Rose Hotel and Evil Fire Phoenix

As Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing walked into the restaurant, Lin Kun's heart nearly leaped out of his throat! He quickly lowered his head, pretending to focus on his meal, while simultaneously minimizing the perception of his Insight Skill and Book Spirit to the lowest possible level, terrified of being noticed by these two big shots.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing clearly didn't notice Lin Kun in the corner. They walked straight to an empty table in the center of the hall and sat down, the atmosphere… extremely cold.

Dai Mubai tried to start a conversation, a signature charming (in his own opinion) smile on his face: "Zhuqing, the grilled fish at this place is good, want to try some?" Zhu Zhuqing didn't even glance at him, her voice cool and clear: "Whatever." Dai Mubai was met with a cold shoulder and awkwardly touched his nose, resigning himself to ordering food on his own.

The entire atmosphere of the hall became somewhat delicate because of these two. Diners whispered amongst themselves, their gazes occasionally flicking towards the exceptionally good-looking but strangely tense couple.

Lin Kun, while shoveling food into his mouth, secretly observed with his peripheral vision, mentally complaining: Oh wow! Live-action original plot! Boss Dai's wife-chasing ordeal begins! This drama is guaranteed to be sweet!

He was engrossed in watching when suddenly, his Insight Skill sent a faint warning—not directed at Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, but at the restaurant entrance!

Three youths in luxurious clothing, clearly rich young masters, swaggered in. The one in the lead had an arrogant expression, and his gaze swept across the hall, immediately drawn to Zhu Zhuqing's cold, alluring beauty and fiery figure. A lecherous glint flashed in his eyes.

"Yo! Where did this little beauty come from? Haven't seen you around Soto City before! How about joining us for a drink, pretty sister?" The young master grinned and walked towards Zhu Zhuqing's table.

Lin Kun inwardly thought: Here they come! The classic NPC experience-giving segment!

Dai Mubai's expression instantly darkened, a sharp glint flashing in his golden pupils: "Get lost!"

"Hey! Kid, do you know who we are? How dare you talk to us like that?" The young master, his pride wounded, became enraged. "Be smart and hand over this little beauty, or you'll regret it!"

Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless, not even bothering to look at them, merely tapping the table lightly with her slender fingers.

Dai Mubai slowly stood up, a powerful surge of Spirit Power naturally emanating from him. Two bright yellow Spirit Rings appeared beneath his feet: "I said, get lost!"

"A... Soul Elder?!" The three young masters felt Dai Mubai's Spirit Power pressure, far exceeding their own, and his standard Soul Elder configuration (two yellow rings). Their faces immediately turned ashen, most of their drunkenness vanishing. Terrified, they retreated repeatedly, "S-sorry! We had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai! We're leaving! We're leaving!" They scrambled out of the restaurant in a panic.

Dai Mubai snorted coldly, retracted his Spirit Rings, and sat back down, attempting to salvage his image: "Just some ignorant trash, don't pay them any mind."

Zhu Zhuqing finally glanced at him, her tone still indifferent: "Troublesome."

Dai Mubai: "..." His expression fell again.

Lin Kun in the corner almost burst out laughing, quickly covering his mouth. Boss Dai's path to winning her over is indeed long and arduous!

He thought this small disturbance was over and prepared to pay and leave, to avoid being caught in the crossfire. However, Little White in his embrace seemed slightly startled by Dai Mubai's earlier burst of Spirit Power and stirred restlessly, letting out an extremely faint "chirp."

The sound was very small, almost negligible in the noisy restaurant.

But Zhu Zhuqing's sensitive cat ears twitched slightly, and her cool gaze instantly swept towards Lin Kun's corner, landing precisely on his… bulging chest (where Little White was hidden).

Lin Kun's body stiffened! Was he discovered?!

Dai Mubai also looked in the direction of Zhu Zhuqing's gaze, his brow slightly raised, seemingly curious about the "thing" that could make such a sound.

It's over, it's over! I've become part of the drama! Lin Kun cried inwardly.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, merely glanced at him before looking away, seemingly only curious about Little White and not delving deeper.

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's lack of reaction, Dai Mubai lost interest and continued trying to find a topic to chat about.

Lin Kun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly put down the money for his meal, lowered his head, and quickly left the Destiny Restaurant. It wasn't until he was far away that he patted his chest, still shaken.

"As expected of Zhu Zhuqing, her perception is too sharp! I need to watch the show from further away next time…" Lin Kun muttered, "But, I finally met characters from the original work. It seems Shrek Academy should be near Soto City."

The immediate priority was to find a place to stay and accurate information.

According to the system map and information gathered along the way, Lin Kun found a relatively affordable inn in the southern district – the Rose Hotel. The name was a bit tacky, but the price was fair, and the environment was reasonably clean.

While checking in, the plump owner, seeing Lin Kun was young and alone, kindly reminded him: "Little brother, Soto City has been a bit restless lately. Try not to go out at night. I heard there's a 'Shrek Academy' outside the city recruiting again, and it attracts quite a few oddballs around this time every year…"

Shrek Academy! Recruiting!

Lin Kun's heart stirred, and he quickly pressed: "Boss, do you know where Shrek Academy is recruiting?"

The boss shook his head: "I'm not sure about that, it doesn't seem to have a fixed location? Anyway, I heard the requirements are very strange, not something ordinary people can meet. Little brother, you want to try? Take my advice, that place is weird, it's more reliable to find a proper academy to attend."

Although he didn't get the exact address, confirming that Shrek was recruiting was the most important piece of information!

Thanking the boss, Lin Kun entered his room and let Little White out to stretch its legs. The little fellow ran around the room curiously, full of fresh wonder for everything.

Lin Kun began planning his next move. Shrek's recruitment must be happening within these few days, and he had to find a way to locate the recruitment site. In the original work, it was near the south gate of Soto City? But he couldn't remember the specific location.

"Looks like I'll have to stake out the area near the south gate tomorrow," Lin Kun decided.

The next morning, Lin Kun checked out of the Rose Hotel and prepared to go to the south gate area to search for clues. As he reached the hotel lobby, he heard a commotion and the sound of intense Spirit Power clashes from outside!

"Boom!" "Damn it! You dare snatch a room from me? You're looking for death!"

Lin Kun curiously approached the entrance and saw two groups confronting each other in the open space outside the hotel.

On one side stood a young man in red clothing, with red hair, handsome but with a touch of roguishness, burning with intense flames. Two yellow Spirit Rings shone beneath his feet – it was the Evil Fire Phoenix, Ma Hongjun! Beside him stood a simply dressed girl, nervously holding his arm.

On the other side were three burly men who looked like mercenaries. Their Spirit Power fluctuations were not weak, all around level 27 or 28, with fierce expressions.

"Little fatty! We saw this room first! Get lost if you know what's good for you!" the mercenary leader cursed. "Nonsense! Fatty here paid first! You want to rob me? Have you asked my Phoenix Flame?" Ma Hongjun retorted fearlessly, spewing a mouthful of evil fire!

The two sides immediately engaged in a brawl! Although Ma Hongjun was only a Great Soul Master, his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul was of extremely high quality, and his flames were incredibly domineering. For a moment, he fought evenly with the three mercenaries whose levels were higher than his, flames splashing everywhere, causing surrounding passersby to exclaim and dodge.

Lin Kun hid behind the hotel door, watching dumbfounded: "Good heavens! Just as Dai Mubai left, here comes Ma Hongjun! Is this Rose Hotel a dedicated Shrek checking point?"

He instinctively used his Insight Skill to scan them.

[Ma Hongjun, Level: 28, Martial Soul: Evil Fire Phoenix, Spirit Rings: Yellow, Yellow. Status: Evil Fire agitated, emotionally excited.] [Mercenary A, Level: 28, Martial Soul: Iron Arm Ape…] [Mercenary B…]

The Book Spirit rapidly recorded the combat information and began analyzing Ma Hongjun's flame trajectories and combat habits.

Just then, as if affected by the evil fire, Ma Hongjun lost some control. A large mass of phoenix flames deviated from its trajectory and blasted directly towards the hotel entrance! The target was Lin Kun, who was hiding behind the door and peeking!

"Careful!" the plain-looking girl exclaimed!

Lin Kun's scalp tingled! This was truly an unwarranted disaster! It was too late to dodge!

At the critical moment, it was almost an instinctive reaction! A faint silver light flashed in his eyes!

[First Spirit Skill: Information Overload!]

Target—Ma Hongjun! Content to be injected: the unstable points of Ma Hongjun's own flame energy recorded just now, flaws in his power application, and an emergency information packet: "The flames are about to burn innocent bystanders!"

Ma Hongjun, who was in the middle of his attack, suddenly froze. His brain was instantly flooded with a large amount of complex information about his Martial Soul's defects and a strong "accidental injury warning"! His movements suddenly stiffened, and the flames he controlled became disordered, weakening by more than half!

Boom! Only a small portion of the stray flame hit the hotel's doorframe, leaving it scorched black, but its power was greatly reduced, and it didn't harm Lin Kun.

Everyone froze for a moment, including Ma Hongjun himself. He shook his head, a little dazed, not understanding what had just happened to him.

Seeing this, the three mercenaries thought Ma Hongjun had run out of steam and seized the opportunity to attack fiercely!

Ma Hongjun came to his senses and was instantly furious. Without thinking further, his Evil Fire erupted again: "You want to die!"

As the conflict was about to escalate—

"Stop!"

A deep voice rang out. A burly middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a somewhat stiff expression strode over, followed by a boy with a face full of curiosity, dressed in blue tight-fitting clothes—it was Zhao Wuji and Tang San!

Zhao Wuji merely released a trace of his Soul Sage pressure, instantly suppressing the entire scene! The three mercenaries turned pale, cold sweat streaming down their faces. They didn't dare utter a word and fled in disgrace.

Ma Hongjun also reined in his flames, snorting resentfully.

Tang San's gaze swept across the scene, finally landing on Lin Kun, who was still shaken at the hotel entrance. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "Lin Kun? What are you doing here?"

Seeing Tang San and Zhao Wuji, Lin Kun felt even more distressed! How could he run into a fellow villager and his teacher everywhere he went! Soto City was too small!

He quickly forced a smile: "Tang San? What a coincidence! I... I came to Soto City to join relatives, and I happened to be staying at this hotel. I was just about to go out when..."

Zhao Wuji glanced at Lin Kun, not paying much attention to this young man who seemed to have weak Spirit Power. He reprimanded Ma Hongjun: "Fatty! Can't control your Evil Fire and cause trouble again! Go back and practice more!"

Ma Hongjun drooped his head: "Oh..."

Tang San walked up to Lin Kun and asked doubtfully: "Joining relatives? Didn't you go home?" He remembered Lin Kun saying he was returning home at Nuoding Academy.

Lin Kun's heart skipped a beat. He thought, This is bad, I let it slip! His mind raced, trying to come up with an excuse to cover it up.

Suddenly, a clear and somewhat angry voice came from the other end of the street:

"You dead fatty! You're causing trouble for me again! I'll break your legs!"

A young girl in a pink dress, with her hair in a pigtail, ran over angrily. Behind her was an ordinary-looking girl with a gentle gaze (presumably Ning Rongrong).

Xiao Wu?! Ning Rongrong?! They're here too?!

Lin Kun looked at the Shrek's original lineup about to gather, and his vision went black.

It's over... There's no way I can explain this now!