With the Slime, this seemingly bottomless passage doesn't seem so gloomy.
When Yu Xiaoxiao reached the bottom, she shone the flashlight around, but there was nothing to be seen in the empty surroundings.
The Slime said, "The master doesn't like light, so we can only carry a small lamp to walk."
The green, sticky Slime placed a colorful small lampshade on its head.
Inside was a luminous crystal stone.
This time the illuminated area was much larger than that of a flashlight. The Slime led the way ahead, and Yu Xiaoxiao followed it cautiously.
"Is this the dungeon...?" She murmured.
Apart from being too dark, she didn't have any other feelings at the moment.
Time seemed to stand still, and even the sound of the wind couldn't be heard. The soft light from the crystal lamp spread gently in all directions, and the occasional pillars that could be seen, quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Tick, tock, tick, tock...
The Slime stopped in front of a stone door and placed the small lamp on the lamp holder at the entrance.
Next to it was a small pond about half a meter in size, covered with moss on the surface. A bamboo tube was tied to the stone wall, and water droplets could be seen slowly dripping, causing ripples.
"The kitchen is behind here. Mr. Roko asked me to give you the recipes. Come in quickly, we need to make a sumptuous dish in the shortest time."
Pushing open the stone door, the world instantly brightened as if walking out of a cave.
While Yu Xiaoxiao was still in a daze, the Slime had already pushed her inside.
Closing the door, it proudly said, "How is the setup? Not bad, right?"
Mr. Roko said to replace the chef.
And it is a girl from Earth.
So, according to the habits of living on Earth, the Slime prepared a closed kitchen that they were most familiar with.
The lamps used for lighting here are all purchased from Earth.
The entire kitchen looks like a high-end apartment, with all the necessary equipment.
There is even a rest area, a soft blue leather sofa, a large screen for a private cinema hanging on the wall, and a fruit platter on the side table.
The Slime continued, "You are still in the internship period, so you can only enter the dungeon during working hours. But after you become a regular, this place will be yours!"
"Come, these are the recipes. Study them yourself, I'm going out to water the rocks."
"Oh..." Yu Xiaoxiao was still in a daze.
Today's events completely changed her perception of this world.
Opening the recipe, the preferences of the Third Prince were manually recorded inside.
Yu Xiaoxiao casually flipped through a few pages, finding many dishes she had never seen before with unique cooking methods. However, the methods for cooking were still the usual ones like frying, steaming, and boiling.
Opening the refrigerator, most of the ingredients inside were beef, as well as various seafood.
Although Yu Xiaoxiao can cook, she is good at Chinese cuisine.
For the dishes in her memory, she could only try them out with determination.
Beef, bread, ham, potatoes, fried fish, and cooked vegetables. She had previously seen them on a gourmet website, and they weren't difficult to make.
In about half an hour, all the food was ready, and she carefully arranged the plates.
There were also green plants for decoration on the marble tabletop, and Yu Xiaoxiao placed two on it, making it look decent.
She shook the bell nearby, and the Slime came in.
It pushed a serving trolley and said, "Xiaoxiao, put the food on it, then you can go."
"Okay." Yu Xiaoxiao put the plates on it.
The Slime took out a bottle of red wine from the cupboard, and with joy, pushed the trolley away.
Yu Xiaoxiao: "......"
It was very simple to make a meal.
She hesitated for a moment, walked to the stone door. Outside was pitch-black, even with a small lamp, there was an indescribable eeriness.
Without that sticky green monster, Yu Xiaoxiao found that she had no idea which way to go.
Or... she could wait for it to come back.
Yu Xiaoxiao closed the stone door.
She sat on the sofa, continuing to study the recipes. They were all dishes the previous chef was good at. Judging from the meticulousness, even the number of bites the Third Prince took of each dish was recorded.
She didn't know if what she made today would suit his taste, and if it didn't—
Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of something, and her face instantly lost its color.
If that person gets angry, will he eat her up? No, she couldn't stay here any longer!
Yu Xiaoxiao headed towards the doorway.
She picked up the crystal lamp, using its light to try to recall the way she came.
This stone statue was very peculiar, a woman with her upper body bare, holding a vase in her arms.
Hmm, she should go left.
The gigantic stone pillars were too high to see the top. The underground city was vast, but only the rugged stone walls and dried-up lake bed made it seem incredibly desolate.
At least, Yu Xiaoxiao didn't think it was a place where people lived.
It looked more like a giant prison.
But when she thought of the scene in the kitchen, it was indeed a luxurious and high-end decoration.
So, everything couldn't be judged solely by appearance. Perhaps the person was just lazy about building the underground city.
Yu Xiaoxiao walked on, suddenly stepping on something. She looked down with the lamp and found it was a golden wine cup.
This was obviously just the tip of the iceberg.
Yu Xiaoxiao looked to the side, and a variety of precious artifacts were strewn casually on the damp ground. There were countless gold and silver jewelry, as well as seemingly valuable picture albums and crafts.
Even if they were packed in large trucks, it would take dozens of boxes to hold them all.
Maybe this wasn't a big deal for the Kalya Empire.
This person living in the underground city also had royal blood, and the wealth he possessed was immeasurable. To him, these scattered artifacts were no different from the stones on the ground.
Yu Xiaoxiao walked on, afraid that something would grab her ankle halfway.
It wasn't until her feet were starting to ache that she saw the staircase she had come down. She looked up, unable to see the end.
Fortunately, the staircase was relatively flat, not so steep.
Yu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, holding onto the wooden handrail as she walked upwards. Perhaps because of the illumination from the small lamp, or maybe the thought of nearly being home, her mood gradually lightened.
Finally, she could see the light from the bedroom.
She almost skipped the last few steps, and upon emerging from the cabinet door, her legs went weak, and she knelt on the floor.
The small lamp was still in her hand.
Yu Xiaoxiao looked at it, the exquisite lampshade, the transparent crystal stone, the soft and faint light, was all so beautiful.
The orange cat also came over, and it "meowed," its brown eyes fixed on the small lamp.
Yu Xiaoxiao patted its head.
"Cream, I found a strange job..."
If the lamp weren't still there, Yu Xiaoxiao would have thought she was dreaming. She stood up, looking at the passage inside the cabinet that had disappeared.
Just as she reached out, she received a prompt of "No Entry" and barrier.
After a few seconds of dumbfoundedness, she slowly closed the cabinet door.
It was exactly 11:00 PM.
She had spent only two hours in the underground city.
She received a text message from the bank, indicating that she had received a transfer of 20,000 yuan.
The orange cat had been rubbing against her, and seeing her lost in thought, it meowed disapprovingly a couple of times.
If she had hesitated at first about whether to continue the job, this "income" completely dispelled any thoughts of giving up—her mother was still in the hospital, and if the medical fees were cut off, not even the beds in the corridors would be available.
Over the past few months, she had taken on many temporary jobs. Paid by the hour, even if she worked tirelessly all day, she would only have about 300 yuan at most.
And not every month could she earn this much.
Tutoring was a comparatively high-paying job, but because her grades were just average, and she had no notable achievements to boast about, not many people sought her out.
Parents usually preferred to find tutors with excellent grades, and it would be even better if they were high school exam champions.
She was just an ordinary foreign language student. When she didn't have any tutoring jobs, she could only work as a part-time waitress at a fast-food restaurant, earning 18 yuan per hour.
She received a lump sum of twenty thousand in one go, which was already a huge amount for her.
If everything goes as smoothly as today, there shouldn't be any danger in leaving after cooking dinner, right?
During the internship period, she would receive twenty thousand each month, and if she becomes a permanent employee, she would be able to get fifty thousand...
Yu Xiao Xiao swallowed her saliva and said that no one would believe that she could earn so much money by cooking two meals a day.
Tomorrow, she can go to the hospital to pay the fees.
If everything goes well, she can even save enough for next semester's tuition fees.
On the other side…
Slyme pushed the dining car on the dark and empty track.
It looked a bit melancholic.
"Victor." The voice of Roco, the steward, came from the speaker on the chest, "Third Prince, how much did he eat?"
Slyme shook his head, "Lord Roco, the chef you found this time is not good. The prince hasn't eaten anything at all."
"But I heard that there are many delicacies on Earth, especially in the Chinese cuisine." Roco pondered.
"I don’t think it has anything to do with cooking methods. The Third Prince might just be craving something," Slyme said.
"Craving?" Roco thought of something and murmured to himself, "June is coming soon."
Slyme's green body became somewhat translucent.
"Liege Roco, may I take a leave?"
"The stars are really bright today."
"Alright, I'm not actually afraid. Since the day I came to the underground city, I have been prepared for this day. But there is something I want to report to you."
"What is it?"
"Miss Yu's lodging is too far from the kitchen. Can we activate the underground city's track?"
Slyme was a careful and soft creature.
Roco was also a gentle steward.
So he agreed, "Yes. Go prepare a spaceship. The cushion should be soft."
The underground city's track had been abandoned for a long time.
The Third Prince rarely went out.
Slyme slid quickly.
But now it's different; there is a young Earth chef here, and the etiquette of the planet Callia requires being gentle and courteous to girls.
"Oh, about the selection of the princess..." Slyme suddenly remembered something.
In the speaker, Roco's voice was calm and powerful, "An announcement has been issued. There were too many applicants, and we need to carefully select."
"Um... how many exactly?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Slyme sighed.
It knew that there were not many applicants. Which family would be willing to marry off their daughters? Although the Third Prince’s status is noble, his temperament is too peculiar.
This dark and damp place is much worse than an ordinary farmhouse.
It would have been much better to live in such a big palace before. Why did he have to move here?