Chapter 114: Waitress

Someone once said that snow is what rain becomes after death.

But in Night City, snow falls only a few times a year.

Like the people here, most die silently, their bodies vanished without a trace.

"Pearl! One Yuan Yang Pot for Table 11!"

"Doug-sis! Table 4 needs three pairs of chopsticks and three porcelain bowls!"

"Waitress! Add more broth to the pot!"

……

Pearl Doug hated noon and night.

At meal times, she became a frantic bee, darting between tables, dizzy and disoriented.

When had life become like this?

She crossed her arms, supporting the bottom of the Hot Pot.

In her left hand, she carried a heavy water jug.

In her right hand, she held three stacked porcelain bowls, with three pairs of chopsticks pinched between her fingers.

Pearl Doug hurried about, her posture like a prisoner shackled in handcuffs—awkward and absurd.

"Porcelain bowls and chopsticks for Table 4… Yuan Yang Pot base for Table 11… and one more… Table 6 needs more broth…" Her lips moved faintly as she chewed over each demand, drawing in the scent of food to soothe her hunger while mentally ordering them to prevent her exhausted mind from slipping up.

The guests at Table 4 were three beautiful women: two dressed as students, the other resembling a mid-level office executive.

The guests at Table 11 were odd—wearing outfits resembling Militech gear, though perhaps just cosplay.

Table 6 was packed: one man and four women filled the round table completely, buzzing with lively energy.

"Enjoy your meal…" Wearing a mask-like professional smile, Pearl served them in the exact order she'd mentally rehearsed.

The guests at Table 4 and Table 6 were kind—even to her, a lowly Waitress—they greeted her with smiles.

The guests at Table 11 were quiet: the brown-haired woman frowned, while the red-haired woman propped her chin, expressionless.

Faintly, she caught a whiff of familiar blood on them.

Like her ex-boyfriend, who vanished without a word.

Yes.

Her rusty mind creaked slowly, memories sharpening bit by bit.

Pearl Doug remembered why she'd ended up like this.

Her boyfriend—or rather, her ex—worked at Militech Company.

Saying he "worked" was like saying he served in the military.

On their reunion nights, she'd smelled the same scent on him.

The smell of iron and death.

With his well-paid job and her position at the company through family connections, their future had seemed bright.

But within days, everything shattered.

First, her boyfriend suddenly disappeared without explanation.

Then, her uncle Doug's family suffered catastrophe—her aunt died in a Medical Accident, Uncle Rob Doug went mad, detonated explosives on the street, was publicly accused of murder, and her cousin, whom she was close to, took poison and killed herself…

On the 18th, the Robot Kidnapping Incident happened—the restaurant was half-destroyed by an explosion.

She'd barely survived by hiding under a table; her head escaped being split open by flying glass shards, unlike another Waitress…

Before experiencing these things, she never realized how fragile life truly was.

Those once-beautiful days had faded into hazy memories.

Like bubbles, distorting light with flamboyant colors to appear dazzling.

Until they shattered into scattered fragments.

Like spittle carelessly spat onto the ground.

"Pearl! Add two portions of beef slices to Table 11!"

"Coming right away!" She responded instinctively, though her mind hadn't caught up.

Pearl rubbed her blurry eyes and slapped her face hard to snap herself awake.

Technically, the restaurant offered self-service at night, but customers were gods—any request had to be fulfilled.

She grimaced, sprinted to the kitchen, grabbed two fresh portions of beef slices, and rushed back.

"You said you were just having a late snack—why did you suddenly bring me to such an upscale place?"

From afar, she heard the guests at Table 11 talking.

"You look distracted—let me treat you… Don't overthink it, just focus on your work…" The red-haired woman comforted her, glancing casually toward Pearl.

"Two portions of beef slices… Enjoy your meal…" She lowered her eyes, bowing respectfully as she placed the two plates on the side dish rack.

"Thanks…" The brown-haired woman murmured thanks, then resumed talking with her companions.

Pearl Doug did not try to listen to what they were saying.

The red-haired woman's casual glance had sent cold sweat pouring down her body, making her tremble.

Combined with earlier details, it was almost certain these two guests were soldiers or Agents.

Like her ex-boyfriend—everything about them carried the label of military secrecy.

She wouldn't dare eavesdrop on their conversation even if she had nine lives.

Pearl Doug was an ordinary person with a strange habit.

She always liked, while serving guests, to steal fragments of their conversations, hoping to find snippets of stories or material to ease her loneliness or amuse herself.

For example, once a table of guests broke up with their girlfriend and sobbed for hours—she'd loitered nearby, listening a little here, a little there, piecing together stories to entertain herself.

After all, it was the only bit of entertainment left in her exhausting work life.

"Pearl! Table 4 wants a Yuan Yang Pot!"

"Coming!"

It seemed that whenever a festival arrived, the number of customers ordering a Yuan Yang Pot would be much higher than usual.

Letting her thoughts wander casually, Pearl carried a pot of Yuan Yang broth out from the kitchen with steady steps.

She wasn't sure if she was overthinking it, but she always felt the customers at Table 4 looked somewhat familiar.

"Bonnie, do you need a ride home tonight?"

"Why ask that? Can't you hold yourself back anymore?"

"Shoo, shoo... My mom is right here; what kind of talk is that!"

The blonde girl was teased by another girl with dimples until her face turned completely red.

It was brimming with the scent of youth.

Pearl felt somewhat envious of such a normal life.

"Yuan Yang Pot, please enjoy," she recited mechanically, gently setting down the pot before turning and walking away.

"If Bei..." The mature career woman smiled and corrected herself, "If Bonnie is willing, and Sophia is willing too, I actually don't oppose it..."

"Mom! What are you saying..." Sophia's face turned scarlet, and she simply buried her head on the table, playing dead.