Against the Algorithm

Chapter 48: Checkups and Consequences

Yue immediately paused mid-step, backpack half-open, holding a bag of spicy shrimp chips with a frozen look on his face. "Wait, what?"

Sicheng didn't even glance at him. "You heard me."

Pang, who had barely made it two feet into the living room, yelped. "You're starting already?! I haven't even unpacked my hoodie snacks!"

"I said toss it. All of it. Junk food, mystery ramen, instant noodles with five flavor packets, candy stashed in mugs—gone." Sicheng repeated, walking straight to the kitchen, opening every cabinet with practiced precision.

Pang's voice cracked. "There's a system! A sacred order of—"

"Lao Mao," Sicheng called without missing a beat, "go to Pang and Yue's room."

Lao Mao looked up from where he was setting his gaming gear on the table, eyes widening slightly. "You serious?"

"Dead serious."

"Now?"

"Yes. Right now."

Lao Mao grinned, like he'd just been handed the ultimate blessing from the Heavens. "Can I wear gloves?"

"You might want to," Yue muttered. "There's probably something in there that moved last week."

"Fridge too?" Lao Mao asked, already heading toward the hallway.

"Especially the fridge," Sicheng said, yanking open another drawer and pulling out a stash of Pang's 'limited edition' spicy instant dumplings. "We're not feeding the team's Support on preserved sodium and plastic cheese."

Yao, leaning against the counter with a thermos in her hands, blinked as she watched the operation unfold. "Is this a purge or an exorcism?"

Da Bing hopped onto the kitchen counter, staring at Pang like he had personally petitioned for this purge. Xiao Cong, perched on Yao's shoulder, gave a small judgmental meow.

Pang looked like a man betrayed by his ancestors. "You're taking my entire lifestyle—"

"I'm taking your death wish by sodium and flushing it," Sicheng replied flatly.

Yue sighed, tossing the shrimp chips into the bin. "We're all gonna be glowing with health and bitterness by the end of this season."

Pang dropped to his knees dramatically. "Tell my dumplings... I loved them."

Sicheng didn't flinch. "Say goodbye to your snack fridge."

From down the hallway, a triumphant shout echoed—

"Found a drawer of jerky behind the monitor!"

Yao snorted softly behind her thermos.

Sicheng smirked.

And Pang mourned. Loudly. Intensely.

As the Snacking Purge of ZGDX officially began.

Pang, still slumped dramatically on the floor as Lao Mao gleefully cleared out his shrine of snacks, let out a long, mournful groan that echoed through the hallway like a ghost clinging to his last bag of beef jerky. "This is injustice," he muttered. "Cruel, calculated destruction. I've lost everything. My ramen, my candy, my spicy dumplings—everything."

From the kitchen, Sicheng remained unbothered, pulling another unopened box of processed pastry snacks from a high shelf and tossing it into the growing pile of contraband on the counter. "You're lucky I don't throw out your mug collection while I'm at it."