The spatula bounced twice in the pot, almost jumping out and falling to the ground.

Suppressing his surprise, Bu Yi feigned hesitation: "What connection can people and ingredients possibly have?"

"I don't know either. I heard that you just need to sign some kind of contract." The man clutched something in his pocket, trying to entice his wife with money. "You can earn four or five yuan each time you go, which is no less than doing regular work."

The ingredients were more expensive than those found in the back alleys of the meat and blood restaurant.

Bu Yi feigned calmness: "Sure, as long as there's work to do, are you going?"

The man laughed and said, "I'm a grown man, I don't do this kind of work... I want to make big money."

Upon hearing this, Bu Yi immediately exploded, wishing he could dump a pot of hot food on his head. However, mindful of the mission and energy points, Bu Yi refrained from doing so.

After the meat was cooked, Bu Yi, fearing that something else might go wrong, quickly fed Lu Danggui a piece of meat.

As the meat slices entered their mouths, the two simultaneously heard the notification "Mission Completed," and a clue surfaced in their minds.

At the same time, Bu Yi felt a weight on his back, stumbled, and almost dropped Lu Dangui, who had grown up on his back.

Lu Danggui was a little embarrassed and lowered her head to hide her awkwardness.

At the same time, Xia Chuhe, Li Yue, Li Qiusheng, and Wang Yan also emerged from the triggered mission.

The flow of time in the mission seemed to differ from that in reality. Nearly a day had passed in the mission, but only an afternoon had passed outside, with the sun just setting.

The chicken and duck siblings opened the door and ran into the group who had just escaped from their mission.

The chick cowered, "W-boss...why are you here?"

Having obtained the clues, the group no longer needed to inquire about the food law from the chicken and duck siblings.

An old, hoarse voice came from inside the house: "Let them in."

The chicken and duck siblings let the six people in, hesitated for a moment, and then went out to find work without staying at home for long.

"You all know..." the aged voice rang out again.

The six of them silently processed the clues they had gathered that day.

They had just experienced, as ordinary people, the most crucial historical event in the instance world—the rewriting of the Food Law.

A group of people in high positions and with great wealth obtained an evil method to achieve immortality, absorbing the vital energy of others to nourish themselves.

The first step in performing evil magic is to replace the shop's staff with their own people.

The second step is to get people to willingly sign a contract to become food.

Even if ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet, they would never sign such a deadly contract. But what if they can't survive?

That group devised a plan to use their power to turn normally operating shops into negative assets, then take control of the shops and lay off the employees.

The employees have elderly parents to support and children to feed.

With no money in hand and no work to do, they are slowly running out of supplies.

At this time, contracts that promised money for working in the food industry emerged, quickly absorbing a large number of unemployed people.

Innocent people become food, while the rich and powerful become diners.

The original rules governing dining that balanced diners and restaurants were no longer applicable, so diners took a third step: rewriting the rules.

Since the restaurant staff had been replaced by the customers, the laws that were originally based on fair agreements between the two parties were now all changed to favor the customers.

Through this series of actions, even if a small number of privately owned shops were preserved, they were swept along by the tide of history and gradually, gradually, became corrupted.

...

As for the completion status of the task—

Li Qiusheng and Wang Yan were the lackeys of the diners, helping them draft documents, conduct auctions, and bear the brunt of the anger of innocent people.

Even if the two do nothing, the auction will still proceed smoothly and the mission will be accomplished.

The outcome of withdrawing midway was actually good, because the lower-level staff who brought the auction to the end were retaliated against by the angry army of unemployed people, some were injured and some died.

The two characters were always just tools and scapegoats, while the real culprit remained unknown and became an immortal and bizarre diner after a major upheaval.

Bu Yi and Lu Danggui were also fortunate enough to complete their mission.

They were lucky to be vigilant enough.

The real-life experiences they went through were far more tragic than those of the average family.

No rice to cook, no side dishes to eat.

The man suggested to his wife that they sign a contract to buy groceries, but his wife flew into a rage and berated him. The man then turned to his friend, signed the contract, received an advance of two energy coins, and bought meat, vegetables, rice, and medicine.

The man then went home and cooked, mixing the medicine into the dishes and rice.

The entire family of three perished.

Li Yue and Xia Chuhe failed to complete the task.

Although their real-life experiences weren't as tragic, they still didn't end well.

In order to allow their child to grow up normally, the couple signed a contract to voluntarily become food for their child. Their idea was simple: just bear with it for a few years, and things will get better when the child grows up.

However, things getting better and better is just people's wishful thinking; reality is more often than not getting worse.

As children grow up, the world's exploitation of food becomes increasingly ruthless.

Parents who are constantly used as food and have their life essence drained will age quickly. If their children want to support them, the only option they have is to sign a contract to voluntarily become food for their parents.

...

Li Qiusheng murmured in bewilderment, "If you're going to resist, why not resist to the very end?"

They've already taken action against frontline staff, so why not do more?

Li Yue whispered, "As long as there's a way to survive, most people won't choose to take up arms. Even if they do..."

They would also choose to point their weapons at themselves first.

Xia Chuhe's expression was cold: "Don't question the courage of the unfortunate."

Why is it that when misfortune strikes, there are always people who blame the victim's actions, and who always speculate what the victim might have done or not done that could have changed the outcome?

Why not confront the perpetrator?

The ordinary people who became food did nothing wrong; they simply chose the most appropriate way to handle the situation within their capabilities. The ones who truly erred were the diners, those monsters who, for their own selfish desires, dragged others down with them.

Instead of questioning the unfortunate, we should resist those who have already benefited!

The old man inside said, "The food service law can protect businesses and invalidate contracts. The food service law..."

It kept repeating "meal law," "meal law,"...

The voice grew softer and softer...

Bu Yi touched its eyes; they were unfocused and lifeless, as if it were dead.

Xia Chuhe paced back and forth in the room, a nameless anxiety rising in her heart. They guessed that the key lay in the meal law, but how could they modify the meal law, and how could they make it truly effective?

"Diners..."

Wang Yan recalled the clues given by the quest: the diners were the ones who ultimately modified the laws of dining. If he could become a diner, could he modify the laws of dining?