Despite the word "cartoon" in its name, Lin Sanjiu did not see a single bright color even after walking for a few minutes.
From the entrance, she walked through a small, handmade forest and walked along a plastic path that mimicked a dirt road. She peeked through the leaves that looked as if they had been soaked in water and finally saw Mickey Mouse's house. It was an exaggeratedly designed house that was made up of a few colorful balls stacked on top of each other.
However, all the colors, be it pink, orange, or green, all the colors that were supposed to be bright and cheerful, seemed to have a layer of filter on them. They lost most of their brightness, leaving only a gray, faded tone.
Mickey Mouse, who was leading the way for Lin Sanjiu, swayed his two big round ears in the air and hummed a tune.
It had been more than four years since Lin Sanjiu last saw a cartoon character like "Mickey Mouse". However, the Mickey Mouse in front of her did not remind her of her hometown that was lost in the scorching heat.
As Lin Sanjiu walked behind him, she could look at him without any restraint.
The tall Mickey Mouse was wearing a pair of red overalls, just as she remembered. However, the dark red color of his underwear looked more like the color of dried blood. There was a small hole at the back of his pants, allowing his tail to poke out. His long, dark, flesh-colored tail was bare and was wrapped in wrinkled skin. It was exactly the same as the tail of the rats in the sewers.
Lin Sanjiu shifted her gaze away from Mickey's tail. She couldn't remember what Mickey Mouse looked like in the cartoon.
Not long after they walked out of the forest, Lin Sanjiu and Mickey Mouse approached the house that was made up of four to five hemispheres. Although the house was spacious, the windows were tightly shut and the color was dry. If Lin Sanjiu hadn't been led here, she would have thought that it was an abandoned building.
Just as she was looking at the house, Mickey Mouse suddenly twisted his body and winked at her. He smiled, revealing a row of teeth. His gums were dark red like a human's, and his mouth was covered with short black fur. It looked unnatural.
"Dear customer, do you smell it?" His spirits were always so high and his tone so gratuitously cheerful.
Just as Lin Sanjiu was about to ask what he smelled, she heard a loud bang. Suddenly, a large shadow appeared from one of the round walls of the house. She was already tense, so she was startled. After taking half a step back, she saw that it was a pair of round rat ears and a smiling face that was exactly the same as the one she had seen before.
It was just that this mouse's ear was tied in a bow with a faded pink rag.
"You … are Minnie?" Lin Sanjiu thought for a while before she remembered the name of Mickey Mouse's girlfriend.
Apparently, Minnie had pushed open a dusty window and stuck her head out. She had the same rectangular teeth and the way she blinked her eyes. Even her voice was the same as Mickey's. The only difference was that Minnie's pitch was much higher than Minnie's, as if a man was purposely holding his voice to speak.
"Welcome, guest," Minnie also smiled cheerfully, "I specially baked a few of my best pies to welcome you. Come in and have a taste!"
As soon as Minnie finished speaking, Lin Sanjiu's nose twitched. She suddenly understood what Mickey Mouse was referring to.
An indescribably complex odor drifted out from the opened window. At first, it was a little pungent, but if one were to describe it as unpleasant, there was a strong sweetness in it. However, before Lin Sanjiu could figure out what it was, the pungent, fishy smell of raw meat had already invaded her nostrils. Then, she felt her stomach churn up.
Lin Sanjiu immediately held her breath. She almost retched.
It would have been better if there was no sweetness in the smell, but after it was mixed with the sweet smell of fruit, it made her head hurt.
As if he didn't notice Lin Sanjiu's reluctance, Mickey opened the oval door for her, "Come, come in!"
The moment the door opened, the nauseating odor rushed out. It was twice as strong as before. Lin Sanjiu felt that she wouldn't feel so bad even if she was slapped in the face. In order to adapt to the odor, she had to slow down her breathing and follow Mickey Mouse into the house.
Just like the two extraordinarily large mice, all the furniture in the house was one size larger than normal. Even though Lin Sanjiu wasn't a petite person, when she sat down in front of the large dining table and realized that her feet couldn't even touch the ground, she felt like she was ten years old again.
From a close distance, Minnie Mouse was as huge as a small hill.
When Minnie was busy carrying the plates out of the kitchen with her blood-red high heels, every step she took was like a thunderbolt striking the ground. When Minnie and Mickey sat opposite each other at the dining table, Lin Sanjiu realized that Minnie was even taller than her boyfriend.
There were three huge pies on the dark brown, uneven wooden dining table. Each of them looked exactly the same. They had a muddy texture and were emitting white steam into the air.
Through the steam, Lin Sanjiu could see the smiles on the two mice's faces.
"Look, these are the three pies I baked for you," Minnie looked very proud. She waved her hand in the air dramatically and drew a line across the pies, "The most famous delicacy in our Cartoon World is probably our various pies. Just the aroma of these pies is enough to hook a person's nose! "
Lin Sanjiu really wished that her nose could be hooked away. That way, she wouldn't have to sit and suffer in this horrible stench.
At that moment, she didn't even want to open her mouth to speak. She felt that if she opened her mouth, the stench would immediately rush into her mouth, and she would definitely vomit. However, she couldn't help feeling anxious. "I can't even bear it just by smelling it. Are these two mice going to force me to eat them?"
"However," Minnie Mouse suddenly changed the topic. Her eyes narrowed from the left and right sides to the middle. "When I was baking the pies just now, something happened. I was a little distracted, so I didn't bake them very well. Among these three pies, I know that I used the right ingredients for one of them. As for the other two, I'm not so sure. "
As it spoke, it took out a fork that was bigger than Lin Sanjiu's face. It crossed the table and handed it to her, "Here, have a taste of my cooking."
"None of the pies taste right!" Lin Sanjiu took the fork and stared at the three pies on the table, which looked like they were molded out of mud. She felt cold sweat trickling down her back.
She could already guess what she was going to do next.
"Of course, each pie has its own unique description when it comes to the stove," Minnie and Mickey moved their heads closer to each other. Four vertical black eyes stared at Lin Sanjiu from behind the white steam. "If these descriptions can help you decide which pie to eat, perhaps you don't have to try all of them. You can just taste the one with the right ingredients. Then, you can have a good taste of our Cartoon World."
"However, you need to take note that you can't touch or smell them. You can only look at them from this distance. The only thing that can help you decide is the stove's description," Mickey added.
Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and nodded. She tried her best not to open her mouth as she replied, "Go ahead."
Even though the two mice said it casually, Lin Sanjiu was afraid that only one of the three pies would be safe.
"The first one on your left," Minnie pointed at the pie she was talking about. Her bulging muscles finally disappeared, "This is what the stove said when it came out of the oven."
"In this small town, a bus driver and a doctor are courting a beautiful girl named Sarah. However, the bus driver had to leave town for a week. To prevent the doctor from taking advantage of the situation, he gave Sarah seven items. Minnie used them to make this pie. "
Lin Sanjiu looked at the pie blankly. Then, she looked at the two mice opposite her. She didn't expect that the way to clear this level was to solve riddles.
"Could it be that these riddles will become more difficult as the game progresses?" However, for a Growth-type, only Intelligence would not increase as time passed...
"The one in the middle, when it comes out of the oven, has this description: Greater than God, more evil than the devil. The poor have me, and the rich need me. However, if you eat me, you will die. Minnie used it to make this pie. " After introducing the first pie, Minnie moved her finger to the second pie without any pause. She didn't give Lin Sanjiu any time to think.
Lin Sanjiu frowned. She had no choice but to memorize every word that Minnie said.
"The last pie, when it comes out of the oven, the stove said: I can be long or short. I can grow freely, or I can be bought from the market. You can color me, and I can curl or flatten. You can do whatever you want. Minnie used it to make this pie. " “
After the introduction of the three pies, Minnie immediately shut her mouth. It seemed that she had no intention of repeating the introduction a second time.
Mickey chuckled and tilted his head at Lin Sanjiu, "If you can't decide which one you want to eat, that's not a problem. You just need to spend 5 Stamina Points and you can eat the pie with normal ingredients."
Lin Sanjiu finally understood what it meant by "arousing the players' desire to buy items".
Regardless of whether solving riddles was the norm here or not, it seemed that the trick to clearing this level was to find the one that could save one's life from all the "options". If he could not find it, he could only use his Stamina Points to buy the one.
Thinking about it, 5 Stamina Points was probably the "starting price" for each pie.
"If I choose the right answer," Lin Sanjiu asked hesitantly. She didn't care if the taste of the pie would rush into her throat, "Will I get an extra Stamina Point reward when I get out?"
The two mice looked at each other. Mickey shook his head.
"Being able to eat the delicacies of our Cartoon World is already your reward," he winked at the middle. His voice was so sweet that it made Lin Sanjiu uncomfortable, "At least, this is the case for the pie."
"In other words, there is no extra reward for the first multiple-choice question."
Lin Sanjiu frowned. She looked at the three pies from left to right.
The one in the middle was the one that caught her attention the most.
Lin Sanjiu didn't know if it was a trap, but the riddle clearly told her, "If you eat me, you will die." If this riddle was the answer, didn't it mean that she could eliminate it directly?
However, when she thought about it, perhaps it was too straightforward that it was put into the pies to confuse people. Perhaps, the answer to the riddle was something that wouldn't die...
Even though she wasn't as intelligent as Nüwa, Lin Sanjiu finally made a decision after some careful consideration.
In fact, among the three riddles, there was only one that she could guess with confidence. Fortunately, that one was enough.
"Have you decided?" Minnie looked at her with a smile, "Which one do you want to eat? You have to know that even I can't remember what ingredient I put in … "
If it wasn't for the pungent smell, Lin Sanjiu would have taken a deep breath. After a quick discussion with Mrs. Manas, Lin Sanjiu pointed with the fork in her hand and whispered, "This."
She pointed at the first pie on the far left.
"Okay, I hope you can enjoy it."
There was no change in Minnie's expression, so Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell if she had guessed correctly or not. Staring at the pie that was pushed to her face, Lin Sanjiu gulped. Enduring the pungent smell, she cut a small piece of pie and put it into her mouth, enduring the nauseating smell.
It was completely different from the pie that she smelled. Lin Sanjiu might even doubt if they were the same thing. The moment the soft and crispy pie entered her mouth, a fresh apple aroma wafted out. The aroma seemed to wash away the pungent smell and quickly filled her nostrils. Lin Sanjiu immediately let out a sigh of relief.
"That's right, an apple a day will keep the doctor away … If that's the case, Sarah will have to wait until the bus driver returns to town."
Perhaps it was because Lin Sanjiu's heart was at ease and the apple pie was really delicious, she couldn't help eating a few more mouthfuls. However, she didn't have much of an appetite under the watchful eyes of the two rats, so she quickly put down her fork.
"Thank you for the pie. I'm done …" Lin Sanjiu asked curiously, "What are the ingredients for the other two pies?"
The two rats looked at each other. Mickey was the first to turn his head.
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