Chapter 31 Part 1

At that moment, no one in the cabin would treat the family as humans anymore, no matter how human they appeared.

Whose skin would melt like a candle?

The male host fetched a chair, and this time the ability users did not refuse. They sat down on the chairs.

Setting aside the fact that the whole family consisted of weird phenomena, they were indeed an enthusiastic and hospitable bunch.

The problem was, no one could set that aside!

Who would dare eat food made by weird phenomena?

No matter how fragrant it was!

Sheng Tianzong and the others sat at the table, with the male host placing quite a few dishes into the bowls in front of them.

“This dish is my wife’s specialty. You must try it.” As he spoke, the male host picked up a piece of chicken and placed it into Sheng Tianzong’s bowl.

After serving it, he looked at the group who sat motionless, seemingly reserved, and smiled as he asked, “Eat up. Why aren’t you using your chopsticks?”

He was smiling, yet it inexplicably gave off a creepy vibe.

The young ability user felt his scalp tingle under the man’s gaze. He desperately tried not to show any inappropriate expressions, picking up a piece of meat with somewhat stiff movements.

The meat was fresh and tender, with an alluring aroma that made his stomach rumble.

Saliva secreted, and his body screamed: Eat it, eat it!

The young ability user’s gaze gradually grew dazed. His stiff movements became natural as he brought the piece of meat on his chopsticks bit by bit toward his mouth.

“Gu Kai!”

The young ability user snapped back to his senses, feeling the greasy texture against his lips. He had barely managed to keep his expression in check.

His mind raced, trying to figure out how to naturally avoid eating food that had reached his mouth.

The middle-aged man who had been watching him intently turned icy cold. He stared deathly at him, as if he would strike the moment he discarded the food.

Gu Kai was caught in a dilemma.

Maybe he should just eat it? It was only one piece of meat; it shouldn’t be a big deal. Once the mission was complete, he could ask Doctor Zhuang to purify him.

Gu Kai tried to convince himself as he slowly opened his mouth.

The enticing aroma grew even stronger, and his salivary glands kept producing saliva.

Yes, it was just an ordinary piece of meat. Eating a little bit wouldn’t hurt.

Having convinced himself, Gu Kai opened his mouth wider, and the piece of meat was fed inside bit by bit.

The eyes of everyone in the family gathered on Gu Kai. As they watched his actions, their gazes brightened more and more, like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, waiting for the prey to fall into the trap.

“Aren’t you allergic?” Lin Juan bumped Gu Kai, and by a stroke of coincidence, he hit the hand holding the chopsticks, knocking the food off.

Whoosh—

The family of four turned toward Lin Juan in unison.

They no longer felt human. They were like rats hiding in the shadows, unable to see the light, their eyes filled with fury at having their food stolen, ready to pounce at any moment.

“Wasting food is shameful.” The middle-aged woman stared at Lin Juan, blackish-green slime dripping from her eyes. “Those who waste food should be killed!”

She scolded him verbally, but her eyes showed only excitement—like a rat peeking from the sewer, finally waiting for a chance to bite.

You Chuyao, sitting beside Lin Juan, felt her heart leap to her throat. Her hand hanging at her side gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, not daring to move.

Sheng Tianzong and the others prepared to act at any moment.

“He can’t eat it; he’ll have an allergic reaction,” Lin Juan said calmly, as if oblivious to the family’s abnormality, his gaze sincere. “Allergies are scary. You wouldn’t want a nice gathering to turn into a murder scene, right?”

How bold!

Admiration flashed in the ability users’ eyes.

They watched the family of four closely, ready to intervene if they made a sudden move.

Strangely, the female host seemed convinced. She wiped her hands on her apron. “I see. I thought you found my cooking inedible and knocked it off on purpose.”

“How could that be?” Lin Juan deliberately showed a hurt expression. “Thinking that way really wounds me.”

Sheng Tianzong and the others had long known Lin Juan didn’t follow conventional paths, but they hadn’t expected him to be so audacious before weird phenomena—turning black into white like this.

They also realized the family of four seemed bound by some rules and couldn’t harm people casually. Their bodies relaxed a bit.

“This…” The female host suppressed her anger, unable to vent it or act. Her expression turned extremely bizarre for a moment. “So, what does the guest want?”

“You hurt my feelings. Won’t you say ‘sorry’?” Lin Juan made to stand up. “Looks like you’re not really that hospitable after all. I’ll just leave.”

Sheng Tianzong and the others watched wide-eyed as he stood and headed for the door.

Exclamations filled their minds.

“Wait!” The male host stood and tugged the female host. “This was our fault. We apologize. Sorry.”

Lin Juan stopped but did not turn back.

The male host tugged the female host again.

The female host said reluctantly, “Sorry.”

No matter how you listened, it carried a gritted-teeth flavor.

Only then did Lin Juan turn around. “Alright, I forgive you.”

The ability users were speechless. It was the first time they had seen someone force weird phenomena to apologize.

And crucially, it worked.

Lin Juan leisurely pulled out a chair and sat down. Seeing the female host sitting opposite him, he tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Could you switch seats? Sitting across from you affects my appetite a bit.”

The female host endured it again and again but couldn’t hold back. With a boom, she stood up and stormed off.

The young woman stood as well. “I’ll go check on Mom.”

In an instant, only the male host and the young man remained in the living room.

Lin Juan stirred the soup in his bowl, being unreasonable. “The dishes seem cold. I don’t like cold food. Why don’t you heat them up?”

“You!” The young man fumed.

The middle-aged man gave him a deep look and stood. “The guest is right. We’ll heat up the dishes.”

He directed the young man to carry a few dishes while he picked up a large pot, heading toward the door at the far end.

The two children each carried a bowl, wobbling after the adults.

You Chuyao nearly stopped them, but her reason held. She knew it wasn’t the time yet and forcibly held back.

Once everyone had left, the ability users simultaneously exhaled.

“Mr. Lin, you’re the man.” Gu Kai gave a thumbs-up.

“So satisfying,” another ability user sighed. “Watching weird phenomena get owned feels great.”

No one knew how tense they had felt watching Lin Juan confront the weird phenomena, or how satisfying it was to see them left speechless and forced to yield.

With only their own people left in the living room, the Vanguard Squad members had many questions but didn’t know how to broach them.

Lin Juan had no such reservations and asked first, “What are you doing here?”

“We traced the Landlord Family to being devoured by the B-Rank anomaly 【Forest Cabin】 and came to investigate.” Sheng Tianzong explained.

“So the family of four just now was the Landlord Family harmed by the Vine Person?” Lin Juan understood and took the initiative to explain himself. “I took Miss You’s commission to help her find her children.”

“Those two kids?” Gu Kai asked.

“Yes. They must be controlled by something. You said there’s a B-Rank anomaly here—is it this cabin?”

If the entire cabin was the B-Rank anomaly, it made sense why he hadn’t sensed the pollution source after being inside so long: the whole house was the pollution source.

You Chuyao, new to weird phenomena, listened with trepidation. “My children—can they be saved? They don’t recognize me anymore. I… I don’t know what to do.”

“We need to confirm if they’ve fully mutated. As long as it’s not complete mutation, there’s hope.” Sheng Tianzong said.

“What do we do later?” Gu Kai scratched his head. “The Landlord Family insists we eat. Can the food here really be eaten?”

Food made by weird phenomena—they couldn’t bring themselves to eat it, no matter what.

“What were you thinking when you were about to eat earlier?” Lin Juan turned to Gu Kai. Sitting next to him, he had clearly sensed that Gu Kai’s mind had been controlled when he was about to eat.

Gu Kai tried to recall. “I just thought it smelled so good, and eating a little wouldn’t matter. Then…”

At that point, he shuddered in realization. The Vanguard Squad had undergone professional training and knew better than anyone not to casually touch weird items. How could he have thought eating a little was fine?

“I must have been controlled,” Gu Kai quickly realized. “We’re inside the 【Forest Cabin】—it’s easy to be influenced.”

“After all, it’s a B-Rank anomaly. We can’t let our guard down.”

“Yes!”

Lin Juan shared his discovery. “There must be some rules in this house. As the devoured hosts, they have to follow the rules, or else—with how many times I provoked them earlier—they would’ve attacked long ago.”

Lin Juan paused before continuing. “But they didn’t. Not only that, when I made them apologize, they did it even unwillingly. When I made such unreasonable demands, they complied. They’re definitely restricted by some rules.”

“I suspect they can only act against us after we eat their food.”

“Very possible,” Sheng Tianzong pondered. “It seems they’ll definitely make us eat. We can’t stall forever.”

“Can’t we just keep stalling?” Gu Kai asked, puzzled. “Like what Mr. Lin did earlier—keep stirring up trouble.”

The group decided to give it a try.

The reheated food was brought back out.

The Vanguard Squad members imitated Lin Juan, picking faults in various ways. The family of four endured at first, but after several rounds, the looks they gave held not just forbearance but something else.

An indescribable excitement.

Lin Juan and Sheng Tianzong exchanged a glance and stopped the ability users from continuing.

Lin Juan clearly saw a flash of disappointment in the male host’s eyes.

They hoped the group would keep causing trouble.

Why the attitude shift?

Was it because a new rule against them had formed?

Could the hosts counterattack after a certain level of troublemaking?

“This steak is pretty good.” Lin Juan cut into the perfectly presented steak on the plate in front of him. Last time, Lu Yanzhou had told him to try his cooking. When they got back, he’d have Lu Yanzhou make some for him.

As he cut, Lin Juan’s thoughts wandered aimlessly. Soon, the steak was diced into uneven pieces piled on the plate.

“Sorry, I’m not used to Western food and don’t know how to use the knife and fork well.” Though he said sorry, there wasn’t a hint of apology in his tone.

He speared a piece and held it under the light, examining it closely.

Nothing unusual—just ordinary meat.

“The guest can savor it properly. My steak is no worse than anything from a Michelin restaurant.” The male host spoke with a gritted-teeth undertone.

It wasn’t surprising—whoever was nitpicked by four or five people, having a meal remade seven or eight times from Chinese to Western cuisine, would be irritated.

He stared intently at Lin Juan, hoping he would eat the steak while also hoping he would keep nitpicking. Just one more time, and they could feast.

After all, even the most hospitable host would get angry after repeated guest complaints. That fit the rules.

Unfortunately, Lin Juan didn’t continue.

After inspecting the steak, he put it back on the plate.

The male host’s gaze followed his movements. With no more worries and unafraid of further trouble, he asked maliciously, “Why isn’t the guest eating?”