Chapter Five: A Bizarre World

After lying in bed for three hours, Chen Yun could no longer stay still. He got up to put on his clothes, only to discover something odd. The shirt that had been stained with blood was now clean and spotless, as pristine as when it was first unwrapped.

“How strange,” he muttered. “Did my master take it out and wash it while I was asleep? Impossible—even if he did, there’s no way it could dry so quickly.” Chen Yun was puzzled, until his eyes landed on a line of text above the shirt.

“‘Wear Me Now’ Outer Garment: White-grade Equipment. Defense 2. Durability 47/50. Additional Effect: Cleanliness +1.”

The other attributes remained unchanged, but the durability had dropped by three points. What was going on? Chen Yun pondered and came up with a possible explanation. In games, equipment loses durability when it suffers attacks—either physical or magical. He had been slapped and then yanked by the NPC Wang Dana. Could the system have registered these as two attacks? He remembered clearly that when he first put on the shirt, the durability was at max.

“That must be it. Wang Dana’s level is higher than mine—all his stats are question marks. His attack must be high, or he couldn’t have taken more than twenty hit points from me in a single slap. But why did the shirt lose three points of durability? Where did the extra point go? Could it be…” Chen Yun narrowed his eyes. “Could it be related to the bloodstain disappearing?”

He was certain that the mysterious disappearance of the bloodstain was connected to the system somehow, though he couldn’t figure out the exact relationship yet.

“Everything has to be figured out by myself, huh? Terrible user experience!” Chen Yun grumbled as he dressed.

When he entered the restaurant’s main hall, the guests had long since finished eating and left. The room was silent, with only the owner dozing behind the counter.

Seeing Chen Yun, the owner looked up and said, “Why are you out here, Xiao Chen? Go back and rest. You spat up so much blood just now—tonight, I’ll have Old Hu make you a dish to replenish your blood.”

“Thank you, Boss,” Chen Yun replied gratefully. “But really, there’s no need. I’m fine now. It’s an old problem—been years. I’m used to it.”

“An old problem for years?” The owner had never heard of someone coughing up blood so often that it became a chronic condition. He found it odd but didn’t press further, only nodding. “If it’s an old problem, you should be even more careful. I suggest you see a doctor. Otherwise, you’ll regret it later.”

“I’ll go to the hospital if I get a chance,” Chen Yun said, though in his heart he thought, “This illness of mine is one of a kind. Only the system can cure it—no point going anywhere.”

“Where’s my master?” Chen Yun asked, noticing that his teacher wasn’t in the hall.

“At this hour, Old Hu should be in the kitchen prepping for dinner. If you’re free, go help him,” the owner said after glancing at his watch.

“All right.” Chen Yun nodded and headed for the kitchen.

At the kitchen door, Chen Yun surveyed the modest space. The facilities were obviously old. Near the door was a yellowed sink, with some leafy greens soaking in it. To the left stood a large, chipped cabinet with multiple compartments, filled with all sorts of ingredients.

To the left of the cabinet were three chopping blocks arranged in a row: one for vegetables, one for meat, and one for fish and seafood. Judging by their wear, the first two were used most often—the third, for seafood, had only shallow knife marks, clearly seldom used.

Further left was the heart of the kitchen—the stove. Its perimeter was lined with white marble, though it had long since yellowed and was now more yellow than white.

“Master,” Chen Yun greeted, stepping inside and addressing his master, who was busy cutting meat.

Hu Daniu looked up, startled to see him. “Why aren’t you resting in your room? What are you doing here?”

“Master, like I said, it’s an old problem. A bit of rest is enough—any more won’t help. The boss said you were busy in here, so I came to see if I could lend a hand.” As he spoke, Chen Yun glanced at Hu Daniu’s basic stats.

“NPC Hu Daniu. Profession: Junior Chef. Level: ? Strength: ? Constitution: ? Attack: ? ...”

Damn! Chen Yun was shocked—his master’s stats were all question marks too. How was he supposed to survive here?

“You’re really all right?” Hu Daniu asked suspiciously.

“I’m fine, really! Don’t worry,” Chen Yun said, patting his chest. “I’m feeling great now. Whatever you need done, just tell me.”

“All right, then. Can you chop vegetables?” Hu Daniu glanced at the prepped ingredients. “Cut those vegetables. Our customers aren’t picky about presentation—just cut them up so I can see your basic skills.”

“Yes, Master.” Chen Yun washed his hands, pulled out the washed vegetables, and placed them in a basket by the chopping block. He grabbed a radish that looked just like the ones from Earth and asked, “Master, should I slice this radish or julienne it?”

“Radish?” Hu Daniu was taken aback. “What radish?”

“This one,” Chen Yun said, holding up the radish. “Isn’t this a radish?”

“You call ub-lar a radish? Which teacher taught you that?” Hu Daniu’s expression grew odd.

“Pineapple?” Chen Yun looked at the radish in his hand in surprise. It did resemble a pineapple just a little, but how could it be a pineapple? Did things have different names in this world?

“What about this?” Hu Daniu picked up a sweet potato.

“Sweet potato,” Chen Yun said, confused. It was clearly a sweet potato, just like on Earth.

“And this?” Hu Daniu’s expression became even stranger as he picked up a cabbage.

“Cabbage?” Chen Yun asked, his confidence faltering under his master’s odd gaze.

“And this?” Hu Daniu lifted a carp.

Chen Yun studied the carp’s attributes. According to the system, it was a level-one ingredient: carp. But why did his master’s expression look so strange? Could it be…

“Is this…fish-carp?” Chen Yun ventured.

“Well, you finally got one right. I’m really curious—who taught you to recognize ingredients? Every name you give is backwards. You’re truly a talent!” Hu Daniu tossed the carp back into the basket and looked at Chen Yun with sympathy. “Xiao Chen, just from this I can tell what kind of life you’ve led all these years. Looks like I’ll have to teach you from the ground up.”

He picked up a kitchen knife. “Let’s start with the basics. See this? This is a ‘vegetable knife’. The sharp edge is for cutting vegetables. The spine is for crushing harder ingredients. The handle is for…”

As he listened to his master’s explanation, Chen Yun’s mouth twitched. They say there are always oddities in the world, but this year there seem to be even more. What he was facing was no ordinary oddity, but an entire world of oddities—a world where everything was named in reverse!