NOVEL WEB Chapter 32 - Emerging Gradually
He Gu was startled by his own appearance in the phone.
This… How is it that he’s starting to resemble a zombie from a movie?!
For a moment, He Gu even doubted whether he was actually alive.
Xiao Ying glanced at He Gu, didn’t say anything, and continued eating her boxed meal.
He Gu stared at his reflection in the smartphone, a creeping unease beginning to settle within him.
That’s right, delicious food can cure everything!
He Gu was suddenly reminded of this phrase and immediately started to devour the sausages he had bought earlier.
After swallowing a few sausages, He Gu took out his phone again and snapped a picture of his face. The swelling on his right cheek seemed to have subsided a bit, and the wound didn’t look as ghastly anymore.
It seemed that food indeed had a healing effect, but these few sausages were evidently not “delicious” enough, and the healing effect was quite mediocre.
By this point, He Gu was almost certain.
Eating meat in the canteen was the key to healing!
The parrot had been shouting “eat meat” for a long time, not only indicating its own desire for meat but also telling He Gu to eat meat.
And obviously, “it” in this world wouldn’t let He Gu have an easy time. A new rule was soon added to the canteen: no meat dishes were allowed to be taken out!
Although He Gu had eaten meat at every meal, Xiao Ying had been without meat for several meals.
From the time when meat dishes were not allowed to be taken away, Xiao Ying had begun to exhibit more and more bizarre events.
…
After calming down, He Gu’s thoughts became clearer.
The meat dishes in the canteen could heal him, but clearly, He Gu’s physical condition was deteriorating, indicating that simply “eating meat” could not fully heal him.
What He Gu needed most was that “non-existent” mutton.
The Dormitory Supervisor was a guardian-like character who had been protecting He Gu secretly.
That’s why he showed up when He Gu was in danger and even once handed a mutton bun to He Gu, but unfortunately, He Gu didn’t dare to eat it.
As for the “Tasty Minced Beef” from the store, it was the key prop for healing the parrot.
And the always out-of-stock “Delicious Dried Meat” was probably the key to stopping Wang Tao from sleepwalking.
From the information revealed in the parrot’s last words, Wang Tao, when not sleepwalking, was trustworthy.
Moreover, this was the parrot’s response after He Gu asked the question “how to clear the instance”. In other words, Wang Tao was key to clearing the instance!
What confused He Gu was that the parrot even mentioned Zhang Chao in its response!
What did that mean?
He Gu frowned slightly, still missing a little bit!
Just a little bit more, and He Gu could uncover all the hidden secrets!
As He Gu sat on the ground thinking, Xiao Ying next to him suddenly let out a small exclamation.
He Gu looked up to see Xiao Ying picking up a chicken leg from the bottom of her bowl, inspecting it with a blank expression.
“Didn’t they say that meat dishes couldn’t be taken away from the canteen? How come there’s a chicken leg?”
Xiao Ying looked at He Gu in confusion.
He Gu was also puzzled.
Yes, only vegetarian dishes were allowed to be taken out of the canteen, so where did this chicken leg come from?
At this moment, He Gu remembered the look in the Fat Chef’s eyes. Could he have secretly put it in?
That’s right, the Fat Chef had recommended a mutton bun to him before, probably intending to help him!
At this moment, He Gu seemed to understand.
In this instance, not everyone was a threat to him, and many people wanted to help him!
On the other side, Xiao Ying carefully examined the chicken leg for a while, seeming somewhat hesitant.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Ying finally took a bite.
Just one bite, and Xiao Ying’s expression changed.
It became less rigid, and her eyes didn’t seem as bizarre anymore.
Following this, Xiao Ying, as if she hadn’t eaten for days, devoured the chicken leg quickly.
Once Xiao Ying finished eating, He Gu could clearly sense that she had undergone some changes.
She had become… less bizarre.
Next, He Gu watched as Xiao Ying swept her hair, which had been covering half of her face, back behind her head, tidying up her disheveled locks.
Afterward, Xiao Ying tidied up her bath supplies, hugged her towel, and headed toward the bathroom.
He Gu let out a small sigh of relief.
Indeed, eating meat could cure many things!
At this point, He Gu thought about the injury on his own face.
It seemed that he would have to eat more meat at the canteen during dinner, preferably mutton. Perhaps he could also rid himself of this ghostly appearance.
Thinking of this, He Gu stood up from the floor, climbed up to his top bunk, set his alarm for six in the afternoon, and then lay on the bed to continue pondering.
…
Meanwhile.
Earth.
The Dragon Nation’s Strange Tales Incident Command Center.
Twenty-four elite group members were gathered around a table for a meeting, and directly ahead on a screen was the live feed from He Gu’s side.
“Everyone, at present, it seems that many clues have been pieced together by He Gu.”
“We can now confirm that meat, and Tasty Minced Beef, both have healing effects, the former for humans, the latter for parrots. At the same time, meat can also activate the parrots’ abilities, allowing direct questioning.”
“He Gu is not an ordinary young man. Everyone else is in the dark, yet he has managed to uncover so many clues on his own.”
“Besides He Gu, only the competitors from Ross Nation and Austra Nation are still alive. However, they have been holed up in their dormitory, waiting to be picked up in the evening, without getting wind of any effective clues.”
“Both nations have used up their hint opportunities and cannot inform their competitors about He Gu’s situation. It seems the odds are against them.”
“Folks, isn’t it too early to let our guard down? He Gu hasn’t yet found out the specific method to pass the stage, and we haven’t been able to help him at all!”
“But all the clues we’ve got so far have been found by He Gu himself. He might even have more information than us, we really can’t give him any useful information at the moment.”
“Sigh… The difficulty of this instance is too high, but He Gu’s performance is surprisingly good. Perhaps he can find the method to pass the stage on his own…”
…
The World of Strange Tales.
He Gu was deep in thought on his bed, and the afternoon passed quickly.
It was not until his phone alarm rang that He Gu realized it was already six in the afternoon.
It was mealtime.
He Gu jumped down from the upper bunk, quickly exited the room, went downstairs, and headed straight for the canteen opposite the dormitory building.
However, He Gu had just arrived at the entrance of the canteen when he saw the black van from noon again.
Next, He Gu saw several people in white protective suits hurriedly carrying a stretcher out from the canteen.
On the stretcher was a body, which He Gu recognized at a glance. It was the Fat Chef.
The Fat Chef’s skin was covered in black stripes, his mouth wide open, his eyes bulging – he looked exactly like the Dormitory Supervisor when he had died…