Chapter 77 In the end, even the sutured water ghost couldn't hold on any longer and started crying loudly...
In the end, the sutured water ghost couldn't hold back any longer and started sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to the investigator's leg as she cried, "I'm guilty! I really shouldn't have come to the Countermeasures Bureau with Qiao Yanyu and the boss! I shouldn't have sneaked in and kicked that big bad guy Lin Gao's ass like crazy! I shouldn't have scared him half to death and made him faint! Waaah! But whatever happened with Qiao Yanyu and the boss, I forced them to do it. If you want to blame someone, blame me!"
The suture-lined water ghost was still a good ghost; even though she was crying like this and told everyone everything, she didn't betray Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao, and even took the blame herself. But she wasn't a good ghost either, because Wang Yu was also involved, and in fact, she did the most bad things, directly causing the head of the monitoring room to get a big bump on the head.
The sutured water ghost never even considered Wang Yu, and was not even given a word of explanation by Wang Yu.
If Wang Yu knew, she would widen her eyes, point her finger at herself, and say with a mixture of grief and indignation, "And what about me?! Have you forgotten everything I did for you?!"
However, in reality, the bureau chief wouldn't hold the sutured water ghost against them. Firstly, he already knew about it and even used it as an opportunity to assign Qiao Yanyu a troublesome task. Secondly, the sutured water ghost's discovery was a major achievement. Furthermore, the people they dealt with weren't exactly good people—they were villains sentenced to death and destined for eternal damnation—so the bureau chief turned a blind eye.
The investigator, however, was unaware that after the "stitched water ghost" tearfully confessed everything, she looked conflicted, then took out handcuffs and cuffed it. She went back to the chief, explained the situation, and the chief assured her it was alright and not to worry about it, which finally put the investigator at ease.
She was relieved. The water ghost, with the stitches still on, stood in the interrogation room, looking at the handcuffs on her hands, trembling with fear.
He Zhao and the others were unaware of all this. Although the atmosphere between He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu was somewhat strange, it was generally good. He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu chatted for a few minutes afterward. Since Qiao Yanyu was, after all, a patient, and seriously injured at that, the doctors and nurses came in to tell her to rest well.
He Zhao, who only suffered minor scratches, didn't have such worries. Taking advantage of having nothing to do, he sneaked out and strolled around the small park downstairs for a long time. He also took the opportunity to order Wang Yu to do some chores, asking her to drive her food cart back to her building.
Wang Yu was definitely unwilling, but under He Zhao's imposing presence, she still went to pick up the car.
Riding that dilapidated tricycle all the way back from the foot of the mountain in broad daylight, Wang Yu felt utterly humiliated. So after finishing her electric scooter ride, she didn't return.
He Zhao stayed in the hospital for two nights. The next morning, the nurse on rounds checked the wound on He Zhao's back, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, she kicked He Zhao out of the hospital. But He Zhao was unwilling; she only wanted to stay with Qiao Yanyu, but her objections were ineffective, and she was also suppressed.
Qiao Yanyu wanted to say a few words in defense of He Zhao, thinking that since He Zhao was injured, it would be better for him to rest in the hospital longer. However, after the nurse's piercing glare, they both immediately fell silent. Left with no other option, He Zhao took a taxi home.
Back home, He Zhao still couldn't sit still. She didn't let herself be idle; instead, she drove her somewhat dilapidated electric scooter out, and while waiting at a traffic light, she didn't forget to use the PUA system: "What's wrong with you? It's been two days, why isn't the scooter fixed yet? Are you just going to make me drive this beat-up scooter forever?"
[...] In this matter, the system felt it couldn't really be blamed. First of all, He Zhao's car was parked downstairs in the residential complex. Unlike the previous resettlement housing complexes, this complex had a lot more security cameras in every location, and they were all operational.
The host wasn't near the food truck either, so it couldn't go that far to hack into someone else's surveillance system and then fix the truck. Therefore, the truck remained in a dilapidated state. The system could only reply: "Please drive the food truck to a location without surveillance cameras."
"OK."
After entering and exiting the alley, He Zhao found herself in a brand-new food truck. She drove it straight to a nearby fresh food supermarket. The supermarket was nearby, and she could have walked there, but He Zhao wanted to buy a lot of things, and rather than make herself tired, she preferred to drive even though it was only a short walk.
He Zhao actually wanted to go to the farmers' market, since the produce there would definitely be fresher, and he might even find live chickens being slaughtered on the spot. But the problem was that He Zhao didn't know where the farmers' market was, and he was afraid of being ripped off by the old ladies and gentlemen, or that the goods wouldn't be as described, or that he would be shortchanged.
So even though the quality of fresh food in supermarkets isn't that good, He Zhao still chooses to buy from them.
Just as He Zhao had expected, the fresh food supermarket only had frozen chicken. She bought a large, free-range whole chicken from the freezer and put it in her shopping basket. She then picked out a lot of other ingredients before returning home with her bags full.
When the system saw He Zhao selecting ingredients, it already sensed something was wrong. After she brought the bags home, the system finally couldn't resist asking He Zhao directly: "Host, are you planning to cook?"
"Otherwise what? Did I buy these ingredients just to play around with?"
He Zhao rolled her eyes at the system. Even though she knew the system couldn't see her, it didn't stop her from disliking it. He Zhao threw the whole chicken, still in its packaging, into the sink to thaw. Then, she searched for videos online and started watching them to learn how to wash and prepare vegetables.
As a wealthy young lady who grew up with a nanny and later hired hourly housekeepers, He Zhao had never done these things before. Washing and preparing vegetables was completely foreign to her; even when she visited her grandmother's house in the countryside with her parents, she never lifted a finger to do it herself.
Even though her grandmother said sarcastically, "How will this little girl get married if she doesn't learn to cook?" her own mother didn't let her do anything.
He Zhao never imagined that one day he would actually be cooking.
She simply felt sorry for Qiao Yanyu. The thought of her beloved lying sickly in a hospital bed broke her heart. He Zhao couldn't bear to order takeout for Qiao Yanyu; she was seriously injured, how could she possibly eat takeout?
Even if some takeout options are good, especially from upscale restaurants, they're still takeout. Besides, these two eat takeout every day; it would be pitiful if they were still eating takeout after such serious injuries.
Therefore, He Zhao decided to take matters into his own hands and prepare some nourishing dishes for Qiao Yanyu to help her recover. For example—chicken soup.
As a native of Guangdong, his dedication to delicious soup is truly extraordinary. After thawing the chicken, He Zhao picked it up, placed it on the cutting board, and grabbed a cleaver. His posture was as if he were about to chop someone up.
This action startled the system, which continued: "Host, instead of directly engaging in cooking, you can choose to learn within the system space. When you return, you'll surely win Qiao Yanyu's heart with your culinary skills."
The system's offer was quite tempting, but He Zhao wasn't stupid. She swiftly chopped the chicken's hind leg with the cleaver, almost severing the entire foot. But what He Zhao actually wanted to do was trim the chicken's nails.
This truly proves that He Zhao's cooking skills are genuinely lacking. However, He Zhao still wouldn't easily fall for the system's tricks and enter that system space.
Because... outside, He Zhao is the one in charge, but going into the system space is like throwing herself into the lion's den, isn't it? What if the system locks her inside and forces her to learn and return? It took He Zhao a full six months to learn how to cook, and now they want her to learn how to make chicken soup? Isn't that going to kill her?!
If he were locked up inside for a year or two, well, He Zhao might as well just commit suicide there.
He Zhao replied to the system: "I'm not stupid. You want me to learn more dishes all day long. What if you lock me in there and won't let me out until I learn them? Besides, I criticize you every day. Can you say you don't have any resentment in your heart? I'm not going in there to be controlled by you."
[…Host, how could you think of the system like that? The system wouldn't do that. The system is just assisting you. You've already learned the crucial step of cooking rice, and you're free in the system space.]
"Keep blowing."
He Zhaocai didn't believe it was a big scam.
Actually, the system's desire to bring He Zhao into the system space wasn't entirely without its own ulterior motives. After all, it was a system connected to food, and the recipes for cooking rice and plain noodles were indeed provided to the ghost by the system, which He Zhao had dutifully learned. But after being together for so long, surely He Zhao couldn't even cook a single dish?
Once it finished its mission here and returned to the area where the system was clustered, it felt it would be ridiculed to death by its colleagues.
But He Zhao really wasn't fooled.
He Zhao then trimmed the chicken's nails, and then... she chopped off the other leg. When she moved the cleaver to the chicken's rear end, she kept imagining the chicken covering its rear end to stop her from chopping it.
She took a deep breath, and in the instant she swung the knife, she not only removed the chicken's tail but also took away a lot of meat.
After the nails and tail were trimmed, the chicken looked like a disabled chicken.
He Zhao fell silent. Just moments ago, she had been adamant that she didn't need the system's help, but now, she was starting to regret it. She put down the cleaver, crossed her arms, and stared at the crippled chicken. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked the system, "Is the food in your system space endless?"
The system, which had been lamenting its impending ridicule from colleagues, suddenly perked up upon hearing He Zhao's voice: "That's right, host. The system space not only provides endless materials but also detailed instructions. As long as you follow along, you're guaranteed to make a delicious chicken soup."
The system continued to tempt He Zhao, but He Zhao remained with her arms crossed, pondering the pros and cons. The image of Qiao Yanyu lying pitifully alone in the hospital bed flashed through her mind. Looking at the time, which was already almost 3 PM, she gritted her teeth: "Fine, I'll risk it."
The moment He Zhao entered the system space, the first thing she noticed was the clucking of chickens. She was completely stunned as she looked at the countless chickens jumping around.
"System! You tricked me!"
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