Watching the darkening sky, Putato stared inexplicably at the fidgeting Philip.
"You want to crash my dinner too?"
"Uh, I just wanted to thank you, Vanda. Working with you has been a pleasure."
Philip hastily explained, handing Putato a paper bag containing sandwiches. Putato hadn't even noticed when the guy bought them, and he was honestly sick of sandwiches.
After all, he'd spent the last while shoving sandwiches down his throat on the go; just the thought of them now made him nauseous.
"Thanks, Philip. That said, I've got a date tonight. Otherwise, I'd love to invite you in for a bit. So, can we talk tomorrow instead?"
"You're not going to ask who I'm dating, are you?"
"Sorry! Senior Vanda, I didn't know."
Panic-stricken and unable to look Putato in the eye, Philip said his goodbyes and hurried away.
"Who are you going on a date with?"
Elena's cold, clear voice rang out from behind. Putato turned in surprise to find she'd tied her shoulder-length wavy black hair into a ponytail this time, looking a bit like a pineapple leaf.
"Just a joke. That guy's my colleague, and I just got off work."
"But I stopped by the building earlier and found that woman painstakingly preparing a whole table of food for you. Never seen her before. Who is she?"
"You didn't startle her, did you?!"
"What, worried about her?"
No, I'm worried about you. The Eight Chefs absolutely detest Bloodfiends.
Just as Putato was about to speak, Elena pressed her thumb against his lips. She forcefully wiped away the faint bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, then bit down impatiently.
Putato felt a slight sting on his lower lip. Elena's longing face was pressed intimately against his; he could even clearly hear her heavy breathing.
Elena released Putato's mouth with satisfaction, licking her crimson lips as if savoring the aftertaste, a mischievous, successful smile on her face as she looked at the bewildered Putato.
"Darling, you taste so good."
"Mmh."
With just a flick of his tongue, Putato felt two small, closing puncture wounds. He frowned and checked his reflection on his communicator; as expected, his lower lip was visibly swollen.
Although Putato acted like he didn't care to the outside world, going to see Yixin looking like this wasn't ideal.
"Go on, I'll be watching you."
Seeing Putato like this, Elena grew even happier. She took a few steps back, about to turn and leave.
"Not this time. Elena, whatever you do, don't go near the building. That person is one of the Eight Chefs. I'll handle everything."
"I'll do whatever you say."
In a blur, Elena retreated into the dark alleyway. Putato finally breathed a sigh of relief.
...
The six-story building.
CREAK!
Pushing open the front gate, Putato immediately took half a step back. A massive swarm of pink-scaled snakes almost blanketed the ground, enough to trigger a panic in anyone with trypophobia.
"Yixin?"
HISS!
Instantly, the pink snakes slithered aside, clearing a neat path on the ground. Putato could only walk forward vigilantly, though the psychological pressure of being stared at by countless upright snakes was immense.
Room 101.
"Long time no see. I caught your scent from a kilometer away. Even surrounded by others, that unique smell of yours still couldn't be hidden."
Almost the moment Putato entered, snakes from the walls and floor lunged, trying to coil around his body. Putato's expression darkened as he decisively shook them off, yet he still felt the sensation of being licked.
SWISH!
He unhesitatingly drew his Blood Sword, causing Yixin, who was sitting across the table, to rest her chin in her hands and watch him with intoxication.
"What's this? Can't wait to find a snack on me?"
"Although I really wanted to keep you all to myself before, I'm a big believer in sharing delicacies. Eating together is part of the pleasure in a gourmet's circle."
Yixin wasn't angry at Putato's defensive posture. Instead, she excitedly urged him to sit down, reached out to light the white candle in the center of the table, and then solemnly unwrapped a leather cover that took up half the dining table.
Inside was an unknown, jelly-like substance.
Putato was fairly sure of himself, pulling out a chair to sit and see what tricks the opponent was up to, only to see Yixin kick a box from under the table. The stranger's head inside immediately made him tense up.
"These are Leaflet Workshop people. They originally wanted to capture you, to study the mysteries of your variant Mist. This kind of tech poaching is all too common in The City."
"So, should I thank you?"
The result was unexpected. Was she expressing goodwill?
Immediately, Yixin handed over a blood-stained contract. It clearly stated a hiring agreement between Leaflet Workshop and a Syndicate to bring Putato's body back whole. They likely had their eyes on his technique for releasing large amounts of Mist.
However, Putato didn't actually have any technique; it was all thanks to Khaji's blessing.
"The Gourmet Banquet—this is a technique that allows a chef to taste the emotions of the ingredients, while also achieving the effect of synesthesia."
Before Putato could ask what synesthesia was, the jelly in the leather bag rapidly expanded to cover the room. His vision instantly became unstable and began to sway.
But Putato believed he could blow through the wall and leave at any time, so he didn't immediately turn hostile. After all, the opponent's motives were unclear; it would be troublesome if other Chefs got involved.
"So, you just want to have dinner with me."
Facing Putato's doubt, Yixin only gave a faint smile before shifting the conversation.
"I was born in Mulberry Town within the Backstreet 23. My father raised me, just a newborn then, inside silkworm cocoons. There is too much desire born from hunger in The Backstreets, all of which was used to nourish us, the pupae."
"Those seductive thoughts trigger an endless hunger, like appetizer plums. Who wouldn't want a snack like that before a main course?"
"But Mama was a great person. She didn't want such delicacies to be reserved only for the upper class; she wanted to share. So she woke up all the pupae. We shared a meal under her care—it was the ultimate fusion."
In a daze, Putato actually saw a re-enactment of the scene. Such a tragic feast, yet somehow everyone present was beyond joyful.
"Mama told me to follow the nutrient fluid east. Sure enough, I found Papa and those diners, so I joined the banquet. It's a pity Mama jumped into the incinerator herself; not being able to eat with her is truly a shame."
"Even now, I tirelessly pursue those moving delicacies. Once I find one, I can't wait to share it. But a ripened fruit like you makes my heart itch with unbearable desire."
"Look, these diners following me are already parched with hunger. I can't bear to see their cravings go unsatisfied."
HISS HISS HISS! The scalp-numbing sound of flickering tongues echoed in the room. Those pink snakes outside scrambled to enter, filling nearly half the space, making the area behind Yixin look like a constantly writhing mass of meat.
Putato's heart sank. He was prepared to use Softened - Mist to collapse the building.
"But your cooking isn't finished! Lifes Menu hasn't reached its end yet!"
"I can only eat you! Let you eat me! That way, I can savor your flavor every second, and you can continue your cooking!"
"Putato, let's be together forever!"
THUD!
As soon as the words were spoken, both collapsed to the ground, and the countless snakes went stiff and dead.
"Damn! What the hell is going on?!"
Suddenly opening his eyes, Putato realized he was actually trapped inside a silkworm cocoon. On this open ground filled with cocoons, there stood a woman whose face was filled with sorrow.
A strong sense of unreality coupled with a real feeling of hunger made Putato realize this was likely the true synesthesia hallucination.
The translucent silk made it hard for Putato to stretch his body, yet he could see a soaking wet Yixin struggling to gnaw open a cocoon, eating with total abandon.
Even more shocking to Putato was that more people looking exactly like Yixin were crawling out from the pupae. They were hungrily crawling toward the cocoons that hadn't hatched yet. In a short time, they adapted to their powerful bodies and began to sprint.
Amidst a chorus of rustling, greedy chewing, Putato anxiously tried to break out of the pupa. Otherwise, he'd soon be carved up and devoured by these lunatics. But he quickly discovered the round cocoon formed by this strange silk was unusually tough.
"Run! Don't eat!"
The woman in the white lab coat above called out in a panic, causing all the gnawing Yixins to suddenly jerk their heads up.
THUD! Putato punched through the cocoon, his hands digging into the gap as he strained to tear it open. The commotion of him scrambling out made the group of Yixins lower their heads again, and they excitedly converged toward him as the center.
Dammit! How do I break this hellish hallucination? Do I have to blow up these Yixin test subjects?!
Putato instinctively reached for his weapons, only to realize he wasn't wearing his Dimensional Gloves. Scanning his surroundings, he spotted some restraint ropes on a pupae production trolley and grabbed them in a hurry.
Turning around, a Yixin lunged at him. In his haste, Putato could only grip the rope to block her sharp teeth, then whipped it around her head and threw her off with a hard tug.
Gritting his teeth, Putato stood up and saw a mass of Yixins huddling together and gnawing on one another. They seemed to possess only a faint sense of touch and no sense of pain, focused solely on the pleasure of a full stomach, wearing blissful smiles.
"Yixin, you are seriously f***ing insane!"
Putato's roar immediately drew the attention of every Yixin. They looked curiously at the only "different" ingredient and lunged again with great enthusiasm, forcing Putato to scramble up a ladder toward higher ground.
He had just tried to activate the Hematic Pump, only to find those implants didn't exist in the hallucination. He had to find the boundary of this vision quickly; perhaps the illusion would dissolve once he stepped outside its range.
"No, don't come here!"
"Stay down there! Follow the nutrient pipes east and leave this place!"
The woman in the white coat retreated, tears streaming down her face. Watching the Yixins chasing Putato, she covered her eyes in agony.
Sprinting for his life, Putato's gaze swept past the incinerator behind the woman and the large plastic baskets of silk nearby.
To the right of the rows of smooth, trimmed cocoons was a wide-open door, where the redwood flooring contrasted sharply with the steel-patterned floor of the lab.
Was this the exit?!
"Mama, don't be sad. You eat too, then you can be happy."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
The swarming Yixins, seeing the woman, instantly abandoned Putato and rushed toward her in delight. This act pushed her over the edge; she flung open the incinerator, ready to leap inside.
BANG! Putato grabbed the nearest Yixin and hurled her, knocking the white coat to the ground. He hurriedly kicked aside the mindless eaters to reach her.
"Hey! Yixin, you can hear me, right? End this hallucination now!"
Forcing the woman against the wall, Putato roared impatiently. A Yixin lunged at his back; looking back, he realized his bloody bite wounds weren't healing, making him even more frantic.
"Have a taste."
Pinned against the wall, the woman in the white coat smiled and rolled up her sleeve, shoving her fair arm into Putato's open mouth. Her body was spongy like a water chestnut cake, allowing Putato to bite a piece off easily, which instantly melted into a savory broth in his mouth.
"Ugh!"
Even knowing it was an illusion, the lifelike act of cannibalism made Putato gag. Fury suddenly boiled over, and he threw a punch straight at the woman's face.
Brand of Fire!
SQUISH!
Putato watched in disbelief as her head exploded into soup. The savory aroma filled the air, drawing the numerous Yixins to lap it up like a mass of crawling snakes.
Yet, the usual orange brand didn't appear on his own body.
Something was wrong! Everything in sight began to tremble as if in the center of an earthquake. Putato could even vaguely see steam rising, while the approaching Yixins began to dehydrate and evaporate, turning back into snakes.
It worked!
Before Putato could celebrate, the Yixin surrounded by snakes dragged him toward the redwood-floored room. By a long dining table, a man in formal attire was giving a speech.
"Distinguished guests, you who feast on the delicacies of the world year-round, find it hard for your bodies or spirits to ever relive that initial thrill of dining. But now, we can provide an infinite feast."
"Even if you have tasted everything The City has to offer, your mind and body will still overflow with excitement and appetite after savoring this appetizer. It allows you to wholeheartedly enjoy the shock of flavor hitting your palate; never again will you have to worry about being satisfied."
Inside the golden goblets were the translucent pupae Putato had seen earlier. Numerous faceless mountains of flesh sat expectantly around the table, raising their knives and forks.
Then came a tide of snakes flooding in, treating those obese diners as fresh ingredients, staging a liquid banquet.
Putato felt sheer horror. He hurriedly broke free from Yixin's grasp, desperate to retreat, but the unending swarm of pink snakes made it impossible to exit this dreadful dining room.
"These must taste delicious, and since it's a hallucination, you don't even have to worry about getting full. Why aren't you satisfied yet?"
"Clearly, just one bite can make you forget your troubles. Why must you be so sad?"
Confused, Yixin tilted her head, staring at the resisting Putato. The next moment, she was kicked to the ground, then hoisted up by her neck.
"Get the hell away from me!"
As Putato roared, the scene shattered. The fragments didn't vanish but regrouped, bringing him back to the familiar Good Office. Seeing those cutthroat advertisements made Putato feel as if no time had passed at all.
The past rushed in like a tide.
"Am I that unpalatable? Then let me taste you."
Disappointed and aggrieved, Yixin turned to the orange-haired woman at the reception desk, only to find no one else in the Office besides her.
Dropping Yixin, Putato immediately felt something was wrong. A pillar of light erupted from the Office restroom, piercing through the ceiling and disappearing into parts unknown.
"What is that?"
Yixin asked curiously, but Putato, with a serious expression, tried to find a way out of there; he had no intention of sharing Khaji's secret with her.
Suddenly, a familiar hand rested on his shoulder.
"Go on, stand at the pinnacle of The City."
The illusions created by the Gourmet Banquet shattered instantly. Putato jerked upright from the floor.
He immediately checked his equipment, and not a single piece was missing. Relieved, he looked at Yixin, who was still slumped over the table, only to be surprised by the sound of her sobbing.
"Why does no one accept my sharing? Don't you all want to be happy?"
"Putato, you are a chef I recognize, yet even you don't acknowledge my culinary art. I don't understand, why does everyone back away? Enjoying food is truly, truly joyful! I've tried it thousands upon thousands of times!"
"Is there no meaning at all to the food I share? Can't even happiness be mutually understood?"
Putato watched agape as the skin on Yixin's face and arms peeled back. Tight, beautiful pale pink scales spread across her like ink soaking into paper. Though he didn't know exactly what was happening to her, he could sense a massive crisis looming.
An inhuman, uncanny sensation radiated from Yixin, making Putato's hair stand on end. He couldn't afford to do nothing now!
"Of course it can!"
Desperately weighing his options, Putato slowly stepped forward, meeting those bright yellow, tear-filled reptilian eyes. He closed his eyes and continued.
"It's just that everyone has dietary restrictions. How could a mother bring herself to eat her own daughter? I, too, detest human flesh, that's all there is to it. But the appetite is undoubtedly the same, and the satisfaction of being full is something everyone understands."
"But you..."
Putato hesitated for a moment before resolutely taking off his coat. He extended his firm right arm toward Yixin and spoke through gritted teeth.
"You surely don't have that many restrictions. As an apology for spoiling the banquet's mood, I'll let you have a taste. After all, we're friends who have deeply exchanged culinary skills."
"Really?!"
"Both things are true! I never lie!"