Weird Rules: Start by playing God in Bikini Bottom!

Chapter 21 Squidward: "Who do you think you are?"

"There's no 'but' about it." Jiang Xiu gave him a gentle push.

"Go ahead. I... I'll just stay here and watch. If he goes too far..."

He didn't finish speaking, but holding his tentacles, he leaned against a crooked lamppost not far away, striking a pose as if he were just passing by watching the commotion.

SpongeBob looked at Squidward, then at the scary house, took several deep breaths, and finally mustered up his courage to move to the door and shakily ring the doorbell.

The door opened almost immediately, and an old fish with a thin build, a gloomy face, and catfish whiskers poked his head out; it was Old Baker.

His cloudy eyes swept over SpongeBob, and he immediately revealed a critical and impatient expression.

"Why are you so slow! Does Christmas give you the right to neglect your customers?"

Old Baker immediately launched into a tirade.

SpongeBob jumped in fright and quickly handed over the insulated box.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Baker! Your Christmas special Krabby Patty..."

Old Baker took the hamburger, opened it, glanced at it, and suddenly snapped, "Where's my drink? Why isn't it here? It's clearly written on the order!"

SpongeBob was bewildered and hurriedly checked the order stub: "No, no, Mr. Baker, the order only has Krabby Patties..."

"If I say it's there, then it's there!"

Old Baker raised his voice, making it sharp and piercing.

"Is this how you serve at the Krusty Krab?"

"We forgot to serve the customer's drink!"

"I'm going to file a complaint! I'll make sure the crab boss docks all your wages! You careless yellow square!"

A barrage of scolding came crashing down like hailstones.

SpongeBob was at a loss after being scolded. Tears quickly welled up in his big eyes. He was so upset and scared that he almost curled up into a ball and could only keep whispering.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't see it... There must be some mistake..."

But his defense sounded so weak amidst old Baker's roar.

At this moment, in the live streams of other surviving chosen ones who had also found this place or were observing from nearby:

Hunting Kingdom Livestream Room:

The player, Hawkeye, was extremely cautious. He hid in the shadows not far away, calmly observing.

Seeing SpongeBob's predicament, he deduced that it was a conflict between NPCs, possibly involving hidden rules.

He decided not to get involved and to wait and see.

He thought, "My job is to find SpongeBob and bring him back, not to help him resolve his disputes. Getting involved in unknown conflicts is too risky."

He silently recorded Old Baker's words and actions and SpongeBob's reactions.

Coral Kingdom Live Stream Room:

Luna felt sorry for SpongeBob when she saw him being scolded so pitifully.

Just as SpongeBob was about to cry, she came out from her hiding place and tried to smooth things over.

"Sir, please calm down. There might be a problem with the order system. SpongeBob didn't do it on purpose..."

Before she could finish speaking, Old Baker's gloomy gaze swept over her, a gaze that sent a chill down her spine and stung her spirit.

Her words caught in her throat, she felt dizzy, as if her mind had been attacked by an invisible force, and she was so frightened that she quickly retreated and dared not speak again.

The live stream footage shook violently, and she herself knelt on the ground, clutching her head in anguish. It was as if countless malicious whispers were ringing in her ears, and her mental pollution intensified rapidly.

Hawkeye, who chose to remain a bystander, was terrified but was not directly attacked.

The chat room of the Hunting Kingdom was filled with shock.

"Don't intervene! Intervention will trigger SpongeBob's weird transformation!"

"That old man is bait! He's testing if anyone will stand up for SpongeBob!!"

"This is too treacherous! How can I choose? Watch my colleague get bullied? And if I help, I'll be killed?!"

The perspective shifts back to Jiang Xiu's side.

Jiang Xiu leaned against the lamppost and clearly saw the whole process—Old Baker's difficult behavior, SpongeBob's grievances, and his seemingly weak and helpless appearance at the end.

Unlike other contestants, he did not choose to stand by or intervene directly.

When Jiang Xiu saw SpongeBob getting teary-eyed from being scolded, and Old Baker still relentlessly accusing and threatening to dock his wages, Jiang Xiu felt that familiar sense of disgust towards such bullying behavior, mixed with a hint of disappointment in SpongeBob, that stupid guy.

Just as SpongeBob was about to reach his breaking point, and Old Baker was spitting as he reiterated, "I'm going to complain! I'll dock your pay!", Jiang Xiu made his move.

He no longer leaned against the lamppost, but strode forward and stepped directly between SpongeBob and Old Baker, using his gray-blue body to block SpongeBob.

He didn't speak to SpongeBob, but instead faced Old Baker directly, his bulging eyes staring at him unceremoniously. In his characteristic, arrogant, and impatient tone, full of an artist's arrogance, he spoke clearly and coldly:

"Hey, old Baker. Enough already."

"The order is in black and white, where did the drink come from? If your presbyopia can't see clearly, I suggest you go to Coral Clinic to get a pair of glasses, instead of making things difficult for a delivery guy here."

"Deduct wages? File a complaint? Go ahead and do it. See if the crab owner believes you, this stingy old man who can't even buy a few hamburgers all year round and always tries to take advantage, or his hardworking chef who works diligently every day."

"Take your burger and hurry up and close the shop to enjoy your 'Silent Christmas.' Don't make noise here that's worse than SpongeBob's singing and pollute the environment."

His words came out quickly and sharply, without any shouting, but with an undeniable sarcasm and toughness.

It not only refuted the other party's unreasonable demands and pointed out their stinginess, but also brought out the crab owner to back them up, and finally did not forget to use environmental noise to belittle the other party.

Old Baker was speechless after being rebuked, his face turning red as he pointed at Squidward.

"You...you..." he stammered for a long time, but couldn't find the words to refute.

He might be a bully who preys on the weak, or he might have been taken aback by Squidward's sudden toughness and clear, logical rebuttal, especially since he also mentioned Mr. Krabs.

"Hmph! No manners!"

Old Baker finally muttered something resentfully, glared at them fiercely, and slammed the door shut.

Outside the door, everything fell silent instantly.

Jiang Xiu then turned around and looked at SpongeBob, who was still standing there in a daze.

SpongeBob's fear and grievance hadn't completely faded, but his big eyes had regained their sparkle as he stared blankly at Squidward, seemingly unable to believe that the person who had stood up for him and silenced the difficult old Baker was really the Squidward who always looked down on him.

Jiang Xiu felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, so he looked away and resumed his usual disdainful tone.

"What are you standing there for? Waiting for him to open the door and yell at you again? Where's the money? You let him close the door without taking any money? You blockhead!"

SpongeBob suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly looked at his hand, only to find that the money was already in his grasp, probably thrown out by Old Baker before he slammed the door.