My mom never let me eat junk food. After getting sucked into a horror game, I found myself hiding in a convenience store, a double cheeseburger in one hand and a large boba milk tea in the other. While other players were scrambling for their lives as the Final Boss descended, I was determined to die on a full stomach. I didn't stop chewing. Suddenly, the Boss roared: "Bean! You're eating that trash again?!" Holy crap. Mom? 1 It took me exactly 0.1 seconds to accept my fate after getting pulled into this survival horror game. Why? Because I got lucky. I spawned in a convenience store. I looked around. Potato chips, fried chicken, burgers, pizza... It was all seducing me. My mom never let me touch this stuff. She called it "garbage for your gut." But then she died, I became an orphan, and I was too broke to afford it anyway. A player next to me whispered, trembling, "There's definitely something wrong with this food! Don't fall for it! Everything in a horror game is a trap!" Really? I looked at the burger sitting right in front of me. It smelled heavenly. My stomach growled. Grrr. It’s just a cute little burger. What could possibly go wrong? Eating poison is better than starving to death. So, I picked it up and took a huge bite. Juicy patty, fresh lettuce—satisfaction. I demolished the burger in seconds, then reached for a bag of chips. Crunch. So crisp. So salty. I washed it down with a grape-flavored boba tea. Life was good. Seeing me eat with such gusto, the others started getting restless. "Is it actually safe?" "I've run so many dungeons, I've never seen edible food." "But... look how happy she looks." They stared at me. When I reached for a pack of spicy jerky, they finally broke. "Give me that self-heating hot pot!" "I want the strawberry milk!" "Pass me the cup noodles! Beef flavor!" The store was instantly filled with the aroma of MSG and grease. But a second later, they all started puking. "What the hell?! There's hair in these noodles! Blargh." "This isn't milk... Gag... it's... blood..." "Help! Get it away! There are fingers in this box! And an eyeball!" I stared at the mess in front of them, dumbfounded. The spicy jerky in my hand hadn't changed. It was oily, spicy, and delicious. Definitely just jerky. The others looked at me with suspicion. "Yours is fine?" I offered a piece kindly. "You can try it." They backed away like I was the plague. "This is sus. Why does she get special treatment?" "I heard this dungeon buffs little girls. It's creepy." Suddenly, someone had a dark thought. Their eyes glinted cold. "Hey... what if we kill her?" "Then her inventory becomes ours." My cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk. "Huh? Me?" Tears instantly streamed down my face. I garbled out, "Don't kill me! I have no dad, no mom, I just wanted a full meal for once! Can't you let me live a little longer?" Look, when you're out in the world, sometimes you gotta play the pathetic card. A big, burly guy couldn't watch anymore. He stepped in. "Forget it. Why are you bullying a little girl? Even if you take her stuff, who says you can eat it?" "The Boss hasn't even shown up yet. One more person is one more meat shield." And just like that, they didn't kill me. For three days, I didn't take a single step out of that store. After some testing, we realized that only the hot dogs I personally grilled were safe to eat. So, I set up a stall. The others protected me. I fed them. 2 This horror game ran on a points system. More points meant stronger skills. Reach 10,000 points, and you get to return to the real world. Everyone else earned points by fighting ghosts. I earned points by selling sizzling hot dogs. Sell one, eat one as a reward. One day, everyone went out to hunt, leaving me alone in the store. Suddenly, the door was smashed open. My sign—"Sizzling Dogs, 2 Points Each"—fell to the ground and shattered. I was furious. But the intruders were holding high-level weapons and looked like they meant business. I immediately turned into a coward. Their leader grinned, "There really are supplies here! Haha, and they only left one girl to guard it." "Get her. Kill her, and this place is ours." Kill me? Again? I was out of options. Just as his blade was about to come down on my head, a mechanical chime rang through the air. [DING.] [ATTENTION PLAYERS. THE DUNGEON BOSS IS APPROACHING.] [WARNING! WARNING!] A Boss? Since when did this game have a roaming Boss? Wait, if the Boss is coming, what do I do? I can't fight. I can't run. I hesitated for exactly one second before deciding to just lay flat. Whatever. Everyone dies eventually. The gang panicked. "I thought the Boss was dormant! Why is it awake?" "Just our luck! Why now?" "Boss, think of something!" "I don't want to die here! I want to go home!" They tried to run, but an invisible force locked everyone inside the store. But... this pressure felt weirdly familiar to me. I took a bite of a hot dog. Yeah, definitely familiar. I took a sip of boba. Tsk. I remembered. This chill down my spine was the exact feeling I got when my mom used to catch me sneaking snacks. The store was enveloped in a dark gloom. The bad guys were paralyzed with fear, collapsing on the floor. I leaned against the counter, ignoring the black fog creeping toward me. "Hmph. If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die full." Burp. "Man, I actually kinda miss my mom. Will I see her if I die?" Thinking of that possibility, I wasn't scared anymore. My appetite surged. I reached under the table for a hidden chocolate bar. I wanted to die sweet. Suddenly, a furious voice exploded from the air: "Gu Bean! You are eating that trash again!" Holy crap. Mom?! Reflexively, I hid the snacks behind my back. I looked around. Nothing but black fog. I whispered tentatively, "Mom?" "Mom, is that you?!" My mom was dead. Does your mom really come to pick you up before you die? That’s awesome! Tears of joy shot out of my eyes. I screamed, "Mommy! You finally came for me!" "Mommy, Mommy, where are you?" "I was wrong! I won't sneak snacks anymore!" "Mommy look, I grew taller! Oh, and I got first place in my finals! Teacher says I'm smart, I can definitely get into an Ivy League school!" "Mommy, I'm gonna make so much money, you won't have to work anymore!" But no matter how much I shouted, there was no response. The black fog thickened. I started to suffocate. Death was closing in, but Mom wasn't answering. I felt sad. I mumbled, "Mommy... I miss you so much." Fate is cruel. I was adopted. Mom raised me all on her own. When I started middle school, she ran into a robber on her way home from work. She died on the spot. I became an orphan again. Then, on my sixteenth birthday, while buying a slice of cake, I got stabbed by some psycho taking revenge on society. Everyone enters the horror game for a reason. The rule is: escape the game, revive in reality. I didn't really care about living. I just missed my mom. Suddenly, a human shape materialized in the black fog. A red floral dress. Gentle features. Kind eyes. She stood in front of me, stunned for a long moment, before whispering, "Bean... you've grown so big." 3 It really was Mom! I threw myself at her, but instead of a warm hug, I felt like I was drowning. I couldn't breathe. Mom quickly stepped back. "Sorry, sorry! Bean, I forgot. I can't hold you tight right now." She was one with the black fog. The tighter she held me, the more fog I inhaled, the faster I suffocated. I had so much to say to her. She glanced at the snacks around me and started counting, frowning deeply. "Five hot dog sticks, two bottles of milk, three instant hot pots, three bags of chips... Bean, you're eating too much." I felt guilty. "I can't help it, Mom. I was hungry." "And you never let me eat this stuff before, so I lost control..." Mom interrupted me. "Eat. Just eat. Do you feel sick anywhere?" My stomach used to be incredibly sensitive. Before Mom adopted me, I ate out of garbage cans. It ruined my gut. As a kid, even an egg would make me throw up. That's why Mom controlled my diet so strictly. Science-based feeding. Once, I snuck some spicy strips and ended up in the ER, puking and having diarrhea. I saw Mom crying secretly that night. I never asked for junk food again. But weirdly, eating all this trash in the game didn't hurt at all. I ate, slept, ate again. I was living the life of a piglet. Mom sighed in relief, then looked at me seriously. "Bean, are you willing to come find me?" I nodded furiously. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Mom said her current form was just a projection. Her real self was somewhere else. She gave me a route and put a Peace Amulet around my neck. She said it could block death once. Before she left, she wasn't reassured, so she spawned a massive pile of food out of thin air. "Bean, remember what I told you. Eat well, sleep on time, drink water. And... be a coward when you need to be. Don't worry, Mom will protect you." Mom's figure blurred, her voice fading. Finally, the black fog retreated like a tide. Looking at the unchanged store, I felt dazed. Did I really just see Mom? "Bean! Are you okay?!" My companions were back. The one calling me was the burly guy, Big Mike. There were corpses scattered on the floor, blood everywhere. The bandits were dead. But the ground around my feet was spotless. Big Mike was nervous. "Kid, how did these guys die? Did the Boss show up? How... how are you alive?" The others looked at me with new suspicion. The amulet on my neck felt warm. I grinned at Big Mike. "My mom told me to go find her. Will you guys come with me?" Mom said it wasn't safe alone. I needed bodyguards. Besides, without my hot dogs, they couldn't eat anything safe. So I laid out my terms: "Come with me, and I'll cover your meals." No one wanted to starve to death in a horror game. But after hearing the route, Big Mike hesitated. "Bean... the route you described... it's full of Triple-S Rank anomalies." 4 Huh? Is it hard? No wonder Mom gave me a skill: Infinite Hot Dog Spawning. Sprinkle some chili powder... chef's kiss. Mom was definitely afraid I'd go hungry. Big Mike thought about it and said, "Bean, I know you miss your mom. But is it possible that wasn't your mom? What if it's a demon tricking you?" Would it? Trick me for what? Scamming a minor is highly unethical. Besides, I’d made up my mind. Even if it was a scammer, I was going. What if it was Mom? Big Mike hesitated, then slammed his fist into his palm. "Screw it. I'll go!" I was surprised. Big Mike smiled, though his eyes were tearing up. "The nearby monsters give low points. I can't waste time... My wife is waiting for me." Mentioning his wife, a blush appeared on his dark, rugged face. Hearing this, others stepped up. "I'll go too. My kid is waiting. She's only six!" "I'm in. This place is hell, I'm not sitting here waiting to die." "Take me!" "I'm following the Hot Dog Princess. I don't wanna starve." Soon, our squad arrived at the first stop: The Lame Old Lady's Cabin. As soon as we approached, the smell of rot hit us. Grey skies. Broken windows. Howling wind. A crow in a tree cawed, shook its wings, and flew off. The others circled me (the cook) for protection. Big Mike warned, "The Lame Old Lady is high level. A fully geared team of a hundred was wiped out here once. Careful." The temperature dropped. Everyone hugged their arms. "Why is it so cold?" "Where is she? Show yourself!" The rickety wooden door slammed shut behind us. Bang. A rasping, slow voice came from the house: "Kind travelers... can you help me build a fire?" The Lame Old Lady appeared. Her face was drooping, features indistinguishable, covered in black blood. We froze. Suddenly, she raged, her voice piercing: "You won't even help with a small favor? Then die!" A gale force wind blew. The old lady moved with unnatural speed, growing several times in size. Players hacked at her with axes and knives. Because the commotion attracted nearby players wanting to steal the boss kill, the scene became chaotic. I huddled in a safe corner. I noticed something. The more people attacked her, the stronger she got. Eventually, her voice boomed: "You all deserve to die! Be buried with me!" Screams echoed. Blood stained the ground. Bodies vanished after death, leaving only stains. In the end, only a few people managed to drag me out. Big Mike was heavily injured. He leaned against a tree in our camp, crying. "Honey... I don't think I can make it back..." Recalling what happened, I had a theory. At midnight, I clutched the amulet. While everyone slept, I snuck back to the Lame Old Lady's cabin. Here, the sky was permanently stuck in twilight. The old lady was by the well, drawing water. Sensing me, her body didn't move, but her head spun 180 degrees. She grinned stiffly. "Young one... can you help me carry the water inside? I want to take a bath."
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