Chapter 1393: A Normal Restaurant
At this point, the other players had figured out what Xu Huo and his group were really trying to do. Forcing others to vote might be considered cheating, but if the process was open and voluntary, it couldn't be counted as cheating—after all, food voting had never been strictly confidential.
Since that was the case, going along with the crowd wasn't a bad option either.
Of course, new diners were still streaming into the restaurant. A performance like "Gourmet's Recommendation" couldn't be staged only once, but repeating the same spiel would diminish the impact of the earlier speech.
"Should we continue?" 201 asked Xu Huo. "The number of people today might exceed two hundred. I'm worried about repeat voters."
Votes from repeat voters would be invalidated and wouldn't count toward the total.
"It's fine." Xu Huo gestured for him to stay calm. Before Li Ya had entered, he had already planned to use his mental power to interfere with the non-players coming in. With the right suggestions and manipulation, he could alter the content of their votes. Even if only thirty or forty out of two hundred people were affected, that would be enough. If the numbers fell short, he could extend his influence to other players.
The cooperation between 201 and Li Ya's group had significantly reduced the difficulty. Some players were also willing to cooperate, so the situation was fairly manageable.
Xu Huo asked Li Ya for a business card and inquired about some ingredients.
Li Ya noticed his interest in high-risk zones and proactively brought up the topic.
"High-risk zones don't mean no one goes there. Some zones and large corporations organize teams to enter and harvest resources. Ingredients are just one aspect—some zones also contain rare ores, though mining them is extremely difficult."
"After all, they're high-risk zones. It's not just mutant animals; even those mutant plants can level a temporary base at any moment. That's why ingredients sourced from these places sell at exorbitant prices, and when they're cooked into dishes and served, they're even more expensive."
"The owner of this restaurant must be incredibly wealthy and powerful."
Besides having money, one also needed connections to buy such high-quality ingredients.
"Which zone are you from?" Xu Huo asked casually, as if it were an afterthought.
Li Ya instinctively looked around at the people nearby, but Xu Huo said, "No one can hear us right now. Just cover your mouth. But don't lie."
"E25 Wormhole Point, Zone 002." Under his gaze, she couldn't help but tell the truth.
Crossing wormhole points.
A random instance that could simultaneously open across multiple zones was already impressive. Usually, random instances had more ordinary people, but daring to bring in so many players meant the instance wasn't afraid of being broken.
"Do I need to keep talking?" Li Ya asked cautiously, pointing at the dishes on the table.
"Wait until five o'clock," Xu Huo said. "We can order other dishes for dinner."
Li Ya had no idea what he meant, but when the time came, she ordered every dish he specified, making sure none of them repeated from the previous order.
Xu Huo's explanation for this was, "Since we have the chance, we should try more."
Maris and the others didn't understand his intention, but to be safe, they ordered all the dishes as well, just in case he changed his mind again.
The observing players and ordinary people were also confused, but most still followed Xu Huo and Li Ya's lead.
After the meal, Xu Huo asked Li Ya for her evaluation of the dishes. She enthusiastically commented on each one. Then Xu Huo asked her which dish she thought was the best among those she had eaten today.
Li Ya hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Do you want the truth?"
"Of course. You're the professional," Xu Huo said.
Li Ya grew visibly anxious. Xu Huo's back-and-forth behavior, without giving her any hints about the correct answer, made her worry that choosing wrong might not only prevent her from clearing the instance but also offend someone...
"Don't overthink it," Xu Huo said with a reassuring smile. "Your greatest value right now is picking the best dish."
Li Ya gripped the hands of her two companions and gritted her teeth for a long time before finally saying, "If it were up to me, I think the round beef roast is the best."
Xu Huo nodded and wrote down that dish on a piece of paper.
Maris, 201, and the others breathed a sigh of relief, then started chatting and laughing among themselves, making the same choice.
The voting began. Players and non-players alike walked up to the ballot box one by one.
"What if I chose wrong?" Li Ya was on edge, nervously watching the ballot box. "What if the best dish isn't this one?"
"Don't worry," Li Kun said. "This isn't about picking the absolute best—it's about picking what the diners think tastes best. We chose the roast yesterday anyway. If we can't clear the instance, we'll deal with it then."
Even so, it couldn't calm the emotions of those present. Especially when the waiter announced the closing time, some people couldn't help but cry out, desperately seeking help from those around them. But they didn't dare to approach any particular player, so they could only huddle weakly in place, as if waiting for impending death.
Time quickly reached eight o'clock in the evening. The moment the restaurant lights went out, Xu Huo received a game notification:
[Congratulations to player Passerby A for successfully clearing "Bauhinia Flower Restaurant."]
His vision blurred, and he, Dai Song, and Li Kun appeared on the street. Looking back, the restaurant entrance that had been beside the street had vanished.
"That's it? We cleared it?" Dai Song found it hard to believe. "It was that simple?"
Li Kun looked at him speechlessly. "You think it was easy to get so many people to vote for the same dish? If we hadn't happened to run into a food critic, things wouldn't have gone this smoothly. Look at how many people were in the restaurant today—the more people there are, the harder it is to unite them."
"I just think..." Dai Song hesitated, but before he could finish, Xu Huo cut in, "You think this clearance lacked technique?"
That was exactly what Dai Song meant. Usually, instances would go out of their way to set up obstacles to prevent players from clearing them. The voting process in this instance had been surprisingly normal, which actually felt strange.
"That place was a restaurant to begin with. Isn't it normal for a restaurant to have customers pick the dishes they think taste best?" Xu Huo said. "Besides, Bauhinia Flower Restaurant has operated in many places and is a well-known fine dining establishment."
A normal restaurant?
Having experienced the restaurant at night, Dai Song and Li Kun didn't think "Bauhinia Flower Restaurant" and "normal" had anything to do with each other. But clearing the instance was a good thing.
"Not every instance needs to be completely figured out from top to bottom. Don't set the bar too high," Li Kun said energetically to Xu Huo. "I know a place that buys these devices, and they offer a very high price!"
He pulled out a ticket and handed it to Xu Huo. Dai Song's face changed instantly. "You're leaving Zone 023?"
Li Kun tactfully kept quiet, but his eyes darted around and caught Xu Huo staring at him. He instinctively put on a smile. "My stuff is still with you. I wouldn't just leave like that. Besides, selling the whole machine together makes it harder for them to lowball the price."
Xu Huo's smile didn't reach his eyes. "You're holding the most important core part. If you sold it alone, you'd get more than if you split it with me."
Feeling dizzy and cold, coughing and weak all over o(╥﹏╥)o
(Chapter End)