I Fed The Affectionate And Paranoid God - Chapter 24

After about ten seconds, Xia Chenxi felt that the dish was cooked just right and immediately turned off the stove.

The game once again displayed a rating notification.

[After evaluation, the dish “Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes” has been rated 3 stars, successfully meeting the minimum requirement.]

Xia Chenxi could hardly contain his excitement, punching the air a few times before quickly storing the passing-grade dish in his inventory.

Achieving a three-star rating was almost entirely thanks to the old man next door. Xia Chenxi decided to visit him tomorrow and properly express his gratitude.

He closed the virtual kitchen.

The game interface returned to the little character’s bedroom.

It was still asleep, one hand unconsciously clutched its stomach and its brows were slightly furrowed, as if caught in a bad dream.

Xia Chenxi could hardly wait to take out his creation and feed it to the little character.

But he forcibly held back.

He couldn’t rush this.

With such a low level of freedom in the game—plus the fact that it contained crucial hidden information about the black fog—he had to proceed with caution.

If he took the dish out now, what if the little character didn’t wake up until it was completely cold?

This dish had to be eaten while it was still hot.

Only in this way could the little character truly feel his effort and sincerity.

After thinking it through, Xia Chenxi decided to keep a close eye on the game. As soon as the game notified him that the little character was about to wake up, he would immediately serve the steaming hot dish.

Just as Xia Chenxi finalized his plan, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important.

What was it?

Xia Chenxi furrowed his brows, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t remember.

Forget it. It was probably nothing important. If he couldn’t recall it, then so be it—right now, the game was his top priority.

Quickly pushing the doubt out of his mind, Xia Chenxi focused all his attention on the game screen.

Although the waiting process was a little dull…

As soon as he thought about the rewards he would receive for completing the task, all his boredom vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of motivation.

To become stronger, every bit of effort was worth it.

It was already past three in the afternoon when the on-duty officer returned, carrying two lunch boxes. He knocked on the hospital room door.

But there was no response from inside.

Immediately, his instincts kicked in, and various possibilities flashed through his mind.

Could something have happened?!

He quickly opened the door, only to meet Xia Chenxi’s dazed gaze as the latter looked up. They locked eyes for a few seconds before the officer fell silent for a brief moment. Then, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, he naturally raised the food in his hands.

“I bought two lunch boxes. Do you want one?”

Xia Chenxi’s gaze quickly darted back to his phone. After confirming that the little character in the game hadn’t woken up yet, he hastily replied, “Thanks, but I’m not hungry for now.”

The officer responded with a simple “Hmm”; he left one of the lunch boxes behind, and said, “Eat when you’re hungry. I’ll head out for now.”

Xia Chenxi quickly gave two absentminded “Mm-hm” as responses before diving back into his game.

The officer couldn’t help but rub his forehead. Was this victim perhaps a little too obsessed with gaming?

Right now, Xia Chenxi wasn’t hungry at all. Even if he was, he wouldn’t dare eat—he was afraid that getting distracted might cause him to fail the mission.

As he kept a close watch over the game, his phone’s battery slowly drained, eventually dropping to 40%.

A strong sense of crisis hit him. Even though 40% battery was enough to last at least three more hours, he still felt incredibly uneasy.

Without hesitation, he plugged in the charger.

Watching the battery percentage quickly rise to fifty, Xia Chenxi quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his mind and continued staring at the game screen.

It was almost five o’clock when the game room began to dim. Xia Chenxi’s battery was fully charged by then, and finally, the game popped up a notification that snapped Xia Chenxi out of his drowsy state.

[It’s about to wake up.]

Xia Chenxi immediately sat up straight, completely ignoring the pain from his back, took a deep breath, and quickly opened his inventory to select and use [Tomato Scrambled Eggs]. At the bottom, three sparkling golden stars were displayed.

Xia Chenxi glanced at the character in the game. The character’s hand moved slightly, and in the next second, its eyes were about to open.

Xia Chenxi’s hand moved before his mind could react, quickly clicking the table.

Soon, a dish appeared out of thin air on the table.

In the darkness, the character sat up. Fatigue and hunger flooded its body, making it wrinkle its brow in discomfort. But soon, the expression returned to calm.

For it, the sensations of physical pain and hunger were more frequent than even drinking water.

It had already gotten used to it.

It endured the weakness of its body, got up, and prepared to turn on the lights.

The room was just too dark.

But as it stood up and took a few steps, its body suddenly froze.

What was that smell?!

This inexplicable smell that appeared in the room seemed to carry some strange magic, making it bizarrely feel a hint of eagerness to eat.

Its expression darkened suddenly, becoming wary. It didn’t recklessly turn on the lights, but instead quickly scanned the surroundings.

But it was too dark, and it could only vaguely make out the outlines of the furnishings in the room, unable to see any more details.

But that was enough.

All the furnishings and items in the room were in place. Soon, its gaze fixed on the table.

There, out of nowhere, was a plate, which seemed to contain something. The smell was also coming from there.

It had never smelled such a fascinating scent.

It didn’t evoke any sense of resistance or nausea within it. On the contrary, there was an indescribable fragrance.

A hint of confusion flashed through its eyes.

Then, extreme vigilance followed as it stared intently at the plate of food.

This thing was dangerous—far more tempting than anything it had ever encountered, capable of drawing out the greed hidden deep within its heart.

Slowly, it approached.

But the moment it saw what was on the plate, it suddenly froze for a second.

This was…

It hesitated slightly before reaching out, feeling the rising heat wafting from the dish.

This only confirmed its suspicion.

The thing on this plate—seemed to be meant for eating.

It withdrew its hand, its expression unreadable as it scanned the surroundings.

Suddenly, it strode quickly to the door and flipped on the light with a sharp click.

The dim, yellowish glow illuminated the entire room. Except for the corners still shrouded in darkness, everything on the surface was clearly visible.

No one.

There were no monsters, either.

It swiftly searched every possible hiding spot in the room—the bathroom, even the kitchen.

Still, nothing!

It was as if the intruder was invisible or possessed some even stranger power, capable of coming and going freely—so freely that not a single trace had been left behind.

It had to be that person again—or perhaps some kind of monster.

The first three times they came, it was to heal its injuries. But this time… could it be that they came just to leave this dish?

It once again approached the plate, its expression flickering between uncertainty and suspicion.

Xia Chenxi stared at the little one’s blank face and couldn’t help but imagine the intense inner turmoil it must be going through; it was struggling and conflicted, as if carrying the weight of the world.

Honestly, it was kind of adorable.

He pressed his lips together, suppressing the urge to laugh out loud.

The little one scanned the surroundings, its expression icy cold as it made a decision—to take the initiative and attempt communication with whatever presence was in the room.

It wasn’t sure if the other party was still there.

But by now, it had realized that unless they willingly revealed themselves, it would be nearly impossible to catch them.

It analyzed everything and finally decided to speak.

“Who are you?”

[Who are you?]

Xia Chenxi saw the little one’s lips move, and right after, dialogue text appeared on the game screen.

But… where was the voice?

Confused, Xia Chenxi turned up the volume, but still, there was no sound of the little one speaking.

Yet, he could clearly hear the little one’s breathing.

Only then did he belatedly realize—while the game had excellent sound design, it hadn’t provided voice acting for the little one’s dialogue.

Seriously? What a cheap move!

Xia Chenxi silently complained in his heart. Just then, the little one opened its mouth again and said something.

The game immediately translated it into text:

[What do you really want?]

The little one stood there, its expression growing darker and darker as the silence in the room stretched on.

A notification popped up helpfully: [It seems to be getting angry.]

Xia Chenxi: “…”

Yeah, no kidding. He didn’t need a notification to tell him that.

Honestly, instead of pointing out the obvious, the game would be way more useful if it gave hints on how to calm the little one down and reduce its wariness toward him.

But the game fell completely silent again, as if it had nothing more to say.

Xia Chenxi knew he couldn’t rely on it. On top of that, he didn’t have any affection points, meaning he couldn’t do anything at all.

He could only watch helplessly as the little one’s expression grew darker and angrier. His heart pounded with unease, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the little one might dump the dish at any second.

The room was dead silent.

As if all its suspicions just now had been nothing more than illusions.

Its gaze fell on the dish again—the still-steaming food looked incredibly delicious, and even the plate itself seemed exquisite.

With great difficulty, it tore its gaze away from the dish and looked at the pitch-black culinary disaster beside it.

Before, it hadn’t thought that plate of food looked particularly ugly. But now, with such a stark comparison, an overwhelming urge rose within it—

It suddenly wanted to throw that plate of food away.

But after several long seconds, it still didn’t make a move. Instead, its gaze returned to the dish once more.

What exactly had the other party used to make this dish? Why did the colors look so appealing?

And… the aroma—

It smelled really good.

But… how would it actually taste?

The moment that thought crossed its mind, its expression darkened even further.

This was exactly what the other party intended.

They wanted to tempt it into eating this dish—something that looked incredibly delicious but was very likely laced with poison.

A cold, mocking smile appeared on its lips, a hint of madness flashing in its eyes.

Fine.

If that was what they wanted—then so be it.