He Ao carefully examined the silver test tube in his hand. After looking at it for a long time, he found nothing special about it and could only put it away.
He had not originally planned to take the test tube with him, but just before leaving, he suddenly recalled how the Youth had easily smashed through the security door reinforced with eight anti-theft chains. So he went back and tucked the tube into his pocket.
Until he found a stable Safehouse, carrying it with him was the safest option. And if anything happened to him outside, he could replenish himself in time.
It was past nine at night. There were not many people around at this hour, though scattered customers still came by.
He Ao slipped the test tube into his pocket and had just stood up to check for customers when a blurry figure appeared beneath a dim streetlamp in the distance.
The figure looked familiar, yet not entirely so. As he slowly approached, He Ao made out his face.
Zhang Anxia, the researcher from the Abnormal Human Research Institute.
Zhang Anxia spotted He Ao from afar as well. He gave He Ao a slight nod but did not walk over. With a shift of his body, he turned toward the other side of the road, where there was another cold noodles stall.
Naturally, He Ao was not the only one selling cold noodles in this area. There were five or six stalls scattered around, some selling barbecue, some selling oden. He Ao's business was simply the best.
The cold noodles stall across the street had only appeared recently. Seeing how well He Ao's business was doing, its owner decided he could do the same. The moment he started, he launched a price war against He Ao, hoping to use lower prices to drive him out and seize the market.
Both large and small bowls were sold a dollar cheaper than He Ao's.
It did affect some of He Ao's business, but not by much. After all, his flavor spoke for itself.
He Ao had not lowered his prices either. He used better ingredients, so his costs were higher. His current prices were already cheap enough; there was no need to get dragged into the mire of a price war.
At that moment, there was practically no one at the stall across the street. He Ao watched Zhang Anxia order a bowl of cold noodles, then sit at a table behind a tree, his gaze fixed tightly on the depths of the night.
Was he carrying out another mission?
A realization flashed through He Ao's mind.
Since there were no customers, Zhang Anxia's cold noodles were ready quickly.
He Ao watched him take a bite of the noodles, fall silent for two seconds, then quietly stand up, cross the road, and walk over to He Ao's stall.
"A bowl of cold noodles. Small."
"Sweet and sour or spicy?"
He Ao smiled at him.
"Sweet and sour. To go."
Zhang Anxia's gaze did not rest on He Ao. It remained locked on the depths of the night.
He Ao quickly mixed the cold noodles, packed them up, inserted a pair of disposable chopsticks, and handed them over.
"Here you go."
"Mm." Zhang Anxia took the cold noodles He Ao had made. After hesitating for a moment, he said quietly, "Your cold noodles really are pretty good."
"Thanks."
There was nothing that made a cook happier than a diner sincerely praising their food.
Zhang Anxia waved goodbye to He Ao, then crossed the road and returned to his original spot. However, instead of sitting at the tables by the opposing stall, he squatted beside the tree, eating the cold noodles He Ao had made while continuing to watch the depths of the night.
For some reason, He Ao felt that Zhang Anxia had gone a little too far, because the owner of the cold noodles stall across the street did not seem to look very happy.
He Ao could not bear to see someone looking upset, so he shifted his gaze away from the opposing owner's face and followed Zhang Anxia's line of sight into the depths of the night.
After a while, two hazy figures emerged from the darkness.
They were two young girls, one tall and one short.
The taller one was around five foot five, nearly five foot seven. Her medium-length hair fell just past her shoulders, its ends lightly curled. She wore an oversized beige knit sweater, its long hem falling past her waist and hips to her thighs wrapped in Black Silk.
Her features were still somewhat youthful, but paired with that mature outfit, the contrast gave her a distinctive charm.
The shorter one was around five foot one, nearly five foot three. She wore a festive red hoodie with wide-legged blue jeans, looking lively and quick-witted.
The girl in the red hoodie held a phone in her hand. Looking around, she pouted and complained, "Why is this place so out of the way? If I'd known, I wouldn't have come."
"It's fine." The taller girl smiled and looked around. Soon, she spotted He Ao's stall beneath the lights and pointed at it. "Nan Nan, is that it?"
"I think so." The girl in the hoodie waved her phone and pointed toward He Ao. "It should be."
Then she broke into an excited little run. "Liu Nan, let's go over!"
By then, He Ao had also made out their faces clearly. His Physical Fitness had improved, and his vision was much better than before.
The taller one was Liu Nan. He did not see the shorter one often; she seemed to be in Liu Nan's class... Her name was... Yuan Nan Nan?
As the two drew closer, they recognized He Ao, who was running a stall beneath the streetlamp.
"He Ao?!" Yuan Nan Nan was clearly shocked. She ran over quickly, circled He Ao twice, then looked at Liu Nan, who was walking over slowly, with an astonished expression. "Liu Nan, look! He Ao! It really is him! He's alive!"
He Ao:?
Liu Nan was also rendered somewhat helpless by her friend's behavior. She gave He Ao an apologetic smile and said softly, "Classmate He Ao... you're... doing business here?"
"Yeah." He Ao nodded. He did not really care about that sort of thing. "I run a cold noodles stall here. Want a bowl?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Yuan Nan Nan circled He Ao's stall in shock. "So that incredibly delicious cold noodles stall everyone talks about on the school forum is yours?! Are you... experiencing life?"
"More precisely," He Ao shrugged, "I'm making a living."
Yuan Nan Nan looked a little dazed, clearly not having processed it.
"Nan Nan."
Liu Nan quickly grabbed her friend. Yuan Nan Nan's family was far wealthier than hers, and she had been born into a wealthy local family in West Capital. Everything had always been handed to her on a platter, and she had never come into contact with society at school, so her understanding of life was a little skewed.
In Yuan Nan Nan's circle, people their age were supposed to spend each day eating, drinking, and having fun, discussing shopping, board games, allowance money, skiing trips, or vacations. So she could not immediately understand what He Ao meant by "making a living" when they were the same age.
Liu Nan had pulled her back because she was afraid she would say something careless and hurt He Ao.
"Um, we came here to eat cold noodles. Could we have two bowls?" Liu Nan looked at the sign on He Ao's stall and spoke softly. "Large bowls. One sweet and sour, one spicy. To go."
"Sure, give me a moment."
He Ao did not really care about Yuan Nan Nan's words. He swiftly scooped up the cold noodles and got to work. Just then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Zhang Anxia shoot out like an arrow loosed from a bow and vanish into the night.
Wasn't he here to protect Liu Nan?
He Ao was somewhat puzzled.
Before you continue