Sometimes fate was simply that absurd. Ye Qianfan had been away from A City for less than two days, yet he was already preparing to return.
Unlike the unease he had felt the first time he went to A City, Ye Qianfan was now extraordinarily calm. He had focused all his energy on that miraculous space.
Not everything could be exchanged for currency there. Ye Qianfan tried all kinds of objects. He even brought in a piece of gold, yet the amount of currency he received was pitifully small. After an entire week of exchanging countless items, he had gained only two points.
That was an extremely bad situation. He would be leaving for A City at the end of the month. If he could not obtain enough currency, Ye Qianfan found it difficult to imagine what might happen to him.
The awkward situation continued, leaving Ye Qianfan in very poor spirits. At night he often could not sleep, his mind filled with all kinds of strange thoughts.
To keep Jia Yuxing from worrying, Ye Qianfan forced himself to stay energetic during the day and spend time with him. Only at night could he continue his research.
As the date of departure drew closer and closer, just when Ye Qianfan believed he would have no choice but to set out with his remaining nine points, a turning point finally appeared.
It happened one afternoon. With his nerves stretched taut, Ye Qianfan was idly flipping through a cookbook. Jia Yuxing owned a large collection of books, including many rare editions.
As Ye Qianfan read, he gradually grew drowsy and fell asleep. When he woke again, he discovered that he had somehow entered the space—and he was still holding the cookbook in his hands.
On impulse, Ye Qianfan asked, “How much currency can this book be exchanged for?”
A number appeared in front of him that nearly made his jaw drop. 100. It was worth ten times as much as the diamond ring that had cost hundreds of thousands!!!
Wild joy swept through Ye Qianfan at once. His hands began trembling. He did not even make the exchange. Instead, he immediately left the space and, like a madman, gathered up books from all over the room.
“How much currency can each of these books be exchanged for?” Ye Qianfan asked breathlessly, unable to hide his delight. But when the space displayed their exchange values, the result was nowhere near as generous as he had imagined.
He had brought in more than a dozen books. Only two were worth 100 points. The rest were worth fractions of a point. Ye Qianfan picked up the two exceptionally valuable books and discovered that they had one thing in common.
Both were cookbooks. “…Could it be…” Ye Qianfan drew in a breath. “Only cookbooks are valuable?” The realization made his entire body tremble with excitement. At last, he had found something capable of supporting his long-term purchases in the space.
Further experiments confirmed Ye Qianfan’s guess. He also discovered that the rarer a cookbook was, the more currency it could be exchanged for. One ancient cookbook in Jia Yuxing’s collection could even be exchanged for 2,000 points.
But that book was one of Jia Yuxing’s treasures. Ye Qianfan would never dare touch it. He merely exchanged several relatively common cookbooks he had nearby. At last, the weight that had been hanging over his heart eased.
With this currency, Ye Qianfan had finally bought himself some insurance for his life.
The discovery that cookbooks could be exchanged for large amounts of currency made Ye Qianfan feel as though he had vaguely grasped something important. Yet he could not quite identify it, so for the time being he could only set the thought aside.
The closer the day of departure came, the more awkward the atmosphere between Ye Qianfan and Jia Yuxing became. Perhaps unable to accept the reality that Ye Qianfan was going in his place to what might be his death, Jia Yuxing remained depressed. No matter how Ye Qianfan tried to coax him, the old man never smiled.
Eventually, Ye Qianfan gave up as well. He had solved the currency problem, so the great stone pressing on his heart had finally fallen away. Seeing Jia Yuxing constantly wearing a worried expression, Ye Qianfan had no idea how to comfort his master. In the end, he simply began using ingredients from the space to cook for Jia Yuxing every day. Watching Jia Yuxing’s appetite grow larger and larger made Ye Qianfan feel a little better too.
A few days before his departure, Ye Qianfan found time to go to a bookstore and buy a large stack of cookbooks. He exchanged all of them for currency, then looked in satisfaction at the red number on his wrist. “6320.”
With that much currency, and with the ingredients in the space so cheap, it should last him a very long time. Ye Qianfan completed his final preparations and began waiting for the day he would leave.
No matter how unwilling Jia Yuxing was, time would not stop for him. One month later, Ye Qianfan finally had to set out for A City.
The people sent to escort Ye Qianfan were all fully armed. Anyone who did not know the situation might have assumed Ye Qianfan was some kind of serious criminal. From that alone, it was clear that this journey might not be as simple as Ye Qianfan had imagined.
When it was time to part, Jia Yuxing finally could not hold back his tears. The white-haired old man cried like a child. His eyes were filled with regret and pain as he looked at Ye Qianfan. He regretted it. He truly regretted it. No matter how stubborn this disciple was, Jia Yuxing should never have agreed to let Ye Qianfan take his place in this matter. The boy had hardly enjoyed any happiness in his entire life. If he simply disappeared like this, Jia Yuxing did not know whether he would have the face to go on living.
“Master.” The heavy atmosphere made Ye Qianfan sad too, but he smiled. “Why are you crying? It isn’t as though I’m never coming back.”
“Right, right.” You Guanshan’s eyes were red too. “Master… Junior Brother isn’t never coming back. Don’t… cry.”
“I won’t cry. I won’t cry.” Jia Yuxing murmured, “Qianfan, your master was planning to give that restaurant to you as a gift… and now you’re leaving again. When you come back. When you come back…”
“It’s time.” The escort shattered the warm moment. The man leading them looked expressionlessly at Ye Qianfan. “Let’s go.”
“Master, I’m leaving.” After those final words, Ye Qianfan followed the man onto the helicopter.
They said they were going to A City, yet the scenery Ye Qianfan saw below the window was completely unfamiliar. The weather was exceptionally clear that day. Through the clouds, Ye Qianfan could clearly see a vast expanse of lush green forest below.
How could there possibly be so many trees in A City…?
Perhaps noticing the confusion on Ye Qianfan’s face, the man leading the escort spoke in a flat voice. “There are some things you shouldn’t ask about. Concentrate on cooking your food. Knowing too much is not a good thing.”
“Thank you for the warning, Brother.” Ye Qianfan was not someone who failed to recognize good intentions. He obediently lowered his head and stopped looking around.
Ye Qianfan had boarded the aircraft feeling tense. He had never expected that as the flight continued, he would actually lean against the seat and fall asleep. He did not wake until they reached their destination and someone called him.
“We’re here, young chef. Wake up.” Ye Qianfan opened his eyes groggily, answered with a vague “oh,” then followed the others off the helicopter with a dazed expression. He did not notice the faint surprise in their eyes. They had escorted plenty of people here before, but someone as relaxed as Ye Qianfan… really was a first.
The helicopter had landed in the middle of a dense forest. The moment Ye Qianfan stepped out, he saw a massive building. Tall walls surrounded it, topped with electric fencing. Every dozen meters or so, armed police carrying machine guns patrolled the perimeter.
Wasn’t this level of security a little excessive? Ye Qianfan’s heart sank sharply.
The escort leader was apparently a regular visitor. After the guards checked his identification, one of them even glanced at Ye Qianfan with an expression that seemed to say: Another new one?
“Let’s go.” The leader said nothing more. He brought Ye Qianfan inside the building and arranged a room for him.
“You can’t wander around here,” the man told him. “There’s a computer in the room, but it can’t connect to the outside internet. Get some rest early today. I’ll come for you first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.” Ye Qianfan could only respond politely. He was an ordinary civilian; he had never seen anything like this in his life.
“…Don’t wander around.” The leader looked at Ye Qianfan, hesitated as though wanting to say something, then after a moment lowered his voice. “The last chef who wandered around was shot dead on the spot.”
“…” Ye Qianfan’s expression twisted as he watched the man leave after saying that. Heavens. Where exactly had he been brought?
The heart Ye Qianfan had finally managed to settle rose back into his throat. His mind had already begun constructing an image of the monster imprisoned here… Cooking food that could satisfy a monster really was a test of courage. But worrying would not help.
He was already here. He could only make the best of it and face tomorrow’s challenge properly. Ye Qianfan inspected the room he had been given.
Other than the fact that he could not leave freely and had no communication devices, the environment was actually quite good. Opening the window revealed an expanse of green outside, and the air was exceptionally clean.
He turned on the computer and discovered that it even contained several offline games. After playing for a while, Ye Qianfan grew sleepy. He shut the computer down, washed up in the bathroom, and went to bed.
He had originally worried that he might suffer from insomnia. Instead, the moment he closed his eyes, he fell straight asleep.