I’m Doomed! I Got Trapped in a Dream! [13]

Dreamworld—
Mondstadt, Good Hunter

Keqing had successfully driven Stormterror out of Mondstadt, and the tornadoes that had ravaged the city dispersed in its wake.

But the sky over Mondstadt remained cloaked in thick clouds. The wind still howled through the streets, paper scraps swirled wildly through the air, and the city lay in chaotic disarray.

Strangely enough, though the wind looked fierce—strong enough to whip dust into the air and rattle rooftops—neither Chen Mo nor Nahida felt so much as a breeze on their faces. It was as if they stood in the eye of a storm, untouched by the winds raging around them. The chaos was all around, yet none of it touched them.

Nahida sat comfortably at one of Good Hunter’s outdoor tables, completely relaxed as she waited for her Sticky Honey Roast. She didn’t spare a single thought for the obviously illogical scene around her.

Chen Mo, meanwhile, was still putting on a very committed performance in front of the only remaining NPC—Sara, the waitress. All to preserve Nahida’s expectations. Left hand holding some chicken skewers, right hand tapping furiously on the dialogue menu. And as if that weren’t enough, he even started chatting with Sara, full method acting mode.

Nahida found it all rather strange.

Didn’t he say earlier not to bother talking to NPCs? Now he’s chatting her up? Did this waitress become sentient or something?

And how long does it take to buy a dish? Isn’t it just a few clicks?

From Nahida’s perspective, it even looked like Chen Mo had gotten into a full-on argument with the waitress. After a back-and-forth, he ended up holding three skewers of grilled chicken.

Ah, so the restaurant’s out of ingredients and couldn’t make the pan-fried meat?

She had fallen straight into Chen Mo’s narrative trap. His awkward roleplay had tricked her into interpreting the world through real-world logic again, speculating about supply shortages and unavailable stock.

Wait a minute… something doesn’t feel right…

Before she could pinpoint the inconsistency, Chen Mo left the counter and did something even more unexpected.

Nahida thought he’d bring those three mushroom-chicken skewers over to her. But instead, he turned and walked straight toward a bubbling pot near the bar.

And that pot... well, it was a mystery in itself. Normally, a cooking pot would be in the kitchen, not just sitting out beside the counter, awkwardly placed in the middle of the dining area where customers eat.

Even stranger, the fire beneath the pot never went out, and the water inside always boiled, yet it never dried up. No chef ever touched it—no one added firewood or water, no one cooked with it, nothing. It just sat there, endlessly simmering.

A perfect example of a “dream-only oddity,” like everything else in this uncanny version of Good Hunter.

...

Completely out of character, Chen Mo approached the illogical pot, holding the three auto-crafted skewers.

Then he crouched down and stuck the skewers right into the flames beneath the pot, beginning to roast them.

All part of the act. If he was going to fake it, he was going to fake it well. Chen Mo was determined to show that he had “tried his best to get food” for Nahida, even if it meant awkwardly pantomiming over a fantasy fire.

He couldn’t help glancing back. Nahida was watching him curiously, eyes full of innocent wonder, no disappointment in sight. He breathed a little easier.

Phew... okay, let’s just pretend to roast these for a bit and then bring them over.

But then something unexpected happened.

“Hm? What’s that sound?”

He followed the noise and saw it came from the skewers—specifically, the fat sizzling on the meat.

A closer look revealed the source: hot oil bubbling furiously.

Chunks of chicken, alternating lean and fatty, were being roasted over high heat. Oil seeped from the invisible gaps between the pieces, sliding down the skewers in rivulets before dripping into the flames below.

With a whoosh, a burst of golden fire flared up.

“Whoa!” Chen Mo blinked, startled by the flare. He hadn’t expected a functional cooking mechanic in this alternate-reality Genshin Impact! Apparently this world had more to offer than prefab dishes and preset menus.

As the flames danced, a mouthwatering aroma of grilled chicken filled the air.

“Damn, that smells good! So it turns out you can cook manually in this world. And here I thought I was doomed to eat prefab food forever!”

Bathed in flame, the skewers gave off the rich scent of seared chicken and mushrooms. The surface of the meat darkened with perfect grill marks, the sound of sizzling fat filling the air. Even before tasting it, just watching and smelling it made the experience delightful.

Nahida sat quietly at the table, watching every move as Chen Mo roasted the skewers. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the roast she’d been waiting for.

Sticky what now? …Mm, grilled mushroom-chicken it is.

...

After finishing the roast, Chen Mo placed the three skewers neatly on the only plate atop the table.

They still radiated heat, oil crackling faintly in the cooling air, the smell incredibly appetizing.

Both of them knew full well that the plate was part of the table’s texture—a static detail of the environment—but neither wanted to place food directly on the table. It was just too surreal, too abstract, like something out of a poorly-rendered dream. They weren’t quite ready to break immersion that far.

“Damn, I’m cooking like my life depends on it…” Chen Mo muttered, eyeing his health bar, which had dropped dangerously low.

While roasting, a few stray drops of oil had sparked the fire, sending out flames that the system counted as damage. His hand had brushed the flare once, triggering a burn status and causing him to lose HP.

By the time the skewers were done, he’d lost more than half his health bar.

“Next time I have to roll for Zhongli full constellation. I’ll shield up before grilling anything.”

“Hoo hoo hoo...” Nahida picked up a skewer and blew on it gently, eager to try the long-awaited treat.

Seeing her puff out her cheeks like that, Chen Mo had a thought.

“Hey, I’ve got an Anemo skill—I can blow on it for you if you want.”

“Anemo?” Nahida paused, recalling the scene from earlier outside the city, when Chen Mo had used Wind Blades to blast a horde of Hilichurls—and set an entire hillside on fire.

She shook her head. “Better not. I’ll blow it myself. Hoo hoo...”

Chen Mo grabbed another skewer and blew on it too. With his HP in the red, he needed to eat fast. A mushroom-chicken skewer restores 9% + 1,000 HP. At his current level, that was enough for a full heal.

...

“Hm?”

Just as Chen Mo bit into his hard-earned snack, he noticed the lighting around him had suddenly grown much brighter.

He looked up at the sky. The clouds had cleared. The sky over Mondstadt was once again a brilliant blue.

“Well hey, Keqing’s pretty quick, huh? She already finished those temple-cleansing quests.”

Thanks to Keqing’s efforts, the dragon crisis had ended. Mondstadt’s streets were once again bustling—NPCs had respawned en masse. The panicked citizens who’d fled earlier were all back in their usual spots.

Chen Mo noticed that Blanche, the owner of the Mondstadt General Goods shop, had respawned as well. He stood up and turned to Nahida.

“Hold on, I’ll get you some pepper salt. And I’ll fry you an egg while I’m at it.”

Nahida, still chewing on her skewer, nodded happily.

---

T/N: LMAOOO IS KEQING REALLY JUST DOING ALL THE WORK?

This is a fan translation of 完蛋！我被锁在梦里了 by 六轩岛润人芙宁娜. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!