CH 73

The players looked at the table and hesitated, as if they were forced to stand on the edge of a precipice, facing a choice between life and death. And this choice looked like a choice between death on the left and death on the right.

The atmosphere in the restaurant seemed to freeze for a moment as the players scowled at each other, but none of them made a move.

When the players didn't move for a while, "Grandma" narrowed her little eyes dangerously: "What is it? My children, are you picking your food? Picking at food is not something good children should do."

The players hesitated, their eyes darting between granny, coke and paste, having difficulty deciding.

"And you? Good boy." She turned her head to look closer at the player sitting directly to her right, a wide grin enveloping almost the top of his head.

The player shuddered as she watched him and subconsciously picked up a piece of Granny's special coke, which he could not convince himself to eat even after taking several deep breaths.

Not only that, but under the watchful eye of his "grandmother", he was shaking more and more, and the whole table was trembling slightly.

At this, "Grandma" gave a grunt of displeasure.

That sound was not very loud, but it was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, scaring the already shaky coke in the player's hand into rolling straight down, hitting the table with a crisp sound, and then rolling all the way to the floor as the player looked on in despair.

Realising that something was wrong, the targeted player's voice trembled, "Milk, milk, grandmother ...... I I I'll pick it up right away-"

No sooner had he finished his sentence than the mouth of "Grandma" hanging over his head came down with a bite!

"Ka-ching-"

The sound of bones snapping is particularly noticeable in the restaurant, which is silent at the moment.

In the next instant, the body that had lost its head fell from its seat with a crash, blood spurting out from the neck break, staining the faces of the two players next to him and splattering a lot on the table.

The players were momentarily shocked, they were completely unprepared for the suddenness with which death came.

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The woman who had been splattered with blood hastily covered her mouth to stifle her cry of surprise, and she looked at the "grandmother" not far away with trembling, wide-eyed horror.

"Grandma" is chewing on the head in her mouth with a look of pleasure and satisfaction on her face.

The hard bones were bitten crisply in her mouth, but could not stop her sharp teeth, which still had blood in the corners of her mouth, like lipstick applied very casually.

With a gulp and a swallow, "Grandma" smiled anew, blood and flesh still between her teeth, even white tofu-like residue: "Grandma will punish a disobedient child."

Her dangerous eyes scanned among the players, and although they knew she might not be able to see, the players being watched couldn't help but tense up.

They have put their hands on it - the paste.

At least this looks more like something edible than coke.

The next instant, however, they regretted it.

What the hell is this! Why is the texture not only soft but also sticky? Is it filled with glue? It doesn't taste like food at all either, maybe it's better to chew on coke.

With the smell of blood in the air and the bodies on the floor, it was even more so that you almost threw up.

Just as they all turned pale, "Grandma's" voice rang out, "Good boys don't waste food."

The players could only swallow what was in their mouths with strained necks and a sense of life's impermanence in their eyes.

On the other side, Xiao Lan and Luo ate calmly without changing their faces, while Wang Taidi's little curly hair drooped and he put the paste in his mouth with a resigned expression, as if he had put life and death at stake.

There is an unanimous consensus among the players at this moment - such a meal cannot go on any longer.

Gu Jiangke struggled to finish his bowl of paste and said to his "grandma", "Grandma ...... you've worked so hard cooking."

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"Grandma", with a loving smile, "what is a little hard work for my favourite child?"

Gu Jiangke continued, trying to get her to change her mind, "It's like this, Grandma, we think that usually what we usually eat is too greasy, and the vegetables you have here are just right for us, so we can just eat vegetables from now on."

The players nodded their heads, they love vegetables and they are good for their health.

"You're such a sweet bunch of kids." "Grandma" smiled at him, "but how could she not prepare food for you, so why don't you make dinner with her?"

Gu Jiangke's face froze, never expecting such a turn of events, and under the gaze of his "grandmother" he could only nod, "Yes ...... yes, grandmother."

--

After the meal, it is free time for the players.

Xiao Lan, Luo and Wang Taidi walked together and Luo and Wang Taidi told how they had searched several rooms in the morning but had not found the key.

Xiao Lan told of his discovery that "Grandma's" hearing was very sharp, adding, "I took the opportunity to search her while I was helping her cook, and I couldn't find any sign of the key."

Wang Taidi's eyes were odd: "You look like a skilled pickpocket ......"

"Is poverty giving you some kind of secret side job?" Luo also says that in order to keep a low profile, Luo tries to avoid calling Xiao Lan Mr. or using honorifics in front of players.

Xiao Lan waved his hand with a look that said, "It's nothing, I just know my enemy."

Back in the day, he was the one that the pickpockets in the whole street would walk around, and if they dared to steal from him, they might get everything they had on them in reverse, but they couldn't beat him up if they wanted to, so they were like a plague on the pickpocket scene. When Xiao Lan moved out of the area, the thieves and gangsters couldn't resist going out to celebrate with a big meal.

I don't know what kind of street fighter Wang Taidi has in mind, but he looks at Xiao Lan with a bit of awe at the socialite.

The three of them continued to search the house in pairs for clues to the key. It was hard to guess where a big ratty version of a grandmother would have hidden the key, and after searching several rooms no clues were found.

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On the table at dinner time was a dinner cooked by Gu Jiangke.

This guy obviously doesn't know how to cook either, the food sold badly, but at least it didn't turn to charcoal and you could tell what the ingredients were, and with Xiao Lan's previous liner notes, it was already a Chinese Little Pawn level of cooking.

The players ate with tears in their eyes and felt very satisfied.

The looks on their faces made Gu Jiangke almost think he was some kind of master chef, until he tried a bite and was brought back to reality.

However, the dish, cooked, not mushy, and still tastes like a dish ...... really impressed people ......

--

After dinner, "Grandma" sent the players to their rooms and said that good children go to bed early and get up early, also indicating that the story would be told in the evening.

Xiao Lan and the three of them discuss the story and decide to wait until "Grandma" has finished before trying to find the key.

They were planning to get some sleep first and be more refreshed by the time the evening activities came around.

Instead there was a rustling of footsteps outside the door, like many feet hovering in their doorway, with short gaps between them, and the thing making the noise seemed to have legs that weren't too long.

At the door was the sound of a small child's voice.

"Hee hee hee ...... There's someone in there eh ......"

"Someone ......"

"Let me see ......"

"Come and play together ......"

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The small child's voice was thin and soft, a sound overlapping and calling out towards the house, "Come on ...... play together ......"

Wang Taidi pulled the covers over her head and tried to sleep, but the sound didn't stop and there was even a small gnawing sound that made the door shake slightly. What could gnaw on the door of their room, which was made of iron?

Xiao Lan also notices that something is wrong and he sits up to look in the direction of the door.

The candles in the corridor were dim, and nothing could be seen except faint dark shadows flickering by the door, as if hovering outside.

At that moment the children's voices outside started again, "Come on ...... out ......"

Xiao Lan said expressionlessly, "Have you finished your homework? How many marks did you get in your exams? What is your ranking in school? Do you have any scholarships? Have you thought about what university you want to go to?"

A series of soul-striking questions pierced deep into the hearts of the children outside the door and left them in silence.

Xiao Lan went on to add: "Nowadays, society is very competitive, so you should set your own goals in life from a young age. If you can't read you are going to have to show people the door later, well ...... just like now."

Kids: "......"

Xiao Lan picked up where he left off: "Oh yes, it usually only takes one to watch the gate, and there are a few of you who can't even watch the gate."

"So, come and talk about your life plans, 800 words is all you need."

Kids: "......"

Suddenly I felt so heavy on my shoulders. Is the adult world so scary?

A silence fell outside the door as Wang Taidi looked at Xiao Lan as if he were looking at a devil, a man who was so ruthless that he had cast a deep shadow over the children with the cruelty of society.

Once the sounds outside had stopped ringing again, Xiao Lan caught up on some sleep.

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Some time later, Luo gently shook Xiao Lan awake and whispered in his ear, "Sir, it's about time."

The sound of the iron door slowly opening creaked in time with Luo's voice and Xiao Lan quickly rubbed his face to clear his head.

After confirming that the players were in the room, "Grandma" began to tell the story again.

"There was a poor little girl who had lost her most beloved possession. So she wandered the streets every day, looking for every passer-by she met and asking 'Excuse me, have you seen my things?' ."

"Some passers-by are so indifferent that they will ignore the poor little girl's pleas and leave, at which point the little girl gets angry and takes away a very important thing from them."

"The little girl waited and waited in the street, asking many, many people. Finally one day she met a kind gentleman who said he could help her find something, but unfortunately the little girl had forgotten what it was she was looking for."

"The gentleman was so gentle that he said he could help her think together and the little girl happily accepted the offer."

"'I finally remembered! What I lost was - my head.' The little girl said, but the kind gentleman who had lent her his head to think about was no longer able to help her find it."

"The little girl got sad again and continued to wander the streets day after day waiting for a kind person who would help her."

"Good night, my dear children, and may you have good dreams tonight."