Having finally dragged himself to the end of class, Zuo Lin'an stretched lazily as if coming back to life.
It was now lunchtime.
However, the players sitting around him were in no hurry to leave. Instead, they were flipping through their English textbooks, staring intently at the bizarre, alien-looking symbols.
Gu Hedao turned to Zuo Lin'an with a strained smile.
“Classmate Zuo, you were sleeping during class just now, yet the teacher didn't even bother to scold you.”
Zuo Lin'an took a deep breath and let out a soft chuckle.
“She could, but she doesn't have to. After all, the English teacher isn't our homeroom teacher.”
Besides, this was a dungeon, not a real class. The teacher probably wanted as little trouble as possible so she could have an easier time.
If these players didn't study either, that would be even better.
If none of them passed Saturday's exam in the end, they would all have to stay behind. That would count as an indirect contribution toward wiping out the players.
Gu Hedao didn't quite understand what Zuo Lin'an meant, but he didn't press further. After all, natives occasionally used terminology that made no sense to them.
“How about we head over for a meal together?”
Zuo Lin'an looked at him. “Inviting me to eat with you? Do you have something to say to me?”
Gu Hedao slowly stood up. “Shall we talk while we eat?”
Zuo Lin'an naturally wouldn't refuse. He nudged Xu Youyou behind him.
“Sure, we have to eat anyway.”
As they prepared to leave, Xuan Jingyuan didn't want to be left behind either and caught up with them.
With His Majesty the Emperor tagging along, Xuan Yi and Xuan Er naturally followed suit. Soon, players from other classes merged into their group as they headed downstairs.
Xu Youyou frowned, glancing back before asking a question.
“Are they following us?”
Zuo Lin'an glanced back. “Let them follow if they want. Why care about them?”
As long as Xuan Jingyuan stayed with them, this crowd would keep following.
Xu Youyou figured that made sense, then turned to Gu Hedao.
“Classmate Gu, what did you eat this morning?”
His tone seemed casual, but there was a subtle hint of teasing in it.
Gu Hedao was slightly puzzled but still replied.
“The same as you.”
Xu Youyou paused.
“You saw us?”
Gu Hedao nodded.
“Indeed.”
When they had left the dorm earlier, these two natives had claimed they wanted to sleep, yet they had suddenly appeared in the cafeteria. He had been observing them from the shadows and noticed something off.
While choosing their breakfast, the two had shown a subtle, disgusted look toward certain food items.
At that moment, he suspected there might be issues with those dishes, which the players would highly likely fail to detect. That being the case, he decided to invite the natives to eat with him.
As long as he picked the exact same meals they did, nothing would go wrong.
Xu Youyou chuckled.
“Is that so? You hid yourself pretty well then. We didn't even notice you.”
Xuan Jingyuan looked at him.
“Classmate Xu, why do you ask that? Was there something wrong with the breakfast?”
Xu Youyou looked completely bewildered.
“What could be wrong? They're edible anyway.”
They were indeed edible.
But as for what would happen after eating them, that was none of his business.
Xuan Jingyuan didn't reply but cast a subtle glance backward. Soon after, a man nodded to him.
This person highly likely possessed a Lie Detection talent, and Xu Youyou's words just now had been true.
Seeing this, Xuan Jingyuan breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was good that the food was fine.
Before long, Zuo Lin'an and the others arrived at the cafeteria. He, Xu Youyou, and Gu Hedao were the first to walk through the doors, with Xuan Jingyuan following close behind.
To the left and right of the Emperor were Xuan Yi and Xuan Er.
Behind them followed the rest of the group.
Among them, many Houtian Rank members of the Dark Dragon Guard and Tianlong Guard, as well as First-Rate expert Tianlong Guards, fanned out slightly after entering the doors, shielding Xuan Jingyuan in the center.
It had to be said that these players truly protected Xuan Jingyuan, their Emperor, flawlessly.
Zuo Lin'an swept his gaze across the area and randomly chose a window with a shorter line to queue up.
He was at the very front, Gu Hedao was right behind him, and Xu Youyou was a step slower, lining up behind Gu Hedao.
Gu Hedao looked at Zuo Lin'an.
“What do you plan to have for lunch? Looking at the slogans in the cafeteria, it seems we are required to eat a staple food, and it must be a balanced mix of meat and vegetables?”
Having participated in so many dungeons, the veteran players who survived to this day had adapted to speaking in a way that suited the natives, though they still occasionally mixed in archaic phrasings.
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
“Yes, it's healthier to eat that way.”
There weren't many people ahead of them, and it was their turn after just a few words.
He stepped forward and looked. Sure enough, there was something wrong with today's food.
Where the white rice should have been, there was now a squirming mass of plump, white, rice-sized maggots. Zuo Lin'an instinctively shifted his gaze to another staple food.
Steamed buns.
“Auntie, give me three steamed buns.”
“Sure thing! What side dishes do you want, young man? How about this braised chicken leg? It's delicious!”
Zuo Lin'an stared at the so-called braised chicken leg. It was clearly a whole, braised, hairy rat, completely un-gutted. He had no idea what it would taste like to take a bite out of it.
But to be fair, the cafeteria auntie was truly dedicated to her job. Even when serving NPC students, she didn't hesitate to scam them!
“I'll have something light today.”
In the end, he ordered stir-fried cauliflower and chicken with shiitake mushrooms.
As for the other dishes?
None of them were normal. For lunch today, only the steamed buns and the two dishes he ordered were normal. Everything else consisted of bizarre and grotesque things that made one want to vomit just looking at them.
However, from Gu Hedao's perspective, the two dishes Zuo Lin'an had chosen...
...consisted of some unknown meats mixed with a pitch-black, viscous liquid, looking like rotting mud freshly dug up from a black swamp.
As Zuo Lin'an walked past him carrying his food, Gu Hedao could even smell a sickening, rotting stench.
Gu Hedao frowned slightly. He took a step forward and looked at the food through the window.
Aside from the steamed buns, whose fillings were hidden, all the other food items looked excellent—except for the two dishes Zuo Lin'an had just ordered.
Could it be... the opposite of what it seemed?
The ones that looked edible were actually inedible, while the ones that looked inedible were the truly safe ones?
“Classmate? What are you having? Don't just stand there, there are many people waiting behind you.”
Recovering from his thoughts, Gu Hedao decided to choose the same dishes as Zuo Lin'an.
Standing to the side and waiting, Zuo Lin'an silently gave him a thumbs-up in his mind. Sure enough, Gu Hedao's invitation to eat together was solely for this purpose.
However, things didn't go as smoothly on Xuan Jingyuan's side.
As His Majesty the Emperor, he certainly couldn't be allowed to put himself at risk.
Thus, one of the men behind him stepped forward, immediately ordered the exact same meal as Zuo Lin'an, and stuffed it into his mouth without batting an eye.
When he took his first bite, his eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded toward Xuan Yi.
Seeing this, Zuo Lin'an stopped watching. He led his group to find a quiet corner to eat.
Rate on N.U.
