The sky had completely darkened.

Three minutes ago, it was sunny and bright.

Three minutes later, darkness enveloped everything, and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Zhuge Ye stood frozen in place, every hair on his body standing on end.

He could even hear his own heartbeat.

However, the knocking on the door became urgent, and Jiang Che's voice outside was nearing madness.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Damn it, Zhuge Ye! Open the door! What the hell!"

"I found the key, and you locked me out! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Open the door! Open it!!!"

At this moment, Jiang Che's voice also sounded from inside the pitch-black room.

"Don't open the door, the one outside is fake."

"Tsk tsk, the Uncanny here really knows how to play, it's just like the real thing."

"Gulp." Zhuge Ye swallowed hard.

Inside: "You don't believe me?"

Outside: "Zhuge Ye, open the door!!!"

Zhuge Ye braced himself and said, "How do I know which one of you is real?"

"You idiot!"

The Jiang Che inside kicked Zhuge Ye, but because it was too dark, he ended up kicking Zhuge Ye in the crotch...

Zhuge Ye: "Ow—ugh~"

Jiang Che: "..."

Jiang Che said, "Don't you have a glowing Taboo Object? Just take it out and you'll know."

With a pained expression, Zhuge Ye clutched his crotch and grimaced, "Right, I almost forgot about that."

Quickly.

A pearl emitting white light appeared in Zhuge Ye's hand.

The white light illuminated the entire room.

Seeing that the Jiang Che in front of him showed no signs of change, Zhuge Ye let out a long sigh of relief and plopped down on the ground.

At the same time, the commotion outside disappeared.

Jiang Che rubbed his chin, looking at the pearl in Zhuge Ye's hand, and asked, "This Taboo Object of yours is pretty handy, what's it called?"

Not only could it be used for lighting, but it could also harm the Uncanny, a dual-purpose item, really nice.

Zhuge Ye: "Do you believe in light?"

Jiang Che: "There's no such thing as Ultraman in this world, don't change the subject, I'm not going to steal your stuff, what is it?"

"Do you believe in light?"

"I believe, now can you tell me what it is?"

"The name of this Taboo Object is, 'Do You Believe in Light.'"

"…"

Zhuge Ye: "Ah, this prosperous age, as you wished."

"Smack!"

A slap landed on Zhuge Ye's forehead.

"Prosperous my ass!"

"I almost got killed because of you, are you a pig?" Jiang Che said viciously.

Zhuge Ye clutched his forehead, looking aggrieved, "Don't be mad, Brother Che, I really saw someone standing behind you just now..."

"What did they look like?"

"I didn't see clearly..."

"…"

Jiang Che sighed and said, "Put your pearl away for now."

"Why? I'm afraid of the dark."

"Then are you afraid of ghosts?"

"Of course, that's why I need light."

Jiang Che raised his chin, "Then look outside."

"Huh?"

Zhuge Ye turned his head and saw a reflection of a person in the window.

No, not just one person!

They were standing outside the window, motionless...

Zhuge Ye gasped and quickly put the pearl away.

The room quickly plunged back into darkness.

In the darkness.

Zhuge Ye: "Brother Che, what should we do now?"

Jiang Che: "I'm really wondering how you completed the challenge mission before and got an A."

Zhuge Ye raised an eyebrow, "That's a long story, I'll try to make it short. In that challenge, we fought like the world was ending, like mountains were crumbling and seas were overturning! The Uncanny was incredibly powerful, insidious, and cunning, with methods..."

Jiang Che: "Not even a punctuation mark of what you said would the audience believe."

Zhuge Ye got anxious, "You think I'm bragging? You think I'm bragging?!"

"If you can't handle it, go to the dog's table."

"…"

Jiang Che: "Keep track of the duration of the darkness."

Zhuge Ye: "Oh, you can totally trust me on that."

Time ticked by, second by second.

Jiang Che and Zhuge Ye stayed quietly in the darkness, not making a sound.

Outside, there were occasional chaotic footsteps.

Faintly, there were sounds of crying, screaming, whispers, and even the sound of something hitting an iron door.

The current situation reminded Jiang Che of the blood night at Netherworld Hospital.

But the difference was, here the darkness descended directly during the day, not during a natural night.

So, as the hint said.

This wasn't normal nightfall, it was the arrival of darkness.

Who knows how much time passed...

The sky gradually brightened.

Soon, the blue sky appeared in view again.

Jiang Che stretched lazily.

Zhuge Ye, squatting in the corner, was still counting on his fingers: "1797, 1798, 1799..."

"1800!"

"Brother Che, it lasted thirty minutes! The darkness lasted a total of thirty minutes!"

Jiang Che glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded, "Yeah, about right."

Zhuge Ye: "???"

Next, Jiang Che searched around the house.

After finding nothing, he returned to the original spot.

"Let's go out and take a look."

Opening the door, Jiang Che stepped out first.

And then...

Outside was full of people!

Villagers, looking listless, gathered outside the door, pointing and whispering about Jiang Che and Zhuge Ye.

At this moment, an elderly, hunched-back old woman stepped forward and said, "You two must be hungry, why not come to my place for a meal?"

"Get lost!"

A young man kicked the old woman to the ground, grinning, "Your family already hosted a guest, and you want to compete with us?"

Then, the young man looked at Jiang Che and Zhuge Ye, smiling, "You two must be tired from traveling all the way to Shiling Village, why not have dinner at my place tonight?"

"Come to my house, we have braised fish tonight!"

"Come to my house, we have pork knuckles!"

"Come to my place, my daughter can feed you."

"Come to our house, we have strong men!"

"Come to my house, I can make emperor's fried rice."

The villagers suddenly started arguing.

Each one hoping Jiang Che and Zhuge Ye would choose their home for dinner.

The village's hospitality was so enthusiastic, they were just short of hanging banners.

Zhuge Ye's mouth twitched, whispering, "Weren't they supposed to be inhospitable?"

Jiang Che: "Are you sure they're being hospitable?"

Zhuge Ye: "…"

Suddenly, the arguing stopped abruptly.

Hundreds of villagers stared intently at Jiang Che and Zhuge Ye.

"Come... you choose for yourselves," the old woman said eerily.

At this moment, the villagers all revealed hungry, greedy looks.

That gaze,

Like a thirty-year-old bachelor seeing a naked woman.

Like a starving wolf seeing a plump, juicy piglet.

This is the Mystic World.

There are no hospitable villagers here.

However.

Jiang Che took a step forward, scanning the crowd, speaking confidently.

"I have an idea!"

"Let's hold a God of Cookery contest."

"Whoever has the best cooking, we'll go to their house."

"Who agrees, who opposes?"

Zhuge Ye: "???"

Villagers: "…"

"This idea..."

"Not bad."

"Yes, it's a fair way."

"I agree."

"I agree too."

Zhuge Ye's eyes almost popped out.

Are you all crazy, or am I?

Holding a God of Cookery contest in the Mystic World?

Is this something a carbon-based lifeform can come up with?

Damn agreement.

Agree with your grandma!

No, I'm not crazy.

Hahaha, I'm not crazy!

The crazy one is this world!

Hahaha...