When the others finally realized what had happened, not a single person dared to stop Lucas.
Instead, an unspoken anticipation settled in the air. Somewhere deep inside, they all wondered the same thing—
"Maybe… maybe he really can satisfy the customers?"
Lucas leaned close to Martin, whose consciousness was already beginning to blur, and whispered with a strange mixture of calmness and menace.
"Keep breathing. Keep your liver active. There will be no fresher liver than this…"
Martin trembled, eyes fluttering weakly, and Lucas continued in a tone that was both comfort and command:
"As long as you hold on, this sashimi will surely satisfy the customers."
Hearing these words, Martin gave a slow, almost reluctant nod. His body was collapsing, yet the nod carried a desperate will to live—or at least to be useful in this final moment.
Lucas lifted him carefully, set him onto the tray, and felt the weight settle. The mechanical pallet beneath them began to rise on its own, carrying Martin toward the unseen heavens.
The rest of the workers bowed their heads as the tray disappeared upward. For a long stretch of silence, they simply stared at the dark shaft, listening to the echo of the rising gears. Then—
Beep!
The small black box on the counter flashed with a new prompt:
"Satisfied."
The room exploded with wild cheers. People clapped, some shouted with relief, and even those hardened by this grotesque factory could not help but show joy.
Lucas exhaled, finally allowing the tension in his chest to ease.
"It seems," he muttered, "that Martin managed to hold on until the table."
---
The System Speaks
A cold metallic voice filled his ears:
[System prompt: Player Lucas has created a human liver sashimi that satisfied the customers and completed a hidden task.]
[Reward: Special Sauce of the Little Master Chef]
Item Type: Food
Quality: Excellent
Attack Power: None
Attributes: None
Remarks: Even the dullest food, when touched by a drop of this sauce, will shine with dazzling golden light, its taste elevated to the level of god-tier cuisine… a delicacy envied across worlds.
Lucas held the sauce bottle in his hand. The glass seemed to glimmer faintly, as if it held divine fire.
---
Reactions Beyond the Room
Meanwhile, the live broadcast of the finals was running across countless screens. Most viewers had been focused on Ethan Walker, a popular contestant, but now all attention shifted.
The split screen showing Lucas's performance had erupted in activity. At first, gasps of disbelief filled the chat. Then, when Lucas boldly sent Martin into the pipeline, a silence swept across the feed.
And then—chaos.
"What the hell? You're telling me that was a hidden mission?!"
"This guy is insane—INSANE!"
"Every step of this dungeon is a death trap. No normal person could survive in it."
"But it's Lucas! Of course it's him!!"
The audience watching online began showering Lucas with tips and digital gifts, his popularity shooting upward like wildfire. Within minutes, he climbed to fifth place overall—a feat no one expected.
To the others still working inside the Hungry Beacon, Lucas was no longer just another player.
In their eyes, he had become something greater—perhaps even a savior.
---
The Next Task
The black box chimed again, spitting out a new slip of paper. Lucas caught it between his fingers.
"Premium sake tenderloin," he read aloud.
The workers instantly returned to their frantic routine, knives chopping, trays sliding, sweat dripping. The woman in charge of evaluating and packaging raw materials suddenly froze.
"We're running low on tenderloins!" she shouted, her masked face turning toward Lucas.
Their eyes met. For a moment, Lucas saw a flicker of nervous humanity in her gaze, hidden behind layers of exhaustion.
The system added its cold reminder:
[Food Factory Workers: Advanced Hazards]
Finally, she spoke again, her tone softer.
"I almost forgot… you're new here today. The inventory is nearly gone. I'll need to notify the lower floors to send fresh meat up."
She hurried to Lucas, pressed the red button on the black box, scribbled a note, and slid it inside. The machine rattled and clicked, gears spinning somewhere deep in the walls.
"Wait here," she instructed. "From now on, you'll be taking over Martin's job."
Lucas noticed the fabric of her mask wrinkle slightly—was she smiling? Her eyes glimmered with something like respect, even kindness.
---
Into the Darkness
She returned to her station, leaving Lucas by the pipe. He stared down into the abyss where the tray had vanished. Nothing but endless blackness stared back.
"There are guests above," Lucas murmured, "but down below… there are people trapped in prison too."
The thought gnawed at him. He wiped his bloodied kitchen knife against the metal rim of the pipe, the screech of steel on iron echoing into the hollow shaft.
For once, no one complained about him holding a knife. His boldness earlier had silenced all objections.
[System prompt: Player Lucas has uncovered the first clue to the Hungry Lighthouse.]
[Side mission progress: +5%.]
[World exploration progress: 31%.]
The system's whisper chilled him. Only food placed on the trays could travel between the upper and lower worlds. The Hungry Beacon was both prison and passage.
---
Delivery Returns
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of metal rattling against the pipe walls echoed upward. The tray was returning.
"Delivery's here," the woman reminded him.
The smell hit him first—thick, metallic, suffocating. Blood.
The tray emerged, laden with slabs of raw meat. Muscles, tendons, bones still glistening.
[Risk assessment: Generating based on host's current strength…]
Human tenderloin: No danger
Human front leg: No danger
Human upper shoulder: No danger
Triple-layered body cuts: No danger
Lucas's eyes narrowed. It was ordinary meat, harvested freshly. But then—
A shout erupted:
"How did YOU get up here?!"
Everyone turned toward the tray.
---
The Unexpected Passenger
Among the bloody cuts stood a man. His coat and shorts were shredded, caked in filth so dark their original color could not be guessed. His skin was coated in a greasy black sheen, as though it hadn't been washed for years.
He trembled, chest heaving, blood dripping from a wound on his head. Red streaks ran down his face and dripped onto the tray with steady tick… tick… sounds.
His eyes—bloodshot, wild, feral—scanned the room like those of a starving predator.
[Modeling… generating risk assessment based on host's strength…]
[Villager of Mining Town: Danger Level—about to surpass high-tier threshold.]
Lucas's grip tightened on his knife.
The others recoiled in horror.
The Hungry Beacon had delivered not only meat—but a man.
And this man was not simply prey.
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