When Xin Meng first saw this village completely surrounded by mountains, he had some simple guesses. Villages like this, isolated from the world, would mostly focus on farming, and the cattle raised would be for plowing rather than for eating. This meant they likely had plenty of grains but little meat. For someone who loved to eat meat, it could indeed be jokingly referred to as “hell.” As for not being a vegetarian’s paradise, perhaps it meant that the vegetarian dishes were not well made?
With this in mind, he could roughly understand those two sentences.
But now, what were these dishes in front of him?
On the table, there were two vegetarian dishes that didn’t look very appealing, but aside from that, the other fourteen dishes were all meat?
Xin Meng immediately realized that his previous assumptions were wrong.
It didn’t look like a place lacking in meat.
He hesitated for a moment, and amidst the urging voices of those around him telling him to eat meat quickly, he picked up his chopsticks but first reached for the plate of shredded potatoes.
“Hey, don’t eat that!” Wu Xuehua exclaimed, quickly stopping him. “What’s so good about the vegetables? Let me tell you, this meat is from our own free-range pigs, completely different from those raised on feed outside. It’s really fragrant, come on, eat some ribs!” After saying that, she picked up a piece of rib to put in his bowl.
Xin Meng quickly waved his hand, and in his panic, he blurted out without thinking, “I, I believe in Buddhism, I don’t eat meat.”
“Huh?” The whole table went silent, the boys and girls stared at him with their mouths agape, and Wu Xuehua almost dropped her chopsticks on the table. It was only then that Xin Meng realized what he had said, and his face instantly flushed, almost wanting to slap himself.
“You…” Wu Xuehua blinked, closing her mouth, still a bit in disbelief. She looked at Xin Meng suspiciously, “You don’t look like a monk…”
Xin Meng twitched his mouth; since the words had already come out, it was hard to take them back. He could only try to smooth things over, “Of course, I’m not a monk, but I believe in this, so I can’t eat meat.”
The others exchanged glances, and for a moment, there was silence. Xin Meng felt something was off and was about to ask when the village chief, Wu Dacheng, who had been silent, suddenly cleared his throat twice and said, “It’s okay if you can’t eat meat. Hua Hua, bring those two vegetarian dishes over for the young man.”
“Okay,” Wu Xuehua replied cheerfully, getting up to push the shredded potatoes and bok choy in front of Xin Meng. The others also resumed their lively chatter, smiling and telling him, “Vegetarian dishes are also delicious, you should eat!”
The moment of tension just now seemed to have never existed. Xin Meng was a bit confused about the situation and didn’t refuse any longer. He silently lowered his head to scoop rice, occasionally picking up a piece of vegetable. The taste of the dishes was surprisingly good, but he still had questions in his heart and didn’t dare to eat too much.
Wu Dacheng gave Wu Deli a glance from the main seat.
Wu Deli nodded, holding his rice bowl, stood up, and exchanged seats with the person next to Xin Meng. Then he leaned over to Xin Meng’s ear and asked, “Big brother, you really don’t eat meat?”
Xin Meng nodded.
Wu Deli sighed, “Ah, that’s too bad. Originally, people in our village don’t eat much meat, but this time we specially killed a pig because you came, and now you don’t eat it…”
Upon hearing this, Xin Meng felt a bit guilty; he had wasted their good intentions, but since he had already said it, he couldn’t change it.
“I’m very sorry.”
Wu Deli asked again, “Really not eating?”
Xin Meng could only apologize again, “I’m sorry…”
Wu Deli smiled, “It’s nothing, just that you’re missing out. This meat is really delicious.” After saying that, he picked up a big piece of braised pork with preserved vegetables for himself and ate it with great enjoyment.
Seeing the fatty meat go into Wu Deli’s mouth, with grease glistening on his lips, Xin Meng suddenly lost his appetite and put down his chopsticks.
Wu Dacheng said, “In that case, we won’t be able to finish the pig. Deli, later you can divide the meat and send some to the villagers.”
“Okay, got it, uncle.” Wu Deli didn’t even look up, continuing to gnaw on the ribs, while the others cheered softly, and the atmosphere became lively again as everyone started chatting and laughing.
Aside from this little episode, the meal was quite enjoyable. Rural people don’t have many formalities when eating; they usually chat while eating. They told Xin Meng many interesting stories about the village, some of which were particularly amusing, and Xin Meng listened intently. Later, a casually mentioned term caught his attention.
“Forbidden area?” Xin Meng asked.
“Ah, that’s…”
The skinny boy, Wu Qiang, who was sitting next to him, was about to explain when he was suddenly shot a fierce glare by Wu Deli from across Xin Meng. Realizing he had blurted something out, he quickly shut his mouth. Xin Meng was curious and intended to ask further when he heard the village chief, Wu Dacheng, say, “It’s nothing much, just a place where we store grain. The kids are mischievous, and we worry they might mess things up, so we don’t let them go there. They just gave it a name, calling it the ‘forbidden area.'”
However, Xin Meng noticed Wu Qiang’s dismissive expression and realized there was more to the village chief’s words. He silently noted this “forbidden area” in his mind, just in case it turned out to be a key term.
This game was a bit troublesome. As soon as Xin Meng entered the village, he had already noticed that the clues for passing the level would probably not be very obvious because the people here were too real.
In the previous zombie game, he could still see some regulated elements restricted by the game, like zombies violating normal behavior and moving towards light, or the only drivable car and map in that community, which made them clearly feel that it was a game.
But this was different; this game… was too real.
It felt as if he had truly arrived in such a valley and discovered a village. The villagers showed no signs of being NPCs; each person had their own distinct personality, and their reactions to unexpected situations were just like ordinary people.
For a game that required clearing levels, the difficulty level had suddenly increased.
At least up to now, Xin Meng still had no clue about what the game required them to do or how to clear it. He had no hints at all and could only try to remember everything he saw and heard, hoping to quickly find the key when he saw the cards of other teammates.
A fragrant breeze wafted over, and Xin Meng looked up to see Wu Xuehua smiling as she handed him a cup of water, this time in a cleaner cup. Xin Meng quickly caught it, but he had just drunk a bowl of porridge and wasn’t very thirsty. After politely thanking her, he casually placed it on the table. Wu Xuehua suddenly showed an unhappy expression and glared at Xin Meng.
Xin Meng was puzzled and looked at the village chief, who laughed heartily and patted Wu Xuehua’s back, teasing, “My girl is growing up and can’t be kept at home. Young man, what do you think of my daughter? Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Ah?” Xin Meng was taken aback by the question, his face turning red in embarrassment, but it wasn’t from shyness; it was more from awkwardness. “She is quite, quite beautiful, but…”
Wu Dacheng stroked his beard, guiding him, “Young man, look at how beautiful my daughter is. Our village has a good environment and welcomes people from outside to stay. Have you considered it?”
“Dad!” Wu Xuehua tugged at his clothes, playfully protesting.
Xin Meng felt goosebumps all over.
He didn’t know what was going on. Clearly, she was a very cute girl, and her charming demeanor was quite appealing. If it were another man, they would have rushed over to show their affection long ago. Didn’t he see how the boys beside him were staring with wide eyes?
But he just couldn’t stir any feelings in his heart; he felt completely indifferent. In fact, his first thought was—if we’re talking about looks, Yu Yi is much better looking than her!
After thinking this, he felt something was off. Why would he think like that?
Moreover, the young girl hadn’t offended him; on the contrary, she had been quite nice to him. Comparing her to a man was really unfair to her.
In the end, Xin Meng attributed the reason to the fact that, in his mind, this was just a game. No matter how beautiful the girl was, she was merely an NPC. Psychologically, he had already established a kind of racial barrier, making it impossible for him to appreciate her as a real woman.
But speaking of Yu Yi…
He always felt a strange sense of familiarity with him, yet he truly didn’t remember such a person. What was going on?
Could it be that Yu Yi looked very much like someone he knew?
Or was it possible that he had actually lost his memory without realizing it?
It couldn’t be that he had turned back five or six thousand times in his previous life and felt familiar in this life, could it?
Xin Meng’s thoughts were running wild, and he unknowingly got distracted. Seeing him like this, Wu Dacheng shrugged at his daughter, indicating he couldn’t help. Wu Xuehua stomped her foot in anger, pouted, and walked back to Wu Deli’s side, sitting down huffily. Wu Deli quickly patted her hand to comfort her.
After the meal, everyone began to clean up the dishes. As usual, Xin Meng was excluded and obediently sat back on the mat at the door, watching everyone busy themselves.
Although the villagers were overly enthusiastic and occasionally caused some small awkwardness, they were genuinely kind and simple. Their bright and cheerful smiles warmed his heart.
After tidying up, some young people returned to their homes, leaving only a few who were particularly close to Wu Xuehua to stay and continue accompanying Xin Meng, who was anxiously waiting for news from his companions.
This time, they didn’t chat for long before Xin Meng saw several villagers crowding around someone coming toward the gate. He focused his gaze and saw that it was none other than Xiong Jiabao!
Seeing Xiong Jiabao looking as good as new, just like when they first met, Xin Meng felt very complicated. Although it was a different game, to him, it was just like taking a nap. The image of Xiong Jiabao turning into a rotting monster and eating people was still vividly imprinted in his mind, making it hard for him to look directly at him. However, Xin Meng’s psychological quality was strong, and he successfully controlled his feet, at least not retreating when Xiong Jiabao approached.
“Xin, my brother! I finally found you! My dear!” As soon as Xiong Jiabao saw him, he was almost in tears, dramatically trying to rush over for a bear hug, but Xin Meng nimbly dodged, reminiscent of their first meeting, which made Xin Meng relax a lot.
He joked, “Did you forget to call upon heaven and earth?”
Xiong Jiabao, feeling rejected, wasn’t angry. He scratched his colorful hair and stood there grinning at Xin Meng.
Xin Meng wanted to ask him if he knew what had happened after dying in the last game because he was very curious about what the experience of dying in the game was like. Did one immediately lose consciousness after death, or would they still retain some memories?
This was actually quite important; otherwise, dying would be unsettling, which was simply too terrifying.
But he hesitated. If Xiong Jiabao remembered, would bringing it up trigger painful memories for him?
Just as he was unsure how to start, another key figure happened to step through the gate.
The author has something to say:
Little Theater:
Meng: (stroking chin) I just feel like you look very familiar. Have we really not met before?
Favorite Little Mengmeng: (seriously) All encounters in the human world are reunions after a long separation.
Meng: (Σ( ° △ °)︴) You can actually say sweet nothings?!
Favorite Little Mengmeng turns the phone screen to him, and Meng sees the webpage title pop up: “The 101st Technique for Flirting in Spring—Beginner’s Love Talk Edition.”
Meng: “…… Who’s the girl?!”
