Global Collapse-Chapter 571 - 539: Wang Jin Lian and Gu Da Lang _1

The second person to see Gu Mian's return was Fatty. His face appeared behind the window Xiao Hong had slapped open, and he started grinning goofily as soon as he saw Gu Mian. He, however, didn't climb out of the window and down like Xiao Hong. If Fatty were to do that, he would probably splatter into a pile of meat paste by the time he got to the ground floor.

Gu Mian said goodbye to Keke on the first floor. Then, he climbed the stairs with Xiao Hong, who was busily gnawing on her own head. Halfway up, they ran into "Accompany Me Next Year" and "Know My Thoughts," who were both deep in thought in the hallway. The pair looked startled when they saw Gu Mian; it was unclear if they were frightened by his weird costume or Xiao Hong's face. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

When Gu Mian got home, the strange headpiece still hadn't come off. In the end, Xiao Hong was plucked off Gu Mian's head by her brother and thrown out the window.

Meanwhile, Gu Mian was deep in thought in the living room, staring at the lychee sodas on the coffee table. Fatty had already joyfully rushed into the kitchen to get busy, intending to prepare a sumptuous dinner. He had specifically gone to the supermarket's seafood section during the day to buy large hairy crabs full of crab roe and scallops, and he had already kneaded the dough beforehand. Soon, the sound of chopping meat filling could be heard from the kitchen. The crabs and scallops had already been put in the steamer, and a delicious aroma was wafting out.

"What's he doing?" Gu Mian glanced towards the kitchen.

Chu Changge, without lifting his head from his book, said, "He said he wanted to make you crab roe soup dumplings. He spent several hours boiling the broth earlier today and says it tastes absolutely amazing."

Although he had never cooked before, Gu Mian knew that making crab roe soup dumplings was quite difficult; just extracting the crab meat was exhausting. At this moment, Fatty had taken out the cooked hairy crabs and started scooping out the crab meat and roe with grunts of effort.

No longer watching Fatty, who was grunting and puffing as he worked hard, Gu Mian focused his gaze on the table full of lychee sodas before him. The lychee sodas had new packaging. The pink pull-tab cans looked extremely rustic. Without a doubt, all these sodas on the table are Xiao Hong's masterpiece. But this packaging...

"What's wrong?" Chu Changge asked, sensing Gu Mian had been staring at the sodas for a while.

Gu Mian leaned back a bit. "I've seen this new packaging design in the instance I was just in—the amnesia instance." Zhao Shuang's company was on the thirteenth floor, but it only occupied half of it; the other half belonged to a design company. This company seemed to have insufficient storage space, so designs that couldn't fit were piled up in the hallway. Among those piled-up designs, Gu Mian had seen this pink one.

Gu Mian picked up a can of soda and pulled the ring tab. "The stuff in the supermarket really does come from instances." As he said this, he took a sip.

Just then, Xiao Hong, who had been thrown downstairs by her brother, poked her head in through the window. Her eyes, filled with resentment, were fixed on the can in Gu Mian's hand.

In the kitchen, Fatty had already chopped the crab and scallop meat. He mixed it with the previously prepared meat filling, then added aspic jelly and various seasonings, stirring it all together. Several large, thin dough skins had been rolled out and were waiting on the side, ready to be used. The steamer was already on the stove, with a row of new straws beside it. Fatty quickly made several soup dumplings and placed them in the steamer basket. The soup dumplings he made were large with thin skins, each one as big as the mouth of a bowl.

"What a pity I didn't know then," Gu Mian said, looking at the pink ring-tab can in his hand. "If I could have tracked down that design company, perhaps I could have found the supermarket's supplier."

The supplier for the game's supermarket must know some inside information.

By this time, Xiao Hong had crept over to the coffee table and stealthily swiped a can of lychee soda.

"Speaking of which, this instance was very dangerous," Gu Mian said, looking at Chu Changge. "The instance started with a big trap for the players. Everyone who stepped into it would be done for."

Chu Changge pushed his glasses up. "It seems some players did step into the trap."

That's why there were only two names on the compensation list; the rest had died as a result. If anyone but Gu Mian had entered that instance, there likely wouldn't have been a single survivor left. After the death protection mechanism was turned off, the instances seemed to have become even more perilous.

Gu Mian was somewhat reluctant to let Chu Changge and Fatty enter instances again. Other scenarios might be manageable, but if they encountered another instance like the Werewolf game, one of the three of them would undoubtedly die.

At this moment, Xiao Hong, who was right in front of them, decided one can wasn't enough. She furtively swiped a second one, thinking Gu Mian and Chu Changge hadn't noticed.

Just as Xiao Hong was playing thief, the crab roe soup dumplings in the kitchen were ready. Fatty lifted the lid of the steamer basket, and the fragrance of crab mixed with hot steam assailed their senses, instantly whetting their appetites. He carefully pinched the gauze beneath a dumpling, transferring it from the steamer basket to a waiting plate. As he moved it, the entire dumpling jiggled, the soup sloshing within.

"Doctor," Fatty said, beaming as he carried the small plate over to Gu Mian. "Look what I made!"

Gu Mian looked at the dumpling on the plate. Its skin was very thin, almost translucent, revealing the abundant soup inside. Fatty swept an obstructing soda can off the table, placed the dish in front of Gu Mian, and thoughtfully inserted a straw. "Doctor, try it quickly!"

This eager service reminded him of Jin Lian serving medicine to Wu Dalang.

Gu Mian bent over and took a sip. The delicious, rich broth slid down his throat.

"It's delicious."

Indeed, it was. Gu Mian remembered the last time he'd eaten crab roe soup dumplings was back in school. When the waitress brought them, she slipped, and one splattered all over his face. Gu Mian had reeked of food for the entire day.

But now there was a problem: Fatty had made ten soup dumplings, each the size of a bowl's mouth.

"It looks like I've made too many," Fatty lamented. "We can keep them for tomorrow, but they won't taste as good... And I want to make something else tomorrow..." While complaining, he placed a soup dumpling in front of Xiao Hong. She sniffed it and immediately left with her lychee soda, clearly uninterested. Her brother just giggled foolishly to the side; he couldn't be relied upon to help finish the food.

"To avoid waste and so we can eat something new tomorrow," Fatty declared, holding the steamer basket and puffing out his chest as he hatched a scheme, "why don't we send the extra ones to Miss Xiao Qiao and the others!"

Gu Mian didn't know what the women downstairs ate every day. They surely didn't have a chef like Fatty cooking for them.

Neither Gu Mian nor Chu Changge objected to the suggestion, so Fatty took two large plates, still steaming hot, and dashed downstairs.

When she heard a knock on the door, Keke was somewhat suspicious. They were living on the first floor because of her sister, which was quite unsafe under the current circumstances. If someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night, it could be other players from outside. Luckily, the hostel doors had peepholes. After confirming it was Fatty outside holding something, Keke hesitantly opened the door.

As soon as she opened it, she was captivated by the aroma of food. It was the savory aroma of crab. She looked at what Fatty was holding: two large plates, each with two glistening soup dumplings. Tender yellow broth oozed from the top of the dumplings, looking incredibly appetizing.

Fatty handed one plate to Keke, saying, "We made these soup dumplings tonight. The Doctor specifically asked me to bring them to you."

"He specifically asked you to bring them to us?" Keke asked, hesitating.

Upstairs, Gu Mian, who had been unwittingly framed, sneezed.

"Yes." Fatty nodded gravely. I've made a contribution to the development of the protagonist's harem! he thought.

"Eat up!" Fatty beamed, a satisfied smile on his face. "I still need to deliver some to Miss Xiao Qiao." With that, he rushed off.

Keke stood at the door holding the plate, stunned for a long moment before calling out "Thank you!" to Fatty's retreating figure. She and her sister hadn't had a decent meal in a long time. Not just since the game started, but even before the global game began, she'd never eaten anything like this. Although she was very grateful, Gu Mian didn't seem like the type of person who would proactively send someone to deliver dumplings.

Meanwhile, Fatty was already knocking on Liu Ruyan's door. She and Xiao Qiao lived together, and who knew what they were whispering about in their room all day. Although both needed to replenish their energy, their standards for taste were extremely low; as long as it was edible and kept them alive, it was fine. When Fatty knocked, Xiao Qiao was gnawing on a piece of bread she had bought yesterday, like a hamster. As Liu Ruyan opened the door, Xiao Qiao immediately stopped, dropped the bread she was holding, and, drawn by the aroma, made her way to the doorway.