C83 — Memory

The model of the Ideal Restaurant was somewhat similar to that of a factory, but slightly different.

The so-called “happy emotions and beautiful dreams” — those things were just a pretext. They never existed to begin with.

Because the Ideal Restaurant offered guests the highest-value happiness.

When experiencing the most beautiful dreams, customers felt ultimate joy and satisfaction. These emotions occurred within the “pillar” and were naturally absorbed by the restaurant.

No matter how beautiful a dream a guest might have on their own, how could it compare to the dream crafted and processed by the Ideal Restaurant?

After dining and returning home, the customer lost the ability to have sweet dreams — or even if they did dream pleasantly, it would be far inferior to what they experienced in the Ideal Restaurant.

Humans had thresholds. After experiencing the highest value of happiness in the restaurant, their threshold for joy became significantly elevated.

It was like a gambler. At first, there was talk of “a little gambling for fun,” and winning a few hundred yuan felt great. But after tasting a win or loss of several thousand, hundreds felt dull. Once they’d gambled tens or hundreds of thousands, even thousands felt meaningless — and work became tedious. Why toil for a month for just a few thousand when you could win that in one night?

His brain’s ability to perceive pleasure and money was ruined by the raised threshold. Life lost its luster; only the thrill of the gambling table excited him.

He’d fall deeper and deeper until he lost all sense of morality.

The Ideal Restaurant was the same.

It destroyed one’s ability to perceive happiness. It made people only able to feel joy and experience beautiful dreams within its walls, compelling them to return again and again.

No wonder the “pillar” didn’t stop guests from leaving and never forced them to return.

It only compelled people to eat one meal — nothing more.

Because just once, and you’d be hooked.

Mu Sichen asked, “Can guests apply for all positions in the restaurant?”

The receptionist enthusiastically replied, “Of course not. When someone first joins, they can only work as a vegetable washer. After all, guests haven’t been trained and can only perform the simplest tasks.”

“I have a chef’s license. Can I go straight into cooking?” Mu Sichen asked.

The receptionist smiled. “We only hire vegetable washers, servers, and receptionists. As for chopping and cooking, those roles are directly assigned by the restaurant headquarters. If you’re tired of the dull and exhausting washing work, you can apply for training. After training, you can become a server.”

“I see.” Mu Sichen accepted the free meal voucher and asked, “Is there a limit on the number of meals per day? Can we eat again?”

“There’s no limit. As long as you want to eat, we’ll always serve you,” the receptionist said.

“Great. Thank you for the free meal voucher. I’d like to dine again — is that okay?” Mu Sichen asked.

“Certainly.” The receptionist collected the three vouchers.

This time, Mu Sichen chose to dine on the third floor. There, the kitchen couldn’t be seen, nor could other tables — only one server was present, making it relatively quiet.

A different server accompanied Mu Sichen and the others this time.

Mu Sichen didn’t have Chi Lian and He Fei block the server’s line of sight, nor did he paste or replace others’ sense of touch. Instead, he held the menu himself.

Seeing Mu Sichen touch the menu, Chi Lian and He Fei steeled themselves and picked up their menus as well.

Mu Sichen didn’t stop them.

Mu Sichen’s dish on the menu was called “Family Reunion”, He Fei’s was “Lucky Boy”, and Chi Lian’s was “Flying Free”. The three of them placed their orders.

While the server took the menus to the kitchen, He Fei leaned in nervously and whispered, “Weren’t we told that eating the food here causes contamination? And that touching the menu lets them read your mind? Why are we ordering again? What if they’ve already stolen my dream?”

Mu Sichen replied calmly, “We didn’t order the first time to gather intel and avoid being contaminated while knowing nothing. This time, we’re ordering as part of an operation. We need sufficient cover.”

“What operation?” Chi Lian asked.

Mu Sichen quickly explained, “I was wrong before. I thought everyone here was a real soul, but that might not be true. Guests who work off their meal costs can only be vegetable washers or servers. Other positions are directly assigned by headquarters.”

“So I suspect that only the vegetable washers and servers are actual souls. The rest are either fake souls or guardians of the ‘pillar.’”

“The ‘pillar’ protects guests who follow the rules — like it protects its food. When food and a guardian clash, it chooses to protect us. But when food clashes with food, who will it protect?”

“The tastier one,” He Fei said. “The one right in front of it. The one it hasn’t eaten yet!”

Mu Sichen nodded. “Exactly. He Fei’s right. If I want to see the server’s memories, I’ll need to use a cross axe to strike him. Last time, we only attacked the server’s vision, not the server himself, so it didn’t affect the ‘food.’ That’s why the restaurant didn’t react.”

“When we cut and pasted the sense of touch from other guests, we didn’t eliminate the sensation — their dream energy remained within the restaurant. It was more like relocating the food, not stealing it. So again, the restaurant didn’t interfere.”

“But memory is part of the soul. I suspect that the servers are the kind of soul energy the restaurant truly wants. Right now, we only produce emotional energy. If we attack a server directly, the ‘pillar’s’ rules might kick in, and we could get hurt.”

“However, once we’ve placed an order, our dreams are already being processed. The ‘pillar’ is about to consume our emotional energy. If we act carefully, it should temporarily tolerate us.”

“So we just let it swallow our emotional energy?” Chi Lian asked.

“Of course not. We’ll switch dishes later,” Mu Sichen responded. “As long as it’s not your favorite dream, you won’t generate that much emotional energy.”

“If there’s no emotional energy and you attack the server, the ‘pillar’ will take action,” He Fei said worriedly.

“No,” Mu Sichen replied. “It’ll bug out, because I…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the server returned with the three dishes, and Mu Sichen fell silent.

Though still a bit anxious, both teammates understood the plan. Their trust in Mu Sichen remained unshaken.

Once the dishes were served, Mu Sichen didn’t touch his food. Instead, he walked over to the server and asked, “How long have you been working here? How many times have you eaten in the restaurant? What did it feel like the first time you came? Have you ever worked as a vegetable washer?”

These questions provoked involuntary memories in the server, who began to recall past events — but he didn’t answer. Instead, he politely responded, “Guest, those are private matters. I hope you understand I can’t answer them.”

“Hmm, I don’t need you to answer. I just need you to recall those memories, so I can access them immediately,” Mu Sichen said as he reached out and gently tapped the server’s forehead.

The cross axe always remained at a higher level than Mu Sichen’s own level, and after surpassing level 30, its “undermine” skill evolved to dig into shallow memories. Additionally, the cross axe itself could now freely change its size.

Now it had shrunk to the size of a small knife, resting in Mu Sichen’s palm.

He didn’t need to swing the heavy pickaxe to strike the server’s head — just lightly pressing his palm against the server’s head could activate the skill.

Countless fragmented memories flooded Mu Sichen’s mind, and he quickly scanned through them.

The server was originally not from Dream Butterfly Town — he was actually sent from Xiangping Town.

His teammates soon revealed their identities and were attacked by the Guardian, their souls absorbed by the butterflies.

He dodged and hid, eventually encountering a relatively normal person who had not been contaminated by the butterflies and was kind-hearted.

The kind person, knowing he was an outsider, hid him at their home and helped him evade attacks from the Guardian.

Seeing that he was tired and hungry, the kind person drove him to the Ideal Restaurant, saying it could soothe emotions and fill his stomach.

He didn’t fully trust this kind person, but the moment he entered the restaurant, his experience told him this was the “pillar.” He had finally found the “pillar.”

He knew the dishes in the Ideal Restaurant might be problematic, but people from Xiangping Town trusted their ability to resist contamination. One dish wouldn’t poison him.

To gain the trust of those around him and find the whereabouts of the “pillar,” he ate that dish.