Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Where’s the Food? Kirk Is Done For

So, the food that Kirk had deliberately left behind temporarily also ended up in Lu Ce’s stomach.

As he passed by the door where Kirk was staying, Lu Ce glanced over and noticed the door was slightly ajar.

But he didn’t bother with it. What was the game? Who was Kirk? He’d already forgotten.

Eating was all that mattered!

【: Foreign big shot, danger!】

【: I just went to Kirk’s livestream. The guy’s pretty skilled. He didn’t take the food in on purpose—it was part of his plan.】

【: I’m kind of looking forward to his reaction now...】

Outside, while Lu Ce was devouring everything like a whirlwind, Kirk was inside his room, working his powers with calm persuasion.

Kirk, the proud American, but he had the credentials to be proud.

With his impressive qualifications, he had accessed large volumes of restricted information after completing the Initial Game and realized the importance of the Game. He even achieved Perfect Completion in his first round.

And now, he was a Player with Superpowers!

—Mental Interference!

In terms of Superpowers, he was even ahead of Lu Ce!

Backed by his background and current abilities, Kirk didn’t think it’d be hard to get some intel out of a few mental patients.

“How long have you been here?” Kirk opened his mouth—and spoke fluent Chinese!

The Game wouldn’t create language barriers, but at this moment, he actively chose to speak in Chinese.

“I... I can’t remember. Three years? Thirty years? Ahhh...”

Kirk furrowed his brow, exerting all effort to interfere with the man’s mind, pressing his questions.

With his earlier calm persuasion and non-threatening questions, he had essentially numbed and taken control of the man.

What he knew so far: the guy’s name was Long Liu. He reminded him of his mother and kept muttering something about a mission. He really wanted yuxiang shredded pork.

Especially the yuxiang shredded pork—he didn’t know why the guy kept repeating it over and over.

“So, what illness do you think you have?” Kirk asked.

“I’m not sick! I’m not sick!” Long Liu shook his head violently, like he was having a hysterical episode. Kirk also felt like he was starting to lose control.

“Okay, okay, sir, we’re willing to believe that. Then who do you think is the most ill here?”

“Med... no... med...” At this point, drool was dripping from Long Jiu’s mouth. He was completely delirious and hard to handle.

Kirk sighed, realizing there was no other choice but to back off for now.

“Alright, you get some rest. I’ll go out and get you some food—your favorite yuxiang shredded pork. I’ll bring it to you right away.”

With that, Kirk stood up and walked outside, ready to grab the food and medication.

He hadn’t wanted to resort to this. He believed that medication and those kinds of things could easily trigger rebellious instincts or long-term psychological trauma.

But now, he could no longer control the man with just his mental influence. He had no choice but to go get the drugs.

Still, he had already brought the man’s consciousness into his rhythm. Say what you will, but making that pile of disgusting stuff look like yuxiang shredded pork to the guy wasn’t much of a problem.

Yuxiang shredded pork seemed to be some kind of obsession for him.

Once he fulfilled that obsession and got the guy to take the drugs, total control would follow—and getting information about the Game would be way easier.

Hell Mode... wasn’t so bad, really. Just a bit darker and creepier looking.

Those other Chinese Players probably weren’t progressing as quickly as he was...

He didn’t care if anyone was slacking off. He joined this Game for one reason—Perfect Completion.

In his eyes, cooperation didn’t exist. Players were in competition. The faster you cracked the Game, the bigger your rewards. Snowball that, and you’d only grow stronger!

Hell Mode couldn’t scare him!

Thinking this, Kirk walked out to the hallway, hands in his pockets, lips curled into a smirk—he looked like the Western version of a crooked-mouth Dragon King.

As soon as he stepped outside—

The tray was empty?

Huh?! Where’s the food?

Kirk froze for a second. This was the first time since entering the Game that something had happened beyond his control.

Where’s the food? Why was only the tray left?

Food being gone was one thing, but the meds too? All of it?

Instinctively, Kirk glanced at the doors of the other rooms. There were only five Players total, and still so many trays left.

He looked left and right subconsciously—his body stiffened.

Gone. All gone. Completely gone?!

Where the hell did all the food go?!

“What the f**k?!” He couldn’t help but curse, face full of confusion. Could it be that in this Game, any food not taken into a room would disappear?

The previous Game announcements didn’t say anything about that?!

And why did the food vanish, but the trays were still here?!

【: Hahahahahaha! I actually feel kinda bad for the guy.】

【: Who would’ve guessed that your own teammate would be the biggest problem? Not even the smartest brain could’ve predicted your teammate eating all your stuff.】

【: Poor Kirk.】

Kirk’s Game Livestream was now flooded with comments full of “hahahaha.”

He returned to his room, face blank, with none of the confidence he had just minutes ago. But as soon as he looked up again, his brow twitched hard!

The guy across from him—Long Liu—no longer looked clueless and deranged. His bloodshot eyes now brimmed with menace, the iron chains on his body creaking. Cracks had even started to appear on the walls and floor from his scratching!

That strength had clearly surpassed human limits, and the sight made Kirk’s teeth ache. It felt like the guy could break free at any moment and come charging over to finish him off!

“Yuxiang shredded pork... where is it?”

“Hold on, the chef’s still making it. To give you the best taste experience—don’t rush,” Kirk forced himself to stay calm and tried to keep the guy stable. “I’ll go hurry them up for you.”

Saying that, he immediately shut the door and left.

While Kirk was spiraling into despair, Lu Ce had already eaten his way to the end of the circular corridor.

In one of the open rooms there, Tom was stationed.

【Any discoveries, dear Player?】

The familiar mechanical voice rang out as the tin robot turned its head toward Lu Ce.

“Do you have any more food?”

【......】

Tom seemed to short-circuit from the question and didn’t respond right away.

“You smell kinda yummy...” Lu Ce continued, but made no further moves. As the red warning light was about to flash, he turned and walked back to his room.

But after taking a few steps, he suddenly looked up—and there, coming his way, was Kirk, out looking for answers. Refusing to believe it, he was inspecting every room down the corridor.

Right in front of him, Lu Ce tilted his head back and poured a can of food into his mouth.

Like he was afraid someone would snatch it from him.

Kirk: ......