Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen: A Black Shop—This Is an Outright Black Shop

Tianlu City, Nancheng Base

"How's it going? Has the beast tide been confirmed yet?"

On top of the high-rise building above the base, several virtual projections appeared on the conference room's large screen.

"According to reconnaissance units, it's expected to arrive in three days!"

At the head of the conference table, a burly man clad in metallic armor was giving his report.

As the head of Tianlu City's Nancheng Base, the burly man's expression was grim.

After that initial disaster, the entire continent underwent earth-shattering changes.

To survive, humanity established base cities beyond the major urban centers.

The purpose of these base cities is to resist the beast tides that periodically arrive!

"Three days? Damn, it's too short—we won't have time to prepare!"

On the conference screen, an elderly man with white hair furiously swung his iron fist, smashing a dent into the special alloy table before him.

"Chunan, can Tianlu City's defenses handle it?"

Another virtual projection showed a stern middle-aged man speaking up.

As the head of Tianlu City's outer base, Jing Chunan was the one who understood enemy and ally strength best.

"Rest assured, I've urgently recalled all base forces—we can handle this crisis!"

Making this promise to the figures on the screen, Jing Chunan was confident in the strength of Tianlu City's base.

"Good, that's reassuring. Stay in constant contact."

The stern man spoke, then gave Jing Chunan a few final instructions before ending the call.

Instantly, as the meeting ended, the entire Nancheng Base sprang to life like a steel behemoth.

And at the same time, within Tianlu City

"Another new day!"

On this fine day, Su Mu opened his shop early.

Watching the pedestrians passing by on the street, Su Mu once again sat idly inside his shop.

The business at Su Mu's shop, aside from a few actors filming nearby, was mostly frequented by members of the Buddhist sect.

So, Su Mu spent most of his time in leisure.

While Su Mu rested inside his shop, outside on the street—

"Hurry up, the boss is waiting for us to get back!"

"Alright, stop pulling me—I've been traveling for three days, I'm starving!"

On the street, two young people in unusual gear were arguing; a man no older than twenty was constantly dodging.

"Look, there's a shop right here—let's go eat something before heading to the base, we won't be late!"

While dodging, the man noticed Su Mu's food shop.

Before the woman could react, the man stepped inside the shop ahead of her.

"Jianghe, stop fooling around—we still have a mission!"

Seeing the man enter the food shop, the slender woman had no choice but to follow.

"Come on, Xue'er, we're already here—no need to rush!"

The man called Jianghe had already found a seat and sat down on his own.

Jokingly, heading to Nancheng Base right now would mean total chaos.

Jianghe wasn't that stupid—he'd take a day off if he could.

This was what life was supposed to be like!

"Look, I'm starving—I promise we'll leave right after eating!"

Meeting the woman's angry gaze, Jianghe resorted to outright stubbornness.

As for promises?

Joking—back then, if promises worked, why would we even need laws?

"Fine, that's what you said!"

Seeing Jianghe like this, Yang Xue had no choice but to grit her teeth and sit down too.

"Boss, two orders of fast food!"

Before Jianghe could order, Yang Xue spoke first.

On the other side, Jianghe sneered at her.

So naive—she actually believed him.

After we eat, you'll learn what the world is really like!

But to their surprise, the moment Yang Xue finished speaking, a crisp voice replied:

"Sorry, we don't serve what you ordered."

Su Mu, who had been lounging in the cashier's chair, only slightly rose when Yang Xue placed her order.

"If you want to order, check the menu over there."

Having overheard their earlier conversation, Su Mu already had a good idea whether they'd spend money.

Just from a few keywords, he knew these two were definitely not rich.

Rushing to some destination like this? Probably just poor wage slaves.

Such people would see the price list and start yelling at me, right?

Thinking this, Su Mu sensed trouble and frowned, stepping back slightly.

Meanwhile, Yang Xue and Jianghe both looked up, puzzled, at the menu on the wall.

The previous second, they were wondering why there wasn't any of this ordinary fast food.

The next second, upon seeing the menu on the wall, both of them were utterly stunned.

Fuck, did they misread it?

This is fucking insane!

What kind of braised egg dares to sell for five taels of gold? What kind of egg fried rice dares to sell for ten taels of gold!

This isn't selling food—it's outright robbery!

"Heh, owner, do you think we two are easy to bully?"

Yang Xue, already seething with anger, saw the beast tide approaching yet still found this heartless shop—her fury erupted instantly.

They had worked tirelessly to defend this city, yet inside it, there were still such heartless merchants.

And now they had the audacity to extort them directly.

"The two of you, our items are indeed expensive, but they are worth every bit!"

After several days of changes, especially with Yue Buqun, Zhang Sanfeng, Song Yuanqiao, and Abbot Xuan Ci visiting.

Su Mu grew even more confident in his culinary skills.

Although he had undergone the system's devilish training and graduated.

But whether the food was good or not still needed actual customer validation.

Over these two days, every one of Yue Buqun's group who finished eating unanimously called it a peerless delicacy, so Su Mu had great confidence in his cuisine.

"Heh, worth every bit?"

Yang Xue sneered, "What kind of value could possibly justify this price?"

Do you think your rice is made from spirit rice?

"I think your shop should shut down—no customers will come!"

Looking at Su Mu with cold eyes, Yang Xue decided she could notify someone to handle this.

But just as she finished speaking, a figure stepped through the shop's entrance.

The figure was none other than Yue Buqun, who had rushed here in great haste.

Upon entering the shop, Yue Buqun didn't even glance at Yang Xue or the others—he bowed respectfully to Su Mu.

"Owner, I've come to bother you again."

"Please bring me a braised egg, egg fried rice, and cold boiled water set!"