The heavy temple doors groaned shut, sealing the grand hall in silence.
The High Priest leaned toward King Roland, his voice a mere shadow of a whisper. "Your Majesty... you saw it too. The Hero stole and devoured the Holy Fruit right under our noses. To vanish and take the prize in a heartbeat... Perhaps the Hero of prophecy truly is extraordinary?"
King Roland discarded his mask of hysterical rage. He slumped back into his throne, his eyes turning deep and dangerously cold. "Of course I saw it. A piece of trash like that... I could have executed him on the spot. Instead, I exiled him to Naviga."
The King looked toward the horizon. "Naviga is a desolate wasteland, but it's also a 'lawless zone' far from the Church's prying eyes. If he is truly the 'Variable' in this world, he will survive tonight. If he can't... then he isn't worth my gambit."
...
Meanwhile, Xiao Yu was indeed "delivered."
To be precise, he was tossed like a bag of expired garbage into a stinking heap of magic waste on the outskirts of Naviga.
"Hope you survive the night, Stamina 3 'Glass-Cannon' Hero! Haha!" The soldiers' laughter faded into the distance, leaving Xiao Yu in a cloud of dust.
Xiao Yu expressionlessly wiped the grime from his pajamas. He slowly pulled out the glowing purple Holy Aurora Fruit. The deep bite mark on its skin was the final, stubborn stand of a veteran freeloader.
"Since I already took a bite, keeping it just takes up inventory space." Without a shred of guilt, he gulped down the fruit that could start a world war.
Burp— "Tastes like electric jelly. No pit? One-star review."
Before he could finish complaining, golden text flooded his vision:
[System Warning: Host has consumed a complete "Origin Divine Fruit"!] [Forced Activation: Full-Auto Cellular Reconstruction Mode...] [Note: Extreme energy drain. Host has entered a state of "Absolute Hunger"!]
RUMBLE—! Xiao Yu's stomach roared like a dying engine. In an instant, it felt as if a cosmic black hole had ruptured in his gut! Every cell in his brain was screaming for food. This hunger was more lethal than a hundred late-delivery complaints from his past life.
"So hungry... I could swallow a dragon raw..."
His dead-fish eyes turned bloodshot. The world became a meat platter: trees looked like sausages, trash cans like canned meat. Suddenly, a savage, greasy aroma hooked his soul from the wind.
Fried pork chops!
He stumbled toward the tavern's back door. Inside, a 300-pound chef was seasoning a massive, sizzling, golden-brown pork chop. It was glistening with oil—a literal miracle.
[Slideshow Mode—OVERCLOCKED!]
Click. The world froze. Xiao Yu dragged his broken body and spent his last ounce of strength—SWISH!
When the chef opened his eyes, only a ring of smoking grease remained on the board. "WHAT THE HELL?! WHO SWIPED MY GOLDEN PORK CHOP?!"
In the shadows dozens of meters away, Xiao Yu held the chop, drenched in sweat. [Warning: Stamina 0.5/3! Hardware melting. Forced shutdown in 5, 4...]
"Gotta eat... even if it kills me..."
At that critical second, a pair of starving, ruby-red eyes locked onto the chop from the darkness. "This human is finished! He's dying! To arms, for the pride of Vampires (and fried pork)!"
Mia let out a silent, maddened roar. Hunger conquered reason. The unfortunate vampire girl unleashed her lifetime potential—SWISH!
A pale, bony hand lunged from the shadows. Xiao Yu's brain reacted, but his body had already "disconnected."
THUD! Xiao Yu collapsed. Mia's pounce was also a final gasp. She grabbed a corner of the chop but slipped, face-planting directly onto Xiao Yu's stomach.
"Oof—!" Xiao Yu nearly lost his soul. The two Isekai failures formed the most pathetic "pile-up" in history next to a trash heap.
"Hey... little beggar..." Xiao Yu whispered, "You're heavy... staying for the holidays?"
"Shut... shut up..." Mia sobbed into his chest. "I'm disconnected too... my self-defense mode is hibernating..."
Three seconds of silence. The golden pork chop lay quietly between their faces.
"You're a vampire?" Xiao Yu squinted. "So what? Who says vampires can't eat pork chops? I have a blood allergy... the smell gives me a migraine..."
Xiao Yu looked at this "shame of the bloodlines" and felt a strange sense of kinship. He painfully broke the chop in half and handed it over. "Eat. If we don't, we'll both turn to dust."
Mia froze, then like a startled kitten, took a massive bite from his hand. As the grease exploded in their mouths, the "Foodie Alliance" was officially formed.
"I'm Xiao Yu. Stamina 3. Profession: Sleeping." "I'm Mia... My dream is to eat fried pork chops forever."
Just then, heavy footsteps and the sound of a large blade scraping the ground echoed from the alley.
"Stop hiding! I can smell the black pepper! You're behind the trash, aren't you?!"
The two looked at each other. A shared thought flashed in their minds: Well, looks like this is going to be our execution meal.