“What… what is your relationship?”

Lu Xiaoyao suddenly felt her eyes couldn't keep up, especially when Mingmei actively stood next to the fake food NPC.

Good heavens! With one "Mingmei" on the left and another "Mingmei" on the right, Lu Xiaoyao inwardly exclaimed that the game company was toxic!

Even if your company bought the rights to use her likeness, this isn't how you use it, right?

Are you kidding me?

"We have no relationship~ Just a coincidence," the fake food NPC clarified before Mingmei could even speak.

She turned to look at Mingmei beside her, smiled, and said, "Perhaps, this is what they mean when they say all beautiful women look alike?"

Mingmei: "??" Is that how you explain it?

Everyone: "..." Why does it sound so strange?

"Maybe it's fate," Mingmei said, mimicking the fake food NPC's tone as she looked at everyone's stunned expressions. "We both sell food. What a coincidence."

"Yes… What a coincidence."

Charlie, holding the freshly made maocai (spicy boiled dish) takeout box, looked back and forth between Mingmei and the others. Then he turned to look at the three takeouts in Mu Chen's hand, and back at the takeout in his own hand. After a moment of contemplation, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward, saying, "Um, can I buy another box from you to try?"

As soon as Charlie finished speaking, he heard a notification sound from his game backend reminding him that he had already purchased a takeout box and would have to wait another six hours.

Mingmei: "..."

Only then did Mingmei realize that whether you bought a takeout box from the fake NPC or from her, after buying or refusing once, the next time would be a six-hour countdown, and it was universal for the character.

Charlie told Lou Jia and Lu Xiaoyao about his situation.

"Hey! So it turns out it's a game bug! Two mysterious merchants appeared!"

Lu Xiaoyao made a final decision, turning the simultaneous appearance of Mingmei and the fake food NPC into a result of the game bug, where the mysterious merchant had "split" themselves.

Mingmei: I'm really speechless! Don't I know if I split or not?!

The chat:

[For a moment, I don't know if I should say my baby is smart or stupid.]

[Her wisdom is never used for good.]

[Is wisdom that isn't used for good even wisdom?!]

[Well~ the most important thing in life is to be happy, anyway—it's the baby who gets screwed by the game, not us!]

[If it weren't for the last exclamation point, I would have really believed it...]

If Lu Xiaoyao wasn't talking about herself, Mingmei would have almost believed it too.

"Hurry up and eat. After dinner, we'll go into the building and figure out who the killer is," Lou Jia glanced at the two jCs who really didn't want to deal with anything, feeling helpless. He even actively cued the next game process himself.

After speaking, he squatted on the ground without any regard for his image and began to eat the so-called maocai takeout.

Mu Chen and Li Yuan exchanged glances and didn't say anything more, continuing to eat their own mala tang (spicy hot pot) takeout. For a moment, the air was filled with the domineering aroma of either maocai or mala tang.

Unable to resist the aroma, Mingmei also took out a takeout box and began to eat.

"Why are you eating too?" The fake food NPC next to her was stunned to see Mingmei eating a takeout. "Isn't that insider trading?"

Mingmei: "?"

What kind of description is that?

"How many takeout boxes did you bring to sell?"

Mingmei ate her takeout while brainwashing the NPC.

"About twenty or so."

"Can you sell them all?"

"No."

"What happens to the leftovers if you can't sell them?"

"..."

She really didn't know about this. As the game ended, they would probably be recycled as data, right?

"So~ the leftovers are a waste if you can't sell them, so it's better to eat them yourself!"

"Eh? Is that okay?"

Mingmei found it quite strange to see such a cute and silly expression on her own face.

However, she shouldn't show such a stupid expression herself, right?

"Of course, it's okay! Eating it yourself counts as solving the waste problem! Um!" As she spoke, Mingmei bit into a stuffed fish ball and was burned by the burst of fresh and sweet juice inside. Then, a meaty broth slid down her throat into her stomach.

"Delicious!"

Whether she was infected by the player's mukbang (eating broadcast) or stimulated by Mingmei eating a takeout at close range, the fake food NPC followed suit and took out a maocai takeout to eat, as if opening a new world.

Gui Gui's heart was complicated as she watched the host corrupt the NPC.

"It's so delicious~" The fake food NPC narrowed her eyes happily.

"Right?"

"Yeah, it's only a little bit better than mala tang."

Mingmei: ?????

"I think we need to have a chat while they're discussing the case later." As the daughter of parents who "started" with mala tang, Mingmei felt that what this NPC said was a bit off!

……

"The deceased, Shu Chuan, 24 years old, male, the richest man in M City, was participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for his group's newly built skyscraper today when he was suddenly hit by a flower pot falling from the sky and died on the spot. The time of the incident was 12:30 noon. There are four suspects present."

Lou Jia was glared at by Lu Xiaoyao again when he mentioned the four suspects.

"Questioning the four suspects, please briefly state your identities and where you were and what you were doing in the six hours leading up to the time of the incident."

Ignoring Lu Xiaoyao's dissatisfied gaze, Lou Jia treated everyone equally.

"I'll go first. My name is Cha Sheng, 29 years old. The main reason I'm here today is because I bought property in this building, both residential and commercial. I'm a resident of this building. When I heard that the building's official ribbon-cutting ceremony needed to hire a host, I applied and was hired."

Charlie gave Lou Jia a concise explanation of his identity and added, "I was in my residence in the building, on the 24th floor, for the six hours leading up to the incident. Then I went to the dressing room provided by their group to put on makeup, memorize the script, and prepare for the ribbon-cutting ceremony's speech.

Finally, when the ribbon-cutting ceremony started, I happened to be standing on the side of the stage and watched a flower pot fall from the sky and kill Mr. Shu Chuan."

Charlie's words didn't seem to have any problems at first glance.

But who could directly point out the problematic parts?

"I am Mr. Shu Chuan's secretary, Mu Cheng, 26 years old this year. As a secretary, I have been following my boss. I left home at 6:00 in the morning to drive to my boss's house to pick him up. Oh, right, my house is also in this building, a bonus my boss gave me that year."

After Mu Chen finished speaking, everyone around him looked at him with surprised eyes, thinking, "Wow! What kind of amazing boss is that?" This didn't affect Mu Chen's subsequent speech.

"Then I drove the boss to the company for a meeting. After the meeting, I took the boss to get a makeover to prepare for the noon ribbon-cutting ceremony. Then I accompanied the boss to lunch. After lunch, we came here to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then the boss died. I was not far from the boss at the time and was caught off guard."

"I was invited by Mr. Shu Chuan to attend the ceremony. My name is Li Que. I am a recent college graduate from M University, 19 years old this year."

After Mu Chen finished speaking, Li Yuan followed suit and finished speaking.

"Wow, so young." Lu Xiaoyao looked at the 38-year-old widowed woman written on her panel with a sour expression, feeling like a lemon. In comparison, she didn't want to introduce herself even more.

"That's right, graduating from college at 19 is too young and promising, right?" Even the jCs who were watching as spectators gossiped, "That's right, why are all the young people so competitive these days."

"Right? Compared to him, let's talk about the deceased, Shu Chuan also started from scratch and had tens of billions in assets at the age of 24!"

Lu Xiaoyao, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but click her tongue and say, "No way? That's so heaven-defying? Starting from scratch and having tens of billions at 24, even winning the lottery after being reborn wouldn't be this profitable?!"

Lu Xiaoyao's casual words caused Mu Chen, who had been expressionless all along, to suddenly raise his head, his gaze locking onto the other party…