Chapter 2786: The Feast of Nightmares (Part 5)

Things were, of course, not that simple.

The head chef quickly turned his head and looked toward Shiler's table, because there were two people at this table who hadn't moved their forks: Shiler and Jeremiah.

The head chef walked over toward them.

"May I ask if these two gentlemen have any opinions regarding this dish?" The head chef's attitude was still considered amiable, but that smile clearly contained a hidden threat, and his tone was also a bit aggressive.

Before Shiler could speak, Jeremiah spoke first.

"No, the dish is excellent. It's just that I haven't finished my wine yet. I didn't expect your restaurant's efficiency in serving dishes to be so high, and I am someone accustomed to savoring wine slowly. My apologies."

The head chef's expression stiffened for a moment, but he ultimately accepted this explanation. Shiler, however, realized that Jeremiah was stalling for time. Why?

Just as the head chef shifted his attention to Shiler, a sudden change occurred in the restaurant.

A diner who had already eaten their own head three times seemed to suddenly go mad; instead of cutting off their own head, they took a table knife, cut off the head of the person next to them, placed it on their own plate, and began to feast.

And after they finished eating that head, they set their sights on the person to their right, cut off their head as well, and began eating even faster.

And the person whose head had been cut off did not enter again.

*As expected, * Shiler thought, *this so-called "eating oneself" doesn't refer to eating one's own head, but rather eating those of the same social stratum as oneself; this group devours itself. *

Shiler also discovered that those who had finished eating their third head were attacking others who were currently eating their third head, while those who were not attacked were those who hadn't yet had the chance to eat their third head, even if some of them were closer to these madmen.

In other words, as long as one didn't pick up a knife and fork for the third head, one wouldn't be attacked. That was why Jeremiah was stalling for time, because it was obvious that once you started eating, you couldn't stop.

Therefore, the later you started, the later you would reach the third head, and the later you would be attacked. Looking at the current scene, those who had eaten others' heads didn't undergo any mutations or become stronger, so naturally, the later you entered, the more advantageous your position, and the fewer opponents you had to deal with.

Relying on pre-meal wine to stall for time wasn't a bad idea, but Shiler thought this might be because Jeremiah was a science student; after all, in the TV series, he could work with Batman to develop the energy hub and deceive Batman. He seemed to be a science expert.

But Shiler was different; he was a white-collar worker. Since there was someone in this restaurant who could communicate, he had no need to use such a tactic that felt like cheating. He had a better way.

Seeing the head chef's gaze cast toward him, Shiler calmly adjusted his napkin, but looked at the head chef with a gaze slightly tinged with reproach and disappointment.

"My apologies, sir, but I seem to have heard you say earlier that you would introduce the story behind every dish. I was just intending to listen intently. Do you really want me to taste the delicacies you have meticulously crafted in such an ignorant and oblivious state? Allow me to say, this is far too unprofessional."

The head chef's expression immediately darkened.

Shiler sighed and said, "Food is merely for maintaining survival. The process of it being converted into nutrients in our stomachs and intestines has no aesthetic beauty whatsoever; that should be left for biologists and doctors to study."

"If we put all our energy into that, we are grossly underestimating the significance of gourmet food to human society. On the contrary, we should pay more attention to the spiritual enjoyment that gourmet food brings."

"God bestowed taste buds upon humanity so that we might unify our senses with our spirit, so a purely wonderful taste is not enough to fully interpret the meaning of gourmet food."

Shiler tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said, "I am more concerned with the process of how a dish is created, how that fleeting spark of inspiration is ignited in the chef's mind, the way they choose to realize their inspiration, whether there is any unique significance in the choice of ingredients, and what kind of emotions are expressed the moment the dish is completed."

"I thought I would hear these things." Shiler exhaled and shook his head, saying, "And yet you actually said to just eat it like this. I must say, this is truly disappointing. I thought the world-famous Brovini Restaurant would give me a surprise."

The head chef clearly couldn't hold his composure; the corners of his mouth turned deeply downward, and his prominent nasolabial folds looked like two deep gullies.

"The vast majority of people here do not care about the meaning of gourmet food," he said. "They can't even remember the name of a dish, or they manipulate their power in public opinion, ignoring the chef's feelings."

*Slap! *

The crisp sound startled even the head chef. He looked at Shiler, who had slapped his fork onto the tabletop, and saw a gaze slightly tinged with anger.

The head chef really wanted to ask: *What are you angry about? *

"Do you think I am that kind of person?" Shiler was almost interrogating him. He said, "What makes you think so? I recall we shouldn't have had any interaction before, sir. Is this the etiquette with which you treat your guests?!"

After throwing down his fork, Shiler stood up directly, smoothed the hem of his trench coat, and said, "If this is your attitude, then I must also tell you that I do not believe someone like you can make any good food, and I will not waste any more time here with you."

Having said that, Shiler lifted his foot to leave. At the same moment, the waiters who had returned to their original positions after serving the dishes seemed to undergo some sudden mutation. Jeremiah also widened his eyes, looking at Shiler in shock. If one were to describe his expression at this moment, it would probably be: "Where the hell did this lunatic come from? You're still being picky here???"

The head chef stepped to the side, just enough to block Shiler. He looked at Shiler with a gloomy gaze and said, "I have to admit that what you said makes sense, sir. I apologize for my rudeness. I hope you can give me one last chance. Would you be willing to sit down again and listen to my interpretation of this dish?"

Shiler seemed a bit hesitant. He looked the head chef up and down several times, and then, as if he had just remembered something, said, "I seem to have a bit of an impression of you. You appeared in a previous issue of *World Chef Magazine*, but you disappeared shortly after..."

The head chef's eyes brightened slightly. He said, "I didn't expect anyone to still remember me. Do you still remember my name?"

Shiler actually had no idea who he was, but he wasn't flustered at all and said, "Since you chose to come to Gotham, your original name must certainly not be mentioned. But if you choose to continue providing gourmet food to people in this city, then I believe you are a respectable chef."

Having said that, Shiler turned back and sat down again.

By this time, the restaurant was already in chaos, because more and more people had eaten their third head. They seemed to have lost the ability to cut off their own heads for sustenance and had to set their sights on others. Therefore, almost everyone was rushing toward others with table knives in hand.

Suddenly, screams, wails, wanton laughter, and roars filled the air. The head chef seemed to feel a bit impatient. He lowered his eyelids and roared in a low voice, "Quiet!"

Instantly, everyone's wrists felt as if they had been struck; the table knives fell to the ground. They were pressed back into their seats by some invisible force, but they still looked very hungry, frantically devouring any shred of meat they could find on their plates.

"You named this dish 'Nutrient.' I also heard this term in the ballad earlier. May I ask if this has any special significance?"

He had actually heard that ballad. Jeremiah's eyes were even more shocked. Hearing one's own rotting head singing to oneself, and his only question was whether the word "nutrient" had any special significance???

The head chef cleared his throat. Only then did he look at the head on Shiler's plate, and he clearly noticed that this head did not look like Shiler.

"Before that, allow me to ask one question: why is this..."

"Have you heard of Dissociative Identity Disorder?" Shiler asked in return. He said, "Not everyone's self in their mind is themselves."

The head chef revealed an expression of realization and accepted this explanation. He said, "The word 'nutrient' is just as it literally means. In the past, they obtained nutrients from those below them, and this was obviously limited. Sooner or later, they would have to satisfy their endless greed by cannibalizing themselves."

"You think the key lies in greed?" Shiler sat in his chair, looked up at the head chef, and said, "The ballad says 'they are becoming fewer and fewer,' but I am sorry, I hold the opposite view to yours."

The head chef frowned. He was just about to say something, but stopped, making a gesture of listening intently, as if he had made up his mind that Shiler couldn't come up with any point.

"There is a significant logical contradiction in this." Shiler extended a hand and said, "Let's put it bluntly: you think the rich have always been exploiting the poor, right?"

"Yes, they only treat us as nutrients."

"Good. Then what kind of people are the poor? Perhaps you would say that people like you are the poor. Then what about the homeless on the street? Do you think you are one and the same?"

"Oh, I know you think you are the process, and the homeless are the result. But have you ever thought that as more and more of you are exploited into becoming homeless, the number of homeless people will increase?"

"Yes, but the homeless can no longer provide them with nutrients. They can no longer be counted as people."

"Completely wrong, sir. You think that after people like you are exploited by the rich, you lose all your meaning and become non-humans who don't even count as nutrients."

"Isn't that so?" The head chef narrowed his eyes and said, "There are too many such people in this world."

"I am not saying this to deny their evil deeds, but to say that the homeless are not the result, because the homeless in America still live quite comfortably. Many people are kind enough to give them food. As long as they aren't suffering from severe illness or courting death themselves, they can live for a long time, can't they?"

"They still have room to fall. If they are the result, then what about those living in the slums of war-torn countries?"

"They are all people whose nutrients have been drained," the head chef said.

"I didn't say they had to be ranked. You seem to think that this fall after being drained of nutrients has no bottom line."

"If you think death is the bottom line, then I have nothing to say." The head chef shook his head.

"Wrong." Shiler looked at him and said, "There is another layer between living in a daze and death."

"What is it?"

"Rising up to resist." Shiler said it as if it were common sense. He said, "If you can't live well, but don't want to die, isn't there only one way out left?"

"But the vast majority of people simply don't have..."

"But you don't belong to the vast majority." Shiler said, "Even if you didn't have it before, now you have the ability to resist. Aren't you doing exactly that?"

The head chef picked up a fork from the table next to him, thrust it forcefully into the head of the man beside Shiler, and said, "You are right. I am resisting in my own way. I demand that they return the nutrients they obtained from me. This is my interpretation of this dish."

"No." To the surprise of both the head chef and Jeremiah, Shiler raised another objection. He said, "That counts as an interpretation, but it is by no means the best interpretation." ===== CHAPTER 2787 =====