Chapter 4: The Glutton

After placing their orders, while they waited for the food to arrive, Su Yi and Yang Yingjia began to chat about their work. Through the conversation, Su Yi learned that Dan Wan and Yang Yingjia both worked at an internet company on the twelfth floor of their office building, though they were in different departments. In fact, Yang Yingjia had been promoted to department supervisor just a year ago.

Unlike Su Yi, both Dan Wan and Yang Yingjia were natives of Zhonghai, their families living in the suburban districts under the city’s administration.

“By the way, Su Yi, I remember you’re from Min Province, right? What made you decide to come to Zhonghai for work?” Yang Yingjia asked curiously.

“After graduating, I worked back home for about a year, switched jobs several times, but the pay was only two or three thousand. Plus, the work didn’t match my degree, so after struggling for a while, I decided to come to Zhonghai,” Su Yi explained simply.

The topic of work made Su Yi feel a headache coming on. According to that mysterious voice, in a week he would have to enter the so-called “Replica World,” and might have to stay there for a month. He wasn’t sure if time flowed the same there as in the real world, but he knew he needed to prepare.

Soon, the dishes arrived. Su Yi served rice for the two women and then picked up his own bowl to eat.

The moment he started, Su Yi immediately sensed something was off. For no apparent reason, his appetite was enormous—like he’d just finished a day of exhausting manual labor and was ravenous.

Usually, Su Yi’s lunch was a single-portion takeaway, and though he’d been to this restaurant only a few times, he remembered the food here was just above average. Yet today, the three dishes and one soup on the table looked like a feast of rare delicacies, and he was tempted to devour everything.

Driven by hunger, Su Yi polished off two large bowls of rice in one go. Normally, that would have been his standard portion, but today he felt not the slightest bit full.

Soon, he called over a server, asking for more rice and ordered another dish as well.

“Could you please bring me about five bowls’ worth—oh, no, make that three bowls’ worth—of rice?” he requested.

Noticing the surprised looks from Dan Wan and Yang Yingjia, Su Yi felt a little embarrassed and forced out an explanation. “I worked overtime last night, ended up falling asleep at my desk, skipped breakfast, so I guess I’m just extra hungry today.”

“No worries, but you should really take care of your health,” the two women laughed, finding him refreshingly candid. It was the first time they’d seen a peer—especially a man—eat with such gusto in front of women.

Fortunately, the women ate slowly, so by the time they were full, Su Yi had managed to finish off every last grain of rice and dish on the table without missing a beat.

After settling the bill, the three exchanged WeChat contacts and returned to their office building.

At this hour, the elevators were packed. Su Yi, ever the gentleman, let the women go ahead, saying he’d wait for the next one.

They waved their goodbyes.

Once the elevator began to rise, Su Yi stood in the lobby, touching his still-flat stomach and muttered, “I still feel hungry.” He turned and walked back outside.

His sudden surge in appetite, Su Yi thought, was probably connected to what he’d heard upon his return—that his body would undergo something called “overlimit enhancement” and would consume vast amounts of energy. He didn’t know exactly what that meant, but from the sound of it, it seemed like a good thing.

Feeling as though he could eat a whole cow, Su Yi knew the best option was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

With more than half an hour before he had to be back at work, Su Yi went to the nearest buffet.

At 12:50 p.m., he walked into a nearby buffet restaurant called “Le Shuan Grill.”

Though it was nearly one o’clock, the restaurant was still busier than most, and Su Yi found a seat, ordered the cheapest set meal at seventy-eight yuan, and headed straight for the food area.

In a metropolis of ten million like Zhonghai, prices were high, and a buffet for a few dozen yuan wouldn’t offer any luxury ingredients. With the lunch rush winding down, only the unpopular frozen processed meats were left.

He filled two plates with meat, returned to his table, then went to the dessert section and grabbed a heap of high-calorie treats. Then he began to feast.

In just over five minutes, he’d finished everything. He returned for the same amount again.

On his third trip with a full load, a server on patrol approached.

“Sir, just to remind you, according to our policy, if you leave too much food uneaten, we won’t refund your thirty-yuan deposit.”

“Oh, thanks for letting me know,” Su Yi replied absentmindedly, focusing on his meal.

A fourth round.

A fifth.

A sixth.

A seventh.

After more than half an hour, Su Yi was the last customer in the restaurant. Seeing the food area nearly picked clean, he finally decided to end his lunch and strode out under the astonished gazes of the staff and cashier, who looked at him as if he were a monster.

“What kind of person is that?”

“I’ve never seen anyone eat so much!”

Su Yi, of course, ignored the whispers behind him. At that moment, he felt a warm current spreading through his entire body, as if some heat was radiating outward, while a tingling sensation swept over him. Thinking of the so-called “overlimit enhancement,” he couldn’t help but feel eager to see what changes his body would undergo.

That afternoon, back at the company, Su Yi felt more energetic than ever, his mind sharper too. He quickly finished all his tasks. Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was six o’clock. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled, and a wave of hunger washed over him.

Seriously? So punctual!

As he left the office, Su Yi realized his appetite was even greater than it had been at noon. He had no intention of returning to the same buffet, but recalling there were several others nearby, he set off in their direction.

In the bustling food street, just as he was about to step into another buffet, a restaurant caught his eye—a banner read: “Soba Noodle Big-Eater Contest! Top Prize: 80,000 Yuan.”

What luck! Su Yi’s resolve faltered at the sight of that number. Free food and a chance to win cash—what a stroke of good fortune.

All right, this is it!