Luo Di and the woman were separated by several dining tables,
and upon observation, it became clear that she was constantly in a state of tension, frequently glancing around the shop as if something invisible was following her.
Just when Luo Di was about to approach her and inquire about the situation,
Two steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen were suddenly placed in front of him, and he didn’t even notice when the owner came over.
"Could it be, again..."
a dialogue box appeared.
Luo Di felt helpless. He didn’t expect that after going through the trouble of finding a ramen shop outside the city, he would encounter such a thing.
A twisted line of small text first appeared at the top of his retina.
≮The ramen shop owner brought over tonkotsu ramen, but this bowl looks strange; the meat slices don’t seem to be fully cooked, and the noodles are wriggling like worms. You notice the owner’s eyes have gone completely white, not quite like a living person.
The owner just stares at you, seemingly only waiting for you to finish eating before leaving.
「Don’t mind it, eat the ramen」
「Express displeasure, refuse to eat」
「Find an excuse to leave the ramen shop」
"There are three options this time.
The last two are refusals, but in different directions.
The last one seems harmless, choosing it might let you leave the shop directly. But during the time it takes to leave, that woman might be in trouble, potentially breaking off the clue in hand.
Refusing to eat on the spot will likely anger the other party.
If I just eat it, assuming this tonkotsu ramen is disguised fish meat, my anomaly value might increase again.
It’s better to be cautious, even if I lose the clue, I can find it slowly..."
Just when Luo Di was about to choose the last option, he suddenly realized that the word "slowly" was problematic; he couldn’t afford to slow down at all right now and had to end this incident quickly.
His gaze focused on the first option, to eat the ramen!
Luo Di’s body began to move uncontrollably,
picking up the chopsticks and eating heartily.
Although this process wasn’t out of his own will, he could feel the entire process of eating, the texture of the food, the taste, etc.
The taste was indeed unusual, especially the noodles which wriggled like living things in his mouth, even biting them couldn’t stop their frantic struggle.
When Luo Di finished consuming every drop of soup, a related prompt appeared on his retina.
「Physique test successful!
Though the ramen was strange, your digestive system was supreme; it successfully killed and absorbed the living creatures in the ramen. The nutritional value of this bowl of ramen was very high, not only satisfying hunger but also increasing your strength significantly.
The text on the retina gradually faded,
Luo Di just felt a surge of energy filling his entire body, even seeing muscles flexing under the skin, increasing muscle density.
Keeping his body contours unchanged, his weight increased by the weight of the ramen bowl.
"Can it really be ? I thought the mixture with fish elements would cause my anomaly to increase, could it truly enhance my personal abilities?
If that’s the case, this kind of anomaly effect might not be entirely harmful?"
Just as Luo Di was feeling his body brimming with energy, the strength magnified,
he suddenly noticed that Katayama was actually eating the ramen himself, which was very strange since Luo Di had skipped the eating process through "choice."
"Katayama, didn’t you encounter any options?"
"Yes, I did. I chose to refuse and was told my charm check succeeded, and the owner made me a new bowl of normal ramen, which tasted quite good."
His bowl was real tonkotsu ramen, with no issues.
Seeing Luo Di observing so intently, Katayama whispered, "Want me to share some with you?"
Luo Di turned his gaze back to the woman opposite,
as the shop owner was also serving her the fish ramen,
with slightly cooked sea fish laid across the noodles, even the broth shimmered with a marine hue.
Through a special gray vision, Luo Di saw an incongruous thing,
under the woman’s feet, at some point, there appeared a mass of black hair.
This mass of pitch-black hair was slowly entwining her legs, already above the knees, and simultaneously a curse-laden arm was visible hidden within it,
Luo Di decisively cast the gray mist forward, attempting to mark it.
Seeing that the poor woman was about to be devoured by the grudge, The source of thɪs content is novel~fire~net
Anomaly erupted suddenly.
The woman crazily gnawed on the sea fish like a ravenous wolf while continuously gulping down the soup.
As she consumed the fish, a certain anomalous aura was released from her body.
The black hair entangled around her body slowly withdrew, and the threatening curse symbolically began to recede.
It seemed the curse itself was being resisted and repelled.
"The fish... are affecting the curse~ Has this movie event, originally a part of the Corner, been altered or constrained?"
Luo Di continued to watch the woman voraciously eating, and she seemed to also feel the departure of the curse, as her expression gradually shifted from panic to maniacal laughter.
Peering through the gaps in her smile,
the inside of her mouth was filled with fish scales,
and the structure of her tongue had changed, becoming long and pale.
Beneath her skin, some striped structure seemed to be moving, like a strange metallic framework.
She appeared human on the outside, but internally, she might have completely transformed.
The woman quickly finished all the food and was about to stand up and leave when Luo Di sat directly in front of her.
"Hello, may I ask if something is chasing you, requiring you to eat fish in order to stay normal?"
The woman was no longer in a panic, her eyes wide open ready to flee, "What does it have to do with you? I’m leaving now."
As the woman stood up,
Luo Di grabbed her firmly, not using any abilities this time to avoid causing the previous kind of fatal anomaly.
"I can help you resolve this issue."
"No need, thank you for your goodwill. And nothing is chasing me, please let go of my hand."
Luo Di didn’t insist, promptly releasing his grip, allowing her to leave.
His objective had already been achieved: to touch this woman and obtain the grudge aura lingering around her, which combined with the prior gray mark of the curse materials, would greatly reduce investigation time.
"Katayama, let’s go."
Although the sensing from the gray mark was weak, it was sufficient for Luo Di to pinpoint a general urban area, and the vehicle soon stopped at a street corner.
In front was a sinister street, lined with a series of standalone houses.
The mark was within this range of buildings.
A chilly wind, carrying a fishy stench, blew continuously, the smell of dead fish.
"It should be here, let’s go."
Walking into this alley, wide enough for at most five people to walk side by side, most standalone houses on both sides were deserted, and dead fish were strewn about the ground everywhere.
Even in some abandoned yards, these scattered dead fish could be seen on the rooftops.
"The fish corpses are excessive; is it intentionally to suppress the curse?"
Luo Di came to a stop.
He stopped outside the gate of one of the houses.
This was the only place without dead fish, and the aura it emitted was similar to the woman Luo Di had touched in the restaurant.
Standing outside the courtyard and looking in,
the house itself was a common two-story Japanese structure,
The entrance area was small, nestled in shadows. The dark wooden door was tightly shut, seamlessly fitted, refusing any attempt to peek or enter.
Above the door was a small transom window, the glass filthy, like a half-blind, cloudy eye, coldly staring at the outside. Behind the transom, there was only an impenetrable darkness, drowning out any trying light.
The second-floor window drew attention; the curtain was dirty, faded linen, hanging heavily... It felt like someone might be standing behind the curtain, secretly watching the visitors below.
The window glass was similarly coated with years of grime, not reflecting the bright sky, only an unsettling blur.
The hedges surrounding the house were unusually dense, the stiff branches clumped together, blocking outsiders’ view, intensifying the house’s sense of enclosure.
The soil near the base of the house seemed darker, perpetually cold and damp, and in the shadows beneath the corners, an invisible chill seemed to linger.
"Is this the infamous curse? It’s certainly different."
Luo Di did not hesitate, stepping into the area.
When unexpectedly, his vision blurred again, and strange notifications and dialogues appeared with it.
≮You are entering a private house incongruous with its surroundings, your choice is...≯
[Inspect the entrance door]
[Inspect the backyard]
[Inspect the front yard]
[Attempt to climb up to the second-floor window]