Chapter 17 "Even a Half-Finished Product Would Do"

"I'm not asking for much, even just a bite would be enough. If that's not possible, even a half-finished product would do."

Lu Xiaoyao, unwilling to give up, tried one last time, throwing out that line.

Mingmei was utterly baffled.

[Does she think my boxed lunches are like toothpaste? Squeezing for six hours fills a box, so she thinks eating less than six hours' worth means less food in the box?]

[Maybe...]

Gui Gui didn't quite understand Lu Xiaoyao's meaning either, but it was definitely confusing!

[But logically speaking, your boxed lunches have unlimited endurance. They don't sell out after one round, and the next batch doesn't take six hours. It's purely designed for the players.]

[Why did my uncle design it to take so long?] The key was that Yan Hui's six hours was linked to real-world time.

[Because Mr. Yan used to think that if players missed the boxed lunch, there was no need to give them a second chance to buy it. However, because the mysterious merchant is so random, giving only one chance isn't very friendly to some players who are strong but accidentally missed it.

As for why six hours... Mr. Yan probably meant that those who can survive to the end are very powerful players, and it's good to "give them a little leeway." Usually, after six hours of the game, ordinary players have already been eliminated.

If they complain about not having a mysterious merchant, they can only blame themselves.]

When Gui Gui talked about these things, it was methodical, as expected of a game system. She was faster and clearer than anyone else when it came to these things.

"Sorry, you'll still have to wait four hours." Regardless of what conclusions she and Gui Gui had reached, Mingmei still replied to Lu Xiaoyao.

"Ah~~"

Lu Xiaoyao visibly deflated like a dehydrated radish, standing there, her fingers twitching slightly as she calculated the time.

"Huh? This timing..."

Lu Xiaoyao was stunned. The timing of this banquet seemed earlier than in the previous games!

Before, she could clearly eat before going on stage after missing it, but why was the timing brought forward this time?

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Lu Xiaoyao look incredulous as if she had remembered something, Mingmei couldn't help but ask what was wrong.

As a result, Lu Xiaoyao said listlessly, "The banquet seems to be starting earlier this time."

"Is that so?" Mingmei was taken aback. She couldn't remember who had set the tyrant's banquet time for a moment.

According to her idea, Mu Chen had just woken up from his injuries. If it weren't for the needs of the game's plot, Mu Chen would definitely have been watched and recuperated for a while. But the game plot required that as long as he wasn't dead, he would start the banquet tonight.

However, starting it early wasn't Mu Chen's intention.

It seemed that there was something fishy going on here.

"Very early?" Mingmei hadn't been notified when the banquet would start tonight.

"Half an hour earlier than before." That was exactly when it would be their turn to follow the merchants to the open space to line up and "feed the mosquitoes" while waiting to be summoned.

"I see..."

Mingmei paid extra attention to the earlier time. Lu Xiaoyao's heart was shattered after knowing she couldn't eat the boxed lunch, and she silently left. Mingmei seized the opportunity to return to Mu Chen to ask him what was going on.

However, it was obvious that Mu Chen didn't know the time had been changed. He didn't seem to have any memory of someone arranging the banquet.

"Someone come."

But it didn't matter that Mu Chen didn't know. As long as he gave the order, the person in charge would naturally come.

Soon, Mingmei saw an old acquaintance again, the old man with the double braids who advocated sending her down to "serve" the tyrant.

Truly, karma was a cycle, and heaven had a road but he didn't take it!

As soon as he entered the tent and saw Mingmei standing beside the tyrant, he was immediately alarmed, subconsciously thinking that he had been summoned by His Majesty because someone had "snitched"!

Thus, Mingmei inexplicably received a glare.

Mingmei, who was about to roll her eyes at him, was speechless.

Good heavens!

The villain launched an attack first?

"Your Majesty, you summoned this humble servant. Is there something the matter?"

Having already thought of countless reasons to respond to Mu Chen's questioning, Sang Ge heard Mu Chen ask why the evening banquet was being held earlier.

"This humble servant thought that His Majesty is still injured, so holding the banquet earlier would allow it to end sooner, so that His Majesty can rest earlier."

This answer wasn't too far-fetched, and at first glance, it made sense. But Mingmei, disliking the old man's attempt to send her to heaven at the beginning, couldn't help but interject, "If you really care about His Majesty, then the banquet could be postponed..."

"If it's postponed, wouldn't that let those Hua Liang guys see through the cracks? If they find out that His Majesty is really seriously injured, what if they attract more assassins or raise an army in revolt?"

"Are you all unable to move without His Majesty? If they revolt, do you plan to dance with your hands? Can't you fight?!"

"You're being unreasonable!"

Just as he was about to further reprimand Mingmei for her lack of manners, Mu Chen interrupted their argument. He then asked about Ge Sang's preparations for tonight, as if chatting casually.

Patrols, checks on drinks and food, and other details were asked by Mu Chen one by one. Ge Sang no longer had the mind to continue arguing with Mingmei, and focused on answering all of Mu Chen's questions.

Listening carefully, Mingmei realized for the first time that even though it was originally from the grasslands and the banquet was held temporarily, there were so many details involved.

She hadn't noticed it at all in the previous game.

After asking around, Mu Chen had no more questions and let him go back to continue preparing. Turning his head, he saw that Mingmei seemed to be lost in thought. He raised his hand and waved it in front of Mingmei's eyes. Mingmei blinked and asked, "Did you hear any problems?"

"What about you?"

"It feels very detailed, so detailed that it doesn't seem like it was put together recently. How long has it been since Hua Liang came to offer a surrender in this plot?"

Mingmei always felt that the old man named Ge Sang seemed to have been preparing for a long time.

"Yes, he prepared very detailedly, but it's like someone forced it on him. If I were to press him with more questions about a certain detail, his answer wouldn't be as smooth as before."

"Maybe you asked too specifically, and he really didn't think of it?"

"If that were the case, he wouldn't have looked like he was carefully recalling it. He would have nervously started thinking about what to do, instead of racking his brains to recall."

Mu Chen was very good at reading micro-expressions. Mingmei had been distracted earlier and naturally hadn't noticed it, but after hearing Mu Chen's explanation, Mingmei understood what he meant.

"Are you saying that the character who is truly related to the insectoids is likely to be around that old man?"

Mu Chen nodded. The protagonist who was being discussed by Mu Chen and Mingmei was now also returning to his tent with unsteady steps. The conversation with His Majesty just now was really stressful!

"What did His Majesty want with you?"