By now, the young man—Bạch Vũ—and I had made it safely into the hotel room.
I fed him beef jerky while admiring the handsome man.
In the dim light, his profile was like a snow lotus dusted with dew. Like pure moonlight.
Eight faintly defined abs showed beneath his thin shirt.
I was so captivated, I was practically drooling.
Then I realized I’d given away my last piece of beef jerky.
The young man blinked, looking so aggrieved that it was clear he still wasn’t full.
His adorable expression made my nose feel hot. I almost got a nosebleed.
“I saw an oven in the kitchen downstairs, and there’s beef in the fridge. I can make you something right now.”
Sure enough, if you want to win a man’s heart, first you have to win his stomach.
My ancestors weren’t wrong!
The young man’s eyes lit up, and he nodded again and again.
But then my gaze fell on the “Guest Instructions” notice posted on the door.
The first rule read: “Do not leave your room at night.”
I hesitated for a second, but the young man gripped my arm.
“Big sis, it’s okay. I’ll protect you. No one in this hotel would dare hurt you.”
His tone carried the cold arrogance of someone used to being in charge. But I was so captivated by his looks that I didn’t notice at all.
The way he called me “Big sis” made my head spin.
What do you mean, a male fox spirit?
I nodded dazedly.
“Okay, okay, okay.”
To die beneath the peony blossoms is to die a happy ghost!
You want to eat? Then eat up!
[What an idiot. The door is the most important defensive tool in the room. Running around like that is a sure way to die horribly.]
[Meanwhile, Lý Vỹ is every bit the high-level player—he set a ghost trap right by the door. Maybe they really will clear the scenario this time.]
[Quit talking. Go to Room 418 and check on Lý Vỹ.]
3.
Room 418 was littered with bloodied bodies.
Their stomachs had been ripped open by sharp claws, and their intestines had vanished.
“Keh keh keh keh keh…”
Granny the Gutter-Gouger cackled shrilly, her mouth smeared with blood as she ravenously devoured a length of intestine.
“Have any of you seen my intestines?”
Protected by Lý Vỹ and several veteran players, Tô Ngọc Đình struggled to escape.
[Holy crap, what kind of freaky monster is that? It broke through the trap and came right through the door. But Lý Vỹ really is the top player—he’s so strong that he managed to lead his team to safety even against a monster like that.]
[Too bad nearly all the newbies are dead. Granny might have dropped a high-level item—her comb—but we won’t get it this time.]
[Can’t you tell the difference between what matters more, an item or your life?]
Granny crawled out through the ceiling and confidently made her way into the adjoining Room 419…
What? Nobody here?
Granny looked utterly puzzled.
Meanwhile, I was busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
At the table, Bạch Vũ was eating like there was no tomorrow.
The pot of vibrant red, spicy fish soup was brimming with snowy-white fish, speckled with pepper, chilies, and bright green scallions. The first taste brought a numbing, spicy heat from the pepper and chilies;
next to it, neat cubes of pork braised in a rich, dark red sauce melted in my mouth—the fat soft and luscious, the lean meat tender, all of it pure bliss…
He was eating too fast to talk to me, so he just gave me a thumbs-up.
Neither of us noticed the white figure appearing in the doorway.
“Has anyone seen my intestines?” Granny stared at us ominously.
But she hadn’t counted on the sizzling fish drowning out her voice.
“What?” I looked up and asked.
Granny was a little annoyed.
“I said, has anyone seen my intestines?”
Just then, the oven beeped, drowning her out again.
I recalled the voice I’d just heard and nodded.
“Oh, are you a new player?”
I looked Granny over. She was so thin, she clearly wasn’t getting enough to eat.
“Are you hungry? Want a late-night snack? I can make you something. What would you like—pig intestines?”
The hotel fridge was well stocked. I quickly found a clean bag of pig intestines, slick and glistening, plump and springy, like the snakes Bạch Vũ had skinned.
I expertly brought the knife down, cutting them into diagonal pieces.
Bạch Vũ simply raised his hand to signal me.
“I’ll have another serving, please.”
Meanwhile, the comments we couldn’t see were going wild.
[Oh my god, I’m dying. This is the super-boss who sent the top player running for his life without giving him an ounce of dignity, and now she can’t even get a word in? Let her finish a sentence!]
[Is Granny starving? Tương Ngọc’s making her stir-fried intestines!]
[Not gonna lie, that girl’s cooking smells amazing. I can practically smell it just by looking.]
Granny the Gutter-Gouger stood awkwardly in place, fists clenched, apparently torn between saving face and ripping us to shreds.
But by then, the oil in the pan was smoking hot.
I dropped the pig intestines into the hot oil. A sharp sizzle rang out at once.
The unmistakable aroma of animal fat, a little wild and intensely rich, took over the entire kitchen.
“I’m hungry now. Is it okay to watch this in the middle of the night?”
[We came to watch a horror game, not a cooking show.]
Granny went along with the situation and obediently sat down in the chair beside the young man.
A moment later, two servings of stir-fried pig intestines were brought out and set neatly in front of them.
The piping-hot dish glistened with sauce, shimmering an entrancing amber beneath the lights.
Plump pieces of intestine were coated in translucent sauce and flecked with bright green scallions and vivid red chilies—a feast for the eyes.
Granny clumsily picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece.
It was hefty, and the sauce looked ready to drip off.
She blew on the steaming morsel, then carefully put it in her mouth.
At once, her terrifying cataract-clouded eyes lit up.
4.
Her teeth first met the crispy outer layer, a result of the hot oil, with a light, delicate crunch.
Then came the smooth sauce, its savory, fresh flavor and faint sweetness mingling with a touch of sourness across her tongue. The vinegar’s acidity cleverly woke up her taste buds and cut through the richness of the fat.
Granny took one bite, then two, three, four, five.
Then she looked at me, trembling with excitement.
“Oh my god, you’ve got the flavor exactly right, sweetheart.”
“If I’d known cooked intestines tasted this good, why did I eat them raw for all those years? I’m never eating them raw again.”
“Sweetie, this game-clearance item is for you. Make me another plate, okay?”
An exquisite wooden comb was placed in front of me. Its design looked like it came from the Republican era, steeped in the feel of that time.
“Thank you, Granny!”
I accepted it calmly.
I was over the moon.
So what if I’m a chef? Being a chef is a perfectly respectable profession.
Sure enough, learn one skill and you can travel the world without fear!
[Good grief! This really has turned into a cooking show.]
[The moment Granny opened her mouth, all the horror vanished. She’s gotta be from the Northeast, right?]
[Forget Granny—even I want a bite of those delicious-looking stir-fried intestines.]
[Wait, am I seeing this right? What’s that girl holding? Isn’t that the priceless item Lý Vỹ and his crew were willing to risk their lives to get? She’s just giving it away? Seriously?]
I touched the comb, and a notification immediately appeared before my eyes.
[Congratulations, player. You have obtained the special-grade item “Granny’s Wooden Comb.” The player who possesses this item can designate one person to leave the game safely.]
I studied Granny, who was dressed plainly. I never would have guessed she was a veteran player, casually handing over an item this beautiful and powerful.
“Granny, wait a moment. I’ll go make it right away.”
Once we’d eaten our fill, Bạch Vũ and I returned to Room 419.
We slept soundly until morning.