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

Chapter 54 Catfish Boss Hot Pot Restaurant (2) Rules

An Jing opened the menu, and what greeted her eyes was not a regular list of dishes, but a dense string of text written in the format of "rules and regulations".

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned the lines one by one.

Rule 1: You must order three dishes; more is acceptable, but less is not.

Rule 2: All dishes ordered must be consumed completely, with no leftovers.

Rule 3: No rushing the cooking process is allowed; any rushing will result in punishment.

Rule 4: Exchanging ingredients is prohibited, and changing positions on your own is also prohibited.

Rule 5: During consumption, please maintain a pleasant mood and avoid emotional fluctuations such as crying, frowning, or panic.

Rule Six: Payment Method: After the meal, the waiter will collect the payment.

An Jing's throat moved slightly.

Every rule is disguised behind the guise of "service" and "etiquette," but upon closer inspection, they are all traps of control and punishment.

Several people at the table also looked down at the menu.

Xu Xiaoyi's face gradually paled: "What...what's going on? Are they asking us to eat? Why is the mysterious magnetic field like this?"

Shao Ling said in a deep voice, "We've never seen a mysterious magnetic field before, so this is normal."

“No, this is not normal.” An Jing closed the menu, her tone calm. “This mysterious magnetic field is extraordinary.”

Bai Tianjiao stared at the bubbles rising in the pot and couldn't help but ask, "How did you know?"

"Because I've been inside a mysterious magnetic field."

An Jing said without changing his expression.

Bai Tianjiao: "?"

"Twice, still."

Bai Tianjiao: "..."

Oh well.

The menus were distributed quickly.

The restaurant, which had been noisy, fell silent at this moment.

The trapped people flipped through the menu one by one, their faces filled with doubt, panic, or confusion.

They knew they had entered a mysterious magnetic field.

In the truest sense, it's a bizarre space where there's no escape and every step could lead to being swallowed up.

At that moment, the catfish owner walked to the center of the venue.

It clapped its hands.

A muffled thud exploded in everyone's ears.

The floor tiles in the center of the ground suddenly sank, and then a huge, illogical hot pot appeared.

The pot was entirely black, engraved with illegible runes, with red oil and clear broth flowing on either side, but both sides exuded a strange, viscous aroma.

The hot pot has no gas or induction cooker.

Yet it was bubbling and steaming on its own, and the bottom of the pot seemed to wriggle as if it were breathing.

The aroma was irresistible, mixed with a subtle scent of blood and sweetness.

The aroma was so enchanting that everyone present couldn't help but squint at it.

An Jing did not let her guard down.

She lowered her eyes and stared, lost in thought.

This magnetic field is completely different from previous ones.

The "catfish boss" was mysterious, neither hiding nor trying to suppress its existence.

It made a high-profile debut, released rules, and manipulated the space.

They are even brazenly guiding the entire process under the guise of "service".

It is extremely intelligent.

Unlike the mysterious creatures of the past, it suppressed its bloodthirsty desires and played its own role.

And what about those shadowy waiters? Are they mysterious?

They have human figures, their movements are coordinated and without any disorder, and some can even hand out water, nod, and smile, just like well-trained restaurant staff.

but,
They have no faces at all.

His face was a completely smooth grayish-white.

It's neither mysterious nor human-like.

Like a "puppet" whose soul has been hollowed out, or a temporary life shaped by some kind of rule.

What about this catfish? Is it the only mysterious creature in the mysterious magnetic field?

An Jing gripped the locator tightly, her mind racing with thoughts. Just then, a thought stirred within her, and she quietly called out in her mind:
[System, what level does this mysterious creature belong to?]

The system hesitated for a second before responding in a deep voice:
[Grade B.]

An Jing frowned slightly: "Just a B-level? Last time, Dr. Du was an A-level, and it wasn't this exaggerated. It can bind everyone with rules. Ordinary B-level beings wouldn't be able to set up such a stable, highly intelligent magnetic field. What exactly is it?"

The system continued to respond:

This is not a regular Grade B.

[I have detected an item exerting influence, and it is a very powerful item capable of controlling the entire mysterious magnetic field.]

An Jing's heart was beating slightly faster, but he remained unmoved on the surface.

"Then aren't we doomed?"

[Of course not. While the prop is used mysteriously, it doesn't mean it's entirely beneficial. Currently, the prop's characteristic is that it transforms the entire space into a magnetic field governed by rules. In other words, everyone, including the user, must abide by the rules, or they will be punished by the prop.]

That's all the system has to say.

It knew that with An Jing's intelligence, he would immediately figure out how to deal with this mysterious creature.

Needless to say.

An Jing nodded.

She got it.

It's not that the mystery itself is strong, but rather that this "catfish boss" possesses a terrifying artifact.

It used props to alter the structure of the magnetic field, transforming the entire area into a functional hot pot restaurant, and set up relevant rules using the props.

An Jing could understand why it went to such great lengths.

It is highly intelligent and knows that there are people who can deal with it.

But with this prop, things are different.

Even the most powerful person must abide by the rules.

And who knows more rules than it?

No wonder An Jing felt that this mysterious magnetic field was so different.

It's a very advanced method, but it's not entirely without a solution.

“We can’t deal with it using the same approach we use for low-level magnetic fields,” she whispered to the other three.

"Do you have any idea?"

When Shao Ling heard An Jing say that he had entered the mysterious magnetic field twice, she felt inexplicably relieved.

"not yet."

“…Okay, then I’ll learn from your mindset.”

Apart from An Jing, the other three roommates were a little panicked and confused, but their overall reaction was not that strong.

After all, having chosen this major, I'll inevitably be drawn into the mysterious magnetic field sooner or later.

If I die this time, then it's all fate.

An Jing continued to flip through the menu to the next few pages, which contained seemingly ordinary dish names.

Tripe, duck intestines, bean curd sheets, kelp knots, lettuce, and shrimp paste—it's like a real hot pot dish, without any fancy embellishments.

But she knew it couldn't be that simple.

“What we need to deal with is not the dishes themselves, but the process of eating them,” she said softly.

Shao Ling's expression remained calm: "The rules state that there can be no leftovers, so what happens after we finish eating?"

"I'll pay the bill." Bai Tianjiao's tone was cold and hard. "How I'll pay, nobody knows."

At that moment, a commotion broke out not far away.

She looked toward a small round table in the distance, where a couple was sitting.

The boy was clearly devastated and pushed away the food plate, trying to leave his seat.

But a shadowy waiter had already silently approached and pushed his head into the pot.

"Don't look," An Jing said in a low voice.

But the scream still reached my ears.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--!"

The boy's head was forcibly buried in the bottom of the hot oil pot, and his voice was gradually swallowed up by the sound of the oil.

"The food is served."

The catfish vendor gave a strange smile, then clapped his hands.

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

(End of this chapter)