Chapter 4: Isekai

"Well then, tell me—where exactly am I?" —Darius Noctis sighed, trying to steady his breathing to stay calm.

[Annoying As Shit is ready to provide an answer.]

"If you have something to say, say it quickly. Who's in charge of you? Where's the admin?" —Darius Noctis huffed impatiently. Just hearing the name Annoying As Shit again made him lose his composure.

[To answer the device owner's question: The system was created by an entity beyond the owner's comprehension. This is classified information, and Anoying As Shit does not have the authority to contact the system's creator.]

[Regarding the device owner's transportation to a new world, please do not feel disheartened. Our investigation into the device owner's background has revealed that the owner is an orphan, homeless, penniless, and single. Additionally, the owner lacks any clear life goals, and our assessment indicates that the owner has merely been drifting through life without purpose.]

[Instead of wasting away, why not explore this new world and experience something better? It would be beneficial for the owner's personal growth while also providing valuable information to higher-dimensional beings studying this world.]

[Once everything is completed, the device owner's contributions will be recorded in history. Do you truly wish to remain a failure for the rest of your life? The system is fully prepared to assist and guide the owner on this new journey.]

Each word from the AI was like an arrow piercing straight into Darius Noctis's heart. As its speech came to an end, he felt as though his heart had been shattered into pieces. Humiliating. Absolutely humiliating. To be insulted like this by an AI—was there even a point in living anymore?

[Annoying As Shit has finished its explanation.]

"…You really are annoying as shit." —Darius Noctis was at a loss for words.

Everything it said… was the truth. But why did it sound so damn infuriating?

Perhaps it wasn't wrong.

His social connections were nearly nonexistent. The only people he interacted with were the butcher and the vegetable seller who supplied his ingredients. Most of the time, he personally sourced his materials from factories and prepared them according to his own recipes.

His closest acquaintance was probably the old security guard at the parking lot where he set up his stall. Every time he opened for business, he would set aside a bowl for the old man. Now that he had been transported to another world, would that old man even notice his absence?

To be honest, there wasn't much for him to miss.

He despised the era of automation, where machines took over everything. As technology advanced, people lost their jobs and their sense of selfworth. Then society labeled them as parasites, living off government aid.

But he couldn't blame the times. Those who failed to adapt were simply discarded.

Fortunately, he had a knack for cooking. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived in the old world. If it weren't for his cooking skills, he might have been among those discarded by society, struggling just to make ends meet.

However, when his noodle stall vanished, countless customers had searched for him everywhere. They had pulled every string, leveraged every resource, only to come up empty-handed.

Darius Noctis was oblivious to the fact that, in that era, his little noodle cart had been the only place where hurried souls could find a brief moment of peace. Amid the relentless rush of life, his steaming bowls of noodles had provided warmth and comfort—something that money couldn't buy.

[The device owner should embrace this new life. Annoying As Shit will do everything possible to ensure the owner's well-being.]

"No, you are annoying as shit!"

Darius Noctis rejected the AI outright.

By now, he had fully accepted that this was a different world.

Research this world? Like hell I will.

He was just a humble noodle vendor. Even buying his truck had drained all his savings. He couldn't even handle small things properly—why should he care about big things?

It seemed like this world had no advanced technology. Judging by the way people dressed, it was clear they were living in a much older time period.

But then, how was he able to understand them?

This was an entirely different world, wasn't it?

[During the process of integrating the device owner's data, the system automatically encoded the universal language of this world. As a result, the owner can now understand and communicate in all written and spoken languages, including ancient scripts. Linguistically, the languages here share similarities with Earth's.]

"Similarities?" —Darius Noctis glanced at his phone screen, which displayed text from this world. The symbols were squiggly and unfamiliar, yet he could somehow understand them perfectly.

"Wait, hold on. I didn't even ask, and you just answered? Can you read my thoughts?" —Darius Noctis finally realized the problem.

[Annoying As Shit interprets neural signals from the owner's brain and responds accordingly. The owner may disable this auto-response feature at any time by saying agree to turn it off or decline to keep it enabled.]

"Agree. Turn it off." —Darius Noctis immediately responded.

[Annoying As Shit will confirm once more. The owner wishes to disable this function? It can be reactivated in the future if needed. Please note that disabling it may cause certain inconveniences regarding information access. The AI will only respond when directly called upon.]

"Shut up!!" —Darius Noctis snapped.

At last, Annoying As Shit went silent.

Darius Noctis let out a long sigh, then sat down, cradling his head against the base of a tree. He sat there for a while, lost in thought, before finally dragging himself up and heading back to the dirt path.

If he kept dwelling on this, he was going to lose his mind.

There wasn't much else he could do now.

Well, no matter where he was, it made no difference.

The noodle-selling business was in his blood.

If he had to make a living here, he'd just do what he did best—sell noodles.

No fear of unemployment.

"Where the hell did the shop owner go? I can't take this smell anymore!"

"Hey, you! Stop slurping it all down! Let me at least taste a drop!"

"Did the shop owner go to the bathroom? What's taking him so long?"

"Look over there, someone's coming out of the forest! The way he's dressed—it has to be the shop owner!"

"Shop owner! Hurry up and get back to work! We're starving here! The aroma is driving us insane!"

"Grrr, woof woof woof!"

At this moment, a crowd had gathered around his truck, pushing and shoving to get closer, inhaling the enticing aroma of the broth. However, a scrappy mutt stood in their way, acting as a guard. The dog, as if it had transformed into a wolf, bared its teeth and barked furiously, preventing anyone from getting too close to the pot of broth.

Just as Darius Noctis stepped forward, a black cat suddenly leaped down from the top of the truck, landing squarely on the dog's head. Without hesitation, it unleashed a flurry of slaps on the dog's snout. The poor mutt yelped in pain before tucking its tail between its legs and bolting away.

With the obstacle removed, the black cat immediately hopped onto the table, its eyes fixed on the pot of broth. Without a second thought, it made another leap—straight into the steaming pot.

"Thud!"

"Even the damn animals here are insane. What, you want to be boiled alive?!"

Luckily, Darius Noctis reacted in time, grabbing the cat by the scruff of its neck. He lifted it up and, without any mercy, tossed it straight into the forest.

"Meoooww!"

By some strange twist of fate—or sheer bad luck—the cat crash-landed right onto the fleeing dog's face. Startled, the dog had no time to react before the cat scratched a few deep lines across its muzzle. With a pitiful whimper, the mutt turned tail and ran even farther away.

"Shop owner! Shop owner! Give me a bowl like the others!" —A crowd of people surrounded Darius Noctis, eagerly urging him to serve them.

"Alright, alright, everyone, take a seat! What would you like to eat, sir? Ma'am? How many people in your group? The shop has hu tieu, thick noodle soup, macaroni, fresh noodles, and even instant noodles! Place your orders now!"

"I'll have the fresh noodles."

"Hu tieu! Hu tieu! I've never heard of this dish before—give me two bowls!"

"Hold on, one at a time."

Busy with taking orders and preparing food, Darius Noctis momentarily forgot that he was in a completely different world. As long as he was making sales, it didn't feel like a loss for him.

Though, he couldn't help but find it odd—this was supposed to be a forest, yet there were so many people passing through.

Half a day passed in a whirlwind of orders and cooking. Over ten tables were packed with diners, and eventually, his massive pot of broth was reduced to nearly half.

At that moment, a notification popped up on his phone screen.

[Preliminary Research Results on the New World]

[Cultural Analysis: In this world, people commonly address each other by their surnames as a sign of respect upon first meeting. Forms of address: The pronouns "I" and "you" are generally used between individuals of unknown status. Additionally, formal and honorific titles such as 'Sir,' 'Madam,' 'Lord,' 'Lady,' 'Master,' and 'Mistress' are frequently used in conversation.] 

[Recommendation: Adjust speech patterns to better fit the new world. Otherwise, the device owner may be perceived as an outsider.]

Darius Noctis glanced at the phone. This time, it wasn't Annoying As Shit responding—it was an automated system update.

If the system could analyze and provide information like this, then what the hell was the AI even for? And why did it have to be so damn talkative?

"Shop owner, the bill, please."

Darius Noctis pocketed his phone and looked up with a smile. "Just pay whatever you think the meal is worth."

"Hmm… This dish is beyond imagination! This is the best food I have ever tasted. With such divine cooking skills, the shop owner could easily become the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen… No, your skills surpass even that. It's hard to put a price on this bowl of hu tieu."

The man speaking was dressed in far finer clothing than the others. He held an elegant folding fan in his hand, and the fabric of his robe appeared to be woven silk—likely expensive. Is this world still in the medieval era? Darius wondered. Should I call him a young master?

"Young master, we didn't bring much money with us," one of his attendants murmured.

Three servants sat at the table with the nobleman. Unlike their master, they wore simple linen garments, indicating their lower status.

"Up ahead is Phucloc Town," the young master said, lowering his voice. "That town is under the jurisdiction of Governor Biện Văn. He's owed my father money for quite some time now. Since we're heading there, we might as well collect the debt. I've heard he's been living quite comfortably these days—perhaps even skimming funds. This is a good opportunity to investigate him."

He then turned to one of his servants. "Give the shop owner everything we have. This meal is worth it. If I had more money, I'd pay an even higher price. Consider it a debt for now."

As he spoke, he reached for a long, wrapped item on the table. Judging by the metallic clink from within, it was likely a weapon of some sort.

"Shop owner, we have one silver ingot and five strings of Dailong Coin. Please accept this as payment. Our young master says that your food is more valuable than any extravagant delicacy. This is our meal payment."

A large silver ingot and five strings of silver coins were placed on the table.

"That's way too much. I can't take all of this," —Darius Noctis quickly waved his hands in refusal.

He was genuinely taken aback. He didn't know the currency exchange rate in this world, but gold and silver had always been valuable in his previous world. Using silver to pay for a bowl of noodles was already extravagant—let alone giving him gold.

Since he had no idea about the currency values here, he had simply told customers to pay whatever they felt was fair. He never expected to run into such a generous customer—one who threw money at him without hesitation.