Chapter 1381: This Is a Restaurant
Such a statement obviously wouldn't be enough to send Xu Huo and the others away, so Zhou Donghe added some more information.
First, the nighttime restaurant selects people randomly, targeting only guests who ordered meat dishes during the day—not everyone gets a chance to go.
Second, what you eat during the day might be legitimate dishes, but at night, that's not guaranteed, so the evening vote will only be more difficult.
"You dare to eat the daytime dishes, but do you dare to eat the nighttime ones?" He glanced at the three of them. "Those restaurant employees run around killing people at night—how do they dispose of the bodies?"
The fact that human remains were mixed into the dishes was something Xu Huo and the others had already anticipated. But if the nighttime menu had no normal dishes at all, that meant they would have no choice but to eat.
"What happens if you don't eat?" Dai Song asked.
"Not eating makes it absolutely impossible to clear the instance." Zhou Donghe shrugged as he spoke. "I originally thought there might be some opportunity to clear it at night, but it turns out to be even harder than during the day."
"Actually, I don't think we need to overcomplicate things," a female player stood up from not far away and said in front of everyone, "Since it's about selecting and judging dishes, we should just follow the standard voting procedure."
Some people in the restaurant turned their heads, but before the female player could say another word, a middle-aged man sitting at a table next to her sneered, "Who do you think you are to speak? Trying to grab attention, are you crazy?!"
"Friend, we're all here to clear the instance. You'd better be more polite," the female player's companion said. But before he could finish, the middle-aged man shot back, "Sissy, shut up!"
That remark thoroughly offended them. The table in front of the middle-aged man was immediately flipped over. The female player and her companion chased after the retreating man, flanking him on both sides to block his movement. Just as the three were about to come to blows, a semi-transparent force forcibly bent their knees, forcing them to kneel on the ground!
But this scene lasted less than three seconds. Whether it was intentional leniency or not, the three who had been suppressed broke free from the restraint and quickly scattered to the sides, their eyes fixed on a gentlemanly dressed man not far from them.
This man was very young, seemingly just over twenty. Compared to the other players, his well-dressed appearance and refined demeanor made him far more suited to the restaurant setting.
The gentleman set down his teacup, smiled at them, and said, "Since this young lady has spoken, letting her finish won't cost us anything. Who knows, we might even clear the instance sooner."
The middle-aged man had dared to provoke the female player and her companion because he had already figured out their background. But this man before him was clearly stronger. He wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight he couldn't win, so he crossed his arms and put on an expression of "I'll listen for now," giving himself a way out.
The female player and her companion didn't press the matter further and cut straight to the point.
"Since it's a vote to select dishes, under normal circumstances, the dish with the most votes should win. However, we checked near the ballot box yesterday, and the Plum Blossom Meat Pie shouldn't have had the most votes."
"But the Plum Blossom Meat Pie was chosen as the 'Best of the Day,' which means other dishes were eliminated for other reasons."
"In my opinion, elimination comes down to two reasons: one is cheating, and the other is insufficient votes."
"Everyone can understand cheating—it's just agreeing in advance on what to vote for."
"Insufficient votes, on the other hand, simply means some people's votes were invalid."
"Under what circumstances would a vote be invalid?" the gentleman asked, voicing everyone's question at the right moment.
The voting process was completely opaque, and no one knew how the result was derived.
"Many people voted multiple times yesterday," the female player said. "Including the Plum Blossom Meat Pie. Since that dish wasn't disqualified, it means repeated voting doesn't eliminate a dish—it just invalidates the votes of the person who voted multiple times."
"Now that we know this, as long as everyone doesn't vote repeatedly, it should be fine."
Under normal circumstances, the voting process should indeed be like this. But this was an instance, and no one believed voting could be this simple.
The female player, however, said, "Maybe the method to clear the instance really is that simple. It's just that everyone overthought it, and because there are so many people, they couldn't agree on a unified approach, which made clearing it difficult. We can try what I suggested first. Won't we know if it works by tonight?"
"Voting can't involve cheating, so that means we can't agree on which dish to vote for, right?" the middle-aged man said lightly.
"That's also simple." The female player didn't explain further. Instead, she sat back down, ordered a meat dish, and signaled her companion to order the same dish. That way, everyone would be eating the same meat dish, and in the end, only one result would come out. Regardless of whether others voted for different dishes, voted multiple times, or abstained, it wouldn't affect the outcome.
"As for players who come in later, as long as they see what's on everyone's table, they'll naturally understand."
"Even if a few people don't cooperate, it won't change the final result."
If the voting screening method really worked this way, then this approach would indeed be the simplest and most convenient.
"This is a C-rank random instance. If it were this easy to clear, the death rate for random instances wouldn't be so high," the middle-aged man continued to oppose, casting a contemptuous glance at the female player and her companion. "Naive!"
The female player's jaw tightened, and she was about to lose her temper again, but at that moment, the gentleman also sighed. "That won't work for clearing the instance."
"How do you know without trying?" the female player said defiantly.
But the gentleman didn't say more. Instead, he called the waiter to order, choosing not only the dish the female player had ordered but also others.
Many players were tempted by the female player's suggestion, but there were also those who dismissed it.
Xu Huo called the waiter and asked about the day's recommended dishes.
Dai Song and the others at his table looked at him, thinking it was unnecessary, since many people had asked about the recommended dishes yesterday, but the waiters' answers were inconsistent.
Xu Huo ordered the dishes recommended by the waiter, both meat and vegetable, and also suggested that others try them.
Unsure of what he was planning, Dai Song and the others—being his allies—followed along. Li Kun, lacking companions, found it most advantageous to go along, leaving Zhou Donghe with no choice.
During this time, the table with Maris and his group remained silent, but after tasting the dishes brought by the waiter, Xu Huo also recommended them to Maris's group.
Maris was the first to catch on. Following the same process, he first asked the waiter, then added Xu Huo's ordered dishes. To be safe, he also included the dish the female player had ordered earlier.
People in the restaurant began ordering one after another. Some ordered few dishes, some many, but overall, more people ordered single items.
"Why don't you try that method?" After the restaurant became lively again, Dai Song asked Xu Huo. Even Maris had ordered.
"That method probably won't clear the instance," Xu Huo said calmly. "The basis of 'Best of the Day' is selecting the best. A unified vote by many people is cheating, and eating only one dish is similar. Most importantly, this is a restaurant."
(End of Chapter)