Entering through the cafeteria doors, the smell of blood grew stronger within. Inside the dimly lit cafeteria, several private rooms were visible. Several decayed anomalies, holding plates of red dishes, shuffled back and forth between the dining area and kitchen. The female anomaly manager addressed Chen Mu and his companions, saying, "You have three minutes to change into your waiter uniforms." Afterward, she gestured toward a nearby room with a sign that read "Changing Room."
Chen Mu nodded calmly, showing no signs of fear, and pushed open the door to the changing room. The other girls exchanged glances, trembling with fear, and reluctantly followed behind Chen Mu.
Inside the changing room, a pungent smell filled the air. Several uniforms hung on the wall, some stained with blood to varying degrees. Chen Mu was the first to arrive and selected the cleanest one to wear. The other girls arrived later and had to choose from the uniforms Chen Mu had not taken.
In just over a minute, they had all changed into their uniforms. The female anomaly manager nodded approvingly at their speed.
Next, she led them to the entrance of a private room and said, "Inside this room, there is a customer. For the next hour, you will serve the customer's needs as waiters." With that, the manager opened the door, gesturing for Chen Mu and the others to enter the room.
Inside the private room was a round table with a peculiar anomaly sitting at it, only half of its head remaining intact. The anomaly was currently dining with its head lowered, emitting a putrid smell from its body. It held a spoon, pouring a viscous soup into its broken mouth, with some of the soup spilling onto the table.
"You, wipe up the spilled soup for me," the anomaly pointed with its remaining half-finger, indicating one of the girls.
The named girl was Zhao Mengmeng. Pale-faced, she looked toward Chen Mu with pleading eyes. Sensing her gaze, Zhao Mengmeng displayed a pitiful expression and instinctively pressed against Chen Mu's arm, softly speaking, "Chen Mu, I'm so scared. Could you please help me..."
As classmates, Chen Mu was well aware of Zhao Mengmeng's true nature. Although she appeared innocent and cute, she was quite cunning and knew how to use her beauty to gain maximum advantage, managing multiple boyfriends simultaneously across different classes. Hearing her request, Chen Mu's expression turned disdainful. Having survived five years in the anomalous apocalypse, he was no saint. Did she expect him to sacrifice himself for her? Not unless Chen Mu had lost his mind.
Zhao Mengmeng thought she could easily manipulate Chen Mu with a little feminine charm, expecting him to act like those obedient followers, doing her bidding.
Having employed this tactic many times before, Zhao Mengmeng had easily manipulated several rich second-generation students from other classes. However, Chen Mu was not falling for it at all. After Chen Mu bluntly refused, Zhao Mengmeng still appeared pitiful on the surface but her eyes revealed a hint of resentment.
Helpless, she took a deep breath and reluctantly approached the anomaly. Upon reaching its side, Zhao Mengmeng noticed there was no rag nearby. In order not to disobey the anomaly's command, she had to use her uniform sleeve to slowly wipe up the spilled soup from the table.
The cold soup soaked her sleeve, emitting an unpleasant odor that almost made Zhao Mengmeng gag. Enduring the nausea, she finally cleaned up the table. The anomaly seemed quite satisfied. It took out a piece of soul currency from its pocket and handed it to Zhao Mengmeng, saying, "This is your tip."
Instantly, Zhao Mengmeng's eyes lit up. Having heard rumors about soul currency in the anomalous apocalypse, she knew of its significance. It was said that soul currency was a powerful tool during anomalous tasks, capable of solving many problems. Some even claimed online that they had used soul currency to negotiate leniency when breaking the rules during anomalous tasks.
However, acquiring soul currency was extremely difficult, leading to its scarcity. Some wealthy individuals online even paid exorbitant sums, like a million, to acquire just a hundred pieces of soul currency!
Looking at the 10 soul currency in her hand, Zhao Mengmeng felt as though she had obtained a talisman. A delighted smile spread across her face. Glancing at Chen Mu and the other girls, Zhao Mengmeng's eyes were filled with mockery and disdain. In her eyes, with 10 soul currency in hand, she was no longer on the same level as Chen Mu and the other broke individuals.
The other girls also showed envy in their eyes. They had only heard in rumors that soul currency was an extremely rare and precious item. Now, Zhao Mengmeng had received 10 soul currency as a tip.
However, Chen Mu remained calm, seemingly seeing through everything. In anomalous tasks, there was no free lunch! Chen Mu had done the midnight cafeteria task before. He knew that obtaining anomalous soul currency came with a price. Zhao Mengmeng was celebrating too early.
Suddenly, the anomaly at the table picked up an empty plate and said to Zhao Mengmeng, "I'm done with this dish. Remove the plate for me."
Excited, Zhao Mengmeng did not hesitate. With one hand holding the soul currency and the other taking the plate, she started to leave with it.
However, she failed to notice the anomaly's foot extending from under the table, tripping her up. Zhao Mengmeng stumbled and fell to the ground, causing the plate in her hand to shatter upon impact.
A few seconds later, the door to the private room opened, and the anomaly manager, alerted by the noise, entered. Seeing the shattered plate on the ground, the manager's skeletal expression turned unpleasant. It glanced at the attendants and angrily exclaimed, "Who broke the plate? Damaging the cafeteria's property will be punished!"
Zhao Mengmeng's face turned pale. She looked toward the anomaly sitting at the table.
At that moment, a smirk appeared on the anomaly's half-face. Clearly, this anomaly was not a friendly character. It had deliberately tripped Zhao Mengmeng to enjoy the show.
Glancing not far from her at Chen Mu, Zhao Mengmeng pointed her finger and said, "It's him! He broke the plate!"
Chen Mu furrowed his brow. He hadn't expected Zhao Mengmeng to be so shameless. After he refused to sacrifice himself for her, she held a grudge and now wanted to shift blame onto him after causing trouble.
However, Chen Mu wasn't too surprised. After surviving five years in the anomalous apocalypse, he had seen this kind of thing too many times. Betrayal after kindness, stabbing in the back...
Chen Mu had experienced too much of the world's coldness.
For Chen Mu, Zhao Mengmeng's attempt to shift blame was child's play.
Moreover, Chen Mu knew that at the moment Zhao Mengmeng blamed him, her death sentence had already been sealed.