Chapter 465: The Great Water Splashes at the Dragon King Temple

"You're not joking, are you?"

After pulling his hand out of his pocket, Li Ang's mood soured instantly at the sight of the scarf-wearing woman leaning lazily to one side, too indifferent to even glance at him; he frowned in protest:

"Fine, the portions today were generous—but really, it's just a spoonful of coffee grounds, some bread and ham. Even if you stretch it, the cost can't exceed two copper wheels. Charging this much is outright robbery!"

"What?"

Hearing Li Ang's complaint, the scarf-woman froze slightly, then turned back, her face darkening as she demanded:

"You're saying all this is worth only two copper wheels?"

Damn it! To set up that surveillance spot across the street, field ops demanded four gold wheels! Just food and supplies alone cost two gold wheels—these bastards have no shame at all!

"..."

Wait... you're actually mad? Is Old Char's daughter really this unreasonable?

Looking at the hostile scarf-woman, Li Ang, already irritated from being fleeced first thing in the morning, snapped back with an equally dark expression:

"Of course it's not worth it! I've eaten here multiple times—I'm practically a regular. Don't you think I know roughly what these things cost?"

"You're mistaken."

The scarf-woman frowned:

"What regular? I just opened today!"

"..."

Huh? You just opened today? So you're not Old Char's daughter?

Realizing he'd mistaken the stall and made a fool of himself, Li Ang's confidence wavered—but remembering her exorbitant price of one silver wheel, he still pressed on:

"Even if you're not the same stall, charging one silver wheel for this little is still outrageous."

"Mm-hmm!"

Catching movement from the opposite building—someone seemed to be peering out—fearing detection, the scarf-woman instantly ducked back into her tent, feigning attentiveness to a customer while distractedly replying:

"Then how much should it be? You tell me!"

"..."

Wait... you're just letting me name the price? Is your business model this casual?

Stunned by the scarf-woman's bizarre behavior, Li Ang ventured cautiously:

"Well... previously, at other stalls, I paid two copper wheels for this. But your portions are generous, and the stove burns hot..."

"Then I'll charge two copper wheels too!"

"..."

After waiting several seconds without a reply, the scarf-woman finally tore her gaze from the opposite building, impatiently saying:

"Still too expensive? Then..."

"No no, this price is fine..."

Li Ang had nothing left to say about the scarf-woman's business philosophy.

He raised a hand to halt her further price cuts, then sat back down obediently, mechanically chewing his breakfast without tasting it.

This woman's business is... utterly absurd. She won't even look at you, constantly glancing sideways at the opposite building...

Could she possibly be some detective catching an affair, a lookout for criminals, or a secret police officer on surveillance?

Normally, such coincidences were unlikely—but the more Li Ang thought about it, the more every detail about this woman, her scarf covering half her face, felt off. At the very least, she didn't act like a coffee stall owner. "Customer!"

Sensing Li Ang's gaze and reading suspicion in his eyes, the scarf-woman's attention snapped back; her sharp, almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly, and a piercing, oppressive gaze instantly bore down on him.

"You've been staring at me. Is there something else you need?"

"Uh... no..."

Her glare made him uneasy, and staring so openly was rude; Li Ang mumbled vaguely, turned away, and absentmindedly chewed his bread while glancing at the street.

Logically, if this scarf-woman was indeed surveilling, she was either waiting for someone to pass down this street or watching the building across.

If he remembered correctly, the opposite building was formerly the Tongqi Factory's staff dormitory—but after the factory shut down, the bottom four floors were rented out as apartments.

However, due to its slightly remote location and street noise, business had always been poor; most units on the first and second floors remained vacant.

So if she was surveilling, and considering the view from below would be obstructed, she'd likely be watching from higher up—her target must be the residents on the first or second floor...

Huh? Wait! Why is that second-floor window open? And...

"Customer!"

With a cold shout, a pair of long, toned legs stepped into Li Ang's line of sight, completely blocking his view of the opposite building.

Following the legs upward, his gaze passed her slender waist, then the firm curves resting like fruit on slender branches, until he met two eyes brimming with icy hostility.

"What are you looking at?"

Having blocked his line of sight to the target residence to prevent him from warning them, the scarf-woman now regarded this man who had first probed with words, then repeatedly scrutinized her, and now kept glancing toward the target—her eyes grew colder, her voice sharp and hard as she demanded:

"Or rather... what exactly are you looking at?"

"..."

Holy shit! You really are on surveillance!

Seeing that the scarf-woman had essentially revealed her identity outright—and now even suspected him—Li Ang frowned.

When she glared, her aura was as sharp as a blade—clearly not a detective catching an affair, nor some petty lookout. She'd likely seen blood.

In the entire Wang Gong, only military special forces, secret police from the Public Security Bureau, or outright insurgents possessed such an aura—and all three were trouble, one worse than the next...

As Li Ang hesitated whether to pull out his Clearance Bureau credentials and gamble that she wasn't a rebel but a fellow "insider," a thunderous shout erupted from across the building:

"Where is he?!"

Li Ang looked up and saw a scarred, muscular man, veins bulging on his face, leaning out of the second-floor window, roaring toward them in fury:

"Where is he?! Isha!!! Is this how you're supposed to be watching?!"

?!!!

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but I really just came to buy a cup of coffee..."

Inside the Public Security Bureau's interrogation room, bound to a chair, Li Ang glanced at the several secret police officers glaring at him, then reluctantly nodded toward the scarf-woman:

"I didn't go out of my way to hassle her—I just ordered one coffee and two slices of bread. She charged me one silver wheel! That's enough to buy half a ham!

My money isn't blown in by the wind—I earned it bit by bit. If you'd been confronted with such a ridiculous situation first thing in the morning, wouldn't you argue back?"

(End of Chapter)