Two quests were triggered at once.
Lynne was now keenly aware of the strangeness of this visit. Without hesitation, he approached with a smile, set down his medical bag, and took a seat on the chair seemingly reserved for him, picking up his knife and fork: "Thank you all. As a doctor, to receive such warm hospitality is truly flattering. May I know how Miss Alice is doing now? Could I see her?"
The host smiled graciously, "No rush, my dear daughter is sleeping. She tires easily, and we don't disturb her during her rest. Doctor, you might want to start with some food, take a moment to relax and unwind."
With that, he gestured. A servant with a rigid expression wheeled a cart to Lynne's side. A dish was placed before Lynne, covered with a silver lid, emitting a rich meaty aroma.
"Our esteemed doctor, please enjoy. Try this delicacy specially prepared by our chef," the hostess said with a beaming smile.
Lynne reached out and lifted the lid. Instantly, a heady, intoxicating fragrance wafted out. The plate contained a meticulously arranged piece of perfectly cooked offal, drenched in a thick sauce, instantly whetting one's appetite.
An introduction popped up before Lynne's eyes.
[Bayi's Kidney: Freshly extracted kidney, cooked medium, excellently prepared to tantalize the taste buds, utterly scrumptious.]
Across from him, Bayi clapped excitedly, drooling in a somewhat deranged manner.
Lynne: "…"
Lynne hesitantly said, "It looks delicious, but I'm not particularly fond of offal..."
Suddenly, the smiles on the faces of the three hosts, formerly so amiable, froze.
The candlesticks around them flickered wildly, casting the entire hall in uncertain light and shadow.
"You—don't like—what I've made?" the hostess asked with a stiff smile, her voice increasingly unsettling.
"Don't mind me, I'm quite straightforward. I'm not a fan of offal, but I do enjoy other things," Lynne cheerfully stood up. He then took the plate and, from the table in front, forked a few sausages and grabbed some apples.
Lynne opened his mouth, bit into a sausage with a crunch, and chuckled while chewing: "This is good."
But the very next moment, Lynne sensed something off about the sausage in his mouth. On closer inspection, he realized that the half-eaten, fragrant sausage had transformed into an intestine stuffed with thick, coagulated blood and flesh, with copious amounts of fresh blood oozing out.
[Flavored Pig Intestine: Made from fresh pig intestines, filled with select meat from fifteen different doctors, offering a varied and endless aftertaste.]
[Lynne's Sanity -10]
Yet, faced with the gaze of the family of three, Lynne maintained his smile, crunching on the dish, as the rich blood seeped through his teeth.
Noticing Lynne's expression of enjoyment, the trio's smiles turned amiable once again. The flickering candles stilled, and the atmosphere grew warm and inviting.
"Eat!" Lynne extended his hand with a smile, "Let's all eat it, don't just watch me. I'd feel embarrassed eating alone."
Then, Lynne picked up an apple. Juicy and temptingly red. But on a closer look, it was covered in mold, with maggots writhing inside and out.
Lynne chuckled.
Noticing the family's attention once more, Lynne opened his left mouth forcefully with his thumb and forefinger and stuffed the fruit inside.
[Ding! Hidari's Favorability Towards You -1]
[Ding! Hidari's Favorability Towards You -1]
With the trio's gaze upon him, Lynne raised his left hand and explained: "Oh, this is my second mouth. The food is so delicious, one mouth isn't enough to satisfy my appetite, so I thought of using both. You don't mind, do you?"
The hostess's gaze softened even more at Lynne. She stood up with a bright smile, filling Lynne's plate with dish after dish from the table, saying: "No, not at all! Seeing you enjoy your meal so much makes me very happy. Please, eat more, don't be shy."
Lynne, grinning broadly, picked up his fork and started feeding "delicious food" into the mouth on his left hand, bite after bite.
Finally, after two plates of food, the left hand became restless. It suddenly jerked free, forming into a fist, and lunged toward Lynne's head.
But Lynne was quick, swiftly grabbing the wrist of his left hand. Maintaining his smile, he forcefully pressed it down with a crunch.
"It's alright, it's alright!" Watching the family's expressions change again, Lynne cheerfully explained: "It was so delicious I couldn't help but stretch a bit. You don't mind, do you?"
As he spoke, Lynne quickly bent over, using the dining table as cover, restraining his left wrist, and asked earnestly: "Hidari, what are you doing?"
The left hand, gritting its teeth in anger, replied, "You awful person, you fed me all sorts of strange things again!"
Lynne, grinding his teeth, retorted, "Aren't you supposed to digest anything? You swallowed those tough hunters whole, didn't you?"
Hidari (╬◣д◢) protested, "That was when I chose to eat, not when being force-fed!"
Lynne seriously suggested, "How about this? Help me get through this lunch, and I'll treat you to a super delicious strawberry cake. How does that sound?"
Hidari, puzzled, asked, "Strawberry cake?"
"Cream, strawberries, soft sponge cake, plus a little roasted cheese."
Hidari showed a (๑´•﹃•`๑) expression, "That sounds tempting…"
"So, you agree?"
"Agreed, but you must keep your promise and not trick me!"
"Trust me, when have I ever tricked you?"
"That's more like it."
Saying this, Lynne immediately sat up with a beaming smile, stuffed a piece of "steak" into his left hand's mouth, and said: "Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. Shall we begin?"
Then, under the warm gaze of the family, Lynne extended his left hand and politely cleared the plate.
The hostess, happily and contentedly, kept adding food to Lynne's plate, saying: "There's a lot, don't choke, take it slow!"
...
Ten minutes later.
The smiles on the family's faces gradually became strained. They looked at the empty plates on the table and then at the stacks of empty dishes, two people high, piled up beside Lynne, their expressions stiffening.
Burp—
Lynne let out a symbolic burp and smiled, "That was delicious. Is there any more?"
The host looked at the hostess across from him, the two exchanged glances, and said blankly: "There is... maybe?"
Another half hour passed, and the dishes beside Lynne had piled up into little mountains.
Hidari's tongue swept across the plates, gobbling up all the meat in sight, chewing heartily.
Across the table, the expressions of the family of three had become unmistakably peculiar.
"Is there any more?" Lynne asked, looking up hopefully.
"Er..."
The hostess swallowed hard and quickly took the inventory list passed by a servant, flipping through it rapidly. Finally, her face stiffened as she reached the last page.
"It seems... there's no more... You've eaten all of our two months' supply of food..."
The host stood up quickly and hurried to a side door, frantically gesturing for the hostess to come over. The hostess bowed politely and then swiftly made her way to the side door, closing it behind her.
Lynne perked up his ears. His acute hearing allowed him to catch the conversation behind the side door.
"It's not right! There's something off about this doctor! Didn't you say Alice just picked some gullible fool? We haven't even made our move, and he's already eaten our two months' supply! He's not playing by the rules!"
"I... I don't know either. This person seems to have no psychological barriers. The previous doctors were usually scared witless upon arrival... This is..."
"So, you mean if this one isn't suitable, we'll have to write off two months' worth of supplies?"
"Alice is observing. If we can keep him as part of the family, it might not be a loss..."
Their voices faded.
Lynne's eyes shifted, and he looked up with a smile at the excited Bayi across the table, asking: "Young man, I need to use the restroom. Could you tell me where it is?"
Bayi pointed excitedly towards another corridor, saying: "Turn left, it's the third door."
...
In the restroom, Lynne narrowed his eyes, focusing intently as he relieved himself.
"Hidari, something's fishy. Our clients seem to have ulterior motives. What should we do? If we run now, they'll surely show their true colors," Lynne mused.
Hidari, grinding her teeth, shouted, "Damn it, man, can't you use your right hand for once?! Why do you need me to hold it?!"
Lynne replied seriously, "Focus on the matter at hand. What do you think we should do?"
Hidari yelled back, "Damn it! I don't know!!"
At that moment, the bathroom door suddenly swung open.
Bayi, with a stiff expression as if frozen in place, walked in and stopped beside Lynne, beginning his own business.
Lynne glanced over. Not as big as mine.
Bayi also took a glance. He's quite large.
Under a bizarre atmosphere, the two stood side by side.
Ssssss—
A strong scent of blood began to pervade the restroom.
Lynne glanced at Bayi and said, "Young man, you're urinating blood. Have you been feeling overheated lately?"
Crimson blood slowly filled the urinal.
Bayi, his head turning mechanically like a puppet, his face showing a dazed expression, said stiffly, "Yes... blood... all over..."
Then, gradually, Lynne saw blood seeping from Bayi's pupils, nostrils, mouth, and pores. The red blood soaked his clothes and spread across the floor from his ankles.
Meanwhile, the candles in the restroom flickered ominously.
At that moment, Lynne suddenly heard Bayi's rigid mouth mutter a few words.
"Run... run fast..."
Buzz—
Buzz—
Lynne shuddered, immediately turning to look at Bayi with urgency. The words Bayi uttered were in English, but with a heavy accent from his home on Earth.
This revelation stunned Lynne. Could this person be from the same world as him, from the hometown he had longed for over the past two years?
In a flash, Lynne grabbed Bayi's shoulders, peering deeply into his bleeding eyes, and shouted in English: "Are you from Earth? What kind of joke is this? How did you get here? Do you know how to get back? Hey! Hey!"
Bayi's eyes continued to bleed, murmuring as if he hadn't heard Lynne's questions: "They will cut open... scoop out... make you... become... family..."
His speech was disjointed, like a person in a trance. But in the next moment, as the candles suddenly went out, Bayi's expression turned excited and deranged. He lunged forward, hands gripping Lynne's throat.
"Alice prefers... hehehehe... She prefers you to be her brother... hahahaha..."
Bayi laughed maniacally, his head shaking uncontrollably, his nails digging into Lynne's neck.
[Ding! Host's life is in danger!]
[Ding! Host's life is in danger!]
At that moment, Lynne's left hand shot out, grabbing Bayi's head.
Boom—
Bayi's body was flung out of the restroom by Hidari, crashing heavily against the opposite wall.
"Ha ha... Hahaha..."
The twisted figure staggered to its feet and, like a swift cheetah, leaped to the side.
When Lynne rushed out, the corridor was empty.
Hidari, gritting her teeth, said, "Ah! That was dangerous, you know! Don't you know how to dodge?"
Lynne composed himself, then looked up, cracking his neck, his gaze becoming resolute.
"Ah, sorry. I got distracted by meeting a fellow townsman. It seems we've delayed too long, and the patient's family is getting impatient. In that case, we should properly 'treat' them, don't you think, Hidari?"
Lynne narrowed his eyes.
Two quests were triggered at once.
Lynne was now keenly aware of the strangeness of this visit. Without hesitation, he approached with a smile, set down his medical bag, and took a seat on the chair seemingly reserved for him, picking up his knife and fork: "Thank you all. As a doctor, to receive such warm hospitality is truly flattering. May I know how Miss Alice is doing now? Could I see her?"
The host smiled graciously, "No rush, my dear daughter is sleeping. She tires easily, and we don't disturb her during her rest. Doctor, you might want to start with some food, take a moment to relax and unwind."
With that, he gestured. A servant with a rigid expression wheeled a cart to Lynne's side. A dish was placed before Lynne, covered with a silver lid, emitting a rich meaty aroma.
"Our esteemed doctor, please enjoy. Try this delicacy specially prepared by our chef," the hostess said with a beaming smile.
Lynne reached out and lifted the lid. Instantly, a heady, intoxicating fragrance wafted out. The plate contained a meticulously arranged piece of perfectly cooked offal, drenched in a thick sauce, instantly whetting one's appetite.
An introduction popped up before Lynne's eyes.
[Bayi's Kidney: Freshly extracted kidney, cooked medium, excellently prepared to tantalize the taste buds, utterly scrumptious.]
Across from him, Bayi clapped excitedly, drooling in a somewhat deranged manner.
Lynne: "…"
Lynne hesitantly said, "It looks delicious, but I'm not particularly fond of offal..."
Suddenly, the smiles on the faces of the three hosts, formerly so amiable, froze.
The candlesticks around them flickered wildly, casting the entire hall in uncertain light and shadow.
"You—don't like—what I've made?" the hostess asked with a stiff smile, her voice increasingly unsettling.
"Don't mind me, I'm quite straightforward. I'm not a fan of offal, but I do enjoy other things," Lynne cheerfully stood up. He then took the plate and, from the table in front, forked a few sausages and grabbed some apples.
Lynne opened his mouth, bit into a sausage with a crunch, and chuckled while chewing: "This is good."
But the very next moment, Lynne sensed something off about the sausage in his mouth. On closer inspection, he realized that the half-eaten, fragrant sausage had transformed into an intestine stuffed with thick, coagulated blood and flesh, with copious amounts of fresh blood oozing out.
[Flavored Pig Intestine: Made from fresh pig intestines, filled with select meat from fifteen different doctors, offering a varied and endless aftertaste.]
[Lynne's Sanity -10]
Yet, faced with the gaze of the family of three, Lynne maintained his smile, crunching on the dish, as the rich blood seeped through his teeth.
Noticing Lynne's expression of enjoyment, the trio's smiles turned amiable once again. The flickering candles stilled, and the atmosphere grew warm and inviting.
"Eat!" Lynne extended his hand with a smile, "Let's all eat it, don't just watch me. I'd feel embarrassed eating alone."
Then, Lynne picked up an apple. Juicy and temptingly red. But on a closer look, it was covered in mold, with maggots writhing inside and out.
Lynne chuckled.
Noticing the family's attention once more, Lynne opened his left mouth forcefully with his thumb and forefinger and stuffed the fruit inside.
[Ding! Hidari's Favorability Towards You -1]
[Ding! Hidari's Favorability Towards You -1]
With the trio's gaze upon him, Lynne raised his left hand and explained: "Oh, this is my second mouth. The food is so delicious, one mouth isn't enough to satisfy my appetite, so I thought of using both. You don't mind, do you?"
The hostess's gaze softened even more at Lynne. She stood up with a bright smile, filling Lynne's plate with dish after dish from the table, saying: "No, not at all! Seeing you enjoy your meal so much makes me very happy. Please, eat more, don't be shy."
Lynne, grinning broadly, picked up his fork and started feeding "delicious food" into the mouth on his left hand, bite after bite.
Finally, after two plates of food, the left hand became restless. It suddenly jerked free, forming into a fist, and lunged toward Lynne's head.
But Lynne was quick, swiftly grabbing the wrist of his left hand. Maintaining his smile, he forcefully pressed it down with a crunch.
"It's alright, it's alright!" Watching the family's expressions change again, Lynne cheerfully explained: "It was so delicious I couldn't help but stretch a bit. You don't mind, do you?"
As he spoke, Lynne quickly bent over, using the dining table as cover, restraining his left wrist, and asked earnestly: "Hidari, what are you doing?"
The left hand, gritting its teeth in anger, replied, "You awful person, you fed me all sorts of strange things again!"
Lynne, grinding his teeth, retorted, "Aren't you supposed to digest anything? You swallowed those tough hunters whole, didn't you?"
Hidari (╬◣д◢) protested, "That was when I chose to eat, not when being force-fed!"
Lynne seriously suggested, "How about this? Help me get through this lunch, and I'll treat you to a super delicious strawberry cake. How does that sound?"
Hidari, puzzled, asked, "Strawberry cake?"
"Cream, strawberries, soft sponge cake, plus a little roasted cheese."
Hidari showed a (๑´•﹃•`๑) expression, "That sounds tempting…"
"So, you agree?"
"Agreed, but you must keep your promise and not trick me!"
"Trust me, when have I ever tricked you?"
"That's more like it."
Saying this, Lynne immediately sat up with a beaming smile, stuffed a piece of "steak" into his left hand's mouth, and said: "Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. Shall we begin?"
Then, under the warm gaze of the family, Lynne extended his left hand and politely cleared the plate.
The hostess, happily and contentedly, kept adding food to Lynne's plate, saying: "There's a lot, don't choke, take it slow!"
...
Ten minutes later.
The smiles on the family's faces gradually became strained. They looked at the empty plates on the table and then at the stacks of empty dishes, two people high, piled up beside Lynne, their expressions stiffening.
Burp—
Lynne let out a symbolic burp and smiled, "That was delicious. Is there any more?"
The host looked at the hostess across from him, the two exchanged glances, and said blankly: "There is... maybe?"
Another half hour passed, and the dishes beside Lynne had piled up into little mountains.
Hidari's tongue swept across the plates, gobbling up all the meat in sight, chewing heartily.
Across the table, the expressions of the family of three had become unmistakably peculiar.
"Is there any more?" Lynne asked, looking up hopefully.
"Er..."
The hostess swallowed hard and quickly took the inventory list passed by a servant, flipping through it rapidly. Finally, her face stiffened as she reached the last page.
"It seems... there's no more... You've eaten all of our two months' supply of food..."
The host stood up quickly and hurried to a side door, frantically gesturing for the hostess to come over. The hostess bowed politely and then swiftly made her way to the side door, closing it behind her.
Lynne perked up his ears. His acute hearing allowed him to catch the conversation behind the side door.
"It's not right! There's something off about this doctor! Didn't you say Alice just picked some gullible fool? We haven't even made our move, and he's already eaten our two months' supply! He's not playing by the rules!"
"I... I don't know either. This person seems to have no psychological barriers. The previous doctors were usually scared witless upon arrival... This is..."
"So, you mean if this one isn't suitable, we'll have to write off two months' worth of supplies?"
"Alice is observing. If we can keep him as part of the family, it might not be a loss..."
Their voices faded.
Lynne's eyes shifted, and he looked up with a smile at the excited Bayi across the table, asking: "Young man, I need to use the restroom. Could you tell me where it is?"
Bayi pointed excitedly towards another corridor, saying: "Turn left, it's the third door."
...
In the restroom, Lynne narrowed his eyes, focusing intently as he relieved himself.
"Hidari, something's fishy. Our clients seem to have ulterior motives. What should we do? If we run now, they'll surely show their true colors," Lynne mused.
Hidari, grinding her teeth, shouted, "Damn it, man, can't you use your right hand for once?! Why do you need me to hold it?!"
Lynne replied seriously, "Focus on the matter at hand. What do you think we should do?"
Hidari yelled back, "Damn it! I don't know!!"
At that moment, the bathroom door suddenly swung open.
Bayi, with a stiff expression as if frozen in place, walked in and stopped beside Lynne, beginning his own business.
Lynne glanced over. Not as big as mine.
Bayi also took a glance. He's quite large.
Under a bizarre atmosphere, the two stood side by side.
Ssssss—
A strong scent of blood began to pervade the restroom.
Lynne glanced at Bayi and said, "Young man, you're urinating blood. Have you been feeling overheated lately?"
Crimson blood slowly filled the urinal.
Bayi, his head turning mechanically like a puppet, his face showing a dazed expression, said stiffly, "Yes... blood... all over..."
Then, gradually, Lynne saw blood seeping from Bayi's pupils, nostrils, mouth, and pores. The red blood soaked his clothes and spread across the floor from his ankles.
Meanwhile, the candles in the restroom flickered ominously.
At that moment, Lynne suddenly heard Bayi's rigid mouth mutter a few words.
"Run... run fast..."
Buzz—
Buzz—
Lynne shuddered, immediately turning to look at Bayi with urgency. The words Bayi uttered were in English, but with a heavy accent from his home on Earth.
This revelation stunned Lynne. Could this person be from the same world as him, from the hometown he had longed for over the past two years?
In a flash, Lynne grabbed Bayi's shoulders, peering deeply into his bleeding eyes, and shouted in English: "Are you from Earth? What kind of joke is this? How did you get here? Do you know how to get back? Hey! Hey!"
Bayi's eyes continued to bleed, murmuring as if he hadn't heard Lynne's questions: "They will cut open... scoop out... make you... become... family..."
His speech was disjointed, like a person in a trance. But in the next moment, as the candles suddenly went out, Bayi's expression turned excited and deranged. He lunged forward, hands gripping Lynne's throat.
"Alice prefers... hehehehe... She prefers you to be her brother... hahahaha..."
Bayi laughed maniacally, his head shaking uncontrollably, his nails digging into Lynne's neck.
[Ding! Host's life is in danger!]
[Ding! Host's life is in danger!]
At that moment, Lynne's left hand shot out, grabbing Bayi's head.
Boom—
Bayi's body was flung out of the restroom by Hidari, crashing heavily against the opposite wall.
"Ha ha... Hahaha..."
The twisted figure staggered to its feet and, like a swift cheetah, leaped to the side.
When Lynne rushed out, the corridor was empty.
Hidari, gritting her teeth, said, "Ah! That was dangerous, you know! Don't you know how to dodge?"
Lynne composed himself, then looked up, cracking his neck, his gaze becoming resolute.
"Ah, sorry. I got distracted by meeting a fellow townsman. It seems we've delayed too long, and the patient's family is getting impatient. In that case, we should properly 'treat' them, don't you think, Hidari?"
Lynne narrowed his eyes.
