12 The Man-Eating Hot Pot Restaurant (Part 1)

◎A man-eating hotpot restaurant◎

Labao was reluctant at first, but Zhu Ning finally used his "cash power" to buy the service for 10,000 Singapore dollars.

She added Labao as her friend and told him to send her any videos he found, as long as they were from the past month. Labao succumbed to Zhu Ning's charm, no, Qian Wei agreed.

After leaving the garbage room, Zhu Ning chose to walk home. She tried it herself and found that it took her an hour and 40 minutes to walk home, while taking a taxi would only take 8 minutes.

On the day Zhu Ning was reborn, she took a powerful healing potion and then drove back. She checked the map and saw that this abandoned garbage room was the closest place to Zhu Ning's residence and had no surveillance. There must be a reason for choosing the garbage room.

Zhu Ning groped his way home again and ran into Mother Wei as soon as he reached the door. She had just finished collecting the rent and was walking down the stairs with a cane.

For some reason, Zhu Ning instinctively felt a little uncomfortable when she saw her. She remembered that Mother Wei said that she often went crazy, and she was not talking about the current Zhu Ning, but definitely the original owner.

Why did the original owner go crazy?

Mother Wei must know something about the original owner. Zhu Ning was trying to figure out how to open her mouth so she could get the information out smoothly. But she closed her mouth the moment she opened it. She couldn't trust anyone right now.

If Mother Wei was involved in her death, Zhu Ning would expose herself as soon as she opened her mouth.

Mother Wei glanced at her and said sarcastically, "I was wondering where you got the money from. Turns out you're hooking up with a wealthy family."

Zhu Ning: “???”

Can you please stop talking like she married into a wealthy family?

Mother Wei: "I think you are so lucky to have landed a job at a cleaning center. It's a stable job."

Zhu Ning: “…”

Why do you look so envious? To outsiders, the cleaning center is the highest-paid and most comfortable job in District 103. Even for garbage collectors, it's a stable job.

The employee benefits are excellent. Full-time employees receive free medical checkups and subsidies upon retirement. Joining the Federal Cleaning Center promises a stable and comfortable life for the rest of your life.

Mother Wei: "The cleaning center is looking for you. They are right at your door."

So that’s how it is. Zhu Ning was still wondering how Mother Wei knew about it.

But, looking for her? Zhu Ning didn't know many people, only Li Nianchuan and Xu Meng. Li Nianchuan was still in the medical department for treatment of mental pollution.

Zhu Ning: "I'll go up right away."

She left right after she finished speaking, and just as she passed Wei's mother she was about to take the stairs.

Mother Wei suddenly said from behind: "Be careful."

Zhu Ning paused and looked back. Mother Wei was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a cane. Zhu Ning was standing on the steps. Mother Wei was a dwarf, so Zhu Ning was much taller than her.

Mother Wei should have been looking up, but she didn't raise her head. She just raised her eyes, revealing a large area of ​​yellow whites in her eyes, and stared straight at Zhu Ning.

Be careful.

What should I be wary of? The cleaning center? Or the other people in the hive? Is there really something wrong with the building manager?

Zhu Ning wanted to ask more, but Mother Wei had already walked away with her cane. Zhu Ning walked upstairs in silence.

Sure enough, just as Mother Wei said, there was a man waiting at her door.

The man was wearing a full set of work clothes with the cleaning center's logo printed on them. He was carrying a huge black suitcase and looked like a courier.

"Miss Zhu," the man smiled, "I'm here to get the contract."

Fang Ying had mentioned to the cleaning center staff that someone would come to pick Zhu Ning up once he officially joined the company. Zhu Ning looked at the man's employee ID and verified it again with his wristband.

Is a regular employee.

Zhu Ning came into the room and handed him the contract. After the man took the contract, he handed the suitcase to Zhu Ning, which was tied with a huge bow.

"Miss Zhu, congratulations on joining the company. This is a new job gift."

A job gift? The oversized suitcase was big enough for an adult to hide inside. Zhu Ning thought of the horror movies he had seen. Could there be a corpse in there?

The man moved quickly, finishing his work and leaving without even stopping to exchange pleasantries. Zhu Ning only opened the suitcase after the man had left.

She was silent.

It was a complete set of standard weapons, completely different from the air bombs brought on previous missions. There were four guns inside, a complete set of military daggers, and explosive devices.

Under the box was a set of protective clothing specifically for cleaners, a black leather jacket and a helmet, including tools for containing contaminated spores, and even some powerful healing agents and other medicines.

In other words, with this box, Zhu Ning can completely break away from the cleaning center and work on his own.

Zhu Ning tried to load the gun, but there was no obstruction. These standard weapons were not locked, which meant that Zhu Ning did not need to ask the cleaning center for permission if he wanted to use them.

This was completely inconsistent with the cleaning center's style. Even if the center were to restructure, the change would be too drastic. Zhu Ning opened the center's forum and searched for employee gifts. Many posts popped up.

They were basically all about things like thermos cups, chrysanthemum and wolfberry kidney-protecting tablets, and even direct cash handouts. Zhu Ning flipped through two pages of the forum, but couldn't find anyone else who had received a box of standard-issue weapons like she had.

Who sent this to her? Prometheus?

Why did it send itself a box of "gifts"? To help it destroy the cleaning center headquarters?

Zhu Ning felt the box of weapons was too hot to handle, and his first reaction was to contact Fang Ying.

Fang Ying was the center's assistant, and she knew best whether receiving a box of weapons complied with procedures. But Zhu Ning fell silent after opening Fang Ying's dialog box.

Can't tell her.

Zhu Ning couldn't tell who Fang Ying was. The more people knew about this, the more dangerous it was. It was dangerous not only for Zhu Ning, but also for Fang Ying.

Zhu Ning opened Fang Ying's chat box and hadn't said anything yet when Fang Ying sent him a message, "Congratulations on joining us, and welcome to the District 103 Cleaning Center."

Zhu Ning paused and sent an emoji, "Please take care of me."

She acted like a normal employee.

Fang Ying: "I'm surprised by your choice."

Zhu Ning exchanged a few pleasantries with her and asked, "Did you receive the contract?"

Fang Ying: “Just delivered.”

That guy really came to pick up the contract.

Zhu Ning asked again: "Are there any missions recently?"

She couldn't find the truth about her death for a while, and it would probably take some time for Labao to find the surveillance video, but she couldn't just sit at home and pick her feet.

Fang Ying: "No rush, I've applied for seven days of leave for you."

Zhu Ning, who wanted to work 996 for the company: "?"

What kind of company is this? Work one day, rest seven days? Why are they forcing people to take vacations?

Fang Ying explained: "It's not my rule. The cleaning center stipulates that there must be at least 7 days between two tasks as a buffer period. It's mainly because they are worried that the employees can't bear it mentally."

Although this concern does not apply to Zhu Ning, rules are rules.

Fang Ying: "But you can't go out on missions in seven days. The cleaning center is undergoing restructuring. I'll notify you to come to the company for employee training in seven days."

It sounds like there was an earthquake inside the cleaning center and they are undergoing a reorganization. As for how the reorganization is taking place, there is no need for Zhu Ning, a small fry, to know.

Zhu Ning sent an emoticon and then closed the dialog box.

Accustomed to the oppression of the original world, Zhu Ning felt a little uncomfortable when he suddenly encountered a company that was willing to give him a holiday. He was forced to stay at home and work.

She did what every otaku would do at home - browsing forums out of boredom.

The staff forum of the cleaning center is very active. Zhu Ning had always thought that even if the style of this forum was not serious, the topics discussed should still be scientific.

Unexpectedly, the discussion atmosphere within the forum was very "metaphysical". She posted, "Those who saw this post in the middle of the night, come in! Newbies please don't bother!"

Grave post? What is a grave post?

Zhu Ning’s impression is that they are posts that were posted many years ago and dug up by someone. I wonder if they are the same as the grave posts in the wasteland world.

After reading two pages, she roughly understood what a grave post was. When the cleaning center employees were brushing posts, they would see "grave posts" on the gray page after midnight.

The page is displayed in gray, which means that the poster is dead, and the post will be displayed in gray.

It stands to reason that people who have passed away will no longer post. Even if they post something before they die, it will eventually be drowned in the tide of information and will no longer be pushed to the front.

Those who see tomb posts can receive messages from the deceased. The person who wrote the post said that he received a message from someone who died seven years ago.

How could this be so... paranormal? Isn't this a world with a fully upgraded tech tree? And the cleaning center employees still believe this?

The tradition of grave stickers has been around in the cleaning center for a long time. Everyone has a consensus that the place described by the grave stickers is the polluted area, and the grave stickers are emitted by pollutants.

There are big differences of opinion on how to react after receiving information about the deceased.

Some people think it's the resentment of the deceased, and now that they know it, they should eliminate it. The deceased is asking for help, and those who are able should try to do it, and there will be rewards as long as they kill the pollutants.

For some people, the existence of "grave posts" is like a private job.

But some people think that these grave posts are a trap. Pollutants send out distress signals to attract people into the polluted area and then swallow them up. The operating logic of the pollutants is to turn you into my kind.

Many employees never return and become part of the pollutants, and grave posts may be a way for pollutants to be eaten.

In the middle of the night, Zhu Ning was quite excited as he was scrolling through posts, as if it was a freshman orientation party, both scary and exciting.

The clock now shows 11:59, and it is only one minute away from the time to see the tomb post.

brush--

The clock jumped from 11:59 to 12:00, and Zhu Ning clicked the refresh button.

The posts on the forum homepage were refreshed, but all the posts had colorful titles, and no so-called gray posts were seen.

Zhu Ning frantically clicked on the refresh button, as if he was trying to grab a free gift card during a shopping festival. A minute passed, and nothing appeared. It really was a mystery, did it really depend on luck?

Zhu Ning was about to close the page when he suddenly stopped. A gray post appeared on the colorful forum homepage.

Title: Hidden in the alleys of District 103, a fly restaurant that you can't miss, spicy food lovers come quickly

This looks like a food recommendation, nothing special. When I clicked on the link, the screen suddenly became blurry and seemed to be stuck.

Two seconds later, the frame ended, revealing the entire food post page. Under the long title, the posting time was displayed, which was the 50th year of the new calendar.

Since the world experienced a radiation eighty years ago, high walls and a new world have been built, and a new calendar is used uniformly. The 50th year of the new calendar is the fiftieth year after the radiation.

It has been thirty years since then.

Zhu Ning didn't know whether she was too lucky or unlucky, she immediately found a post from more than 30 years ago. When she looked closely, the entire page was indeed gray, including the several food pictures attached.

Against the backdrop of the gray and white photos, no matter how delicious the hot pot is, it loses its fragrance. The tripe and duck blood now look like props from a horror movie.

The poster vividly described how delicious the hot pot restaurant was, and that the must-try dishes were their spicy beef and spicy squid. However, the accompanying pictures did not look appetizing at all, and instead looked spooky and gloomy, which was completely unconvincing.

The post ends by introducing the name of the hot pot restaurant - Hao Zai Lai Hot Pot Restaurant.

Zhu Ning was still thinking when he suddenly heard a ding in his head.

[Congratulations on triggering the random mission: Man-eating Hot Pot Restaurant. Mission objectives: Clean up the contaminated area, contain the contaminated spores, rescue survivors, and assist in finding the truth behind the deaths. This mission is a random mission and is not mandatory. Please choose whether to accept it.]

[This mission will automatically close before dawn, please make your decision carefully.]

Zhu Ning: “…”

She received two missions on the same day? She hadn't figured out the truth behind the previous side mission, the death, and now the system is giving her another one?

etc.

This mission description is very complicated. Saving survivors means there are still people alive in the contaminated area. The following sentence assists in finding the truth behind the death. Could there be clues to Zhu Ning's death in the hot pot restaurant?

Are these two sentences related?

She glanced at the suitcase on the ground. Could these standard weapons be prepared for the mission? Could they not be Prometheus, but were given to her by the system?

Impossible. Whatever the system wants to give her can be placed in the blank space on the panel without taking up any space.

Moreover, this system is very generous with its rewards. A bomb can be given that can destroy a thirty-story building. In comparison, that box of stuff is a bit out of place.

However, the quests available this time were different from before. Zhu Ning had a better understanding of this system: there were main quests, long-term side quests, mandatory short-term side quests, and now there were random quests.

The system logic is consistent with the reality logic. Fang Ying said that she has a short life, and she is in urgent need of accumulating health points.

Zhu Ning clicked yes.

[The mission has been successfully accepted. Please complete it before dawn.]

…

…

Good to come to the hot pot restaurant again.

The hot pot restaurant was buzzing with activity. It was so popular that the aroma could be smelled from across the street. The lobby was completely full, and at the center, a table of four young men and women was occupied.

A girl with bangs said while eating: "Where's my tripe?"

She plunged her chopsticks into the pot of boiling red oil and fished skillfully, but found nothing.

"Who ate my tripe?"

"I didn't eat it. Try using a slotted spoon."

Qi Liu Hai was just about to change the colander, but before she took out her chopsticks, she suddenly stopped. Was it an illusion?

It seemed like... something in the boiling pot was pulling at her chopsticks.

Qi Liuhai looked down in confusion. Half of the chopsticks were in her hand, and the other half was in the red oil pan, with a small black tentacle wrapped around it.

The black tentacle suction cup firmly grasped the chopsticks. Common sense said that everything in such a hot pot should be cooked, but she could clearly feel the grip of the tentacles.

"Who ordered the squid?"

"Squid? I didn't order it, you did—Aa ...

"What is this? Help!"

The girl in the red T-shirt suddenly screamed before she could finish her words. A tentacle as thick as a wrist emerged from the red oil hot pot. The tentacle rolled up and grabbed the girl with bangs' hand and pulled it into the hot pot.

The hot pot restaurant was filled with screams and blood.

The author has something to say:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-07-30 08:40:16 and 2022-07-31 11:58:49~

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: I am going on a long voyage with 10 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!