"What protection fee, this is extortion!"
"My mom's shop back home, it was forced to close down by these bastards."
"Too arrogant! It's time to teach them a lesson!"
The viewers in the live stream, having watched from beginning to end, marveled at Seven-Colored Egg's brilliant move, exclaiming "666".
With so many viewers, even if some were at the food street, no one bothered to inform the two men. They picked up their phones and called 110.
These scoundrels deserved to be taught a lesson!
They still thought they were so cool, so awesome, so powerful.
"Egg Lord did a great job! It's the familiar taste!"
"Speaking of which, since Egg Lord has hatched, is it still appropriate to call him Egg Lord?"
"Brother Qinglong, Dragon Soul? Brother Qing? Lord Long? Lord Soul? I'll stick with Egg Lord."
...
As the fat man and Hong Wendong were taken away by the police, the live stream camera gradually moved away.
It seemed like they were just passing by.
Along the way, Seven-Colored Egg and the others flew, searching for something.
They would occasionally gather together and discuss in hushed tones.
...
Late at night.
The guests at the food street gradually dwindled.
Many stalls and shops closed one after another.
The bustling food street began to quiet down, with only the occasional roar of vehicles in the distance.
And the voices of people gathered at barbecue stalls, drinking and chatting.
*Sizzle—*
At the entrance of [Great Auspiciousness], the young owner pulled down the door curtain.
Stretching, he turned and went into the kitchen.
This was the downside of the catering business; even after closing hours, one had to prepare ingredients and various grains and oils for the next day.
Most people living on this street slept during the day and worked at night.
Their schedules were reversed.
Why not prepare during the day?
Because some foods needed to be fermented and prepared in advance.
This way, there would be something to sell at night.
And those who sold braised meat had to put it into the brine early so that it would be flavorful when sold the next day.
"Let me see how much seasoning is left..."
The young owner, Luo Xing, muttered to himself, opening the Underworld live stream on his phone.
At the same time, he used his key to open the internal ingredient storage room, accessible only to him.
The layout of the ingredient storage room was simple: a few refrigerators, a prep counter, and two or three blue baskets.
And, a whole wall of pure white.
It looked clean and tidy.
However, Luo Xing's gaze immediately fell on the bone in the basket.
Placing his phone on a fixed stand, he picked up the basket and walked to the pure white wall.
He knocked on it.
"Hey, get up and work."
The pure white wall rippled slightly, "Those guys from the Underworld are here. I can't come out."
Luo Xing took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and pointed unhurriedly at the phone behind him:
"The live stream is on for you. They've already left this area."
"Hurry up and get to work, or you'll be begging for food tomorrow."
As he finished speaking, a terrifying giant face slowly emerged on the pure white wall.
In the black eye sockets, the eyeballs moved, falling onto the bone below.
It slowly opened its mouth and ate the entire blue basket.
Chewing and grinding carefully.
After a while, the blue basket was spat out.
A layer of white powder fell from the wall, landing precisely in a row of transparent seasoning containers prepared below.
A burst of exotic fragrance immediately filled the entire storage room.
It made one's appetite surge.
Luo Xing's Adam's apple bobbed. His already full stomach rumbled again.
But he stepped forward to examine the powder closely and frowned:
"The quality isn't as good as before. The quantity has also decreased."
"Don't forget, we rise and fall together. Without me, you would have starved to death here."
The terrifying giant face looked at him, "This isn't my problem. It's clearly that the 'goods' you provide have deteriorated in quality."
"If you bring me some good stuff, the amount of 'seasoning' will be three times more than this."
Luo Xing exhaled a puff of smoke and pondered for a moment, a target forming in his mind.
"Alright, I'll get you some in a couple of days."
"For now, make do with this and work hard."
He put out the cigarette and walked to the refrigerator.
He took out a block of frozen meat and placed it on the cutting board.
Raising his cleaver, it landed on the frozen meat with a 'thud'.
Once, twice, thrice...
He cut it apart, bones and all.
Faintly visible were several things resembling fingers.
After chopping them into small pieces, he put them into the large pot beside him and began to boil them.
Before long, the pot started to bubble.
A burst of exotic fragrance wafted out, mixing with the aroma of the seasoning.
They complemented each other.
Even after smelling it so many times, Luo Xing couldn't help but salivate uncontrollably.
His eyes turned red.
He quickly grabbed the bread prepared beside him and stuffed it into his mouth to suppress the almost maddening appetite.
Breadcrumbs fell to the ground.
The ghost face on the wall glanced at him with disdain and asked curiously, "You've already earned so much money, isn't that enough?"
If it were anyone else, they would have been enjoying themselves by now.
Who would still be working such long hours to open a shop?
After eating two pieces of bread, temporarily curbing the craving, Luo Xing wiped his mouth.
He glanced at the white wall.
His mind recalled many things.
Back then, he and his girlfriend had started their entrepreneurial journey in this very shop.
They rented the place themselves, renovated it, and ran for business permits.
They found suppliers, researched dishes, and figured out ways to attract customers...
It was a time that was both arduous and joyful.
But good times didn't last. All their savings were used up, and the business of this shop didn't pick up.
They started arguing, started regretting.
Their passion and love were gradually worn away by the daily grind.
Until that day—
After attending a class reunion, having had a few drinks, they, with their pent-up frustrations, argued again.
He was annoyed and pushed her.
"Stop talking!"
A dull thud came from the other side.
The whole world fell silent.
When he realized something was wrong, he saw her sitting by the iron rack near the wall, bleeding profusely.
Her eyes were open, and she was motionless.
Looking up at the iron rack, he saw a bloodstain.
"I, I killed someone?"
"Qiao Qiao, Qiao Qiao... Don't scare me..."
He stood there, at a loss.
Call 120? Would it be in time?
Call the police and surrender?
At that moment, various thoughts flashed through his mind.
His heart pounded.
He realized this would be the turning point of his life.
Different choices would foreshadow different futures.
He sat on the cold floor all night.
When he finally made his heavy decision, he turned around and found that his girlfriend's body was gone.
Only a long bloodstain remained on the ground, already dried.
It looked as if something had violently dragged it away.
He immediately became alert and cautiously stepped forward to examine it.
But he found that the doors and windows were intact.
There were no signs of anyone else having been in the room besides him.
And the bloodstain...
It led all the way to the wall and then disappeared.
*Goo goo~ Goo goo~~~*
In such fear and suspicion, he actually felt a pang of hunger.
"So fragrant..."
He smelled the air, mixed with the scent of blood, and instinctively swallowed.
His gaze fell on the bloodstain on the ground, and he felt a sense of dread towards his sudden thoughts.
So fragrant.
So hungry.
...