"Old Mo must have considered this from the very beginning, which is why he anchored himself as a blue pocket chef," Mao Feiyang mused, "He disguised himself with the most common appearance of a service-type chef to avoid causing too much panic."

Just at that moment, in the area behind the plastic strip curtain of the Student Cafeteria, one by one, the incandescent lights sparked up like flint igniting, then "Putt putt putt putt..." successively lit up.

—Time had come to May 8 at 5:40, and the lights in the Cafeteria were on.

"We can go in now." Mu Daxian glanced at the clock near the passage entrance, checked the time, and then reached out to push aside the plastic curtain.

But just as he stepped into the Student Cafeteria, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he said, "Oh, by the way... just consider the things I just told you as a story, because my memories of the past might have some issues."

"Ah?" Mao Feiyang was taken aback, blurted out almost instinctively, "Your memory has problems? Have you also had your memory modified?"

"'Also'?" Mu Daxian had not intended to say more, but he caught onto a curious phrase.

Mao Feiyang froze for a moment: "Yeah, why did I say...'also'?"

Mu Daxian gave him a deep look, then seemed contemplative, but he quickly noticed Mao Feiyang was also damned contemplative, so he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "The details may vary, but the general essence won't change... Let's go."

With that, he dived into the Student Cafeteria.

...

The Student Cafeteria at 5:40 could only be described as deserted, because Experience Students were not allowed to leave the Teaching Building until 6 o'clock, so Mu Daxian and Mao Feiyang became the earliest people to enter the Cafeteria.

The moment Mao Feiyang stepped into the Cafeteria, Lin Yi, as if he had caught onto some detail, subconsciously looked in a certain direction.

It was towards the Staff Passage, where a chef had positioned a garbage bin and then turned to leave. Through the lingering visual afterimage, Lin Yi felt that chef seemed to be wearing a black pocket...

And outside the Staff Passage, in some spot, lurked an undissipating mist, within which seemed to be a tall figure.

It was as if he were waiting for something, but unfortunately, Mao Feiyang followed Mu Daxian into the Cafeteria, so Lin Yi didn't have much time to observe.

Lin Yi suspected it was a Security Guard because, according to the pattern, security would take a Pocket Chef with a blue lapel to deliver meals to the homeroom teachers, so it made sense for one to come at this time to pick up the chef.

But he couldn't confirm it, as his viewpoint followed Mao Feiyang into the Student Cafeteria.

Due to a layering issue, the lighting in the cafeteria maintained a pale, grayish tint, making the entire Student Cafeteria look like one of those gray films from the 1960s.

From Lin Yi's perspective, every chef in the five meal windows and at meal window number 10 was busy doing their work, sorting the Tomato dishes, preparing the plates, while the other chefs, who were not busy, curiously shifted their gaze to Mu Daxian and Mao Feiyang.

Although the Cafeteria was supposed to start operating at 5:40, in reality, there wouldn't be any "students" around at that time, whether it was from the Teaching Building or the dorms, as no one was allowed to leave until six o'clock.

So gradually, they became the focal point of all the chefs' attention...

This feeling of being watched was odd, momentarily making it unclear whether they had come to eat breakfast in the Cafeteria or to offer themselves as breakfast.

Mu Daxian surveyed the Cafeteria and then headed straight for meal window number 1, casually ordered some breakfast, and left.

Mao Feiyang hurriedly followed, copied the same moves, and lined up to say, "I'll have the same," before also carrying his plate and walking away.

Throughout the process, neither of them made any unnecessary card-swiping gestures, and the Cafeteria Auntie in a blue pocket didn't seem to have any intention of stopping them.

After they finished their meal, he observed them as they carried away their trays, his eyes slightly cold, wondering about something.

Mu Daxian casually took a seat, then bit into a sour pickle and began to gulp down his porridge, "Hurry up and eat; the convenience store hasn't 'opened' yet, but it should be soon."

"Oh, okay," Mao Feiyang quickly slurped down his porridge, but suddenly noticed that a tomato had appeared on both of their plates out of nowhere.

This tomato was covered with dew, looking as if it had just been plucked from a rain-soaked tree, its vibrant crimson color so enticing that one couldn't help wanting to taste it.

"What the...?!" Mao Feiyang's voice trembled abruptly, as if he had seen something terrifying.

He turned his head instinctively, only to see that next to the card reader at Window 1, a chef wearing a green apron had appeared from nowhere.

The green-aproned chef had been staring at them, and now, as Mao Feiyang turned his head, their eyes met.

"Holy shit!" Mu Daxian had, of course, noticed the tomato, but it wasn't until Mao Feiyang noticed the green-aproned chef that he cursed under his breath.

The green-aproned chef quickly attracted Mao Feiyang's attention, then left its original spot and started to slowly approach them.

"Brother Xian!" Mao Feiyang couldn't help but alert him.

"I feel it, keep eating," Mu Daxian said, head down in his porridge, but seeing Mao Feiyang still anxious, he emphasized, "Listen to me, con•tin•ue to eat your porridge."

"Uh... okay," Mao Feiyang shrunk back down and continued with his porridge, but he was distracted, all his thoughts on the green-aproned chef closing in, even the act of drinking porridge reminded him of the meme of a silly dog slugging water and blowing bubbles.

"Fellow student... try the tomato..."

The green-aproned chef approached with that barely audible, ghostly voice, causing Mao Feiyang's hair to stand on end, and he clenched his clothes tight...

Just then, Mu Daxian put down his bowl.

"Duck."

"?" Mao Feiyang was taken aback, but then saw Mu Daxian's hand resting on the drawing board...

"Holy crap!" Mao Feiyang suddenly realized something, ducked down like a turtle, and immediately after, Mu Daxian pulled out the drawing board from behind, swung it like a strongman wielding a hammer, and hit the green-aproned chef square on.

"Boom—"

With a muffled sound, the green-aproned chef went flying back like a cannonball.

Mu Daxian propped himself up with one hand on the table, nimbly slid out from the chair, and performed a perfect Thomas spin landing on the ground.

Without waiting for the green-aproned chef to get up, Mu Daxian swiftly followed up with another attack, a side kick landed squarely in the green-aproned chef's stomach, kicking him towards the Student Cafeteria exit, then he furiously threw the tomato after him.

The green-aproned chef instinctively tried to dodge, but quickly realized the tomato wasn't aimed at him.

The tomato, like a baseball, shot out, skimmed past the green-aproned chef's body, and hit hard against the plastic curtain behind him!

The green-aproned chef, just steadied from Mu Daxian's previous assault, was directly in front of the plastic curtain when the tomato lifted a corner of it...

The green-aproned chef suddenly shuddered. It "couldn't see" anything, all of its actions were based on induction to lock onto its target, but the moment the plastic curtain lifted a corner, it sensed something locking onto it in return—

It was Old Mo.

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