Chapter 92
The task settlement came even earlier than the shop upgrade. The system seemed to have waited for all three tasks to be completed before settling them together.
Whatever else could be said, having so many wishing stars and small gifts pour out all at once was visually quite spectacular.
“Shh, don’t say anything yet—let me guess.”
Jiang Jitang rotated his ring and began categorizing the little gifts one by one: “This badge—the Master Trainer of Avia Magical Beasts—should be from the Gray Boy.”
Being able to coexist harmoniously with so many types of birds in the attic, it was hardly surprising that the child eventually became a trainer of avia Magical Beasts.
Gray Boy had left that place that once confined him and went on to find his own life.
“This pile of amber trinkets must be from the Sala Tribe, right? They’ve always had a tradition of making charms and jewelry from minerals.”
According to their legends, jewelry made from beautiful minerals could help them communicate with the earth. And the distant land they were migrating to had vast forests—particularly rich in pine trees.
Jiang Jitang suspected there might be an open-air amber mine there.
“There are so many.” Such a huge pile—probably even the newborn babies had gifted him one.
“Would you like help combining them? The Sala’s grand priest left a blessing for you. The fusion might contain a surprise,” the system said.
Remembering the origin of Dream-Fulfillment Food House, Jiang Jitang’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”
All the amber vanished from the ground, replaced by a single polished bead, also amber, drilled through.
Most of the previous amber had been yellow—goose-yellow, buttery-yellow—but this one was a rare reddish-brown.
He slid it onto his wrist next to the Golden Eye. The reddish hue against the dark gold unexpectedly matched quite well.
This was a very wealthy-looking hand. After admiring it—
“What special effect does the fused amber have?” he asked.
[It carries the Sala people’s hopes for a bright future and the promise of new beginnings. Congratulations—tasker has obtained ‘Login Island.’]
[Login Island: A one-time-use item that allows remote login while ignoring blockages and barriers. You may bring up to 532 people with you simultaneously.]
[If a logged-in participant becomes critically injured, they will immediately return to their original world and can no longer log in.]
[Participants may change, but there are only 532 slots. As long as Login Island is not destroyed, it can be reused indefinitely. Note: If Login Island is destroyed, you and all participants will immediately return to your original world.]
[Upgradeable. Upgrade requires 10,000 points.]
An incredible item—though Jiang Jitang couldn’t think of how to use it.
As for upgrading—he had to pay the debt in a few days, and he wanted to save up 100,000 points to settle it all at once. No need to upgrade a nonessential item right now.
“Alright, continue with the settlement.”
A speech bubble popped: […Taomi’s birthday feast is complete. Earned 10 points, 1 small gift, 1 wishing star.]
[Taomi, an unfortunate child, seized an opportunity. He left his hometown—where both joy and pain lived—with the magical beast egg gifted by the birds and the moissanite from the tasker.]
[Selling the moissanite covered exactly four years of tuition. He applied for financial aid and worked part-time, successfully completing his studies and later entering a higher institution with excellent grades.”]
[The training of magical beasts transformed his life. He would eventually become a master trainer of Magical Beasts. In his later years, he returned home and developed his impoverished, remote hometown into a sanctuary and exhibition base for Magical Beasts.]
[Because of him, the children there had access to better education. And the people living there escaped poverty and backwardness.]
“This is the best 8 yuan 6 I’ve ever spent,” Jiang Jitang sighed. A single moissanite he had snatched from the jewelry store’s points rewards had given Gray Boy the courage to change his life.
[You actually overspent—516 points,] the bubble said.
“Ahem. Points reset at the end of the year. They’re not a currency—you said that.”
How petty. Why still complaining about him exploiting a bug?
Yes, the moissanite was obtained using a jewelry store membership reward. The points came from purchasing a Padparadscha sapphire, and could be redeemed for jewelry.
But Jiang Jitang currently had no plans to buy jewelry. And even if he did, he wouldn’t necessarily buy from that store. Keeping the points served no real purpose—basically trash.
“Only this once,” the system said. In the future, Jiang Jitang would grow wealthier and accumulate more membership cards. He couldn’t keep exploiting this sort of loophole.
“In the original timeline, Taomi also left on his twelfth birthday, carrying the precious magical beast egg gifted by the birds, entering the outside world as a wanderer.
“For a child, that world was no kinder than his stepmother—perhaps even harsher.
“After a turbulent youth and grueling middle age, Taomi eventually achieved success. But he had missed the best years for learning, and his magical beast had missed the ideal nurturing period. Regret filled his entire life.
“And he never returned home, nor could he change that desolate and impoverished place.”
The task worlds were very friendly to those peerless geniuses who didn’t need to study. Magical beast competitions were everywhere with generous prizes. Talented people partnered with strong beasts could quickly gain recognition and support.
But Taomi was merely a normal genius. He had talent and worked hard—he just needed a little more resources and a little more luck.
If the birds’ precious magical beast egg was the greatest resource the magical beast world had given him, then Jiang Jitang’s moissanite was that last bit of luck he needed.
Sometimes, a person is just one tiny stroke of luck away.
In comparison, the Ghost Castle task was rather plain.
Page Turtle had left the castle. It now wandered libraries across the world. When it accumulated enough knowledge, it would evolve into an Archive Turtle. That was far in the future, but Page Turtle already showed the focus and passion needed.
The castle’s owners lost their home, but their debts were cleared. Like everyone else, they continued living quietly.
But on quiet nights, they still thought of the past—and of the mischievous ghost turtle.
It was worth mentioning that the owner’s granddaughter grew up listening to Page Turtle stories. Like her great-great-grandfather, she loved books and writing.
She inherited those precious books and would one day create a famous world-renowned children’s story series based on Page Turtle. And the castle that once belonged to her ancestor eventually returned to her hands.
In the timeline without Jiang Jitang’s involvement, the owner could never find Page Turtle and had to sell the castle cheaply. Their family continued to repay debts, waking up each day to earn money with no time even to dream. Life ground down their backs and their spirits.
The castle changed owners. Everything was renovated. The new owner discovered Page Turtle’s hidden books and auctioned them. Page Turtle could not stop it—it left in anger, never again appearing before humans.
[How is that plain? A world-class children’s author grew from it,] the system huffed. World-famous children’s book authors weren’t special enough anymore?
“Well, she would’ve created stories even without Page Turtle. Just not the Page Turtle series. One missing gem from her crown—not a big deal.”
“That’s true.” Jiang Jitang nodded. “What’s left is the Sala Tribe migration task, right?”
The migration task was the one Jiang Jitang had invested the most effort into—and the one he most anticipated the settlement for.
He really wanted to know whether that unfortunate people had found a new home. And whether the supplies he gathered had helped them.
These days, with points steadily increasing, the best part of fulfilling orders was this sense of accomplishment.
Doing good deeds without mental rewards? Then what’s the point of doing good deeds?
[Sala Tribe migration… wait a moment. A temporary order has appeared. Mini-game. Want to play?]
“…You really had to choose this exact moment?”
Jiang Jitang felt internally miserable but kept his expression calm. “Details.”
[Strong wish detected. Updating special task.]
[Special Task: Please assist a certain team in completing the ‘Eat Up If You Dare’ game challenge.]
[Would you like to participate?]
[You have five minutes to consider.]
What respectable game would be called Eat Up If You Dare? The system was really letting itself go.
“What’s the content?” Jiang Jitang calmly changed clothes, removed his ring and bracelet, and put on sports wristbands. The bubble continued explaining.
[Task Details: This is a targeted task, issued only to taskers with above-average cooking skills.
The issuer requires the tasker to act as external staff in the “Eat Up If You Dare” challenge game.
Location: kitchen of Truly Delicious Vegetarian Restaurant
Time: 120 minutes
Requirement: Prepare dishes based on orders submitted by the surviving participants.
Each completed dish with a passing evaluation earns 10 points.
If twenty dishes are completed within two hours with passing evaluations, the tasker earns 200 points, 1 wishing star, and a game souvenir.
Each dish that receives an “excellent” rating earns an additional 10 points.
Ingredients will be supplied by the restaurant. Originally there were six kitchen staff, but it’s after hours, so the tasker must work alone.
If a dish completely fails to match the description, the participant may give a bad review—bad reviews deduct 10 points.
Taboo: Violating restaurant rules.
If points fall below zero, the tasker will randomly lose a piece of meat.]
Jiang Jitang spotted a bug—if he made no dishes at all, he would remain at zero points and clear the task with no reward.
Of course, not cooking was impossible. If he were afraid of everything, he wouldn’t have accepted the order.
“I accept.”
He appeared in a spotless, tidy restaurant kitchen. In the center was a long prep station with a wash sink. Surrounding it were cooking areas—frying, roasting, boiling—and shelves with ingredients, plus several fridges.
The tools were Western-style—more than a dozen knife types, various pans and pots.
Aside from a faint metallic rust smell, nothing seemed unusual—just like any Western kitchen he had been in.
But at the window connecting to the dining area, there was nothing—only a layer of shimmering rainbow soap bubbles blocking the view. He couldn’t see outside; he could only hear faint pure music, seemingly violin and piano.
Sounded like live performance—must be a high-end restaurant.
Just then, an order ticket slid in and dropped into the small tray.
Jiang Jitang picked it up:
Baby-Hand Salad: A cold appetizer. Typically made using the hands of 4–5-year-old human children, boiled with sauce, cut into pieces, then drizzled with a dressing.
From Table 303. Special request: Make it softer. Having trouble chewing lately.
“Trouble chewing yet ordering something this tough?” Jiang Jitang fell silent, remembering how he once had mouth ulcers yet stubbornly ate spicy hotpot anyway. Monsters were just like humans.
Before he fully processed the first order, a second ticket came in:
Minced Meat Salad: Starter dish. Usually shredded cooked human meat mixed with clean vegetable strips and topped with traditional salad dressing.
From Table 118. Request: Extra salad dressing. Trying to lose weight.
“Losing weight yet asking for extra dressing? Salad dressing is fat in a bottle. Asking what role it plays in a weight-loss meal? Simple—the opposite.”
Shoop—another ticket came in.
Jam-Foie-Fatty Liver: A dessert-like delicacy made from human fatty liver.
From Table 504. Request: Paid top price for this premium dish—please make it well.
“Humans eat blueberry foie gras; monsters eat jam-coated fatty liver. Everyone has their own luxury cuisine,” Jiang Jitang muttered.
Other tickets followed:
Skin Bun: Bread served with a piece of human skin baked on top.
Virgin Blood: Aperitif made from the blood of pure boys and girls.
Honey-Glazed Calf: Main course, usually a young adult human leg glazed and roasted.
…
Monsters perfectly matched his stereotypes. So many delicious foods existed in the world, yet they insisted on using humans—such a sour ingredient. The dishes were crude, tasteless, lacking refinement.
Jiang Jitang circled the kitchen. In one fridge, he found neatly arranged chopped human limbs. In another fridge and on the shelves were common vegetables, fruits, livestock, poultry, fish, and shellfish.
“Wait. The restaurant is called Truly Delicious Vegetarian Restaurant. So… why vegetarian? Surely it doesn’t mean all the humans used were vegetarians?”
Although vegetarian humans would taste better—not gamey, no peculiar odors—very few humans maintained long-term vegetarian diets. Not enough to serve as mainstream ingredients.
Then Jiang Jitang immediately caught the key word:
Vegetarian.
“If it’s vegetarian by human standards, do they want me to replicate the texture of human limbs using vegetables?”
He could make home cooking, but he wasn’t a royal banquet chef. How could he achieve that?
The remaining possibility was—
This was a “vegetarian restaurant” for monsters, serving vegetarian dishes in monster terms.
These monsters—vegetarian monsters—were the customers.
From the monsters’ perspective, what counted as vegetarian?
A certain popular vampire TV series provided the reference.
Looking at the order for “Baby-Hand Salad,” then looking at chicken feet in the fridge—they looked remarkably similar. Brine them well and they’d resemble the original even more.
Jiang Jitang studied all the order slips carefully.
Those words—“usually,” “typically,” “commonly refers to”—made everything clear.
The menu described the real human-based dishes.
But this was a vegetarian restaurant—no human flesh allowed.
So what were the “vegetarian” substitutes?
Jiang Jitang looked at the beef, lamb, pork, and other meats in the fridge.
He understood.
