Timeline Player

"My coffee is still pretty good, by my standards." Miya pushed her iced Americano towards her. "Your iced Americano."

Chi Que almost blurted out, "No, it's your iced Americano," but thankfully he managed to hold back at the last moment.

He picked up the sugar jar and threw a piece in.

"I'm telling you," Miya said, leaning against the bar and watching him continue to tossing candies in, "why drink Americano if you can't handle hardship?"

"I'm replenishing my sugar levels," Chi Que explained without changing his expression. "Being a detective is very mentally taxing; reasoning, observation, and analysis all require energy, and sugar is the most direct source."

"Besides, who says Americano has to be bitter? I'll drink it however I want." He stirred his coffee.

Uh, it seems like I added too much; the sugar isn't dissolving properly.

Chi Que took a bite; it was cloyingly sweet.

"Shall I add some more for you?" Miya held out her hand.

"Add more for me," Chi Que said immediately, handing it over.

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes at him, but still refilled his coffee. Then, as if remembering something, he pulled out a can of coffee beans from under the counter: "Here, this is for you, a thank you to our loyal customers."

Chi Que took the coffee and saw that it was from a fairly well-known brand, so he immediately accepted it: "Then I won't be polite."

"Why don't you at least try to refuse?" the shop owner complained.

After finishing his cocktail, he returned to his rented apartment, intending to practice his cooking skills a little.

He pushed open the door, and the room was pitch black. The bed curtains were drawn tightly, and a heavy atmosphere filled the air. He turned on the light switch on the wall, and the pale light immediately illuminated the cold room.

Although it's called an apartment, in Chi Que's eyes it's more like a safe house. He basically only comes back occasionally to hide there. There are still unwashed cups in the sink from when he left last time, with tea stains around them.

The kitchen was covered in a layer of dust. The stove was complete, but the spice rack was empty, not to mention the ingredients.

"I need to buy something," he muttered to himself.

There happens to be a wet market right downstairs from the apartment building.

Chi Que went to the market and wandered around. He wasn't very good at buying groceries, but after a while, he bought a little bit of everything.

Back in his apartment, he placed the groceries on the kitchen counter, looking at the pile of food, unsure where to begin.

He took out his phone, searched for a recipe for tomato beef brisket online, read it twice, and thought it didn't seem too difficult.

Cut the beef into chunks and blanch it. Peel and chop the tomatoes. Cut the potatoes and carrots into chunks. Then put them into a pot and stew.

He tasted the soup; it was a little bland, so he added some salt. He tasted it again and found it too salty, so he added some water.

After repeating this process many times, Chi Que discovered a tragic thing.

Too much salt was added; it's beyond saving.

He silently poured the pot of salt into the pot for the stray dog ​​downstairs, hoping that the salt content would keep it alive through the winter.

The stray dog ​​downstairs sniffed it and then lowered its head to lick it.

Chi Que thought for a moment, then poured a large bowl of water next to him.

He then made another batch, and thankfully, practice makes perfect, and this time he finally managed to make something edible.

The sweet and sour flavors of the tomatoes blend perfectly with the savory taste of the beef, creating a rich, thick, and vibrant red broth that coats the potatoes and carrots.

He sat at the dining table with only one chair, eating slowly, his mind completely blank.

After he finished eating, he washed the dishes and wiped the stove clean, and the kitchen finally looked like it had been used.

He stood at the kitchen door for a while and suddenly thought that maybe he could buy a few more kinds of seasonings.

Chi Que suppressed the thought, turned off the light, lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and wondered if he should buy a bottle of light soy sauce tomorrow, and maybe a bottle of dark soy sauce, as well as cooking wine and oyster sauce...

Before he knew it, he slowly fell asleep.

In the following days, he went to the supermarket to buy more seasonings and ingredients, and in his spare time, he logged into the transit station to buy several food stalls to study and learn about the game information.

The game does not have any mandatory rules requiring players to play at a certain time. Instead, points equivalent to mastery are deducted daily. If the points reach zero, the player will be disqualified from the game and their past memories will be deleted.

The lowest white rating can earn 100 points, which is normally enough for a buffer of about ten days. If you buy equipment, you may only have a buffer of two or three days.

"This game encourages, or rather forces, players to achieve higher ratings." Chi Que quickly realized what this mechanism meant; one could say that passively waiting was tantamount to slow suicide.

Realizing this, Chi Que no longer had any leisurely thoughts. After fully mastering a dish that could temporarily boost his flesh and blood mastery, he stepped into the game instance again.

He has also obtained the chef skill, which allows him to purchase a certain amount of food daily in game instances using points. However, it is far from enough for a single meal, and can only be described as better than nothing.

[Location being descended upon...]

[Generating a copy for you...]

[Black Iron Dungeon: Blood Moon Feast]

The Duchess of Elizabeth is renowned for her beauty, and every full moon night she hosts a grand banquet, inviting guests to her feast. This week's banquet coincides with the Duchess's birthday, so it is expected to be exceptionally lavish.

[Mission: Obtain an invitation to the Duchess's banquet within seven days and escape the Blood Feast safely.]

She stabbed him in the heart with a silver knife, causing him to bleed to death. "What a pathetic person," she said.

After a brief feeling of weightlessness, Chi Que found himself standing on a small path. The sky was an eerie scarlet red, with a dark celestial body hanging in the sky, like the sun during a solar eclipse, exuding an ominous aura.

In the distance, a hazy mist obscured the town's outline, and several players stood by the roadside.

Chi Que was somewhat surprised to find a familiar face among them—the yellow-clad player from the Azure Organization.

Fortunately, he had already disguised himself, so normally the other party shouldn't recognize him.

—Based on the information he gathered at the transit station during this period, nobles lacked the ability to see through disguises, and because of a story similar to "The Emperor's New Clothes," they were not easily able to see through them.

Several people surrounded him, seemingly members of the same organization. Chi Que knew that this was an inherent ability of noble professions: the more subordinates one had, the more expertise one could gain and the stronger one's subordinates would become.

However, if the nobleman himself is attacked, his subordinates will also suffer heavy losses.

They seemed to be chatting about something and didn't notice this side, and Chi Que had no interest in going over.

He doesn't care how others play the game, but his style still leans towards playing alone.

As he set off, the other players followed suit, entering the road one after another. Almost simultaneously, a notification popped up in front of them:

Find the road to the duchy before nightfall.