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“Business is booming, Boss,” said a survivor waiting outside, as he took a stool and sat over at the door, eagerly watching those who were already eating.
A strong, spicy aroma wafted out from inside, making their mouths water. But they had no choice; there were no seats available for now, so they could only crane their necks to watch others eat.
The restaurant had never had so many people at once before, and Jiang Ci was truly a bit overwhelmed.
After finally serving all the hotpot bases and dishes, her back already was soaked with sweat.
The ingredients rolled in the boiling pot, gradually changing color in the bright red, translucent spicy oil, making one’s mouth water.
There was an additional chilli sauce in the condiments section. It was made from mashing chilli peppers into a paste and stir-frying them, then adding peanuts, sesame, salt, and other seasonings. It was very fragrant and well-loved by the survivors.
Seeing the situation, Zhong Xiaofeng called out to Zhong Chu beside her, “Hurry up and eat, this tastes really good. Last time we came, they didn’t even have the spicy hotpot yet.”
Seeing her enthusiastic recommendation, Zhong Chu nodded and also picked up her chopsticks.
Zhong Xiaofeng served her a slice of fatty beef and eagerly took a bite herself.
Fresh, fragrant, and spicy flavor profiles were fully displayed in this pot. The survivors who had been chatting earlier gradually fell silent, leaving only the sound of bowls and chopsticks clinking.
“I finally understand why you couldn’t stop talking about it after coming here once,” Zhong Chu remarked with some emotion. Ever since Zhong Xiaofeng, representing the Crimson Base, had visited the hotpot restaurant last time, she had been constantly chattering about it.
As a result, Zhong Chu had finally put aside her busy tasks and followed Zhong Xiaofeng for a visit, unable to resist her persistent urging.
“Right? You should also take a break and relax occasionally,” Zhong Xiaofeng said to Zhong Chu.
As they chatted and feasted on the hotpot, Zhong Chu truly experienced an unprecedented sense of relaxation and joy.
After waiting for an hour, one table finally finished their meal. The swept-clean plates beside them had almost stacked into a small mountain, along with the additional dishes they had ordered twice more before reluctantly putting down their chopsticks.
Seeing this, the survivors outside quickly came in to take the seats. During the hour they had been eating, another group of survivors had arrived outside.
Perhaps drawn in by the lively atmosphere and lack of danger around, they came over to see what was happening. But once they arrived, they too were captivated by the enticing aroma inside the store. There was no helping it; the smell was simply irresistible.
“Brother, what is this place? Why does it smell so good?”
“Didn’t you see the sign? It’s a hotpot restaurant. It smells amazing, but there are too many people. We’ve been waiting for almost an hour,” said a survivor sitting by the door.
Jiang Ci had just finished cleaning up the table when the survivors quickly sat down, even taking the initiative to use the notepad to write down what they needed. They had already seen other customers do it, so they were particularly adept at the process now.
She was busy until evening before she finally saw off all the survivors.
Zhong Chu deliberately waited until Jiang Ci was done before approaching her to speak, “Thank you, Boss, for providing us with mineral water. Each bottle is of excellent quality and has solved a major problem for our base.”
“It’s nothing, no need to be so polite,” Jiang Ci waved her hand. She had earned crystal cores, and the other party had obtained precious water—it was merely a mutually beneficial arrangement.
“Several bases close to us have also learned about this. They’ve been inquiring about where we got our water from. Should we tell them?” Zhong Chu asked, showing her respect for Jiang Ci by asking her opinion first
Jiang Ci nodded, “Sure, the more people who come to buy, the better. I have plenty of stock here, and you can also recommend more survivors to come and have hotpot.”
Hearing this, Zhong Chu nodded to indicate she understood. Then, noticing the fatigue on Jiang Ci’s face, the two of them left.
The shop was completely empty now. Jiang Ci slowly exhaled, massaging her sore arms. Although she was tired, the income was quite substantial—she had earned a total of 186,820 points.
The shop’s inventory was also completely depleted, and points were being deducted to restock. Now, Jiang Ci’s account had 445,680 points left.
Converted to Chinese currency, that was over 400,000 yuan.
Jiang Ci looked at this string of numbers with delight. She hadn’t expected to save up so much money in less than a month.
Although she wouldn’t withdraw all of it, just seeing the total amount gave her a sense of security.
After sitting at the counter for a while and seeing no one come in, she decided to go back to her room to take a shower and change out of her clothes.
She’d been busy all day and hadn’t had the chance to check on any of the new tasks issued by the system.
[Now releasing a new task: distribute 100 store flyers to unlock egg fried rice,] the system’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Distribute flyers? How am I supposed to do that?” Jiang Ci asked, puzzled.
[The host can either leave the hotpot shop and go to human settlements herself, or find survivors to help distribute them,] the system replied.
As soon as the system finished speaking, a thick stack of paper flyers appeared in front of Jiang Ci. On the front was a drawing of a hotpot, very similar to the icon she had seen on her phone before arriving here—a pot with some ingredients. The hotpot was drawn so realistically that it almost seemed like you could smell the aroma.
On the back was a detailed map of the hotpot shop, so clear that even someone who was terrible with maps could understand it. The title read: “Welcome to A Hotpot Restaurant.”
Jiang Ci stared at the stack of flyers, deep in thought. Recently, the hotpot restaurant had been doing well, so finding people to help distribute the flyers shouldn’t be a problem. But hearing the system say that she could also go out made her itch with curiosity. She could spend 100 points to exchange for the protective film to going outside. The system’s words made her eager—she had been here for almost a month and hadn’t even left the hotpot restaurant once. With the system’s air-tight protection, going out once shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
Just as she was thinking this, there was a noise at the door. Jiang Ci looked up and saw a man and a woman entering from outside.
The man was tall and had a sinister expression. The woman behind him had messy hair, tattered clothes, and looked mentally unwell, as if she had been through some kind of trauma, her gaze unfocused.
Seeing these two, the alarm in Jiang Ci’s heart started beeping incessantly.
She didn’t know who these two were, but the alarm going off meant they weren’t good people.
The man walked around the room, his eyes scanning everything, before finally settling his gaze on Jiang Ci.
“Is this a hotpot store? Can we still eat here?” Because so many people had come today, a lingering aroma of food still filled the shop.
“Of course, what would you like to order?” Although Jiang Ci didn’t smile, she also wasn’t as nervous as she had been the last time the alarm went off.
“Let me see,” the man said slowly, walking over to the small blackboard and actually studying it carefully.
“Do you actually have all these ingredients in the shop? How did you get them?” The man seemed genuinely curious.
“Yes, we have everything in the shop. You can let me know what you want once you’ve made up your mind,” Jiang Ci replied, avoiding his second question. But the man didn’t seem upset and instead started ordering.
He ordered a beef tallow hotpot base, one serving of rice, and fifty portions each of fatty beef slices and pork belly slices.
Jiang Ci calculated the price; all of this would require two fourth-level crystal cores, one third-level crystal core, and one second-level crystal core.
The man seemed surprised that he had to pay with crystal cores before eating, but after a moment of hesitation, he pulled out a fifth-level crystal core from his pocket. “Is this enough to cover the bill?”
Jiang Ci didn’t refuse and pocketed the crystal core. “It’s enough. Just one portion of rice?”
As she spoke, she glanced at the woman beside him, her question clear.
“Yes, just one portion for me,” the man replied without hesitation, not even sparing a glance at the woman crouching at his feet.
Jiang Ci didn’t know the relationship between the two and didn’t probe further. Instead, she returned to the kitchen.
Soon, the sound of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen. The man sat for a while, then stood up and silently walked toward the kitchen. If one looked closely, they could see faint purple lightning crackling around his fingertips.
If Sun Qing had been here, she would have identified this man as Zong Tao, the one who had caused her to lose half their team. And the deranged woman beside him was Bai Tingting, the spatial ability user.
Zong Tao walked to the counter where he could see everything in the kitchen. Indeed, there were plenty of supplies—a sack of potatoes spilled on the floor, along with the meat Jiang Ci was cutting.
A glint of greed and determination flashed in Zong Tao’s eyes. He circled the hotpot restaurant once more. Apart from the locked door that bothered him, there was no one else around.
As an ability user, Zong Tao’s senses were sharper than an ordinary person’s. He was almost certain there was no one else here.
So, he leisurely walked toward the kitchen, a crackling ball of electricity already forming in his palm.
But he didn’t let his guard down completely. As he walked, he remained alert to his surroundings. After all, anyone who could run a shop here must have some formidable strength.
Just as he approached the kitchen, an extremely dangerous aura suddenly made the hairs on his body stand on end. Zong Tao’s expression changed slightly, and he quickly retreated a few steps. Before Jiang Ci could come out, he hurried back to his seat.
The moment he sat down, he realized his back was soaked with sweat. His already pale complexion, due to his injuries, turned even paler in that instant.
There must be something high-level in this house.
As he thought this, a surge of blood suddenly rose in his throat. He forced it down, pretending nothing had happened, but he didn’t dare act recklessly anymore.
This was the first time he had stumbled across a place that made him fear for his life.
When Jiang Ci came out with the food and the hotpot base, she saw Zong Tao sitting obediently in his seat.
The alarm bells in Jiang Ci’s mind also subsided a little. She didn’t know what had happened and was somewhat puzzled, but she still remained vigilant.
Zong Tao had been eating voraciously, and after finishing, he promptly prepared to leave. The woman who had been crouching at his feet also stood up, staggering as she followed behind him.
“Not eating anymore? There’s still more food,” Jiang Ci was somewhat bewildered. Why wasn’t he following the usual script? She had been on full alert, yet it seemed the other party wasn’t planning to make any moves.
