Haihai had barely taken a step when Yiyi grabbed his arm. Yiyi frowned. “Not cool, bro. What are you doing…?”

“Nothing much. Just that competition should be fair, right?”

Yiyi took a deep breath. “Do you even realize what you’re doing? Remember, you’re the vice president of Blue Sky and White Clouds?”

Haihai brushed Yiyi’s hand away, walked straight to the table, and nonchalantly picked up Jian Xingyi’s pickled radish, popping it into his mouth.

The crowd erupted in shock. No one expected the Blue Sky and White Clouds Guild Vice President to act so abruptly.

“Hmm…”

Haihai remained silent for a long moment, his expression growing grave.

Everyone’s hearts leapt to their throats.

Haihai licked her finger and sighed, “Even though it’s from the rival club, I have to admit… it’s pretty tasty…”

Jian Xingyi couldn’t stop laughing.

Well, looks like saving him wasn’t in vain after all. Haihai was pretty cool.

Rongrong and Yiyi looked absolutely livid, practically ready to start a fight. Sisi, however, remained beaming, her emotions unreadable.

Three people couldn’t resist the temptation. Seeing that Haihai had eaten for a while without any issues, they stepped forward to try some.

One of them was the short, stocky guy. He snorted coldly, “Sisi’s mango is still better! Sweet and tangy—how could a vegetable like radish compare to the king of tropical fruits?”

The other two, however, had their eyes light up after tasting it.

“Hmm… it really is quite tasty.”

One of them took another slice—after all, hardly anyone had eaten any, and plenty remained.

Mangoes certainly brought joy with each bite; their rich, fruity aroma and complex flavors bursting on the tongue were irresistible. Yet the radish grew more refreshing with every chew, becoming increasingly addictive.

It could only be said that each had its own merits, all depending on personal preference.

The two grew happier with every bite, exclaiming repeatedly, “So delicious! Just as good as the mango!”

Seeing this, the others wanted to try some too, but the NPC quickly came out and collected the dishes.

“Time is up. Players, cease deliberation and proceed to vote.”

Jian Xingyi lowered his gaze. Only three players had tasted his dish, one of whom was Sisi’s die-hard fan. At best, he could only secure two votes—this round was lost.

Heiye rubbed his temples and patted Jian Xingyi reassuringly. “No worries! Chill out, chill out. Best of three rounds—you still have chances.”

Jian Xingyi scanned the players.

At least… he’d proven his food wasn’t poisoned. The mangoes were gone, but the radishes remained untouched. Many players watched the system take the radishes away, their necks craned in frustration.

While the system counted the votes, Sisi quietly carried a jar of pickled mangoes to stand before Firelight and Le Ke, taking advantage of the moment when few were paying her attention.

Her expression was gentle, her eyes darting back and forth as she looked at Le Ke. “Um, Le Ke…”

Her voice was perfectly soft—not overly flattering, yet enough to send a tingly sensation through one’s heart.

Le Ke’s massive frame trembled as he grimaced, “Don’t call me by my ID…”

His public channel notes screamed in all caps: DON’T CALL ME BY MY ID.

Damn it, just thinking about it made him furious—all thanks to his damn brothers! And to top it off, this damn game wouldn’t even let him change his ID!

“Ah, ah… Sorry!” Sisi apologized immediately, then explained her purpose. “I thought since you were invited as judges, but didn’t get a chance to eat in the first round, I wondered if you were hungry… How about grabbing a bite first?”

Facing Sisi’s overtures, Le Ke raised an eyebrow and patted Firelight’s shoulder. “I’m not hungry, but Firelight might be starving.”

Firelight looked up blankly: “Huh?”

Le Ke raised an eyebrow. “Miss Sisi can feed Firelight. A gorgeous lady feeding him would surely make him happy.”

After saying this, Le Ke lowered his head to look at his terminal, not even lifting an eyelid.

Sisi: “…”

Sisi’s eyes darkened slightly.

Le Ke was handsome, exuding a Playboy vibe. Sisi had thought victory was hers for the taking, but she hadn’t expected… Le Ke’s smile was always present, yet utterly devoid of warmth. Such a person was cold and inscrutable, his true nature impossible to discern.

A miscalculation.

Sisi turned her gaze to Firelight. “Brother Firelight, would you like to eat?”

Firelight, still unaware he’d been set up, stammered awkwardly, “Um… ah, I…”

Firelight naturally didn’t want to accept it. In this apocalyptic world, many threw themselves at the feet of the strong to gain favors. Even Firelight, as slow and clueless as he was, could see through Sisi’s little scheme. Anyone else might have gladly accepted it, but they were members of Grapevine Peak—they couldn’t casually break the rules.

Firelight glanced at Jian Xingyi, who sat nearby hugging a radish jar, and an idea struck him. “Xinghe, what are you doing hugging that radish jar?”

Firelight and Xinghe weren’t mere acquaintances; they’d spent an entire night discussing strategies for the Peace Mountain side quest, making them familiar strangers.

Jian Xingyi froze, “N-nothing?”

Firelight hinted more clearly: “You’re not planning to give it away or something?”

If he accepted food from two competitors, it wouldn’t cause any misunderstanding.

“Why would I give it away?” Jian Xingyi froze, clutching his pickled vegetable jar tightly, his eyes clearer than a college student’s. “That’s hard-earned cash. Who’d want to take advantage of me?”

Firelight: “…”

True. Demanding it like this did come off as condescending and jumping to conclusions…

“Pfft.” Le Ke couldn’t hold back his laughter at Firelight’s flustered expression, Sisi’s barely contained amusement, and Jian Xingyi, who was still clutching the pickle jar and watching the standoff between Sisi and Firelight with puzzled curiosity.

Le Ke gave Jian Xingyi a half-smile, half-grin. “We’re not taking advantage. We just want to ask if you and Sisi would be willing to sell us one can of your first-round competitor product to try? Our offer is higher than the mall’s price, you know.”

Le Ke felt that if he didn’t help soon, Firelight would shatter into nothingness.

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”

Free advertising space!

“I’m definitely in!!”

Sisi: “…”

Sisi’s mouth twitched, her smile forced. “I’m in too.”

Sisi stared fixedly at Jian Xingyi, her gaze carrying a barely perceptible edge of hostility.

Jian Xingyi, clutching a jar of pickled vegetables, scampered over to them and pulled out his payment QR code.

“Thanks for your patronage, big shots!”

【Player 【Xinghe】 received 【5000 dawn coin】】 from player 【Firelight】】

This was the second time Jian Xingyi had received a dawn coin from Firelight, and he was overjoyed.

The two of them had essentially bought two jars of snacks and silently opened them to eat.

The more everyone watched, the more… envious they felt.

Jian Xingyi’s food really didn’t look problematic! If the big shots on Grapevine Peak weren’t avoiding it, what were they holding back for earlier?

They had missed out on an entire jar of pickled radish…!

Meanwhile, Rongrong sneered at Yiyi from a short distance away: “Look at that bitch, shameless as ever. Talk about asking for trouble, hahaha… She went to such lengths to offer her food, only for them to turn around and ask Xinghe for snacks instead.”

Yiyi frowned and nudged Rongrong’s arm. “Watch what you say! What if the Guild President or she overhears? We’re in the same guild—we still need her recipes to grind XP.”

Rongrong grew irritated. “Don’t tell me you’re charmed by her too?!”

“Sweetie, what nonsense…”

Haihai sat nearby, feeling thoroughly disgusted.

Why on earth was he stuck in the same guild as this bunch of two-faced hypocrites?

Haihai drifted off into a daze.

He’d originally joined this game because of a friend, even co-founding the guild together. But now, that friend was gone too…

Meanwhile, the NPC completed its calculations.

Round one: Long Live A Hundred Years 【Xinghe】 with 90 points. Blue Sky and White Clouds 【Sisi】 wins with 130 points. Congratulations to Blue Sky and White Clouds 【Sisi】! The NPC continued, “We will proceed to the second round. Please place your second-round products.”

Jian Xingyi sighed.

Sure enough, despite leading by 20 points in the system’s calculations, the final vote count showed Sisi winning 8:2. The gap was too wide.

If he didn’t win this second round, he wouldn’t be able to continue competing.

Jian Xingyi’s palms grew cold.

He couldn’t lose…!

With only four days left until the system recalculated guild points, if he still couldn’t earn experience and his ingredients went to waste, it would be game over.

“Relax.” Heiye sensed Jian Xingyi’s mood, placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. “You’re a max-level veteran just like Le Ke.”

Just at different max levels.

Jian Xingyi paused.

True.

Why could Blue Sky and White Cloud win?

Because that was his mango.

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath. “True.”

Jian Xingyi and Sisi once again laid out their respective food items.

Sisi’s was a thick cut of meat, instantly evoking the joy of devouring a hearty bite.

When food is scarce, the craving for a big bite of meat is unmatched. Many people’s eyes lit up the moment they saw it.

Even if the color and texture of this particular cut weren’t the most appealing.

Jian Xingyi’s offering, however, was a bit unusual—a boxed meal.

White rice, generously sprinkled with pickled chili peppers, diced radish, and minced meat, all submerged in a deep crimson chili sauce. It looked utterly appetizing.

Jian Xingyi had used nearly all his ingredients.

Rice, radish, chili peppers, and the last remnants of the beast meat.

His chili peppers, after all, were Grade A seeds.

Rongrong clicked her tongue. “Xinghe’s dish has too little meat, so he had to resort to this cover-up. What a pitiful dish.”

“Is that so?” Jian Xingyi raised an eyebrow, glancing at Le Ke and Firelight. “Whether it’s pitiful or not—won’t the second round of judges know once they taste it?”

Jian Xingyi’s confidence made Sisi feel uneasy.

Though she didn’t know how Jian Xingyi had obtained the chili peppers, it was just a hodgepodge of random ingredients thrown together…

What was so special about that?

But Sisi noticed that everyone in the restaurant had stopped staring at her meat patties. Instead, all eyes were fixed on Jian Xingyi’s chili rice.

Three words were written brightly across their faces: Want. To. Eat.