Yu Xiaoxiao was preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Slime, wearing a white apron, squatted in front of the oven, staring blankly at the egg tarts spinning inside, a drop of saliva slowly dripping from the corner of its mouth.
It quickly wiped it away, reached out to hold the oven, and asked, "Are you ready?"
- Ready to be eaten by me?
Of course, the egg tarts in the oven couldn't speak, but a crisp voice came from beside it.
"I'm ready."
Slime turned around and saw a goblin squatting next to it, its round nose pressing against the oven, staring dazedly at the pastries inside.
"Ah! Who let you in!" Slime shouted.
It wasn't someone else speaking, it was the well-known little fool in the capital, Vivian!
Vivian had changed into a little dress today, a pale yellow one with a pocket in the middle.
It bowed its head, fumbled for a while, and took out a silver coin from the small pocket.
"Bubby said, remember to pay when eating. Sis - I still want to eat yesterday's food, can I?" It bypassed Slime and came to Yu Xiaoxiao's side, looking up at her.
"Sure." Yu Xiaoxiao agreed.
Slime opened its mouth, wanting to say something, but the oven made a "ding" sound.
It immediately opened it, used tongs to take out a few egg tarts and put them on a plate. Before Vivian could react, it carried the plate and ran out of the kitchen.
Hmm, this idiot who came to snatch food definitely can't be allowed to eat!
Vivian only felt a gust of wind behind her.
When she turned around, there was no one in front of the oven.
The little guy tilted his head in confusion.
Yu XiaoXiao found a clean plate for Vivian to serve fried rice, and also gave her a few pieces of fried fish. The little one hid in a small corner, holding the plate and eating the food bite by bite with a spoon.
Slime came back.
Its cheeks puffy, it pushed the dining car away while chewing.
After it left, Vivian stood up and said, "Sister, do you have any food left? I have a few good friends, and I want to invite them to eat together."
Yu XiaoXiao looked at the ingredients and thought it was possible, but it was already 9:30. So she said, "Where are they? Don't delay too long."
"Just not far ahead!" Vivian said, "No one in the whole King's City wants to talk to me, only they are willing to chat with me."
"While Big Green Head isn't around, I'll take the food over. Sister, the meal you made is really delicious, and I should share it with my friends instead of eating alone. This is what my brother taught me."
Upon hearing this, Yu XiaoXiao chuckled. She packed the extra food into a lunch box and gave it to Vivian, saying, "Then go ahead."
Vivian ran happily with the lunch box.
After cleaning the kitchen, Yu XiaoXiao planned to leave. She sat in the little yellow cart and slowly headed towards the transfer point along the worn rails.
But this time, the cart stopped halfway.
Yu XiaoXiao raised the lantern a bit and found that the track in front of her was actually broken?!
While the underground city was full of ruins, the tracks were supposed to be intact.
It was pitch black all around, and Yu XiaoXiao didn't know how far she was from the steps to go home. She immediately picked up her communicator and sent a message to Slime.
Click-click—
Click-click—
Click-click—
In the darkness, she heard the sound of teeth gnawing on something. A chill ran down Yu XiaoXiao's spine as she sat in the cart, pale-faced, looking around.
The lantern couldn't shine far enough.
But the strange sound was getting closer and closer.
Thinking of the things the magician had said earlier—could it be the monsters lurking in the underground city?!
But Slime had said it was very safe here, without specifying the reasons.
"Giggling..."
She heard a strange laughter echoing. Although she didn't see any creatures, she felt that they had already surrounded her.
The tracks had been destroyed.
So were these creatures specifically waiting for her here?
"Do you... know who I am?" Yu XiaoXiao's face was pale, but her voice was unusually steady.
"Giggling, of course we do." In the darkness, a sharp voice sounded, "You are the new chef in the underground city."
The voice was so close that Yu XiaoXiao could already see its grim shadow.
"We are looking for you—"
"Get away!" Yu XiaoXiao swung the lantern directly at the back. The lantern hit something, and with a "thud", the monsters fell off the cart.
Yu XiaoXiao finally got a clear look at them.
Under the cart, there stood a row of tiny creatures, looking at the girl in the cart in confusion.
"..."
Yu XiaoXiao stared at the small creatures in astonishment.
Although the shadow she had seen just now looked very "scary", why did the real creatures turn out to be a group of small dwarfs? They seemed to be only about thirty centimeters tall.
They all had gray skin, pointed noses, and big round eyes. Each of them was dressed in fitted clothes and had various colored scarves around their necks.
And a few of them had rice stuck in the corners of their mouths, staring dumbly at her.
The one that had been hit on the head with the lantern started crying and said pitifully, "I just wanted to thank you seriously...!"
Yu XiaoXiao felt a bit embarrassed. How could it seem like she was bullying a child? She asked, "You—You are Vivian's friends?"
"Did you say Vivian—"
"Although she's a bit dumb and very noisy, she's indeed a lovely girl."
"You're her sister, you can come and play with us in the future."
These little fellows kept talking nonstop when they mentioned Vivian.
The dwarf that had been knocked stood up, straightened the blue scarf in front of his chest and said, "Miss Chef, we've spotted a problem on the railway. Since you invited us for a meal, we'll repair it for free."
"Um, alright, thank you," Yu Xiaoxiao got off the car.
Wasn't this railway originally damaged by them?
This time, around twenty dwarfs came, taking out tools from their backpacks and starting to repair the railway.
Yu Xiaoxiao squatted nearby, watching them skillfully using tools to fix the railway, their speed impressive.
"So fast..." she exclaimed.
The dwarf with the blue scarf touched his head and shyly said, "Actually, we can be even faster, but it's been so long since we last repaired buildings, so we're a bit rusty."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, we Rock Clan are born for construction, but unfortunately, after the underground city fell into disuse, we no longer have a place to showcase our skills," it said, a hint of loss flickering on its face.
The Rock Clan, a dwarf clan from the planet Callia. Due to their gray skin, they were more commonly referred to as the Gray Dwarfs.
They preferred dark and damp areas and were skilled in building the underground city.
However, that was a long time ago.
The buildings within the royal city had specialized builders, and this group of Gray Dwarfs were melancholic because they couldn't realize their own value.
Perhaps, chatting in the darkness was their only pastime.
"It's fixed!"
"It's fixed!"
"It's really fixed!"
Several dwarfs cheered and jumped, and Yu Xiaoxiao saw that the damaged track had indeed been restored.
The dwarf with the blue scarf looked at Yu Xiaoxiao and said seriously, "Miss Chef, if you have the chance in the future, become a steward of the underground city!"
"Ah?" Yu Xiaoxiao was taken aback and quickly shook her head, "No, no, I can't."
Having spent time with slimes, Yu Xiaoxiao probably understood the role of a steward.
The stewards managed everything in the underground city, except for the Third Prince, and the problem was, the underground city was really large, and now there was nothing. If she became a steward, she would have to start from scratch, and she had no experience in construction.
If it were to open a small restaurant in the underground city, she might consider it.
"You can do it," the dwarf with the blue scarf insisted stubbornly, "We are all newcomers to this world, and we are all living well, aren't we?"
While that sounded right, being a steward...
"The requirements for being a steward must be very strict. I don't think I would pass the assessment."
Speaking of this, the dwarf also showed a helpless expression, "It's really troublesome over there with the Third Prince, but if the opportunity falls to you, please don't refuse!"
Yu Xiaoxiao didn't know how to respond, and the Gray Dwarfs urged her to get into the car, as it was too dangerous for a girl to be out this late.
As the small yellow car drove away, the dwarf with the blue scarf exclaimed loudly, "Salute to our future steward!"
"Yes!-"
A row of dwarfs raised their arms in unison, saluting Yu Xiaoxiao's silhouette. Among them, most had hopeful smiles, but some were even in tears.
Yu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but smile and cry.
She never expected that one day she would be so highly regarded by a group of dwarfs.
Perhaps they were just eager to work.
The underground city needed a steward.
The railway has been fixed, and anything that has been repaired by the Gray Dwarfs will be ten times harder to damage. If she doesn't leave the car during the journey, we'll never have a chance."
"..."
"I really can't understand why these idle Gray Dwarfs suddenly want to wade into this mess?"
"Perhaps they see hope in her."
"Now what? If we can't deal with her on the road, it'll be even more impossible elsewhere. Hiss, these meddlesome dwarfs, one day we'll have to get rid of them all!"
The track was completely restored, meaning they couldn't make their move halfway.
The kitchen, stairs, and the little yellow car were all enchanted, so this new Miss Chef would be unable to solve it in a short time.
But that's not a problem.
"Recruitment for the underground city will be soon, and this time, our people are bound to win."