Xu Changle was a senior student in the Computer Science Department, majoring in Software Engineering. When he was not in class, his favorite thing to do was to read and reply to posts on the school’s internal forum.

A popular post recently appeared on the homepage, with the original poster accusing seniors of being unkind and deceiving them into staying away from the Eighth Cafeteria. Many freshmen echoed this sentiment.

Xu Changle laughed out loud.

Didn’t he himself know about the Eighth Cafeteria? He’d gone there with his friends when it first opened at the end of last semester. Honestly, the food there wasn’t particularly good, but compared to the other cafeterias, it was definitely better. It was huge, beautifully decorated, had an okay chef, and had a wide selection of snacks.

When the Eighth Cafeteria opened, all the faculty and students flocked there, and for a time, no other cafeteria could compete with it. However, within just a few days, rumors of a haunting began to spread, leading to staff resignations, and business eventually declined.

Amidst all the rumors, teachers and students no longer dared to approach the Eighth Cafeteria. After all, life was more important than good food, and there wasn’t anything particularly good in the Eighth Cafeteria that could convince them to ignore the rumors of a haunting and head there regardless.

A few days ago, when school started, the freshmen asked about the Eighth Cafeteria. Because he had been deceived before, Xu Changle also liked to trick freshmen into going to the first seven cafeterias, but when asked about the Eighth Cafeteria, he did not recommend it at all.

After all, who could guarantee that supernatural things didn’t exist? He joked, but he didn’t really want anything to happen to the freshmen. So, he explained the situation about the Eighth Cafeteria in detail.

He had thought that this would keep everyone away from the Eighth Cafeteria, but within the first three days of school, the Eighth Cafeteria has already attracted so many new students! 

And they weren’t just trolling.

It was so weird.

Xu Changle cupped his chin and muttered to himself, “When I visited the official website last time and I saw that the operator for the Eighth Cafeteria had been changed. Could it be that the change in the Eighth Cafeteria is due to a new operator? I think we should go to the Eighth Cafeteria to find out.”

His roommate shook his head sharply and offered a different perspective. “Naive, so naive! Don’t underestimate freshmen. They’re often scammed, and they might have already learned the tricks. They posted this to lure us in. This is the provocation tactic from the Thirty-Six Stratagems!”

Xu Changle gasped when he heard that. “You’re right. The Yangtze River’s waves push those in front, and those in front die on the beach. These freshmen learn so fast! Why wasn’t I so smart back then? If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have really been fooled.”

The roommate nodded, “Are you still going?”

“Go!”

Roommate:”???”

Alas, Xu Changle had already replied under the post. He said helplessly, “I can’t help it. I had already agreed before you said anything. I was careless!”

Xu Changle showed the post to his roommate. Because the original poster criticized the seniors for being unkind, Xu Changle questioned the truth of the poster’s words. The poster angrily asked Xu Changle to come over for a meal, and Xu Changle agreed.

Although this forum is a campus forum, the user levels were very detailed. Xu Changle often posted spam but also often posted professional information. Many people were familiar with his ID. He could be called a big V on campus.

Many seniors like him felt that they were wronged by the original poster, and they asked him to go to the Eighth Cafeteria as soon as possible, and then come back to post his report and slap the freshmen in the face.

Xu Changle originally asked them to go by themselves, but none of the seniors dared at all.

Alas, it was difficult for Xu Changle to regret agreeing now.

Roommate:”……”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

The next morning, the timid Xu Changle almost knelt down and begged his roommate to go with him. He called him ‘Dad’ many times before his roommate reluctantly agreed.

The two of them clutched at each other as they walked towards the southeast corner of the campus, their legs shaking. 

That was the direction of the Eighth Cafeteria. Ever since the news of the haunting in the Eighth Cafeteria spread, this direction has become a forbidden area. Only freshmen or outsiders who were unfamiliar with the school would walk towards the southeast corner without hesitation.

“Is it too late to regret now? Mom, I want to go home.” Xu Changle’s legs were weak.

His roommate was furious. “Who told you to talk so much? And you got me into trouble too.”

Xu Changle walked shakily for a long time before he realized something was amiss. There were so many freshmen here in their military training uniforms. They walked briskly in groups of two or three towards the Eighth Cafeteria.

Xu Changle blinked and suddenly felt that the posts on the Internet were not false.

The Eighth Cafeteria seemed to have truly captured the hearts of the freshmen. However, because it was so remote and no one ventured there, the news didn’t spread. If the poster hadn’t posted about it online, it might have remained unknown for a long time.

Because there were so many people around, Xu Changle found a little courage and suddenly felt less scared. They walked closer and closer to the Eighth Cafeteria.

When he and his roommates walked into the Eighth Cafeteria, they suddenly saw a very long line. It looked like there were at least a hundred people in it, stretching from the food window to the seats on the right.

Xu Changle walked over, grabbed a passing freshman, and asked curiously, “What are you buying?”

The freshman glanced at him as if he were looking at a primitive person. “When you come to the Eighth Cafeteria in the morning, of course you buy pepper pancakes and mung bean soup.

“Pepper pancakes are so delicious, they’re hard to come by right now.” The freshman was a little anxious, so he shook his hand off. “Don’t hold me back, I have to queue up. I’m going to have military training soon. If I can’t get a pepper pancake, you have to compensate me.”

Xu Changle had no choice but to let go of the new student’s arm. “Okay, you can go.”

But the freshman seemed to have thought of something and suddenly gave him a strange look. “You’re not wearing a military training uniform, are you a senior?”

Xu Changle was elated when he heard this. Finally, someone had discovered his identity as a senior. He looked at the group of freshmen as if they were clueless. “Yes, I’m a senior from the Computer Science Department.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the freshmen around him looked at him, but the meaning of their looks was different from what he had imagined, both complicated and strange.

Xu Changle heard the freshmen whispering to each other: “Senior is lying, confirmed. He lied to us freshmen telling us not to come to the Eighth Cafeteria, but his body is very honest!”

Xu Changle: “…”

What kind of curse did the Eighth Cafeteria cast on these silly freshmen?

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: When you think about it, that first freshman who ate at the Eighth Cafeteria… He and his parents were walking in a deserted part of campus, they see a strange building standing quietly by itself, walk in to see an otherworldly beautiful woman who smiled and enticed them to eat. Isn’t this the beginning of a horror movie? 😱

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi and get access to advance chapters as reward. Thank you for your support! ☺️

Chapter 16.1 — Pepper Pancakes Part III
Chapter 16.2 — Pepper Pancakes Part III
Chapter 16.3 — Pepper Pancakes Part III
Chapter 16.4 — Pepper Pancakes Part III