Chapter 12: Monster Desserts

Most desserts were beautiful.

Some were very strange.

One cup dessert had tentacles sticking out—a monster dessert.

A pudding cup held a moving eyeball.

A monster ghost ice cream, propped on an iron stand, screamed with flames on its body.

Monster desserts were popular online.

There were cakes, one with a rabbit beside it.

The rabbit’s tail was part of the dessert, lifelike but inedible.

“Hey, hey?”

Bai Mingliu called Zixueta twice, seeing she wasn’t listening.

Zixueta turned to him: “Hmm?”

Thinking of the food at her place, Bai Mingliu said: “Want something? I’ll grab you something special.”

He went to another table, checking dishes.

Soon, he found one to recommend.

He brought over a plate, not ordinary but coffin-shaped, made of special cookies.

Inside was a skeleton in a dress, sleeping, covered in clear shaved ice.

The dessert caught Zixueta’s attention.

Bai Mingliu handed it to her: “You changed clothes, but I haven’t.”

He looked around: “Oh? Seems I don’t need to. The system here recognizes me, knows my status. Eat here. I’ll scout for info.”

He rarely went unrecognized.

New clothes and makeup made him less noticeable.

He started gathering info by greeting others, acting familiar.

Zixueta picked an ice cream, eating while moving.

Biting the monster ghost ice cream, its screams stopped, showing a content face as it melted.

Some nobles ate at tables, others danced nearby.

They knocked over tables and chairs, leaving them without care.

Uneaten food was left behind.

When cleaning robots tidied the venue, electronic trash bins filled up.

Zixueta watched people enjoy themselves while robots worked.

She approached a robot, saw trash in an electronic bin, and frowned.

Her good mood from tasty food vanished.

Her face darkened.

Bai Mingliu wasn’t nearby.

She noticed people in a meeting hall ahead, discussing something.

She walked over.

The hall was open; no one stopped her.

She approached but couldn’t hear clearly.

Someone in the hall used magic.

Zixueta hit a transparent barrier.

It was passable, but not in her current state.

She stepped back, thinking: ‘Sound barrier? Then use magic. Magic can pierce it.’

No wonder no one came—high-level magic wasn’t for ordinary people.

She cast a spell.

It let her pass the barrier and hide inside, but she still couldn’t hear.

Their voices were too soft.

Zixueta pulled out a toy mouse and sent it over.

The mouse, modeled after human-world animals, acted as her spy.

It scurried under noble chairs.

She activated an electronic microphone to listen.

The nobles used translators, speaking different languages, some dialects.

The machine translated for them.

Zixueta heard dual-audio discussions about blood race court affairs.

“The chef is the king’s favorite.”

“He makes popular dishes, but so what? Just food. How else does he ignore us after gaining favor?”

“He used to seek us for deals. Must’ve put drugs in his food—why else work with us?”

“Now he doesn’t come to us.”

“Should we sell him the new product? He hasn’t contacted us, so he doesn’t know the drug’s improved, more tempting than before.”

“Sell it. Didn’t he say to inform him of new products?”

“But that’ll anger the king more. We haven’t been exposed yet. Before, we didn’t know our goods were drugs. Now we know and still plan to deal with him. That’s different. The king won’t spare us if he finds out!”

“Heh, if we don’t sell, the king will still come after us for hiding new products.”

“So we’re stuck either way?”

They were troubled about the drug issue.

Zixueta’s mouse hadn’t lingered long under the chairs when a noble sensed something.

One said: “Why do I smell milk?”

Bai Mingliu, failing to mingle, returned for Zixueta.

Not finding her at the table, he shouted: “Zixueta! Little Na!”

His shout drew the nobles’ attention, interrupting their talk.

It annoyed them.

Several nobles approached.

Two stayed behind.

As they came toward Bai Mingliu, they didn’t spot Zixueta.

Bai Mingliu saw her hiding in a cabinet, her skirt hem peeking out.

He asked, puzzled: “Little Na, why’re you hiding in the food cabinet?”

The two nobles heard him and stood.

At that moment, the toy mouse, thinking its task done, darted to its owner.

It ran to the cabinet, exposing Zixueta.

The two nobles exchanged a knowing glance.

They walked over and opened the cabinet door.

Zixueta was inside.

The toy mouse reached her and vanished, returning to its origin.

One noble smiled: “Little sister, what’re you doing here? Hmm?”

Zixueta stepped out, unhappy: “I said I’m not little sister!”

She held something in her hand.

With two nobles approaching, she’d prepared.

Now exposed, the other nobles didn’t return.

They stayed near Bai Mingliu, watching Zixueta and the two nobles.