Zhao Yuan was expressionless while her mind was still reeling from what had happened since she first started her punishment. She had also realized that every task resembled the missions in a game she had played before, and even though she had loved the game as a player, she hated having to serve all those people continuously.
After a few moments of quiet rest, Zhao Yuan decided to stop dallying and got up off the ground resolutely. Her soft pink waitress uniform looked pristine as she smoothed out its nonexistent creases before walking out of the kitchen.
Staring at the well-organized eating area, she couldn't help but remember what had happened before. At the time, she had not thought about everything before attacking him, but now, looking around the empty restaurant, she realized just how dangerous her actions had been. Since this location also had dirty, worn-out people, she could only imagine what would happen this time.
Looking up at the closed restaurant door, she hesitated a bit before walking up to it. She had just touched the door handle when a translucent screen appeared before her:
'To exit, turn to the right.'
Zhao Yuan nervously did as told, but felt her stomach clench when the door clicked open. Taking in deep, calming breaths, she squared her shoulders before slowly pulling the door open. Her body froze in place as she stared out of the restaurant and into the enclosed residential space in front of it—a plaza filled with numerous high-rise buildings encircling the shop.
Now, the space was occupied by a messy crowd, all of whom turned to her with hunger-filled eyes. Zhao Yuan felt her heart skip a beat at the sight while her body froze in fear. Her skin felt prickly as every curious gaze fell upon her.
Two seconds or five seconds of their staring was all it took to send her into a frenzy before she quickly closed the door.
Not again, she cursed internally before quickly running to the kitchen and furiously typing on the screen.
'I am in danger again!'
The system was not shocked to receive such a report and calmly sent back a reply:
'You're not.'
Seeing this response, Zhao Yuan almost smacked the screen as she fumed, wondering what it meant by saying that when the restaurant was already surrounded by hungry people.
'A crowd has formed outside, I am in danger!' She typed back a response, thinking that maybe the system could not see what was happening outside.
'You're not.'
The system sent back the same answer, making her curse before she tried to calm down and think.
Since she had gotten here, she had noticed the state everyone was in, but she had not thought much about it. But after seeing them in a group, she noticed they all seemed to be in various states of duress, and that could only mean that something bad had happened in this world. Thinking back to their dirty, unkempt looks, Zhao Yuan could only guess they were refugees running from something, though from what, she did not know.
All that mattered was that she was the only one who had food. A lonely woman with food and the resources to remain clean was the perfect target for refugees who would do anything to survive.
"Damn it!" Zhao Yuan cursed before she quickly walked to the nearest window and carefully peeked outside.
The group was still in the same place and seemed to be discussing something very heatedly. Zhao Yuan could almost bet they were discussing how to steal from her. Her eyes grew focused before she quickly rushed to the kitchen and checked the metallic chute that had dispensed potatoes every time. It was empty. Staring at the empty chute, she shook her head before looking around the kitchen. She ran to the massive fridge and pulled it open, only to find it empty as well.
No food. There was no food in this place! If they came in and found no food, wouldn't they torture her just to find out where she had hidden it?
"No, I can't let that happen!" she exclaimed before walking back to the screen on the counter.
'Can I change locations?' she typed in and patiently waited for a response.
'Yes,' the system replied, making her smile before making a request.
'Please change location.'
Seeing her request, Qiao Lu scoffed before responding with a resounding No.
Staring down at the curt response, Zhao Yuan was confused before typing in a different question:
'What do I have to do to change locations?'
Since the system said she could change locations, she first wondered if she had to accomplish a task to have her location changed.
'Finish all tasks in a location to move to another.'
Seeing the response prove her deduction, Zhao Yuan smiled before nodding resolutely.
"I can do this," she hyped herself up before quickly running to the counter and standing there.
After a second, nothing had happened, making her eyes go wide while she stared around her before moving to the counter and choosing to continue the punishment.
Potatoes appeared in the chute right after the bell let out its tune, making her smile before she started processing them. After a couple of hours of serving customers, her muscles had somewhat formed a muscle memory of the actions, giving her the ability to quickly serve wave after wave of customers.
As she served, she noticed that different people entered every time, which meant she could probably move to a different restaurant after serving everyone. Even though she was not sure how many people were in this place, she decided not to stop, even when she felt as if her arms were about to fall off.
Her conjecture was proven right hours later when the screen appeared before her eyes. This time, it looked different, featuring a brighter background with what seemed to be a live show of fireworks congratulating her.
Below the screen, she saw the words she had been waiting for all night: she had unlocked a new restaurant. She quickly pressed the Continue button.