Famine 210: Hot Dog
by CristaeThe faux-human stared blankly at Si Zhiyan, chewing mechanically.
Pop!
His teeth grazed the ultra-thin grilled sausage casing, and at that touch, the sausage burst in his mouth.
This was something Si Zhiyan had just assembled from the Frosthorn Rabbit’s pack. His favorite sausages weren’t strictly orthodox hot dog frankfurters, but a special all-meat sausage unique to the farm.
Select wild boar and beef, combine in the right ratio of lean to fat, whip into a fine paste, then mix in generous chunks of tenderloin. Soak the mixture thoroughly in rice wine, pepper, and over a dozen other spices, then stuff it into an ultra-thin casing.
As it grilled, the fat and juices sizzled from the meat—never puncturing the casing, just inflating it perfectly, holding every drop of juice inside.
If timed just right, the sausage was cooked to the very brink of bursting, letting the diner break the skin with a bite themselves. A touch of wine-scented sweetness and a rush of rich meat flavor exploded all at once, blending with the fluffy, sweet hot dog bun, swirling together with every chew…
……
Delicious!
Utterly delicious!
The faux-human stared in a daze; before he knew what he was doing, his body hungrily chewed and swallowed that bite of hot dog.
Gulp.
At the same moment, his other hand was already on the verge of clawing at Si Zhiyan’s face.
Yan Xu bristled, nearly up in arms: “Let go!”
But Si Zhiyan just shook his head, smiling as he patted the faux-human’s arm, then raised another freshly assembled hot dog, eyes narrowed. “Want another?”
Chomp.
The faux-human bit into it at once.
So it was that, in the midst of this hundred-ghost parade, at the center of that ring of anomalies, the one at the head of the line simply ate from Si Zhiyan’s hand…
【Zzz…zzzz…】
On the other end of the line, only a strange, breathless silence.
The rest of the ghosts simply watched him eat, stupefied.
Here the advantage of a long neck was fully displayed—the faux-human, maintaining that grotesque pose, kept wolfing down hot dog after hot dog, like he hadn’t eaten in years, the fragrance not of this world. @ Infinite Good Stories, exclusively on Jinjiang Literature City
Soon, he’d eaten an entire hot dog.
Then, in front of everyone, the faux-human let out a satisfied belch.
From the phone came a quiet, automated announcement: [Ding! Guest Satisfaction +1]
Si Zhiyan brushed his hands together, scattering the crumbs. “That was the original wine-flavored hot dog.”
“There are plenty more flavors. Cheese and cream, mashed potato with bacon, Thai larb seasoned pork… Oh, that’s minced meat with herbs, a touch of tart, fresh aroma, and a crisp-edged sunny-side-up egg on top. Want to try?”
The faux-human nodded so quickly his head blurred.
Gulp!
A chorus of swallowing could be heard all around.
In the receiver, a jumble of mechanical voices sounded, but through that flat, undead tone, Si Zhiyan picked out a sense of shock:
[Satisfaction… increased…!]
Si Zhiyan said, “If you insist on killing us right now, I suspect satisfaction is going to drop quickly.”
“Want to know how to boost satisfaction further, don’t you?”
【…zzzz…】
The phone line was filled with static; it seemed to be wrestling with some inner debate. At last, it slowly replied:
[…Yes.] @ Infinite Good Stories, exclusively on Jinjiang Literature City
Si Zhiyan stretched and stood, gazing down the hillside at Candy Town, his smile relaxed: “Let us borrow this shop for the night.”
…………
……
Sizzle!
The sound of sausage split in half and pressed down on the griddle.
When the edges just began to crisp, Si Zhiyan deftly scooped it up and slid it into a hot dog bun.
Next, he ladled a generous scoop of larb-seasoned pork from a separate pot, heaping the entire bun full. Juicy pork, rich with sauce, spilled out like molten lava, steaming as it ran down both sides.
Smack! Yan Xu expertly topped it with a crispy-edged, soft-centered egg, the warm, quivering yolk trembling just so.
“One cheese baked-mashed-potato hot dog, one Thai larb pork hot dog~” Yan Xu smiled warmly, sliding the boxes forward. “Madam, your order… uh…”
Outside the window, a floating, curly-haired female head was staring wide-eyed at the hot dogs.
Behind her, a headless male body took the food like a pro, tucked a coin into the window’s little box, and walked away carrying the head.
The woman’s head yowled eagerly, head-butting the headless man. The muscled, headless man was utterly unmoved, proceeding straight out of line.
【Quick! Feed…eat…feed me ughh ah ah…】
【……】
【Ughh ah…what does…‘no cutting’…mean?…】
【……】
Amid all the commotion, the two squeezed forward together, disappearing into the crowd.
“Oh wow.”
Si Zhiyan smacked Yan Xu on the head. “Don’t just stand there—go fetch me another bag of buns.”
“Got it.”
On the griddle, dozens of sausages sizzling, fat bubbling up in tiny fragrant bubbles—that savory aroma wafted out.
Above the window, a new sign had replaced the old placard, announcing in bold characters:
[Farm-Style Hot Dog Shop]
Beneath the sign, the crowd of anomalies stretched out as far as the eye could see, waves of them filling up the entire Candy Street.
This time, there was no need for compulsion; the anomalies gathered here of their own accord.
All sorts of howling rose together through the night:
【Rrgh…ahh…】
【Cheese…￥%…& cheese…】
It was impossible to describe as a “crowd of heads”—some of them didn’t have heads worth mentioning at all.
But that did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm; one after another, they pressed forward, teeming toward the shop.
It looked just like a zombie swarm in a world-end movie… only this was a smash-hit venue at peak hours…
Si Zhiyan worked non-stop, making hot dogs deep into the night, and still the lines showed no sign of shrinking—in fact, they only grew!
At first, he was puzzled, but soon realized why after a few glances.
—Because everyone who had already eaten once simply went around to the back of the line to queue again.
The satisfaction on their faces…
[Ding! Guest Satisfaction +2]
[Ding! Guest Satisfaction +3]
[Ding! Guest Satisfaction +9]
…………
……
Similar messages chimed repeatedly from the phone’s receiver.
The [Theme Park] on the other end was astonished at first, but gradually fell silent, numb with disbelief. Not long after, it hadn’t made a sound. Tonight alone, satisfaction ratings rose more than in the past month—no, in years!
Si Zhiyan ignored it, keeping his head down making hot dogs.
Hot dogs really were a great product: clean up the shop and you could start, meals came out quickly, and it didn’t require much skill. Filling the griddle with sausages, watching each one slowly brown… it was surprisingly soothing. Reminiscent of those simple games that were all the rage before the apocalypse.
“Next.” Si Zhiyan said.
A familiar voice chimed in: 【Want…all…flavors…!】
Si Zhiyan looked up with a chuckle: it was the same faux-human from the hilltop.
“Hold on—the new batch is still grilling.”
At the prospect of his turn, the faux-human became even more agitated, but had no choice but to wait. The longer he waited, the farther his neck stretched in anxious longing.
Finally, he leaned into the window, showcasing his specialty—his preternaturally long neck—mouth open wide at Si Zhiyan…
Thunk!!
An invisible hand yanked him backwards—one grip on his head, another on his shoulders—shoving him out of the window with a thump.
The park speakers intoned: 【Zzz… Please queue in an orderly fashion, shop with courtesy.】
【……】
The faux-human shrank back, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
Not bad at all, thought Si Zhiyan, amused.
He’d figured it out: within the bounds of this park, [Theme Park] was practically omnipotent—its rule like a game’s iron law. And its regulations were no joke:
No cutting in line, no littering of garbage or heads, no smoking, no harming park staff…
Any violation was immediately dealt with.
As the will of [Theme Park] itself, it brooked no delay—law enforcement was swift and strict, violations always punished.
Thus, this seemingly dangerous anomalous park, as long as you didn’t provoke [Theme Park], was in fact perfectly safe.
It might speak coldly, but its business environment was honestly quite good.
Better, in fact, than some real-world parks.
Hot dogs finished one by one—Si Zhiyan packed them and handed them to the faux-human.
There were ten flavors total; the faux-human took one of each, filling his pocket with the lot.
He beamed as he accepted them, placing eleven coins into Si Zhiyan’s small cash box.
Clink!
[Wishing Coin of Sorrowful Yearning] @ Infinite Good Stories, exclusively on Jinjiang Literature City
These coins, imbued with a pure longing peculiar to anomalies, could be used as points—each worth 150 points.
That’s right—even the coins in the wishing pool outside could be spent like currency.
Si Zhiyan found the concept oddly fascinating.
Most hot dog flavors were one coin each; the Thai-style larb pork dog, hefty and generous with sauce, was two coins.
By dawn, his cash box overflowed—a mountain of coins piling up, one sale after another…
…………
……
A slant of golden sunlight fell across the black-and-white griddle.
Si Zhiyan looked up, stretched, and realized that dawn had arrived.
Glancing outside—sure enough, the line was still packed wall-to-wall; countless pairs of scarlet eyes stared longingly in.
The queue was too long! Hot dogs could only be made so fast, and there were still many anomalies who hadn’t eaten!
Si Zhiyan waved a hand. “That’s it, that’s it—morning’s here, today’s business is done.”
Boom!
That stirred a hornet’s nest; the entire park exploded in noisy uproar, a clamor of ghosts all grumbling at once.
A ghostly woman wept: [Waited…all night…sob…only eight people until my turn…Tomorrow…I have to get some…]
A baby specter shrieked: [Want to eat! Want to eat want to eat want to eat want to eat want to eat!]
A bloodstained researcher fought to the head of the line, unwilling to give up: [Will you be here again tomorrow?]
[Tomorrow…must eat…be sure you give me…]
[Groan…groan…tomorrow night…must eat…]
All manner of howls, in every accent and tone, a hundred ghosts wailing, but eventually all their voices merged to the same plea:
[Will you come again tomorrow??!]
With all eyes upon him, Si Zhiyan grinned at the horde. “That’ll depend on how I get along negotiating with the theme park.”
Amidst the stares of innumerable anomalies, Si Zhiyan lowered his head and asked into the phone, “So, Theme Park—what do you think? Let’s discuss a question together.”
“—What kind of terms would you offer an investor seeking to do business here?”