Infinite: Dawn Game

Xu Han: "..."

His excited expression quickly froze on the spot, hardening into a very strange and distorted expression.

So...is that so?

That's true... He's always been a bit slow-witted... I really shouldn't overthink it; if you don't overthink, you won't be disappointed...

Xu Han: "...Alright then, you finally understand. That was really hard-won."

"It's only a possibility."

Yu Shijiu added, "It might also taste very good."

"..."

Xu Han's lips twitched, and he silently swallowed the words, "Don't even dream about it."

As it turns out, Yu Shijiu was indeed dreaming.

After they slowly walked into the canteen in a queue, they saw two iron buckets on a huge wooden table, with wisps of swirling steam rising from one of the buckets.

The person serving the food... was actually Angkor Wat.

Angkor wore a dirty apron roughly tied around his waist, and tapped the iron bucket in front of him with a cheap cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"I'm talking to you! Holding the bowl up high, you're going to spill all the soup and waste it!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The NPC crew member who was called out grinned foolishly. "Brother Wu, you're right. I held it too low. I held the bowl too low!"

"..."

The cigarette dangling from Angkor's lips trembled slightly. He tilted his head, ladled out most of a bowl of soup for him, and said impatiently:

"Go to the other bucket and take two loaves of bread, don't take more than that, okay?"

“I know, I know,” the NPC crew member said with a smile as he carried a bowl and walked to another iron barrel to get bread from behind.

The long, golden-brown bread with a soft, fluffy surface was picked up by the NPC crew member, who stuffed it into his arms and walked away happily.

"..."

Yu Shijiu peeked into the thin, white mutton soup in his eyes and frowned.

Looking at it this way, the probability of the mutton soup being unpalatable has increased... but the bread looks pretty good though.

boom!

One of the NPC crew members in front of them lost his grip on the bread in his arms and dropped it onto the ground, making a sound that startled all the players.

No... is that the sound a loaf of bread makes when it falls to the ground?

Then, the NPC who dropped the bread quickly bent down, picked up the dusty bread, stuffed it into his arms, took a sip of mutton soup, and walked happily toward the door.

"This meat smells so good..."

The NPC crew member smacked his lips as he drank the mutton soup, his expression one of lingering enjoyment, which rekindled Yu Shijiu's hope.

"Brother," Yu Shijiu asked him, "is it really that delicious?"

The NPC crew member glanced at him, took another sip of mutton soup, and nodded.

"Isn't that nonsense?"

He burped, and a strong smell of mutton hit him.

Yu Shijiu was fine, but Xu Han next to her was so overwhelmed by the smell that he covered his mouth and turned his head away.

"Meat! This is mutton, kid! Mutton is so delicious, how could the mutton soup not be good?"

"Just think about it, wouldn't it taste even better if you soaked that bread in the soup?"

The NPC crew member chattered on and on, the bread stuffed in his clothes glistening under the light, and the unique sweet aroma of some kind of bread gradually fermented in the air.

Yu Shijiu looked down at the bread in his arms, her nose twitching almost imperceptibly.

So fragrant...

This rock-hard bread seems to taste much better than the mutton soup.

The aroma made him a little hungry.

When the rumbling sounds of hunger filled the air, Xu Han, who had barely managed to suppress his nausea, turned around in shock:

"Shi Jiu, are you hungry?"

No... they didn't eat it before they came in—glug!

"Ok?"

Yu Shijiu looked at him in confusion and reminded him, "Actually, it's not my stomach that's making noise."

Xu Han: "???"

Just as Xu Han was about to retort, she noticed her stomach tremble and make a muffled gurgling sound.

Xu Han: "..."

He touched his sunken belly, sighed in disbelief and frustration.

"Looks like I'm really exhausted today. My stomach has been growling since I was little."

Yu Shijiu, who is often hungry: "?"

He said in a somewhat bewildered voice, "You're so lucky..."

Those five short words silenced Xu Han, who was muttering incessantly.

Xu Han lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly: "About Shi Jiu, actually, I... I didn't mean anything by it—"

"Hey! You little brats over there!"

The man holding the spoon in front tapped the metal bucket, "Stop chatting! Come and get your bowl!"

Yu Shijiu and Xu Han fell silent at the same time, turned around and met Wu Ge's irritated gaze.

"Still looking? What are you looking at? Hurry up and get your bowls! Don't you all want to eat?!"

Other NPC crew members carrying soup nearby looked over and teased:

"If they don't want it, we can have it! We can easily eat two portions and still not be full!"

"That's right, Brother Wu, hurry up! If they're not going to eat it, just give it to us!"

"Hahaha, if we really let you shameless bunch have it, these two newbies would be furious!"

"..."

"Quiet quiet!"

Angkor banged on the metal bucket again, frowning and roaring, "Stop talking nonsense! Everyone who got soup and bread, get out of here! Isn't it noisy enough already?! Give it all back if you stir-fry it again!"

After Angkor roared, the NPC crew members who had been making fun of him fell silent. They all hung their heads, hunched over, and walked toward the door with downcast eyes.

It was Yu Shijiu and Xu Han's turn to get their meals.

"They all become outrageous when they see food!"

Standing behind the table, Brother Wu looked furious. He slammed his fist on the metal bucket, then, supporting the bewildered Xu Han, shouted:

"Hurry up and grab the bowl! What are you standing there for?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh!!" Xu Han was startled and quickly bent down to pick up the bowl that was placed on the table in front of Brother Wu.

...He really didn't mean it. The bowl was right there, why did Angkor insist that they go get it themselves...?

Xu Han felt really wronged by being yelled at.

When a bowl of creamy white mutton soup was poured into it, Xu Han, who was close to smelling the mutton's odor, only turned a little pale.

Well, he's almost gotten used to the smell after a while.

After taking two pieces of bread, Xu Han, carrying the mutton soup, turned back and gave Yu Shijiu a look, then whispered in a low voice:

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Yu Shijiu nodded, took a bowl, walked to the table, and raised his hand to Brother Wu.

Angkor looked at him several times, scrutinizing him from head to toe, his eyebrows furrowed like a knot.

"Why are you so skinny, like a monkey?"

Yu Shijiu, who was called a monkey: "..."

"then."

Wu Ge frowned, picked up his spoon, and poured a large spoonful of mutton soup into Yu Shijiu's bowl. "Eat more in the future."

"..."

Yu Shijiu's wrist sank, and the red cinnabar bracelet on her pale, thin wrist became faintly visible.

He took back the bowl, saw two pieces of mutton in the soup, and paused for a few seconds.

This is the first time Yu Shijiu has seen mutton in the soup since then.

Angkor put mutton in his bowl separately.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and grab the bread and get out of here! You're so young, yet your brain is so slow! You're so stupid!"

Angkor looked furious, banging the soup ladle in his hand back and forth in the iron bucket full of mutton soup, making dull thuds.

Yu Shijiu remained silent for a few seconds, then said thank you before leaving.

Behind him, Wu Ge, holding a soup spoon, watched his and Xu Han's departing figures, exhaling a puff of smoke while holding a cigarette in one hand.

"Next, next one, hurry up!"

"..."

----------

The two walked out of the cafeteria with mutton soup and bread. After standing face to face with the narrow and cramped corridor wall for a few seconds, Xu Han peeked at Yu Shijiu's rice bowl.

Just like what he saw behind him... Brother Wu really did add two spoonfuls of mutton to Yu Shijiu's plate.

Although the mutton soup wasn't very tasty, it was still... quite enviable that Brother Wu had added mutton to Yu Shijiu's soup for no apparent reason.

Xu Han was a little envious and a little worried: "Adding mutton shouldn't cause any problems, right?"

Yu Shijiu lowered his eyes and stared at the mutton in the soup bowl. The strong smell of mutton filled his nostrils, but he shook his head as if he couldn't smell it.

"No, Angkor really thinks I'm too thin."

So they only gave him meat; everyone else got soup.

"...She is indeed very thin."

Xu Han scratched his head, somewhat puzzled:

"Speaking of which, I'm a little curious. If the crew members working on the ship eat this kind of bread and drink milk every day, and the only drinking water on board is the cheapest rum..."

Xu Han's gaze fell on the steaming soup bowl in his hand, and he subconsciously said:

"Shi Jiu, do you really think the food we're eating right now can make Wu Ge and the others grow up to be this strong?"

The appearance and physique of the NPCs they see after boarding the ship... are completely unrelated to the food they are eating.

Drinking cheap rum and eating bread every day, and occasionally having a bowl of mutton soup, would make the crew members as happy as if it were New Year's Day. Xu Han found it hard to imagine that the muscles on the crew members' bodies came from bread.

Can this rock-hard bread really have that much nutrition?

Even if you kill Xu Han, he still won't believe it.

"..."

Yu Shijiu lowered his eyes to look at the mutton pieces in the bowl, then took a sip of soup from the rim of the bowl.

"!"

Xu Han felt a chill run down his spine as he noticed the muttony smell suddenly becoming even stronger.

My goodness... Yu Shijiu is so brave, so incredibly brave. He really doesn't dare to drink mutton soup, but of course, he could try the bread.

I guess I'd have to worry about the bread popping out and hitting my teeth or something...

"It wasn't cleaned properly."

Yu Shijiu licked her lips after taking a sip of mutton soup, turned her head to look at Xu Han, and gave a serious comment:

"You're right, this mutton soup really isn't very good."

Xu Han: "...Of course! It smells fishy and lingering, let alone drinking it directly... Wait, didn't you feel nauseous or want to vomit after you drank it?"

Yu Shijiu: "?"

He frowned and shook his head. "I didn't."

Xu Han: "..."

"Shi Jiu, you really have a good appetite, haha..."

"It's alright, it's alright." Yu Shijiu took another sip of mutton soup and said earnestly:

"Although it doesn't taste as good as the one brewed by Angkor Wat, it's not that bad either."

Unable to refute, Xu Han lowered his head, held his breath, and took a big gulp of the mutton soup in his bowl.

"...Cough cough cough cough!!!!"

Xu Han coughed violently, his face flushed, and refused Yu Shijiu three times in a row.

"No, no, I won't drink anymore. I'll give you whatever you want..."

"Pity."

Yu Shijiu seemed not to hear him. She muttered to herself, lowered her head and slowly finished the mutton and soup in her bowl, then sighed.

"It would taste much better if there were scallions, ginger, and garlic."

The mutton soup wasn't as bad as I imagined. The reason it tasted gamey was probably not only because there wasn't enough seasoning, but also because the NPC who made the soup was unwilling to throw away the excess, less desirable mutton fat.

I wonder who made the soup... otherwise, Yu Shi really intended to have a close conversation with them about this.

When cooking, you always have to make choices. Only by removing the bad parts can you make a delicious and non-fishy soup.

As for what Xu Han just said...

Yu Shijiu turned her head to look at him and slowly shook her head: "What you just said is correct."

Xu Han, who had finally managed to bite down on the hard bread and choked while hiccuping, exclaimed, "...Hiccup???"

What's right or wrong?

"People who eat this kind of thing for a long time cannot possibly develop such a healthy and strong physique."

Yu Shijiu took the mutton soup that Xu Hanbu handed him and examined his thin face reflected in the milky white soup.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, "I now suspect that the flesh on Angkor and the others' bodies is fake."

Xu Han looked completely bewildered: "? Hiccup?? Shi Jiu, are you saying hiccup... what hiccup?"

"Oh."

Yu Shijiu slowly poured the mutton soup from Xu Han's bowl into his own, and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Actually, it's like this: although the food I ate before wasn't very good either, compared to what they ate, it seems to be better than what Angkor Wat and the others ate."

Even though he used to eat "better" food than Wu Ge and the others, Yu Shijiu hasn't developed any muscles yet.

“Look at me,” Yu Shijiu said, holding up the soup bowl and showing off his arm, “Do you think I have any flesh on me?”

Xu Han looked at his thin, almost fleshless arms with a complicated expression, hesitated for a moment, and then coughed:

"Actually, it's alright, there's still a bit of meat on it."

Yu Shijiu: "?"

He first frowned in confusion, then said:

"Yes, this is only because I've been eating delicious food for several months. That's why Angkor Wat and the others look so fake."

Xu Han finally realized, "You mean, the crew members we're seeing now might not have originally looked like this?"

"Not necessarily." Yu Shijiu took another sip of the mutton soup that made Xu Han's eyelids twitch, and said, "Maybe I'm overthinking it."

"...Then you should think about it more."

Xu Han sighed.

In a game where you could die at any moment, thinking more and being more cautious can actually increase your chances of survival.

"So, Shi Jiu, how long are you going to keep drinking?"

Xu Han tightened his cheap uniform, which exposed his arms, and shivered.

He whispered, barely able to contain himself:

"I feel like the temperature is a bit low right now."

The first-floor cabin corridor was not only cramped and dark, which already gave the illusion of being unable to breathe, but now it was even more outrageous, with a chilling airflow that made people shiver.

It's really cold.