Chapter 125: Sink or Swim

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Behind the curtain appeared a pale yellow, undulating wall of grease.

Its slick surface was uneven, rising and falling in layers of armor-like ripples, with viscous clumps flowing across it.

Three bulges resembling human faces stood out most clearly on the wall.

Yet once the curtain was pulled aside, the bulges quickly sank back, as though someone had pinched a lump of mucus into the shape of a human head, only for it to flatten out and swiftly return to its original form.

Tartar Brother had no idea how this bizarre, pale yellow wall of grease had formed, but he cautiously drew his Kang knife and pointed it at the grotesque thing.

The Kang knife had been passed down through the generations by the clan chief. More than a dozen polished wolf fangs were tied around its handle, forming raised points for a firmer grip. They were said to possess the power to ward off evil and calm the spirit.

The knife flashed with an icy glint as it slowly approached the undulating yellow wall.

Just as Tartar Brother was preparing to test the wall with his blade, the greasy mass suddenly curled violently inward and contracted into a ball. Then it became perfectly round and rolled straight down the private dining corridor.

At that moment, Gray Ice and his assistant, Blue Rain, were coming upstairs. They ran directly into the rolling mass.

The two men were startled. Having no idea what the strange yellow ball was, they hurriedly stepped back to avoid it.

But the ball was rolling far faster than either of them could move. Just as it was about to strike Gray Ice, who was walking in front, it suddenly gave off a hiss like a kettle coming to the boil.

Then it split in two, and the two yellow balls leaped simultaneously toward Gray Ice and Blue Rain.

The two men let out heart-rending screams before being wrapped up by the yellow balls and rolled away.

Tartar Brother had spent years herding sheep on the grasslands. His flocks were frequently attacked by wolves, and this had honed him into a remarkably capable fighter.

He immediately realized that the yellow balls were trying to divide his attention and force him into a situation where he could not protect both sides at once.

But Tartar Brother was already preparing to pounce on the larger yellow ball and pin it down...

At that very moment, the large yellow ball suddenly accelerated and shot straight toward the kitchen.

The kitchen staff had already rushed out, but they had not expected the ball to change direction and charge at them. For a moment, almost none of them managed to react.

Two cooks were knocked down, while the large yellow ball rolled directly into the kitchen.

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What happened next was exactly what Li Tianque had seen.

Every visible gap in the entire kitchen was sealed shut by an extraordinarily viscous grease. The vents and skylights were no exception; they were blocked so completely that not even a drop of water could pass through.

No matter what methods anyone tried, they could not break through. The kitchen seemed to have become a place entirely cut off from the outside world.

Tartar Brother tried every method he could think of, but none of them worked.

When struck with knives or axes, the uncanny greasy wall merely slicked them away. When exposed to flames, it behaved as though they were burning a wall made of water: only a faint mist slowly evaporated, with no other reaction whatsoever.

Tartar Brother even tried drilling through it, but before long the drill bit began spinning uselessly and could go no deeper.

Meanwhile, when the large yellow ball containing Blue Rain shot away, Tartar Brother immediately ordered people to pursue it. But the ball fled far too quickly. Even on horseback, the attendants ultimately failed to catch it.

And so the bizarre yellow ball seized control of Tartar Brother's kitchen, while Gray Ice was trapped inside.

The other large yellow ball vanished without a trace, carrying Gray Ice's assistant, Blue Rain, away into the grasslands.

For the next several days, Tartar Brother repeatedly tried to enter the kitchen. He even considered destroying it outright, but every attempt ended in failure.

During the days Gray Ice remained trapped inside, Tartar Brother's greatest concern was his food and water. He feared that the man would die of thirst or starvation.

No matter what Tartar Brother and the others shouted from outside, Gray Ice seemed unable to hear them. They could only occasionally hear him wailing in broken, intermittent cries from within.

At first, Gray Ice did nothing but howl. Later, his voice grew hoarse, and he seemed too exhausted even to cry anymore. At last, he fell silent.

Strangely, however, there seemed to be food inside from time to time, and Gray Ice would often eat until he was painfully full, shouting again and again:

“Stop feeding me! I really can't eat another bite! Please, I beg you!”

“I'm not some competitive eater! That was all fake! It was just for the video! I threw it all up afterward, and then they edited the footage together—ugh!”

Sounds like these often came from inside. Yet at other times, Gray Ice seemed desperately hungry, repeatedly crying that he was starving to death and begging someone to feed him.

The two utterly contradictory states alternated without any discernible pattern. Sometimes, moments after shouting that he was about to burst, he would become ravenously hungry again.

At other times, he would be crying out that he was starving one second, only to be groaning in agony from overeating the next.

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Tartar Brother was truly at his wits' end, but he still did not dare call the police. He was afraid he would be unable to explain himself properly.

He had already become entangled in an inexplicable legal dispute with one internet celebrity. If he now caused another major influencer to disappear, would he not become the enemy of the entire internet?

Thus, Tartar Brother had no choice but to find several shamans on the grasslands and ask them to use special methods to drive away the evil and resolve the trouble. At the same time, he had his friends and employees continue searching the grasslands for the whereabouts of the other yellow ball.

Unfortunately, the shamans' methods had no effect on the yellow ball, and the other large yellow ball remained nowhere to be found.

Just as Tartar Brother was at a complete loss, he came across Wu Miaoran's viral video on National Superstream.

Although the video had already clarified that it was merely a deliberately mysterious fake paranormal production, Tartar Brother's discerning eye still detected something unusual in the expressions and conversations of the people involved.

He suspected that Wu Miaoran and his team might truly have experienced something strange, and began wondering whether he should invite them to help resolve the crisis before him.

With that in mind, Tartar Brother left a plea for help beneath the video. Wu Miaoran eventually noticed it.

And so Wu Miaoran, Li Tianque, and the others came here. On the way, they received instructions from Lu Mou and left Li Tianque behind to undergo a test.

While Li Tianque was trapped in the ancient city, Wu Miaoran and the others had already arrived at the Wolf Totem Yurt.

It was on the very day Wu Miaoran and the others arrived that something even stranger occurred...

He detected something unusual in the expressions and conversations of the people involved.

He suspected that Wu Miaoran and his team might truly have experienced something strange, and began wondering whether he should invite them to help resolve the crisis before him.

With that in mind, Tartar Brother left a plea for help beneath the video. Wu Miaoran eventually noticed it.

And so Wu Miaoran, Li Tianque, and the others came here. On the way, they received instructions from Lu Mou and left Li Tianque behind to undergo a test.

While Li Tianque was trapped in the ancient city, Wu Miaoran and the others had already arrived at the Wolf Totem Yurt.

It was on the very day Wu Miaoran and the others arrived that something even stranger occurred...