251: The social death phenomenon caused by fried rice

The middle-aged man's eyes suddenly widened, his pupils instantly constricted, the hand holding the spoon froze in mid-air, and his whole body, as if struck by an invisible electric current, sprang half an inch from the chair before heavily sitting back down, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Too… too delicious!

This wasn't just fried rice! This was a nuclear explosion of flavor!

The ultimate umami, an indescribable wok hei, the distinct chewiness of each grain of rice, the crispy and tender texture of the egg, and that clear, sweet, mysterious flavor perfectly neutralized any oiliness!

Everything, in a wild yet harmonious way, unleashed a devastating tsunami of flavor in his mouth.

At this moment, the middle-aged man's composure, his self-restraint, and even his professional facade were utterly shattered by this single spoonful of fried rice.

"Ah ah ah! It's too delicious! How can it be this good?!"

He completely forgot where he was, forgot there were people around him, and frantically scooped another large spoonful into his mouth. He hissed as it burned his tongue, yet he couldn't wait to chew, a look of almost frenzied happiness and ecstasy on his face. His voice, muffled but loud, roared:

"My god! What kind of divine fried rice is this! 128? It's so worth it! No! It's too cheap! Ah ah ah! I want another bite!"

His eating manners became completely unrefined. He practically lunged at the meal box, shoveling rice into his mouth, occasionally letting out satisfied, loud sighs and praises. Tears even streamed from his eyes due to the extreme happiness.

This sudden, exaggerated display of losing control instantly attracted everyone's attention.

The surrounding office workers, who had been hesitating whether to sit down and try it, all watched dumbfounded, their jaws almost hitting the floor.

Some of them had already recognized the middle-aged man's identity.

"Isn't that Song Dagang, the ace analyst from the next department?"

"What's wrong with him? Is he possessed? It's just a plate of fried rice, is it really that serious?"

At this moment, Luo Li and Xu Ying, who were holding their fried rice and about to sit down at a nearby table, both froze.

Watching Song Dagang devour his food, lost in ecstasy, even gesticulating wildly, their faces were filled with shock and… embarrassment.

This… his eating style was a bit too unrestrained, wasn't it? In broad daylight… "Wait, were we like that yesterday too?"

The two looked at each other, then their faces instantly flushed.

The atmosphere on site suddenly became very strange.

The aroma was still tempting, but Song Dagang's "live performance" was too shocking, causing newcomers to feel an inexplicable pressure and fear of social death.

A female office worker in a suit skirt instinctively took half a step back, contemplating retreat, and whispered to her companion:

"How about… we go eat somewhere else?"

"I… I think so too…"

Her companion nodded quickly.

Several others who had also intended to sit down exchanged glances, their steps hesitant, and some had even turned around, preparing to leave.

Seeing this, Lu Chuan was torn between laughter and tears.

Was the effect too good, scaring away the elites who valued their image and status?

He had anticipated a loss of composure, but he hadn't expected the first "brave soul's" loss of composure to be so severe, directly deterring others.

Just at this awkward moment—

"Gulp!"

An unusually loud gulping sound suddenly came from nearby.

Everyone looked over, only to see that Manager Liu of the property management had, at some point, sat down at a table, with a heaping plate of fried rice in front of him.

He looked at it as if it were an peerless treasure, his eyes frighteningly fervent.

Then he picked up a disposable spoon, dug out a large spoonful, and put it into his mouth.

The next second—

"Aooo—!!!"

An even more exaggerated, more robust, and more emotional howl suddenly erupted from Manager Liu's mouth, echoing throughout the entire plaza entrance!

"Wuwuwu! Oh my god! This is the taste! I haven't forgotten that spoonful from yesterday! And today… how has it even upgraded?! Fragrant! So fragrant! Fresh! So fresh! It's so delicious it's making my scalp tingle!!!"

Manager Liu's reaction was even more intense than Song Dagang's.

He was eating with tears streaming down his face, one hand pounding his chest, the other frantically shoveling rice into his mouth, while still roaring incoherently.

"This is true human delicacy, and it's only 128! Worth it! So worth it! Only after eating this do I realize that what we used to eat was pig swill!"

!!!

The onlookers were all petrified.

If the elite's loss of composure just now only caused embarrassment and a desire to escape, then Manager Liu's even wilder, more uninhibited, and even somewhat frenzied live eating broadcast now delivered a nuclear-level impact.

This fried rice… could it really have some kind of magic?

The crowd that had been scared away paused in their steps.

Those who had felt awkward and wanted to leave, their eyes changed.

The overwhelmingly tempting aroma, combined with the sky-high displays of losing composure from two "reputable" individuals, one after the other, began to ferment in a strange way, creating an advertising effect.

Extreme embarrassment and curiosity, along with the overwhelming temptation of the aroma, began to tear at the self-restraint of these financial elites.

One, two, three… more and more people, after the initial shock and hesitation, had their souls captivated by the aroma and the absurd yet highly convincing "eating broadcast" before them, silently and involuntarily… rejoining the end of the line.

Some even whispered.

"The first person to suffer social death will be historically remembered, but who cares about the second, or even the third or fourth person to suffer social death? If you can't eat fried rice that makes them lose their composure like that, it would probably be a lifelong regret!"

"One for me too…"

"I want one too…"

Lu Chuan looked at the re-forming long queue, and after his initial surprise, a smile curved on his lips.

The system's mission progress bar in his mind finally began to tick, slowly but steadily.

[Current Mission Progress: 2 / 50]