak; the more you forbid something from doing it, the more you want to do it. Right now, Claden's anger outweighs his disgust, and he wants to get rid of this thing as soon as possible.

Lia also looked at the sphere in the plate, and the reflection in it was looking at him as well, with lifeless and slightly droopy eyes, and heavy dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept well for more than ten days, looking utterly dejected.

"Don't you want to say something to me, like something to provoke me so I'll eat you up?"

Lia gestured with a silver dinner knife, slowly pressing it against "her" forehead.

The head glanced at him wearily, then nervously scanned its surroundings, lamenting, "I am you. I know how much you want to live, and I want to live too. I'm not as stupid as those spheres around me. I'm smarter than any of them. Those brainless idiots only know how to lead others to kill themselves, but I won't. I have true self-awareness, and even my own set of values."

“I even have my own name.”

At this point, the sphere proudly revealed an even more neurotic smile, like a patient who had been staying up too late and was using the last bit of strength to hold on.

"If you ask why, it's because my name is [Idiot]."

idiot--

These words successfully triggered Ria's killing intent. Upon seeing this, the head's smile grew wider and wider. However, after patiently waiting for a long time, it still did not see the blade cut it. Suddenly, its face turned disappointed.

"Ah, why don't you use a knife? If you don't get rid of me, I'll contaminate your memes and turn you into what I am now. Actually, I think I'm pretty good now. Ever since I became an idiot, I feel like the world has become a better place. You should try it too."

For your own safety, you should eliminate me; that's the optimal solution.

"Snapped!"

Ria quickly slammed the lid back on, stopping Clarden from eating.

"Something's wrong."

"What's wrong?"

Claden glanced at the group of people whose faces were covered in food, looking at them with disgust as if they were livestock: "Once we get rid of this stuff, we can get out of here."

"Have you noticed that we haven't seen Sofia here?"

"Sofia?"

Claden was still puzzled, but after realizing what was happening, a chill suddenly rose from the soles of his feet.

Yes, these are all Sofia's memories. It's impossible for Sofia not to be here, and it's impossible for them to pass through so easily.

"Maybe he actually appeared, but we just didn't notice?"

Ria glanced at him: "Who do you think could escape my senses? The shadows around me are all visible to my eyes, and my eyes tell me that Sofia is not here at all."

"Isn't it really strange? They say you can enjoy angels here, but what's on the plate is no different from a human head, and it's a 'head' that you only get to enjoy after spending all your money and going bankrupt."

The angel wasn't there, nor was Sophia; instead, it was…

Lia wanted to say something more, but then he heard someone wail. He turned his gaze in that direction and saw a dense crowd of people falling down and getting up again in droves.

Their bodies became translucent, and at the same time, the spheres on the plates emitted sharp laughter, instantly wrapping around their "masters" and desperately replacing them.

Meanwhile, their "owners" were still struggling, unable to control their behavior as they cried and ate, going from diners to food and back again.

Food will eventually become diners, and diners will eventually become food. Their identities will be exchanged, and the food that survives will take the place of the diners, enjoying their memories, lives, families, wealth, and status, and thus gaining immortality.

Finally, the original main body completely transformed into a sphere like water, and then into a puddle of clear water. (End of Chapter)