Chapter 229
Chapter 229
After eating someone’s food, it’s harder to say no; after taking someone’s gifts, it’s harder not to oblige. (Lu Run · Tu Cha · Xun)
Professor Yao looked at the silver needles he had put away and pondered the matter carefully.
A disciple who had completed his training = an Eagle that had already flown far away = no longer much to do with him.
It took Professor Yao all of two seconds to make his decision.
He’d sell them out!
They were only a few disciples, weren’t they?
This would be the perfect opportunity for them to practice emergency medicine!
Besides, what could possibly train someone better than a battlefield?
He was cackling inwardly, but his face remained solemn.
“I’ll send you a list tonight. If they don’t agree, I can’t force them.”
Heizi broke into a broad smile. “Thank you, Professor!”
That was what Professor Yao said, but once his disciples learned that their esteemed mentor had recommended them, could they really refuse?
“It’s nothing, nothing!”
The two foxes, one old and one young, cackled together.
One person’s joy had nothing to do with another’s sorrow.
Cha Bing’s eyes snapped open as he lay on the wooden plank bed.
“Motherfreaking hell!”
After that agonized howl, Cha Bing’s consciousness finally returned to his body.
His gaze swept around and took in the familiar surroundings.
A sense of sorrow lingered in his heart.
Why did I have to be stupid enough to take two days off?
Wouldn’t it have been better to just accept a couple of missions and make some money?
I’m such an idiot!
Professor Wei pushed a cart along, whistling cheerfully.
Heizi’s gift had been exactly to his liking. Even though Professor Yao had snatched away his Werewolf spot, Professor Wei was still in high spirits.
Cha Bing’s eyes locked onto the cart almost instantly.
That looks awfully familiar!
The entire cart was full of familiar faces!
The squads of Demon Court had survived war-torn battlefields.
They had survived being targeted by Blackwater.
Yet they had been completely wiped out in this unassuming Amusement Park!
Cha Bing watched as Professor Wei transferred the pale-faced “corpses” from the cart onto the beds one by one.
The sorrow in his heart grew even heavier.
Time flew by, and the morning’s business finally came to an end amid a chorus of anguished wails.
The young chef pushed out a cart, his face filled with worry.
He looked at the people waiting in line and spoke apprehensively.
“Um, there’s a new dish today. It’s a snack.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted the cover off the cart with one hand.
The air suddenly fell silent.
No one in line said a word.
Standing off to the side, Cha Bing stared at the cart with despair in his eyes.
On the cart sat a metal vat resembling the kind used for oden.
One half held clear broth, while the other held a numbing, spicy broth.
However, the things threaded onto the skewers were definitely not oden.
Pallid eyeballs stared blankly upward, as though their owners had died with their eyes still open.
Faint blood vessels could even be seen congealed across the whites.
That’s right. This was the new dish: Eyeball Skewers!
A voice broke the silence.
“I’ll take ten skewers!”
A true warrior draws the crowd’s gaze wherever he goes. (Zhu Beiying)
That voice attracted the attention of almost everyone present.
Most of the people there were regulars, and they all knew the eyeballs couldn’t possibly be real.
However, based on what they knew about Boss Zhang and his rather indescribable personality, it wasn’t entirely impossible that he had mixed one real eyeball in among all the fakes.
The brave customer picked up one of his skewers, glanced at the surrounding crowd, and bit into it.
The flavors of shrimp paste and meat sauce filled his mouth.
A satisfied smile immediately spread across his face.
“Not bad! As good as ever!”
The moment they heard that, the people in line stopped hesitating and swiftly bought up every last Eyeball Skewer.
Cha Bing was no exception. Holding two eyeball skewers in his hands, he hesitated over whether to take a bite.
After all, he had spent most of the morning unconscious.
But now his stomach had started protesting too.
After a moment’s consideration, Cha Bing bit down anyway.
Back when he’d been in the special forces, he’d even eaten bugs. This was just an eyeball!
No backing down!
The delicious flavor that burst across his tongue instantly satisfied his taste buds, and once he started, he couldn’t stop.
Before long, only one eyeball remained on the skewer.
Without the slightest hesitation, Cha Bing bit into it.
A completely different texture exploded between his teeth.
Puzzled, Cha Bing gently bit down again.
Huh?
What was with this texture?
Cha Bing froze in shock.
What the actual hell? One of these things was real?!
“Blargh!”
A violent wave of nausea surged up from his stomach.
But with only a few eyeballs in there, he barely had anything to throw up.
It took him a full two minutes to recover enough to pull himself up with the railing.
Still trembling, he carried his lunchbox over to the others.
Captain Zhuque was wolfing down brains when she spotted Cha Bing. Without the slightest hesitation, she took the remaining skewer of eyeballs from him and bit into one.
Feeling the springy texture of the shrimp paste, she narrowed her eyes in bliss.
“You’re so lucky. They’d already sold out by the time we got there!”
Captain Zhuque savored it for a moment before finally looking up.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you so pale?”
“Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”
“Tell me!”
Cha Bing fell silent for a long time before saying, “I just ate a real one.”
Zhuque took another bite of the eyeball. “A real what?”
“Eyeball.”
His flat reply left Captain Zhuque completely frozen.
“A-A real one?”
“Yeah. The texture was different.”
The moment Cha Bing recalled that texture, his stomach churned again.
Their eyes met, and a wordless sorrow filled the air.
“What’s wrong with you two?”
Heizi strolled over leisurely with a toothpick dangling from his mouth.
The atmosphere between them was so heavy that he couldn’t suppress his curiosity.
Cha Bing wiped the corner of his mouth, then lowered his voice with a grave expression. “How did a real one get mixed in?”
Heizi paused. “A real one?”
“The one I ate had to be real!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Cha Bing rushed to the railing.
“Blargh!”
Heizi carefully considered Chef Li’s cooking process.
“If I’m right, the real one was a pig’s eyeball. The Cafeteria butchered a whole pig today, so someone probably tossed the eyes in here without thinking.”
Captain Zhuque gave Cha Bing a deeply sympathetic look.
Barring some freak accident, a pig only had two eyeballs, right?
They’d sold at least a thousand eyeballs over lunch. What kind of luck was this?!
Still marveling at Cha Bing’s luck, she bit into another eyeball.
Huh?
This texture…
Captain Zhuque hurriedly spat it out.
Her eyes locked on Cha Bing, whose face had grown even paler.
She was absolutely never going on another mission with him!
With luck like his, the guy could probably get hit by an RPG just walking down the street!
Sitting off to the side, Zhang Bei tossed a courier envelope into Li Yang’s hands.
“Arrange for someone to cover your shift tomorrow. You’re coming abroad with me.”
Li Yang looked inside the envelope. His visa, plane tickets, and everything else he needed were all there.
Excitement immediately appeared in his eyes.
An overseas vacation on the government’s dime!
Who would have thought something this good would ever happen to him?
Meanwhile, in a Laboratory somewhere in Dingyang City, Professor Li stared at the fax in his hand and pounded the desk.
That brat could go abroad all he wanted, but why the hell did Professor Li have to see him off?
Did the country have no one else?
Did those people have any idea that brat was his jinx? His jinx!