I, Lu, am just easily soft-hearted.

Let them judge?

This is like a giant lantern in the toilet—are you asking for trouble?!

They both understood the situation of these two women.

First and foremost, it's about appearance!

They are both very knowledgeable and worldly-wise!

With such an appearance that surpasses the limits of human potential, how could that person possibly be human?

Moreover, they both witnessed firsthand how their companion died.

Some people die from suffocation due to reversed breathing.

Some also die suddenly from being parasitized by mitosis.

They both now feel that they have been parasitized as well.

How do you explain this?

Offending either of these two monsters is certain death!

Xing Tian was racking his brains trying to figure out how to say something that would offend neither side.

Although he was big and burly, he was able to become the captain not simply because of his strength.

He kept trying to signal to Akagi with his eyes, telling him to be careful too.

But Akagi seemed not to notice, and after a moment's thought, he began his performance.

"I think Miss Luo wins this time."

He looked very serious. "In the end, food is just food. Its only useful thing is its taste. Any other value is just so-called value added to food."

"If we're being objective, good ingredients certainly have their merits. So, purely from a taste perspective, Ms. Luo definitely wins."

Xing Tian stared at him in disbelief.

You're so brave!

How come I never noticed before?

Don't you understand that the price of being a rational and objective person is offending both sides?

Lu Li was also a little surprised.

How can this person be so fierce?

His words seemed to be on Miss Luo's side, but in reality, he offended both of them.

First, it directly negates Miss Bai and Miss Luo's original intentions.

Both of them said the theme was "home," so what you said is meaningless.

If you then say that Miss Luo's cooking is better, then you've already been sentenced to death by Miss Bai.

The key point is... you said the ingredients themselves are excellent enough, doesn't that also negate Miss Luo's cooking skills?

Lu Li observed everyone's expressions.

Xing Tian was just as surprised as he was, which was understandable.

The key is the reaction of those two female monsters.

Hmm... they didn't react at all.

Miss Bai's gaze undoubtedly fell on herself.

Miss Luo is the same.

That means they didn't pay any attention to what the blond-haired Akagi said at all.

But Lu Li noticed something was wrong.

This Akagi... his eyes are filled with extreme fear now.

And they were anxious.

However, his expression remained calm, and he continued to speak incoherently, saying things that were biased towards Miss Luo, but not entirely biased towards her.

Then, in the next moment, his head exploded.

It's like popcorn.

Red and white splattered all over Xing Tian.

Akagi collapsed to the ground, his jaw and everything above his jaw disappearing, leaving only his lower teeth and tongue twitching.

Lu Li remained completely unmoved.

He himself found it quite strange that he felt no emotional reaction in the face of such a scene.

It's not that there were no fluctuations, but rather a sense of helplessness.

Unfortunately, my floor got dirty, and cleaning it up will be a real hassle.

Am I, Lu, born a cold-blooded creature?

That's impossible.

But these guys have to die.

Lu Li turned to Xing Tian and said, "Mr. Xing, please begin your judgment."

Xing Tian looked at Lu Li, his eyes filled with despair.

At this moment, he was like Guan Yu before Maicheng, Ma Su at Jieting, and Xiang Yu surrounded by enemies.

While it can't be said that there's always a way out, at the very least, it's a point of no return.

At this moment, various scenes of near-death experiences from the past began to replay in Xing Tian's mind.

The helplessness of facing the invulnerable flying zombies in Blood Manor.

The helplessness of the villagers facing the vengeful ghosts of the entire village in the short-lived village.

The Sword Qi Manor felt extremely uneasy when facing the world's number one swordsman.

There was also the resentment he felt when facing the Japanese pirates and their immortal ninjas during the Imjin War.

This is a revolving lantern of life.

But Xing Tian astutely seized this opportunity!

He wanted to find a way out by drawing on his past experiences of narrowly escaping death!

Then... he realized it was completely useless.

This situation is different from the past.

His life or death depended solely on his opinion of a meal.

He had never experienced before the despair and helplessness of an ant facing a god who controls its life and death.

Just outrageous!

How could there be such a mission?

Survive against three monsters comparable to gods...

No wonder there was only one mission! And it was just a simple requirement to survive for three days!

As a result, of the six people who were full of confidence at the beginning, five had already died in less than two and a half days!

There wasn't even a single battle!

But this kind of world is the most terrifying.

But Xing Tian wanted to live.

He still has unfinished business, and he still has his own obsessions.

So... he has to save himself!

He took a deep breath and had an idea.

"Actually, I couldn't taste any flavor in these dishes."

He looked up, his expression extremely serious. "But I tasted the emotion inside! That overflowing emotion completely overwhelmed the flavor of the food itself. Or rather, compared to that emotion, the flavor was actually unimportant."

Those dishes were filled with emotion.

Lu Li was also a little surprised.

This guy looks big and burly, but I didn't expect him to be so talkative.

You can only say as much as you can.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make.

And he was clearly extremely nervous.

Lu Li could see his soaked back and trembling legs.

"However, these feelings are not directed at me, so I have no right to judge them."

Xing Tian suddenly changed his tone and turned to look at Lu Li, "So let the person who is truly qualified to evaluate make the final summary."

Lu Li: "..."

You're pretty good at shifting the blame!

But for some reason, he felt a little soft-hearted the moment he met Xing Tian's gaze.

What kind of look is that?

A plea, an entreaty, a fear, and a slightly awkward smile.

Lu Li had seen that look before, many times.

He was still working at the company at that time.

He had seen similar looks and expressions on the faces of many of his colleagues.

I saw it on the face of one of my male colleagues in his thirties.

The face of a male colleague in his thirties or forties who is married, has children, and still has to pay a mortgage every month.

When they meet with their superiors, when they are persuaded to resign by their superiors, and after they have been reprimanded by their superiors.

Because of family concerns, even if he was slapped on the left cheek, he could only smile and offer his right cheek.

After being reprimanded by leaders who were younger than them, they still had to pretend nothing had happened and say a few boastful words in front of everyone.

The expressions and eyes on their faces back then were exactly the same as Xing Tian's now.

Their greatest hobby is fishing.

His catchphrase is: "When I'm unhappy, I go fishing. When I go fishing, my wife gets unhappy. When my wife is unhappy, I'm unhappy. When I'm unhappy, I go fishing."

Lu Li resigned and ran away because she couldn't stand this.

Of course, it's not that I can't stand fishing.

Seeing Xing Tian with the same expression and look in his eyes, he admitted that he had softened.

"You can leave now."

Lu Li's sudden words caught Xing Tian off guard.

After a few seconds, he looked up in astonishment. "What did you say?"

Did he mishear?

Is this monster planning to let him go?

"I told you to go." Lu Li took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then handed one to him as well.

He then took out a silver chrome-plated Zippo lighter, turned it on, and flicked the flint to create sparks that ignited the oil-soaked wick.

A cluster of orange flames flickered, igniting a bright red glow at the end of the cigarette.

Lu Li slowly exhaled two puffs of smoke from his nostrils and said calmly, "Live well, and try not to harm others."

Xing Tian stared at him blankly, then looked at Bai Muli and Luo Qianning.

Both girls simply gazed at Lu Li with smiles, showing no intention of looking at him at all.

Xing Tian gritted his teeth, took the ring off his finger, and handed it to Lu Li. "This is a 'mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru.' As long as you wear it on your hand, you can take things out of it with your mind. The things inside are all collected by me. I hope they will be useful to you."

Lu Li took the ring and put it aside without saying a word.

Xing Tian stood up, bowed to him, then quickly pushed open the door and left.

He's leaving the city! And then he'll get through tonight!

He can leave as soon as it gets light tomorrow!

Hearing the footsteps outside gradually fading away, Lu Li sighed.

He was somewhat self-deprecating.

In a novel, he probably wouldn't be able to be that kind of "decisive and ruthless" protagonist.

Well, being a minor, ordinary supporting character with a few flaws isn't so bad either.

"It's alright, Mr. Lu~" Miss Bai had somehow moved to his left and even held his hand. "This is the Mr. Lu I love."

I'm sorry, Mr. Lu is not yours.

Miss Luo sat down on the other side of Lu Li. Her heterochromatic eyes were curved, and there were emotions in them that Lu Li couldn't quite understand.

[That's the Mr. Lu I know—the one who's easily moved to pity yet ruthless in crucial moments.]

Looking at the two yokai girls whose appearances surpassed the limits of human beauty, with a faint floral and delicate fragrance lingering around their noses, Lu Li was at a loss for words.

After a long pause, he blurted out a sentence.

"I think... that dish was indeed a bit salty. And of course, the seafood was a bit fishy too."

"..."

"..."

Miss Bai and Miss Luo's smiles froze on their faces.