There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

"All right........"

Seeing that Lu Qing seemed unwilling to talk, the female host didn't press her further and instead changed the subject.

For example, how is the challenge going for the couple next to them? How much have they eaten so far? On the other side, the two guys have already finished most of their food and are almost done, and so on.

.........

"How was it? Was the hamburger good?" Fang Qingrou asked Lu Qing and Hao Meng impatiently after they came down from the stage.

"Didn't you say you didn't want a hamburger?" Lu Qing rolled her eyes.

"I... I think it tastes delicious, I don't know if it's because I'm hungry..." Hao Meng answered Fang Qingrou's question seriously.

"We can have fried chicken next time. Wasn't this event great?" Fang Qingrou said with a smile.

"She means that as long as there's food, it's fine," Muir said with a smile, covering his mouth.

"I feel like there's something strange about what you're saying..." Fang Qingrou looked at Muir with some confusion.

"No, no, you're overthinking it." Muir waved his hand, his expression calm.

"Hmm... then I'll pretend you didn't." Fang Qingrou thought for a moment and decided not to argue with Muir over such a trivial matter.

........

The competition proceeded quickly, and soon it was Fang Qingrou and Muir's turn. One was in gray and the other in blue, and the two figures, one big and one small, immediately attracted the attention of the female host.

Fang Qingrou was more willing to talk, while Muir seemed rather uninterested.

Once the Big Mac was brought out, Fang Qingrou couldn't wait to start eating, while Muir cut off her portion with a knife.

Hmm, eat a little slower, so Fang Qingrou can eat more, and she can eat more of the less greasy food during the finals. She's such a good friend!

Muir silently gave himself a thumbs up in his heart, imagining himself happily eating a set meal in front of Fang Qingrou in a little while, while she could only watch him eat because she had eaten too many hamburgers.

There's no way I'll win the championship; I can only slack off and join in the fun.

Fang Qingrou was, after all, a white-level Dream Summoner, so a Big Mac was no problem for her. In no time, the two of them finished the Big Mac.

By the time the preliminary rounds ended, only eight groups remained out of the original forty-five.

However, even after being eliminated, many contestants did not choose to leave.

After all, we just ate too much, so it's nice to sit in the store and rest for a while, and watch the champion be crowned.

The finals began quickly. Perhaps in order to end the event as soon as possible, the store's staff brought in three new sets of tables and chairs so that the stage could accommodate eight groups of contestants at the same time.

However, this makes the space on the stage somewhat cramped and slightly obstructs some of the view.

Lu Qing didn't seem to care, and the audience below the stage only complained a little before moving to a better seat. Some people were too lazy to move and just kept watching.

As the female host invited the contestants to the stage, Lu Qing, Hao Meng, Fang Qingrou, and Mu Er went over together and sat down at two sets of tables and chairs at the edge, side by side.

With the remaining contestants seated, the final round of the competitive eating contest officially began!

The staff placed the two-person set meals on the table in front of each group of contestants and then left the performance stage one after another.

Lu Qing looked at it and found that the portion of this two-person set meal was not very large. It consisted of a chicken burger, two fried chicken legs, a serving of black pepper chicken nuggets, a bucket of fries, and a chicken wrap.

Hmm, it doesn't seem like there are very few?

Lu Qing glanced at the expressions of the other contestants and noticed that they didn't look very natural.

If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that after eating such a large hamburger, adding this meal would make it difficult for even two people to finish it.

There are definitely Dream Summoners among those who make it to the finals, but without special skills, it's impossible to beat her!

With that in mind, Lu Qing and Hao Meng discussed it and decided how to divide the meal.

She was in charge of finishing off the chicken burgers, black pepper chicken nuggets, and French fries, while Hao Meng was in charge of two fried chicken legs and chicken rolls.

"Hiccup..." Fang Qingrou hiccuped, looking at the food in front of her with a conflicted expression.

"Here, these two fried chicken legs and black pepper chicken nuggets are for you. Didn't you want to eat fried chicken?" Muir said to Fang Qingrou with a smile.

After she finished speaking, she placed the chicken burger, fries, and chicken wrap in front of her and ordered an iced cola.

"I ate too much just now, how about you have this piece?" Fang Qingrou said, pointing to the black pepper chicken pieces.

"I can't eat anymore~" Muir shook his head with a smile and said, "If you really can't finish it, you can leave it."

"It's not good to waste food..." Fang Qingrou whispered.

Muir paused for a moment, then said somewhat speechlessly, "It's not your food, why are you so upset..."

"No, I just don't like wasting things..." Fang Qingrou explained after hearing Muir's words.

"Don't you like wasting food?" Muir was slightly surprised by Fang Qingrou's words. She glanced at Fang Qingrou's conflicted expression and said helplessly:

"Okay, if you can't finish it, I'll eat the rest for you, okay?"

------------

Chapter 444: The Return of the Dead

"Hehe, I knew you were the best, Miao Miao." Fang Qingrou smiled broadly after hearing Miao Er's words.

"Hmph, just this once," Muir said with a snort.

"Mmm." Fang Qingrou nodded, but that wasn't what she was thinking.

"Miao Miao is so soft-hearted. She said it would only be this once, and she would definitely agree to ask me again next time. Hehe~" Fang Qingrou thought to herself.

If Muir knew what Fang Qingrou was thinking, she probably wouldn't have agreed so quickly.

The two ate their set meals quietly, with no intention of winning. After a while, Muir finished off the chicken leg burger, fries, and chicken wrap he had taken, while Fang Qingrou, after finishing two fried chicken legs, couldn't eat the last black pepper chicken nuggets and left them for Muir.

When the female host asked them if they wanted another set, the two said no and left the stage.

Before them, two other groups of contestants withdrew, leaving only five groups remaining.

Lu Qing and Hao Meng had already finished off two meals and were now righteously eliminating the third, which made the other four groups of contestants feel disheartened, as if the championship was getting further and further away from them.

Those who make it to the finals must have enough confidence in their abilities, which is why they want to compete for the championship.

However, it seems that their chances of winning the championship are slim. After Lu Qing and Hao Meng ordered the fourth set meal, the last group of contestants had only finished their second set meal before choosing to forfeit.

With that, the champion has been decided, leaving only Lu Qing and Hao Meng as the sole pair on the performance stage.

Hao Meng couldn't eat anymore and could only watch Lu Qing eat by herself. Lu Qing, adhering to the principle that it would be a waste if she didn't finish her food, was preparing to finish the fourth set meal.

However, since everyone was waiting for her, she ate a little too quickly, but even so, she still gave off a calm and composed feeling.

It's strange that, despite the high speed, it doesn't make people feel rushed or flustered.

After putting the last piece of fried chicken into her mouth, Lu Qing licked the corner of her mouth with her pink tongue, then picked up the cola and slowly sipped it, sucking up the last bit of moisture.

Finally, I cleaned the crumbs from the corners of my mouth with a tissue, thus ending this eating contest.

..........

"I hereby declare Group 41 the champion of this competitive eating contest!"

"Let's congratulate the two girls in group number 41. Oh my, I really didn't expect this! The champion is someone whose appearance doesn't reflect their character." The female host handed a trophy to Lu Qing.

The cash prize was placed inside the trophy's cup, and Lu Qing took it after glancing at it.

A souvenir would be nice, even if it's just a trophy from a street-side fast food restaurant's event...

"What are your thoughts, the two people in group 41, at this moment?" the female host asked them.

"It must have been quite unexpected; I never thought I'd win the championship," Lu Qing said with a smile, offering a polite remark.

"Hmm..." Hao Meng nodded softly, indicating that she shared the same thought as Lu Qing.

As for Lu Qing, well, just kidding. She had already decided on the champion when she registered.

On the surface, she was treating everyone to dinner, but actually she made money too! Who would have thought!

"That's very modest of you. But before we end, I actually have one more question I'd like to ask. I wonder if that's alright?" the female host inquired.

"Well, as long as it doesn't involve privacy, it's fine," Lu Qing replied after thinking for a moment.

"Don't worry, it's not that kind of question. I just wanted to ask..." The female host said with a smile, "I remember at the beginning, I asked you two if you were confident about this competition. Your answer at the time seemed to be that you didn't have much of an appetite and weren't very confident, right?"

"Oh dear~" Lu Qing feigned anger, then said shyly, "How can a girl say she can eat a lot?"

.........

"Ah~ I'm finally back."

Opening the door, Lu Qing ran quickly to her bedroom and pounced onto her bedsheets.

After the competitive eating contest ended, everyone went their separate ways.

Hao Meng wanted to find a place to stay, and she specifically requested to go alone without anyone accompanying her.

This should be considered a kind of training, but just thinking about her personality that makes people want to tease her makes Lu Qing feel a little worried.

Lu Qing casually placed the trophy down and turned on her laptop to play some games.

After all, she couldn't sleep during the day, and the hibernation pod hadn't been delivered yet, so she had nothing to do except go online.

This time she doesn't plan to play Castlevania, because that game is too tiring to play, and she plans to switch to another game.

The game is called "Hyperarmored Knights: Return of the Dead". It is set in a medieval fantasy world and the protagonist is named Jax, who is a knight.

"Jax, pfft..."

Upon seeing this name, Lu Qing couldn't help but laugh. This world doesn't have League of Legends, so naturally there's no character like Jax, the Weapon Master. But that didn't stop her from feeling out of place when she saw the name.

Continue playing, and after an opening animation, the game enters the tutorial.

The protagonist led a cavalry squad to investigate a village under the lord's control. The village was said to have suffered casualties, and no news of it had been reported for three months.

The protagonist arrives with his cavalry squad and finds the ground littered with bones, and a gate to the abyss exuding deathly silence and terror...

The monsters that emerged from the abyss discovered Jax's cavalry squad and immediately surrounded them. Lu Qing then had to control her character to fight against these monsters from the abyss.

After the tutorial ended, the game entered another cutscene.

Jax's cavalry squad was wiped out by the demons of the abyss, and Jax, as the cavalry captain, only managed to hold out for a short while before succumbing to defeat.

Before he died, he rushed into the gate to the abyss and then lost consciousness.

The story officially begins at this point. When Jax regains consciousness, he finds himself lying stiffly on a gray-white ground.