A World Where Only Dark Cuisine Exists

The campus of Academy 3047 was quite spacious, and all these freshmen were just kids in their early teens. After running several laps, many were exhausted, let alone completing over twenty laps.

Those required to undergo running training were not limited to Wen Jiu’s group; at least a thousand students across the academy were running simultaneously.

Wen Jiu ran slowly amidst the crowd, grateful for the escape skills she had developed while scavenging earlier. At least for the first five laps, she didn’t feel too uncomfortable.

Lap after lap passed, and the number of students who could keep running steadily decreased. Many began to slow down or even walk.

By the eighth lap, Wen Jiu also started to feel her strength waning, but she maintained a steady pace.

By the tenth lap, sweat dripped continuously from Wen Jiu’s forehead, and the back of her shirt was soaked, clinging tightly to her skin.

Fewer than a hundred students were still running.

Gritting her teeth, Wen Jiu took each step with determination. Even as sweat ran down her eyebrows and into her eyes, she forced herself to keep them open and look forward.

Later, she felt as if her legs were weighed down with lead; if anyone told her to stop at that moment, she would have collapsed instantly.

Finally, she made it to the fifteenth lap, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, but still, about thirty others, like her, pushed their bodies onward.

“The training today is for a better tomorrow! Those of you still walking, get running!” a teacher observing nearby suddenly shouted. “If you slack off now, how can you rely on that in battle later?”

Wen Jiu’s vision began to blur, and her legs moved stiffly like mechanical parts.

Just when she felt she was about to collapse, she suddenly heard the teacher speak again.

“Today the cafeteria made about thirty servings of fried chicken.”

Everyone present understood what that meant. Students who had slowed down started to sprint with renewed vigor.

Wen Jiu naturally heard this too. The thought of fried chicken instantly gave her the strength to endure a bit longer.

She had run five laps fewer than most others, giving her an advantage in lap count. Now on the seventeenth lap, she began to increase her speed gradually.

“Eighteen, nineteen... only eleven servings left. Those behind, keep it up,” the teachers called out as they counted off students who finished.

Wen Jiu calculated in her mind—there were only five people ahead of her. If she kept her pace and pushed forward, that fried chicken was within reach.

But she didn’t slow down; instead, she bit her lip and sped up, eager to challenge her limits. The runners ahead were slowing to a steady pace since they were near the end, allowing Wen Jiu to quickly overtake them and sprint toward the finish line.

“Twenty, congratulations to this student.”

At the moment Wen Jiu crossed the finish line, she collapsed from exhaustion. A teacher approached and administered some nutritional fluid at her lips.

The moment the fluid entered her mouth, Wen Jiu realized it was far superior to the cheap supplements she usually bought. Instantly, much of her fatigue eased.

After regaining some strength, Wen Jiu stood up slowly and approached the teacher.

“Go to the cafeteria and collect your fried chicken.”

The teacher took Wen Jiu’s small hand and stamped a glowing purple mark on the back of it.

While thinking about where the cafeteria was, Wen Jiu looked at the mark, thinking it resembled an old pork stamp from before...

Lost in thought, she soon arrived at the cafeteria.

As she approached, the glass doors silently slid open to both sides.

It was just noon, and the cafeteria was bustling with people, each queue orderly waiting at their respective windows to get food.

This gave Wen Jiu a faint sense of familiarity. When her master had sent her to study before, she had often stood in similar lines at mealtimes.

Scanning the many windows, Wen Jiu quickly found the line where others were gathering to claim their fried chicken. She grabbed a tray from a nearby rack and joined the back of the line.

Just thinking about the fragrant fried chicken lifted her spirits.

One by one, people at the front collected their trays and left, until finally, it was Wen Jiu’s turn.

Approaching the transparent counter, she was surprised to see that the staff inside were not cafeteria workers but students wearing school uniforms like herself.

The only difference was that those inside wore masks and aprons.

Without asking too many questions, Wen Jiu showed her stamped hand to the staff, who quickly handed her a tightly wrapped portion of fried chicken in foil.

With the chicken in hand, Wen Jiu quickly found an empty seat and eagerly prepared to feast.

She tore open the foil with enthusiasm, only to find the chicken inside was nothing like she had imagined.

The pieces were half burnt and half raw, and to make matters worse, a few feathers still clung to the skin.

Her bright smile instantly faded. She tore off a drumstick and examined it.

What kind of skill does it take to burn the outside while leaving the inside still dripping blood?

Moreover, the raw smell hadn’t been removed. Wen Jiu didn’t even need to taste it—just the pungent odor was enough to repel her.

This was a scam, wasn’t it? What kind of fried chicken was this?

Wen Jiu wanted to confront the cafeteria staff but glanced around to see that the meals on everyone else’s trays were hardly edible.

Blue stir-fried vegetables, meat cooked down to a mush, charred food unrecognizable in form, and rice that looked like porridge but was actually just water with too much rice.

To Wen Jiu, these dishes were hard to swallow just by sight, yet the students ate without blinking, as if they were used to it.

Could the cafeteria only serve such dreadful dishes? Wen Jiu panicked slightly. As a food lover, this was terrifying.

She nervously peeked at every window, hoping for something better, but found nothing.

Was this a world where only awful food existed?

Feeling overwhelmed, Wen Jiu sat back down, lost in thought.

“Are you Wen Jiu?” a voice suddenly asked as someone patted her on the shoulder.

Startled, Wen Jiu turned to see a slender young boy staring at her.

“Are you Wen Jiu?” Li Shanyan asked again, impatience written all over his face.

Wen Jiu nodded softly.

“If so, come with me. You owe tuition, right? Teacher Yu arranged for you to work in our cafeteria to repay your debt,” Li Shanyan said, hands in pockets, glancing at her.

Wen Jiu hesitated for a moment, unsure who Teacher Yu was. She asked, “Who is Teacher Yu?”

“Yu Ruman, the pretty one,” Li Shanyan replied without further explanation. After confirming Wen Jiu’s identity, he turned and headed toward a silver metal door.

Wen Jiu stood up and followed him, quickly analyzing in her mind.

The pretty teacher must be the woman who helped her with enrollment a few days ago. Since she was told to work to repay debt, it must mean her tuition wasn’t fully settled, so she needed to earn her keep.

Li Shanyan led Wen Jiu through the metal door and through winding corridors into an office.

“We’re here.”