Chapter 24: The Bloody Sect

Night fell, and the ore lamps lit up one by one.

There were still people walking the streets with small lanterns in hand.

Various small shops lined the street, and the crowd seemed tireless, all immersed in this wonderful atmosphere.

The night wind was a little chilly.

Fortunately, Mel Carlo and the others had shoes.

After all, they were considered reserve members of the gang now, not just pure piglets.

The aroma of all kinds of food drifted along the street, and on the open space of the plaza, many fires burned as skilled performers showcased their talents.

Mel Carlo’s attention was drawn to the river flowing through the city.

Many lamps floated on it, likely carried by small paper boats or something similar.

It looked beautiful.

“Mel, it’s pretty, isn’t it? But those are probably the noble lords releasing paper boats. Ordinary people wouldn’t waste paper on the river.”

“Mm, Lili, you know a lot.” Mel praised Lili.

They hadn’t walked far before reaching a place with almost no foot traffic.

In this city, there was actually a bare little hill, high enough to overlook much of the city.

The road ended not far away.

If there weren’t any tombstones here, Mel Carlo would have suspected it was a cemetery.

Although they needed a secluded spot, he really didn’t want to eat hotpot on a grave.

“Lili, you guys go ahead and start the fire. I’ll go get the noodles.”

“Mel, can you really find noodles? Please don’t steal today. If the guards catch you, it’ll be bad!”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be quick.”

Mel Carlo turned and walked toward the empty street.

He just needed to find a quiet, deserted spot and then take the instant noodles out of the system space.

Two packs per person should be enough.

To avoid overly strong flavors, Red Braised Flavor was probably the best choice.

He had just turned into an alley when he heard footsteps from others.

His alertness rose instantly, and he hid in the shadows, activating [Assassin’s Breathing Technique].

No matter what, the first step was always to minimize his presence.

Anyone coming to a place like this definitely wasn’t a patrolling guard.

A person in a black cloak staggered into the alley, one hand braced against the wall, gasping for breath.

On their arm was a blood-red crescent moon encircling a blooming chrysanthemum.

The moment he saw it, Mel Carlo didn’t dare move.

He’d wanted to get farther away before taking out the noodles, but who would have thought he’d run into a cultist.

This symbol had appeared in the game: the moon representing faith in the Dark Goddess, the broken crescent and blood-red hue signifying manifested magic, [Blood Cult].

In the game, these NPCs were nothing more than minor monsters.

But now, they were a threat capable of ending his life at any moment.

If not for the Assassin’s Breathing Technique, he might have already been discovered.

The air carried a faint metallic scent.

It wasn’t the cultist’s affiliation that was the problem, but that this particular cultist was injured, with traces of herbs on their body.

“Get lost.”

Mel Carlo didn’t move a muscle, only wishing the cultist would hurry up and leave.

There had been special warnings about this in the city before, but since nothing had happened for so long, Mel Carlo had assumed the cultists had already been caught.

If he was discovered now, he’d be a blood sacrifice on the spot.

After confirming the cultist had truly gone far, Mel Carlo quickly slipped out of the shadows.

He didn’t dare pause even for a second, nor did he dare deactivate the [Assassin’s Breathing Technique].

Thankfully, one trait allowed him to use it while moving.

Once he was a safe distance away, he took ten packs of Red Braised instant noodles from the system space, wrapped them in his clothes, and ran toward the little hill.

The cultist had fled in the opposite direction, making the hill temporarily safe.

But Mel Carlo still wanted to eat quickly—he didn’t want to stay outside.

The outside world wasn’t safe.

Clatter—noodles spilled out from his clothes onto the ground.

“Mel, what’s this?”

The others looked at the strange packaging and picked it up.

They’d never seen this kind of material before.

“Tear the bag open. There’s a noodle cake and seasoning packets inside. Ten packs in total. Eat up and hurry back!”

“Not playing outside anymore?”

Chocolate looked confused.

“I just saw a cultist, but he didn’t come our way. It’s not safe outside right now—especially in places with so few people.”

Mel Carlo didn’t hide anything and laid out the situation plainly.

The little ones tensed up immediately.

Even if they knew the cultist hadn’t come this way, they also understood that such hidden places weren’t safe.

If a cultist killed them here, no one would come to the rescue.

“Should we go back?”

Lili asked nervously, tugging at Ake’s sleeve.

“Or maybe we should just eat first, then leave quickly. Mel said the cultist went the other way, right?”

Chocolate glanced at the boiling pot, reluctant to give up.

Just getting the pot here had been hard enough.

“Fine. Let’s eat quickly, then.”

Mel Carlo didn’t say more.

He tore open a noodle pack, placed the cake inside, and added the seasoning.

More noodles could be added, but one or two seasoning packets were enough.

Any more and it would be hard to eat.

As the boiling water softened the noodles, the aroma from the seasoning filled the air the moment it was added.

“So good! Mel, where did you steal this from?”

Chocolate wiped away drool.

“Mel, you didn’t steal from a noble lord again, did you?”

Lili frowned, eyes full of concern.

The scent was unique, something they’d never experienced before.

After so long without real oil, even the scent was intoxicating—most of the flavor came from the oil packet.

Mel Carlo was already eager to eat.

They didn’t even have a complete bowl between them.

Most were broken fragments they’d picked up, missing big pieces, or just wooden planks.

“Eat.”

With no more words, all five began digging in.

Half a roasted chicken, reheated after being washed, was divided among them.

They all ate in big mouthfuls.

After slurping noodles, Chocolate grabbed a wooden spoon and drank directly from the pot.

“Hot! Hot!”

“Delicious…so good…I’ve never had anything this tasty before.”

Ake wept as he ate.

The others were equally moved.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t get enough, but that the flavor was just too delicious.

“Eat slowly. Chew before swallowing.”

Mel Carlo reminded them.

He was afraid someone would choke.

Even without choking, two packs per person might be too much.

“Mel, do you think we’ll ever eat this again?”

After finishing, Chocolate cried even harder.

He was afraid this flavor would never touch his tongue again.

“It’s fine. Let’s work hard! Maybe we’ll taste even better things someday.”

After eating his fill, Mel Carlo lay flat on the ground, stomach stretched.

What he didn’t know was that soon they would part ways.

And for many years after that, Chocolate never found noodles with this flavor again—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recreate the taste in his memories.