Chapter 276: Choosing a Side, the Beginning of Death!
The owner of this villa made quite an impressive entrance.
Based on the footsteps the Chosen Ones heard, it sounded like five or six people appeared at the same time.
Two of them opened the large doors for the villa owner. These people only followed him in after he had entered, then closed the door.
If the Chosen Ones hadn’t misheard, these were probably the maids.
Because the shoes the maids wore seemed different from everyone else’s, making a distinct “click-clack” sound.
The Chosen Ones couldn’t see, but their hearing was sharp.
When the villa owner appeared, there seemed to be the sound of birds or beasts flapping their wings outside the window.
There was no telling if this was connected, but the Chosen Ones still made a mental note of these details.
Meanwhile, something else was happening inside the banquet hall.
Apart from the Chosen One, there were four other guests.
But two of those four guests pushed their chairs back slightly.
They were probably standing up to show respect for the villa owner.
When someone of high status enters, those seated are supposed to politely rise.
But two others didn’t stand up, which left the Chosen Ones feeling conflicted.
Based on the sounds, one person on their side of the table stood up, and one person across from them stood up.
The little-girl-voiced girl didn’t stand, which meant the person next to her did.
The long-haired woman stood up, but the person next to her didn’t.
To stand or not to stand? The Chosen Ones struggled internally.
There were no rules to guide them.
Still, 137 Chosen Ones chose to stand up. They felt showing respect to the villa owner was the right thing to do.
After all, they were living in his villa. To survive a little longer, gaining some favor couldn’t hurt.
Generally speaking, the owner of a big villa like this was someone important. Giving him face was fine.
The other Chosen Ones either felt it was best not to act rashly when uncertain—this was the majority—or they simply didn’t think it was necessary, since others weren’t standing either.
Most of these were superhumans, notable for their boldness.
The clever ones, like Zhang Yangqing, thought it wasn’t about respect at all. Maybe this was about choosing a [faction].
Since all five guests were invited, the villa owner must need something from them.
The choice now might affect what happened next.
Zhang Yangqing naturally chose to remain seated. There was no need to stand.
He just needed to remember who was sitting and who was standing.
If he didn’t notice this, danger might come later.
There would probably be more hints soon. Whether Zhang Yangqing’s judgment was correct might become clear.
After all, so far there was still very little information. Zhang Yangqing couldn’t know everything—he was just speculating based on small details.
But thinking of this already showed his exceptional skill.
He also had a huge advantage: an extraordinary memory.
Zhang Yangqing had a rough mental model of the villa. He clearly remembered every place he had walked.
The more places he walked, the more complete his mental model became.
That was the terrifying power of top-tier talent.
At this stage, Zhang Yangqing also noticed many subtle details.
Other Chosen Ones might have heard them but not thought about them.
Specifically, the other guests seemed very familiar with the place.
There were two clues for this.
First: When they entered, they acted casually, found their seats easily, and the two women even dared to come scare the Chosen Ones.
If they weren’t regulars here, a first-time visitor wouldn’t play such jokes on strangers.
That wouldn’t align with the etiquette of visiting someone’s home for the first time.
Second: When he arrived, a maid accompanied him—partly because he was blind, but mainly because he didn’t know the way.
When the other guests arrived, no maids accompanied them. They pushed the doors open themselves.
If they were first-timers, surely a maid would have guided them.
From these two points, he could tell: either they had been living here for a while, or they visited often.
At the very least, they knew the villa’s layout to some extent.
These were the details Zhang Yangqing heard.
Without sight, you just have to listen carefully.
The sound of the door closing echoed. Two maids seemed to remain by the door, not following further.
The villa owner walked with steady steps, apparently followed by two maids.
Perhaps the head maid mentioned in the information was among them, but since they couldn’t see, the Chosen Ones couldn’t tell from footsteps alone.
“Welcome, everyone. I am deeply honored,” the villa owner said upon entering the banquet hall.
He sat to the right of the Chosen Ones, presumably at one end of the long table.
When he sat down, the two who had stood up also sat, as did the Chosen Ones who had risen.
At this point, the Chosen Ones could only imagine the seating arrangement.
The two maids who had followed him in stood behind the villa owner.
Chosen Ones with a keen sense of smell detected a faint scent of alcohol when the owner approached.
They just couldn’t tell if it came from the owner or the two maids.
Anyway, since they couldn’t see, remembering more details couldn’t hurt.
The villa owner gave some polite opening remarks, none of which contained any useful information.
After saying, “You must all be hungry,” he rang the bell on the table.
Once pressed, the kitchen received his order.
For some reason, after the villa owner said, “You must all be hungry,” the Chosen Ones’ stomachs began to growl.
It felt as though they hadn’t eaten in a very long time.
Even though many Chosen Ones knew they had entered the horror world at 8 o’clock and would probably stay up late, meaning they’d get hungry, so many had eaten a lot before 8.
But after entering the horror world, their bodies changed.
No matter how much they had eaten outside, they felt hungry inside the horror world.
If they didn’t eat, not to mention whatever came next, simply making it out would be a problem.
Veterans like Zhang Yangqing just wanted to complain: here comes that familiar hunger again.
Whenever he felt this, Zhang Yangqing knew he couldn’t avoid this meal. He had to eat.
Even superhumans, when extremely hungry, couldn’t exert any strength.
Don’t underestimate the hunger in the horror world. Zhang Yangqing had never been extremely hungry himself, but he had seen footage of other Chosen Ones. Some, after feeling hungry, didn’t eat in time.
Within two hours, they became dizzy and saw spots. Those in poorer physical condition couldn’t even walk.
As a seasoned veteran, he naturally knew how important eating was.
The sound of the door opening came, and seven people walked in.
Six of them carried large trays, each covered with a lid.
This was to prevent heat loss and keep the ingredients fresh.
When the maids placed the trays in front of the Chosen Ones and other guests, they lifted the lids.
A savory aroma filled the air, instantly whetting the Chosen Ones’ appetites.
Just smelling it, their stomachs began churning acid.
But the serving order was strange. Dishes weren’t brought all at once, but one by one.
Only after finishing one dish would the next be served.
Each dish was also introduced by a chef.
“I have selected tender meat from the hind legs of premium ingredients. The texture is tender, and the fat-to-lean ratio in each piece is just right, ensuring it’s rich but not greasy, with a deep, delicious flavor.”
When the lid was lifted, the steak sizzled audibly, a drop of hot oil slowly sliding down the meat’s marbled texture—utterly enchanting.
Smelling it carefully, their cravings were instantly aroused, and the Chosen Ones couldn’t stop drooling.
The premium hind leg meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, made even more tempting by the spicy salt and chili sauce.
On the big screen, viewers could see the tender, crispy, fresh, and numbing-spicy steak.
It could awaken humanity’s most primal desire: hunger.
Though the Chosen Ones couldn’t see, just the sounds and smells made it hard to resist the urge to eat.
After the villa owner enjoyed the food first, the other guests also began eating.
At this point, Kim Jeong-ki, the Chosen One from South Korea, used his cutlery, brought a piece of meat to his mouth, and took a bite.
His mouth was filled with fiery, boiling sensation, a sense of happiness flooding his taste buds. The delicious juices instantly breached every defense.
The incomparable meat aroma lingered on his tongue long after he swallowed.
Seeing this, the viewers outside were practically crying with envy.
Unfortunately, the hind leg meat was only a small piece—not nearly enough to fill the Chosen Ones, barely enough to get stuck in their teeth.
Still hungry, the Chosen Ones began looking forward to the next dishes.
The door opened again, and more maids entered, carrying covered trays.
Following the same procedure, they placed the trays before the Chosen Ones and lifted the lids.
Another rich aroma filled the air, whetting their appetites even more.
The chef began introducing his delicacy.
“I have removed most of the large intestine’s unpleasant smell, but I have retained some of the intestine’s original flavor. I think that way, when guests eat it, they’ll know it’s large intestine.”
Some Chosen Ones, without thinking, followed the other guests in eating this raw large intestine dish.
Zhang Yangqing, however, didn’t lift his chopsticks. The corner of his mouth even twitched slightly.
What? You retained some of the intestine’s original flavor?
Everyone knew that large intestine is where feces comes from!
You actually kept some of that flavor—isn’t that just making us eat shit?!
If others wanted to eat it, let them. Zhang Yangqing wasn’t touching this dish.
More dishes were brought out one after another, both vegetarian and meat-based. Though they didn’t know the ingredients, each dish made the Chosen Ones’ appetites soar, leaving a lasting aftertaste.
It made them want to eat more.
But each dish was only a bite or two in portion.
The dinner progressed very slowly.
Still, it closely resembled the lifestyle of high-class nobles—eating for flavor, not to get full.
The dinner had been going on for over an hour and still wasn’t finished.
The Chosen Ones had tasted everything that swims, walks, and flies.
Many Chosen Ones smiled slightly, thinking that this horror world offered such delicious food.
In previous horror worlds, the food had been practically inedible.
But then, an accident happened.
A Chosen One from Sakura Country began convulsing violently, his body burning as if on fire.
He let out a miserable scream as his skin started to fester.
Blood flowed from his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.
Finally, clawing at his own face, he collapsed to the ground in agony.
He looked utterly miserable, as if he had just endured torture in hell.
Sakura Country’s screen went black, and the Chosen One was declared dead.
And he was only the beginning.
Chosen Ones kept falling, all bleeding profusely, their skin inexplicably blackening and peeling off.
Some tried to beg the villa owner for help, but it seemed someone was strangling their throats—they couldn’t make a sound.
Before the dinner even ended, 27 Chosen Ones had fallen to the ground, their screens black.
Now, viewers who had wanted to eat lost their appetites.
They might be craving the food, but they didn’t want to die.
If eating these things meant death, they’d rather go hungry.
But viewers didn’t understand how these Chosen Ones died.
The other Chosen Ones had also eaten dinner, so why were they still fine?
So, as usual, viewers opened Longguo’s screen to find the “right answer.”
After all, despite some ordinary people mocking Longguo’s Heavenly Master, and some foreign viewers even hoping he would fall, deep down they still recognized his skill.
On Longguo’s screen, Zhang Yangqing was also eating.
But he was selective—he didn’t eat everything.
This baffled viewers worldwide.
Does the Longguo Heavenly Master know which dish is poisoned? How does he know?
That’s impossible. No rule says the food is poisoned, and the ingredients are special to the horror world. The Heavenly Master couldn’t possibly know.
Maybe it’s because the Heavenly Master has been navigating the horror world for so long and has eaten many special ingredients, so he can tell.
If you say that, then how do the other surviving Chosen Ones know?
Viewers felt it was normal for the Heavenly Master to judge ingredients, but how could other Chosen Ones also know?
When viewers asked expert panels to explain, the experts were equally confused. Since many things in this horror world couldn’t be judged with the naked eye, the experts genuinely didn’t know how to explain.
Perhaps some details could only be perceived by the Chosen Ones on-site.
At this point in the horror world, this was clearly the first trial. When the maids brought the dishes and the portions were so small, Zhang Yangqing already knew where the trap lay.
In fact, many Chosen Ones had triggered Rule 1.
[Rule 1: Always remember that among the living beings residing here, besides yourself, only one is human.]
To say this rule had nothing to do with food?
That would be a huge mistake.
Smart Chosen Ones had already realized something after taking their first bite of meat.
Zhang Yangqing had already considered several possibilities before even entering the banquet hall.
This situation was exactly one of his predictions.
The ingredients here were diverse. Didn’t the rules mention that besides the Chosen One and one other human, everything else isn’t human?
Some ingredients were meant for non-human beings, but the maids served everything anyway.
What’s delicious for non-humans is poison for humans.
Chosen Ones who listened carefully noticed that the guests were eating selectively, not everything.
Once they noticed that, the Chosen Ones should determine which person at the table was human like themselves.
Whatever that human could eat, they could eat.
Whatever that human didn’t eat, they must avoid, no matter how hungry they were.
How to determine who was human? There were techniques.
In fact, the Chosen Ones already had a clue from the start.
Remember how cold the maid’s hand was when she helped them downstairs?
That provided an important clue: body temperature.
During the meal, they needed to be bold.
They could stand up to toast, greet others, ask for things, introduce themselves—find ways to touch the other guests and the villa owner.
Since they were human, other humans should have similar body temperatures.
That was the only basis the Chosen Ones had for judgment.
Kim Jeong-ki found an excuse to stand up, introduced himself, and shook hands with others. After stumbling around for a bit, he discovered that the little-girl-voiced girl beside him had a similar body temperature to his own.
And since they sat close, he just listened to the sounds of her cutlery to know which ingredients were safe.
It was lucky the girl sat close. If she were farther away, an ordinary Chosen One might not have been able to tell.
In fact, the girl’s prank when she arrived had already revealed she was human.
The breath she exhaled was warm. But to be safe, many Chosen Ones still checked.
Being blind actually gave them an excuse for bumping into and touching other guests.
After all, who would hold that against a blind person?
The horror world had given the Chosen Ones plenty of hints.
If someone still failed to notice and dared to eat every dish, that was no different from walking to their death.
After careful review, expert panels seemed to notice something as well.
Chosen Ones who had touched other guests appeared to survive.
But they understood the logic—the Longguo Heavenly Master never stood up to touch anyone, nor had he touched the maid when coming downstairs.
How did he manage to choose the right food?
Simply based on the little-girl’s breath near his ear?
Or maybe… this guy could actually see all along!
Here, the expert panel was overthinking. Due to the rules, Zhang Yangqing was genuinely blind.
But this was the horror world—there was more than one way to judge.
Zhang Yangqing’s method was terrifyingly precise, and very few could pull it off.
Despite the noisy room, he could accurately distinguish the eating sounds of the five other people.
He could even imagine each person’s movements at their seat.
Then, from the rules, he knew that humans were the “minority.”
So, when eating, he just needed to follow the “minority.”
Clearly, he noticed that the little-girl’s eating pace was different from the other guests, so he simply ate whatever she ate.
That’s one way to interpret the rules.
A few other Chosen Ones might have thought of this, but only he could actually do it.
This was what you call a well-rounded warrior!
