Chapter 67: Mukbang Challenge

    In a tiny enclosed room with no windows, a little boy had his four limbs shackled to the bedpost as he lay like a starfish. "I’m hungry..." he said to the person standing beside the bed, his gaze vacant. "I’m so hungry that I can die."

    "Don’t worry, you will not die," the other person replied callously without a shred of concern, even though five days had passed since the last time he brought food into this room. "On the contrary, if you continue to eat, you will..."

    The man’s mouth kept moving, yet strangely Jin Jiuchi could no longer hear any sound coming from it.

    "What did you just say?" He furrowed his brows.

    Soon, he began to notice a few incongruities with the scene in front of him. Despite the fact that the man was standing right beside his bed, he could not seem to make out what the other person looked like, for his features were distorted like the ripples on the lake after a small pebble was thrown into it. Not only that, he also picked up a faint burning smell in the air.

    "Wait a moment..." he interrupted the man’s sentence and sniffed the air again to make sure. "Did you smell that? Something is—argh!"

    A black colored flame suddenly burst out on his left arm, and all of a sudden, he was no longer shackled on the bed inside that tiny room, but was standing on his own feet instead. All around him was wildfire, the thick smoke choking his throat and making his eyes sting. The ground around him was littered with hundreds of huge rodents and black spiders that tore into each other like mindless brutes.

    Ah, that’s right. He was already out of that asylum, and now he was—

    "Jin Jiuchi!"

    He turned sharply to the direction of the sound to see a blurred silhouette rushing toward him from afar. A pair of blazing purple eyes were the first thing he registered, followed by the long silver hair that fluttered amidst the scorching hot gale.

    ’So bright,’ Jin Jiuchi thought. That person was so bright and dazzling as if all the filth in this world could never taint him. And maybe that’s the reason why Jin Jiuchi was so helplessly drawn to him.

    Jin Jiuchi’s feet moved without him realizing as he reached out to hold that radiance to himself. Yet just before their fingers could touch, the ground beneath his feet suddenly vanished and he plunged straight toward the eternal darkness below.

    "Nian’er—!"

    Jin Jiuchi snapped his eyes open with a gasp and jolted upright, his heart jackrabbiting in his chest. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe and his entire body was still shaking faintly with the rush of adrenaline. However, he gave himself no time to recover. Flinging away the blanket, he jumped straight to his feet and looked around, "N–Nian’er?!"

    But the room he was in was completely empty.

    Moonlight spilled in through the small window near the ceiling to illuminate the single rooftop room that had become Jin Jiuchi’s dwelling since he was released from the asylum. Save for the thick futon and blanket where he usually slept, the room was completely bare of any furniture as it used to be a storage room before the landlord decided to empty it and rent it out for sale. It was a room which Jin Jiuchi had woken up in every single day, yet right now, he could not help but feel a bit disoriented as if he was waking up from a long dream.

    W–What about that yellow kindergarten bus, Shishen apartment, the players, the nightmare creatures and... Nian’er?! He couldn’t have made it all up, right?!

    Suddenly recalling something, Jin Jiuchi gasped and brought his hands in front of him, only to grimace when a sharp pain shot up his right forearm – exactly on the spot where it was severed. But both of his hands were intact. In fact, he could not even spot any injury on it...

    "What the hell is going on..." Jin Jiuchi murmured as he wiggled his ten fingers, dumbfounded.

    His memory had become quite fuzzy since his right arm was severed, but he recalled the excruciating hunger that burned him inside out, forcing him to seek for the nearest available food source, and after that...

    "Wait..." Jin Jiuchi tilted his head in confusion and tried to remember anything to no avail "What happened after that? Did I eat something?"

    He licked his lips, but unfortunately he still could not recall what he had eaten. One thing for sure, his level of hunger had severely diminished – no, in fact, he was fuller than ever. Usually, those people would only feed him until he was 60% full at most, but now, he truly experienced the satisfaction that came after digging into a full course meal for the very first time. At this rate, he might even be able to go on without eating for a week.

    Surely, it couldn’t have been a dream, right?

    The image of a lofty and beautiful jade doll popped up in his mind, and Jin Jiuchi nodded firmly with his fists clenched. That’s right, everything was not a dream. His brain was not imaginative enough to conjure up such an ethereal person!

    Jin Jiuchi still had no idea what was happening and how he ended up in his room, but he recalled the jade doll saying that he would come looking for Jin Jiuchi after this. So, all Jin Jiuchi had to do was to hold onto his words and wait patiently...

    ...right?

    ***

    Except, almost twelve hours went by and there were still no signs of the jade doll anywhere.

    Jin Jiuchi strolled along the street listlessly, not even noticing the glances passersby were sneaking at him.

    He tried to remain positive, convincing himself that Nian might need a little more time. After all, the world was so vast with millions of people around unlike the place where he came from, so he should have waited a little more, shouldn’t he?

    Alas, the longer time went on, the antsier Jin Jiuchi became. Because what if the jade doll was just humoring him and did not truly want to meet him again? Or had Nian gotten lost? Should Jin Jiuchi go searching for him instead?

    Amidst his aimless roaming, a loud exclamation nearby drew his attention. "Ah, look at this headline news!" A young woman showed her phone to her friend. "Executive Director Hong of NH Electronics jumped off the building last night!"

    "Wait, who?! Executive Director Hong? Isn’t she listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 this year? Why would such a capable woman like her do that?!"

    "I know, right? The article stated that an official investigation is being conducted at the moment. Look at the comment section. Everyone is speculating that something is off with her death!"

    "No way... do you think she’s murdered?!"

    The two women continued to talk as they walked, and Jin Jiuchi cast them a curious glance as they crossed paths with each other. Executive Director Hong? Why did that name sound kinda familiar...

    But before Jin Jiuchi could stop them and ask whether Executive Director Hong was really Sister Hong whom he had met in the Cycle, a loud shout on the intersection in front distracted him at once.

    "Eat ten bowls of spicy ramen and get a free yearly coupon!"

    Jin Jiuchi craned his neck to see a man wearing an apron with a ramen bowl logo shouting enthusiastically in front of a newly opened shop. "Everyone, this is a mukbang challenge. If you can finish ten bowls of our ultra spicy ramen, we will give you a free yearly coupon. You don’t have to pay for anything! Please step forward if you’d like to try!"

    Curious passersby started to gather in front of the shop, including Jin Jiuchi. He sniffed the air and took in the alluring smell of spices, broth, and fresh vegetables, feeling drool started to pool in his mouth. He was not so hungry right now, but if it was free...

    The staff became more energetic when he saw people crowding around him. "Not only that, the scene will also be broadcasted live by a famous mukbang channel – ’Feast Fest’! What are you waiting for? This is your chance to get free food and appear on TV! Come and register yourself now!!"

    Free food! Appear on TV! Though it was only a few days since Jin Jiuchi learned what television was, he was smart enough to know that it was the box people watched everyday. If he appeared on it, would Nian’er see him? More importantly, he would get to eat ten bowls of ramen without paying a cent! Could this offer get any better?!

    Jin Jiuchi gulped down his saliva and thrust his hand up in the air. "Me me me! I want to register!"

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    A/N: everyone, I take back my previous announcement:") my content editor who’s supposed to accept my application is on medical leave, so the book can only go premium until she’s well enough to work again. Until then, WBNC will remain free ^^

    I don’t know when the Chapters will start to be locked, but I will try to give you all advance notice beforehand. Thank you so much.