Coo-coo-coo~
Yuan Wu's stomach rumbled. She patted Bai Yuehan and told her to follow. “Come on, let's go eat.”
Bai Yuehan followed silently behind her. The two arrived in front of a small Wooden House, where Bai Yuehan saw the signboard above it. Four large, crookedly written characters read “Sunshine Cafeteria,” accompanied by a symbol she had never seen before.
It looked somewhat like a flower and somewhat like a fried egg.
It was strange, but rather cute.
The building was not large enough for more than four tables, and half of it consisted of a single service window. However, no one stood at the window. Instead, there was only a void-like display Bai Yuehan had never seen before, resembling a projection stone.
She pointed at the void-like display and asked Yuan Wu, “Xiao Wu, what is this?”
Yuan Wu walked over and tapped the display. “This is a food-ordering machine.”
“A food-ordering machine? I have never heard of such a thing. What kind of Spirit Artifact is it?” Bai Yuehan asked doubtfully.
“Uh... yes, a Spirit Artifact.” Yuan Wu did not know how to explain the thing to Bai Yuehan, so she simply called it a Spirit Artifact.
She tapped the void a few times, and the original display in the air changed into several pictures of food. Bai Yuehan had never seen any of these dishes and asked curiously, “What are these?”
Yuan Wu introduced them from left to right. “This is a Hamburger, this is Luosifen, this is fire chicken noodles, this is Jianbing Guozi, and this is Tomato and Egg Rice Bowl.”
There were five varieties in total, all drawn by Yuan Wu. Each type of food had a special effect.......
Ahem... because the Main System had discovered her previous free meal scam, Yuan Wu had also been fined one hundred spirit stones.
You may wonder why Xiao Ba was not punished.
Yuan Wu had been puzzled at first too, until she heard Xiao Ba call the Main System “Dad”........ Then she understood. This System still had powerful connections.
For that reason, along with Yuan Wu's shamelessness and the oppressive psychological pressure she used to manipulate Xiao Ba, Xiao Ba secretly pulled some strings and gave her a small compensation: five chances to draw Food Cards.
The five Food Cards produced exactly the five items just mentioned.
If she wanted to add new foods, she needed to complete missions for a chance to obtain Food Cards.
Yuan Wu ordered one serving of Luosifen, then turned and asked Bai Yuehan, “What would you like to eat?”
Bai Yuehan studied the five pictures, hesitating. She pointed at the fire chicken noodles and asked, “What are these called fire chicken noodles? Fire chickens..... Are they noodles made from chickens that can breathe fire? I have never seen a fire-breathing chicken, though I do know of fire-breathing birds. And why are they so red? What are those green and black leaves sprinkled on top?”
“Uh... how should I put it..... It is just a name. They are red because they are very spicy. The topping is shredded seaweed and black sesame.” Yuan Wu finished explaining flatly.
“Very spicy? I cannot handle spicy food very well. I probably cannot eat those. Then what is this Hamburger?” Bai Yuehan pointed at the picture of the Hamburger again.
“It is just steamed bread with meat.” Yuan Wu's explanation was brutally concise. At least, it made Bai Yuehan lose interest in it. Although the picture looked tempting, she did not want to eat steamed bread.
“The Luosifen you ordered..... What is it?”
“Just noodles.”
“I have eaten Tomato and Egg Rice Bowl before. Then I will choose Jianbing Guozi, please.” Bai Yuehan was still very polite; she even knew to say please.
Yuan Wu did not mind her many questions. After all, there was nothing wrong with asking about things she had never seen before.
One serving of Luosifen and one Jianbing Guozi cost Yuan Wu eight spirit stones. Bai Yuehan watched her take out the spirit stones and place them in an empty slot. A white beam swept over the spirit stones, and they vanished.
“This Spirit Artifact is amazing. Who made it?” Bai Yuehan marveled. The cultivation world already lacked artifact refiners, and those capable of making a Spirit Artifact like this were even rarer. It was almost as if the thing possessed a spirit of its own. It could even count!
Yuan Wu: Is counting really your main concern?!
After ordering their food, the two walked toward the tables and waited for their meals.
However, Bai Yuehan found the tables and chairs rather strange. One chair was missing a leg, while another table had a large hole in it?
It felt as though they had simply been picked up from the roadside. No..... Even a roadside tree stump might be better than this. Had the Yuan Family really fallen into such dire straits?
Bai Yuehan stared at the tree stump hollowed out in the middle, sinking into thought. She silently looked toward Yuan Wu. “This......”
“That is for the plump birds outside to sharpen their beaks. They must have dragged it inside. Sit here for a while; I will go scold.... Ahem.... Educate them.” Yuan Wu gave Bai Yuehan an embarrassed smile, picked up the tree stump, and walked outside.
Bai Yuehan heard the birds calling outside, along with Yuan Wu's stream of abuse and even the sound of wood being struck. She nervously shifted farther inward.
She was not afraid of being hit. The insults were simply too vulgar, and she was afraid they might implicate her.
After dealing with those birds who did not know their place, Yuan Wu returned to her seat. Just then, the food arrived: the Jianbing Guozi Bai Yuehan had ordered.
A Wooden Man came over carrying a plate. It looked very strange, with a large head, thin arms, and wheels for a lower body. A sheet of paper was pasted to its face, bearing two words—“facial features.”
It was extremely crude. One could imagine how little care its owner had put into making it.
This Wooden Man was Xiao Ba's vessel, a body made by Yuan Wu. It had taken less than five minutes to make from start to finish. She truly had not put much thought into it.
Xiao Ba had protested too, but it had been useless.
To earn a little spending money, it had truly sacrificed too much, demonstrating exactly how hard money was to earn and how awful food could be.
The golden-brown exterior was dotted with black sesame. Mixed egg coated the surface, enclosing green vegetables, some unknown meat, and something crisp.
At the first bite, Bai Yuehan's eyes lit up. Her expression remained unchanged, but the slight upward curve of her lips still betrayed her mood.
“How does it taste?” Yuan Wu asked.
“It is delicious, and it also contains spiritual energy. After eating it, I feel that the injuries inside my body have healed somewhat.” After saying this, Bai Yuehan turned and looked at Yuan Wu solemnly. “Do you have a powerful Food Cultivator here? Food capable of reaching this level would require at least Nascent Soul Cultivation. Yuan Seventeen, your Yuan Family truly is extraordinary. No wonder my father places so much importance on you.”
Yuan Wu was somewhat dumbfounded by this. The female protagonist seemed to be breaking character. Was she not supposed to be a cold and aloof girl? It felt as though she could not keep a single thought to herself.
Also, what did she mean by saying her father placed such importance on the Yuan Family? She should have said that he only placed importance on her father, the Yuan Family Head..... Actually, it should be hatred.
After all, her father was always fond of provoking the Bai Family Head.
Bai Yuehan probably would not believe her if she explained all that, but Yuan Wu still had to say something. She merely changed the explanation. “No..... Uh, it is not a Food Cultivator. It is a puppet left behind by a powerful Food Cultivator from ancient times. That Wooden Man just now made it.”
“Not a Food Cultivator? But that Wooden Man looks very new. It does not resemble something left behind by a Food Cultivator from ancient times.....” Bai Yuehan looked doubtful.
Yuan Wu's mouth twitched. Why was she always so clever at times like this?
After a light cough, Yuan Wu lied without the slightest change in expression. “It was in terrible condition when I found it. I made a new body for it, so it looks new.”
“No wonder. I was wondering who would make something so strange.” Bai Yuehan muttered under her breath, but Yuan Wu still heard her.
Yuan Wu: ........ Face it with a smile.