Chapter 380: The New Year's Eve Dinner Case

“Is it tasty?”

Suddenly, a hand lifted the two of them into the air. They were terrified, clutching their chicken legs and struggling desperately.

Zhang Niu’s figure appeared, chuckling.

He gently calmed the two children, showing his goodwill to make sure they wouldn’t run away, before handing the chicken back to them.

The two children glanced at each other, then immediately began to wolf down the food.

These were two street children.

There were always a lot of street children these days; it was the same everywhere.

Zhang Niu sat on a hollow pipe behind them, watching in silence.

In the sky.

Fireworks exploded, dazzlingly brilliant, speaking of the joy of reunion and a festive atmosphere.

In the distance, children set off fireworks everywhere—smiling faces, lighters, ears red from the cold, and the CRACKLE-POP of firecrackers…

Zhang Niu sighed, his gaze lowering.

Before him.

Two children squatted on the ground in the heavy, goose-feather snow, eating leftovers for their New Year’s Eve dinner.

Their clothes were ragged, their ears already raw and chapped from the frost.

The noise, joy, fireworks, and firecrackers all around seemed to belong to a different world.

Zhang Niu felt a little dazed. He rubbed his eyes, but the deeply contradictory scene remained.

After thinking for a long time, he suddenly chuckled.

‘Perhaps this is just as Du’e said.’

‘Building a temple is not as good as giving a bowl of porridge.’

‘Right now… people online are probably still wishing each other well, sharing their hopes, talking about the future, and aspiring for better things.’

‘But these two street children are more concerned with the leftovers in front of them.’

After a long moment, the sound of chewing stopped.

“Are you full?”

Zhang Niu asked, looking at the two children who had even swallowed some of the bones they could chew into pieces.

“We have something else to eat, too,”

the two children chirped excitedly.

“What kind of tasty things?”

Zhang Niu asked with a chuckle, wrapping a large coat around the two children as he spoke.

They were very thin, and Zhang Niu was fat, so the coat was just big enough to fit both of them.

“How about I take you to eat some meat?”

One of the children shook their head and said proudly,

“We want to eat hot pot!”

“Hot pot? You guys get to eat hot pot too?” Zhang Niu asked, curious.

“Yeah, and it’s my treat!”

the slightly older child said magnanimously.

“Then I’m in for a treat,”

Zhang Niu said gently, a smile on his face.

“Where’s your pot?”

“Just a second.”

The two children ducked back into the hollow pipe.

The pipe wasn’t their home; their home was in the sewer below.

But because the park was under maintenance, a pile of pipes had been delivered, covering the manhole cover.

A moment later, the two children returned with a crude iron pot.

At the same time, they brought out several burnt coal cinders.

They had wanted to get some water from the park, but the pipes were frozen. After some thought, their only option was to sneak over to a faucet outside someone’s house and steal a little.

Next, they lit the cinders, waited for the water to boil, and didn’t add any soup base.

The two children mysteriously pulled something out of a plastic bag…

“Large intestine?” Zhang Niu paused.

“Is this what’s called a large intestine?”

The two children paused, speaking with uncertainty.

“Then this is large intestine hot pot!”

the older child declared. He had only ever watched others eat it before; he had never actually tried it himself.

“Did you wash it?”

Zhang Niu suddenly asked.

“We did! Look, it’s very clean!”

one of the children, thinking he was disgusted, immediately said, flustered.

Zhang Niu paused, then suddenly asked, “Did you wash the inside?”

“The inside? Do you have to wash the inside?” the child asked, confused.

‘You didn’t wash the inside of the large intestine?’

Zhang Niu fell silent. A moment later, he said resignedly:

“Why don’t you come to my place? I’ll give you a proper New Year’s Eve dinner, and while we’re at it, I’ll wash this intestine for you.”

The two children hesitated, whispered to each other for a moment, and then nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Zhang Niu smiled and headed back the way he came.

His residential complex wasn’t far from the park, or else he wouldn’t have walked over.

It didn’t take long for them to get back to the complex.

Zhang Niu knocked on the door, and his wife’s face appeared in the crack.

“These two children…”

“I invited them over for a meal,”

Zhang Niu said casually, then pushed the door open and let the two children inside.

Gazing at the enormous house, the two children’s eyes went wide. It was as if they had entered a magnificent palace, and they couldn’t look away.

“You go ahead and get them settled. I’m going to wash this thing.”

Zhang Niu motioned for his wife to help them wash their hands and faces, while he went to the kitchen.

There was hot water in the kitchen, and he began to wash it continuously with his hands.

‘There was some truth to what Du’e said. Building a temple seemed useful, and yet, it also seemed useless.’

‘Giving a bowl of porridge seemed like a drop in the bucket, but at least it could fill a stomach once.’

A smile appeared on Zhang Niu’s face as he casually cleaned the large intestine in his hands.

“Tsk, Jiangsan City is pretty interesting. Du’e, Wang Chao, Xu Huo, Chu Linhai… they’re all interesting people…”

“It’s just that…”

“…why is this large intestine also a bit interesting?”

In a daze, Zhang Niu, who was in the middle of washing, suddenly froze. His expression gradually vanished, and a flicker of doubt appeared in his eyes.

‘This isn’t a fresh large intestine, so why does it feel so… in my hands?’

‘Why does it feel so familiar?’

He reached out and squeezed the intestine.

‘This texture…’

‘Why does this feel a bit like the intestines I held back when I was a soldier on a mission?’

‘No, that’s not right…’

In that instant, Zhang Niu’s pupils contracted violently, and he subconsciously stumbled back a few steps.

‘This isn’t ‘like’ it—this IS it!!!’

…

…

「Meanwhile.」

At Chu Linhai’s home.

Xu Huo, who was in the middle of eating, suddenly froze.

A familiar voice sounded in his ear.

[Congratulations, Host. You have triggered a mission…]

[(Incomplete)]

[Rewards are set at four tiers, corresponding to 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% Immersion.]

[Composition Time: Thirty days.]

[Failure Penalty: Forfeiture of this mission’s rewards.]

Xu Huo fell silent. He looked around at the bustling living room, which was overflowing with the atmosphere of the Spring Festival.

He then looked out at the fireworks blooming in the sky.

Xu Huo fell deep into thought.

Today was the Spring Festival.

‘Did I just…’

‘…hear things? Was it some kind of hallucination?’

[This case is titled…]

[‘The New Year’s Eve Dinner Case’!]

‘New Year’s Eve Dinner?’

Xu Huo’s brows furrowed.

‘What… kind of case is this?’