Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 630 Amusement Park

Zhou You stared at the plate of dumplings in front of him for a while before suddenly looking up.

The goat-headed demon assumed he was about to beg for mercy, so he crossed his arms and just watched with a cold smile.

Unexpectedly.

The person only said one sentence at the end.

Do you have minced garlic?

".What?"

The goat-headed demon was a little slow to react, but Zhou You's voice sounded perfectly normal.

"Dumplings are meant to be eaten with minced garlic. Oh, and if you have any soy sauce, could you please bring me some more? No need for vinegar, thank you."

"."

The sheep-headed ghost silently took out two cloves of garlic and a bottle of soy sauce from the counter and slammed them down in front of Zhou You.

"We don't have minced garlic, so you'll have to make it yourself if you want. We only have dark soy sauce, so please make do with this."

"Well, that's a bit lacking."

Seeing the other person's unfriendly expression, he could only peel the garlic cloves, put them on the table, and slap them a few times. Although they didn't turn into mud, they were still broken into pieces. Then he put them on a plate and drizzled some soy sauce on them.

Then, without any hesitation, he picked up a dumpling, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in his mouth.

The goat-headed demon was somewhat puzzled by his behavior.

"You just ate it like that?"

"Well, what if?"

"Don't you suspect that some kind of seasoning was added to it, or that it was made with human flesh?"

Zhou You put down his chopsticks and suddenly laughed.

"You were planning to serve me more food later, so there's no way you'd put anything weird in this plate of dumplings, as for human flesh..."

He tapped the plate.

"I am absolutely certain that this is not cannibalism."

Upon hearing this, the sheep-headed demon suddenly became interested.

"Oh, why are you so sure?"

Zhou You laughed.

"Because I have actually seen what it looks like when a person is made into a dish, and my nose is quite sensitive, I can tell just by taking a sniff that it is definitely not human flesh."

The goat-headed demon fell silent. It just stared at Zhou You, but in the end, it didn't say another word. Instead, it turned around and began scrubbing the broken pots and pans vigorously.

Wang Xiaoer, watching Zhou You's movements, also wanted to pick one up in the same manner—but he was stopped by Zhou You as soon as he made his move.

"Brother Zhou, what's this?"

Zhou You shook his head.

"It's not true for my game, but it's not certain for yours."

Wang Xiaoer froze for a moment, then covered his mouth as if he wanted to vomit—Zhou You patted him on the back and then pushed his plate in front of him.

"Have some of this. You look really hungry and need to replenish your energy."

"Then, Brother Zhou, you..."

“I just ate before I left, so this bite is just one less bite.”

Seeing that Wang Xiaoer was still somewhat hesitant, Zhou You continued.

"I don't know how troublesome the third floor will be. You'll need to eat your fill to keep up with me."

Only then did Wang Xiaoer pick up his chopsticks.

Before long, a plate of dumplings was devoured, and the sheep-headed ghost turned around at just the right moment.

"What do you plan to eat next?"

Although there was still a full plate that hadn't been touched at all, it ignored it and asked in a gruff voice.

Zhou You rested his chin on his hand, thought for a long time, and then spoke.

"I do have some things I'd like to order. But you should at least tell me the prices and how much I need to eat to leave this place, right?"

The goat-headed demon was clearly impatient, but he still explained.

"I'm in a good mood today, so you two can each have a meat dish. You can leave after you finish eating. As for the price..."

It suddenly narrowed its eyes and began to scrutinize Zhou You.

"You get what you eat—usually it's an equal piece of your own flesh, but you look too thin, and it looks like you've been bitten by something, so I won't accept you."

The sheep-headed demon turned to Wang Xiaoer.

"Use him instead. The two of you together would be enough to take off half an arm."

Wang Xiaoer was struck dumb. He looked at the sheep-headed demon, then at the smiling Zhou You, and then considered his current predicament—before clenching his teeth and forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"If it's just half an arm, then I'll give it up, that's all I ask."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou You interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, I can't accept this price, and neither can he. Could we choose something else?"

The goat-headed demon immediately revealed a bloodthirsty smile.

"Then what do you want to exchange it for? Let me tell you first, I don't accept any of your money, including gold and silver jewelry."

Zhou You simply pursed his lips and then casually tossed out a crystal.

"How about this? It can't be used to buy goods, but your rules seem a bit different here. Can you accept it?"

This was the very thing he had taken from the briefcase earlier. He had given it to Luo Liangde in exchange for a lot of cash, and then, in preparation for exploring the wasteland, he had taken out another batch and exchanged it for some maps, secrets, and other such items. This was the last one he had.

The goat-headed demon glanced at it, initially nonchalant, but immediately let out a "Huh?"

It held the crystal in its fan-like hands, examined it for a few moments, and then spoke.

"Isn't this the kind of stuff from Baldy Zhao's place? How did you get it?"

"I found it—but I doubt you'd believe that, so just tell me its value."

After thinking for a moment, the sheep-headed demon uttered a few words.

"Forget the meat dishes, I'll give you two bowls of oil-splashed noodles instead. There might be a slight price difference, but I'll treat you to the smaller one."

"Thank you for your help. By the way, please don't add any weird or human-derived ingredients. Just plain noodles are fine."

Before long, two bowls of oil-splashed noodles were served on the table.

Bright red chilies paired with lush green vegetables, and a splash of scalding hot oil instantly fills the entire house with a spicy aroma.

Zhou You glanced at Wang Erxiao, gave him an "okay" look, and then slowly picked up the bowl.

The sheep-headed demon watched them eat noodles, then pulled out a cigarette from somewhere, put it in his mouth, and began to exhale smoke.

Zhou You ate quickly. After finishing a bowl, he felt as if his body was warm and cozy—no, it shouldn't be said as if, but rather as if he had swallowed a warm flame, or as if his body was soaking in hot water. Even the fatigue he had been feeling lately was swept away.

Even the previously cracked leg has stopped bleeding and is much better now.

"This is."

Amidst the puffs of smoke, the expression on the sheep-headed demon's face was difficult to discern. "You're the first customers to actually dine here in the last two months, so I added some extra ingredients as a special offer."

After saying that, he chuckled again.

"It's really funny. I used to always think about having a more relaxed time and fewer customers, since I'm just a cook and how much I earn doesn't really matter to me. But these days, I'm always thinking about having more customers, and even more. I don't know if I really want people to come, or if I'm just thinking about stocking up on more ingredients. Have you all finished eating?"

Zhou You had already finished, and upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoer sped up, slurping down the last bit of dough.

The goat-headed demon glanced at it, then pointed outside the door.

"If you've finished eating, get out of here. I have to serve the next table of guests."

Is business really that good in this godforsaken place? Is there going to be another wave?
However, at that moment, the curtain was suddenly lifted, and several people tumbled and crawled in.

Several deformed hands reached out, but grasped nothing, and then reluctantly withdrew.

These guys seemed to be quite familiar with the place; they didn't even notice Zhou You and shouted directly at the sheep-headed ghost.

"Boss, I'd like a rice bowl set meal. These two guys over there can pay for it."

The people nearby immediately became anxious.

"Why should I pay? If you hadn't bothered the salesperson downstairs, why would we have come all the way to the third floor? If anyone should pay, it's you who should take responsibility and pay!"

"Damn it, who knew that marble statue was alive? I thought that was the exit. And didn't you all agree to it?"

"You bastard, I even abandoned my own brother, and you actually..."

Seeing that the group was about to fight and even planned to use knives, Zhou You pulled Wang Xiaoer along the wall and slowly slipped out without attracting their attention.

Once only a few people remained in the room, the sheep-headed demon slammed the cleaver onto the cutting board, then took a human head from the refrigerator and cleaved it in two with a single stroke.

Then he spoke to the group that had finally quieted down.

"Welcome! What would you like to order?"

As they left the shop, the strange presence around them still lingered, watching them intently.

Only because of the intimidation of the goat-headed demon did these bastards dare not make the first move—however, as time went by, their own desires slowly suppressed their remaining rationality.

Zhou You saw a strange eye getting redder and redder, but just as the other party couldn't hold back any longer and was about to pounce, he had already hooked the stool with his good foot and then kicked it in mid-air!
The guy was immediately knocked backward, and Zhou You took the opportunity to rush out of the encirclement in a few strides.

Fortunately, just as these guys were about to give chase again, a sharp scream suddenly came from the sheep-headed ghost's restaurant.

The oddities hesitated for a while, but ultimately decided to let go of this tough nut and instead divide up the easier ones.

Zhou You led Wang Xiaoer and ran all the way to the door. When he looked back, the strange vendors were all overjoyed. Some were holding hands, some were holding legs, and some were carrying half a string of intestines. They were frantically leading them to their own stalls.
Without a sigh, Zhou You pulled Wang Xiaoer and headed straight for the fourth floor.

Upon opening the door, Zhou You could see a huge amusement park in the distance—it was even larger than the shopping mall itself—and compared to the first three floors, it was much more normal. The lighting was very comfortable, the walls were all orange-yellow and decorated with various flowers and plants, and huge plush toys and amusement facilities were everywhere.

If I had to describe it in one sentence...

That means this place is almost as good as Disneyland.
Zhou You lowered his head and asked Wang Xiaoer.

Was this place always like this?

Wang Xiaoer shook his head with absolute determination.

“This used to be a complete ruin. Not to mention these things, even a lot of the floorboards collapsed. Moreover, this was the only safe zone in the mall. If the elevators didn’t work, we would usually try to rush here and then make repairs.”

So, is this also a sign of increased difficulty?
But now that he was here, there was no way to leave. Zhou You could only prepare himself and step inside.

however.

The music suddenly started playing the moment he stepped on the ground.

In this environment, where one's mind is already very tense, Wang Xiaoer instinctively wanted to cry out in surprise after being startled like this.

Zhou You's approach was even simpler.

Wan Ren had already slid out, ready to strike at that side at any moment.

However, upon closer inspection, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

There's nothing to it; it's not an enemy at all, just a megaphone made of duck.

There seemed to be some music playing inside, but whether it was due to years of disrepair or something else, it was not only intermittent but also noticeably distorted.

This caused the originally cheerful tune to become extremely strange, and listening to it for a long time could even make people want to vomit.

But soon, as the music began to play, some other sounds appeared in the otherwise empty surroundings.

First, the carousel started moving, then rows of lights lit up, and then, intermittent laughter could be heard from among the dolls and the ball pit.

Zhou You's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and finally, he drew his sword—

But he didn't cut it.

There was a little girl standing in front of him.

A little girl appeared out of nowhere, as if she had popped out of thin air.

The girl was exquisitely beautiful, dressed in a plain white dress, showing no signs of any abnormality. In fact, one could say she was so pure that she seemed completely out of place in this terrifying shopping mall.

Zhou You didn't make a move, but he didn't let his guard down either.

This little girl is indeed inferior to that sheep-headed man below; no, it should be said that she is not even as good as those vendors and lackeys.

He could then draw his sword and kill him, without having to risk anything.

But the problem was that his instincts were telling him that the little girl was the greatest danger.

Just as Zhou You was sizing her up, the little girl was also sizing him up.

She looked at him as if he were some rare and unusual object, walked around him once, and then suddenly smiled.

"Big brother, where did you come from?"

Wang Xiaoer frantically winked at Zhou You, signaling him to stay quiet and find a chance to escape.

However, Zhou You glanced at the fire escape in the distance, then at the surrounding decorations, and shook his head.

"You came downstairs, what's wrong?"

The little girl tilted her head.

"Downstairs? What downstairs is this?"

Zhou You didn't answer, but changed the subject.

"Um... I might be mistaken. But what are you doing here?"

The little girl seemed to be very outgoing, smiling innocently as she spoke.

"Our parents told us to wait here, saying they'd come to pick us up in a while."

"How long have you been waiting?"

The little girl counted on her fingers, but quickly gave up because she didn't have enough fingers.

"I don't know, it's been a long time, but they haven't come to pick us up, so we've stayed here."

It seemed to be a common trope involving the soul of a child who had died in a trance, and shouldn't be considered dangerous, but Zhou You's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Not right.

Something was definitely off about it.

(End of this chapter)