The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 364 - 253: Vending Machine

Chapter 364: Chapter 253: Vending Machine

"Ignoring the surveillance, Zhou Yuan became a truly invisible person by minimizing his presence to the lowest level.

He openly started exploring the kitchen and discovered there were no doors leading deeper inside, the only things that could be considered paths were the dozens of food conveyor belts.

After a brief contemplation, Zhou Yuan entered his Elementalization form and stealthily slipped onto the conveyor belt, moving against its direction.

The conveyor belt extended from square holes in the kitchen walls, with no security inspection devices around, and the interior walls’ red bricks were exposed, creating an extremely rudimentary look with a utilitarian style.

Oddly enough, the space outside the hole was engulfed in profound darkness, the kind of pitch black that not even any light could illuminate, making the conveyor belt and the food on it seem to be operating out of the void.

Zhou Yuan possessed Dark Vision, so he could clearly see the scenery outside the hole, the conveyor belt beneath his feet stretching to the limit of sight, surrounded on all sides by empty nothingness, with other conveyor belts vaguely visible.

After confirming that there was no danger, he breached in, and a massive space unfolded before him.

Hundreds of conveyor belts at various heights floated in the void without any support, defying gravity and moving at a breakneck speed, carrying food continuously like lifelines to various floors.

Besides that, the surroundings were utterly vacant, devoid of anything but endless darkness, reminiscent of the silent zones in space he had once seen; quiet, desolate, suffocating.

A few minutes into his reverse progression, the conveyor belt started to slope downward, like a highway leading into hell.

Finally, Zhou Yuan arrived at his destination—a vast factory established in the darkness of nothingness, with hundreds of conveyor belts spreading from it, the deafening roar of machinery operating ceaselessly inside.

"You’ve come to the underground of Reagan Food Processing Factory, this is the real kitchen. Be cautious, the security forces here are very strong and, oddly enough, delicious."

Delicious?

Zhou Yuan was taken aback, was that description somewhat off?

As he continued along the conveyor belt into the factory, a vastly spacious area came into view. Forklifts shuttled back and forth, hauling all kinds of goods, and countless figures bustled about unloading and then moving items onto the conveyor belts—one busy yet orderly scene.

The busy workers were not humans or an Alien Race, but various snack-shaped humans.

For instance, Gummy men, Biscuit men, Chip men, Chocolate men, Sachima men, Nougat men...

Zhou Yuan was stunned, indeed—they were delicious, with an aroma that was enticing.

"Snack People, they’re the perfect labor force created by the factory; completely loyal, they require no wages, no food or drink, no rest, no social interaction, and they work diligently at all times. If damaged, they’re thrown into the recycling station to be made into snacks, and moreover, they possess considerable combat abilities. They are the core security team of the factory."

"Absolutely top-tier tools," Zhou Yuan marveled, even considering recruiting these guys for himself.

As his gaze swept around, a wealth of information popped up in his field of vision—origin, purchase price, years of service, and specifications of the forklifts... production date, material composition, contents inside the crates... the Snack People’s production methods, sugar content, current positions, wear and tear, transcend abilities, weaknesses...

Soon, Zhou Yuan spotted the information he wanted.

"By taking this freight elevator, you will reach the cafeteria’s forbidden area, where the anomaly producing the food is confined. As for the security inside, they won’t be a problem for you."

A faint shadow silently glided toward the recently closed freight elevator, squeezing through the crack of the door.

The inside of the elevator was vast, and because it had just finished unloading, everything inside was fully visible.

There stood a towering figure with head bowed, sword planted firmly at his side. Sensing something, he suddenly raised his head, and sharp light burst forth from his eyes.

This scene was like stumbling into a BOSS room—if tense, thrilling background music had played, it would have been perfect.

The elevator attendant was a Nougat man, tough and powerful, his body encased in a suit of finely crafted sugar armor, his sword also carved from nougat, astoundingly sharp, its blade shimmering with a metallic luster, demonstrating unparalleled might.

He stood there with imposing aura, his body a flawless white, like a holy knight, emitting a sickly sweet milky fragrance, in reality, a special gas that could lure people into a sweet and gentle dreamland.

Zhou Yuan, in a state of elementalization, was unaffected. He used his Spiritual Energy to forge a fake image in the elevator’s surveillance system, then struck like lightning.

"So it’s a plain nougat, without any nuts—I don’t approve!"

Suddenly, the light in the elevator darkened, numerous faint shadows swirling and intertwining easily sliced the Nougat Knight into countless pieces that scattered across the ground.

Now it really turned into nougat.

Zhou Yuan opened the Dark Plane and collected the scattered nougat. After all, it was the body of a Transcendent Creature, filled with special energy; it should not be wasted.

On the ground, a mass of black mud writhed and stood up, taking on the semblance of the Nougat Knight. At his current Rank, the Shadow Series under Zhou Yuan’s control could take on myriad forms, the counterfeit beings nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

The elevator began its slow descent; as the door opened, the outside was crowded with Snack People pushing flat carts who, without a word, started moving the goods.

Zhou Yuan slipped out, heading into the interior, where Snack People bustled about, moving cargo with the efficiency of an assembly line.

As he drew closer, the rumbling of machine operations grew louder, the sound so intense it hurt one’s ears.

Before long, a colossal ancient cave appeared before Zhou Yuan, the thunderous noise of the machinery reaching an unprecedented peak, the din hitting like a tsunami wave.

In the center of the cave stood a thirty-five-meter-tall red vending machine, its casing marked with peeling paint scars, evidence of its weather-beaten age.

Instead of transparent glass, the front of the vending machine was an electronic panel, now flickering with endlessly changing gibberish, as if it was out of control, twitching.

In the lower-left corner of the vending machine, a blast-resistant transparent panel that was only meant to open inward was now flung outward. Two thick steel chains stretched from either side, forcibly keeping it open.

A torrent of food fell from the vending machine like raindrops.

The Snack People operated excavators, shoveling food out bit by bit, then packaging it for transport to the elevator.

[Hypnosis, imprisonment, restraint, physical harm, forced reproduction? This place seems a bit off.]

What’s off is you... Zhou Yuan couldn’t help but retort internally.

He looked toward the mountainous vending machine, as relevant information floated up before his eyes.