Hostility

Pang Dahai Seafood Restaurant had only just opened, so business was fairly booming. The spacious, brightly lit dining hall was packed with diners.

In the middle of the restaurant, several tables had been pushed together into a long one. Plates of various seafood rested on beds of ice for guests to help themselves.

At that moment, a pot-bellied man called over a waiter and pointed at an empty plate in front of him. "Where are the oysters? Why are they all gone?"

"That shouldn't be possible!" The waiter looked confused. "I replenished the food just ten minutes ago!"

"Why is the salmon gone too?" an unhappy female customer complained from nearby.

"There aren't even any scallops left. What the hell is this?" another customer who had come to get food shouted. "Are you doing this on purpose? Didn't you say it was unlimited?"

Cold sweat dripped down the waiter's face. Only then did he realize that more than half the plates on the long table were empty. It was practically unbelievable—he really had restocked them ten minutes ago!

The waiter hurriedly notified the kitchen to replenish the food while reporting the matter to the manager.

When the manager arrived and checked the surveillance footage, he saw that ten minutes earlier, an inconspicuous-looking young man had visited the long table.

When the young man left, he took with him a stack of plates nearly half a person tall, piled with all kinds of seafood.

Most outrageous of all, apparently to save space, the young man had removed the shells from things like oysters right there on the spot and tossed them into the trash, putting only the oyster meat onto his plates...

"This is outrageous, utterly outrageous! He must have been sent by a competitor to cause trouble. Find him for me!" The manager trembled with rage.

Half an hour later.

The manager sat at a table in a corner, his face plastered with a warm, friendly smile as he watched the young man across from him devouring food with his head lowered.

Were you a starving ghost in your previous life?!

The manager's face twitched as he did his best not to lose control of his expression.

He had been sitting there for twenty-eight minutes already, yet the mouth of this boy wearing a No.7 High School uniform had not stopped once.

He ate shrimp without peeling them and crabs without cracking their shells. Plate after plate of seafood had somehow been eaten by him as though they were soup dumplings—one bite each.

In just the time since he had sat down, thirty more empty plates had appeared on the rack beside the young man.

Ridiculous. This was completely ridiculous...

Do you not need to digest or take a shit either?!

At that moment, the young man suddenly stopped and looked up at him.

Manager Zhu perked up. Was it finally over?

Who would have thought Shen Qian merely gave him a strange look? "Manager Zhu, what are you spacing out for? If you don't turn them over, the squid will burn."

Manager Zhu came back to his senses, sighed, and hurriedly flipped over the skewers of squid grilling over the small brazier in his hand.

He felt that he had either overestimated the young man's intelligence or underestimated his shamelessness. He was sitting here personally serving him already—how could he still not understand? How could he just not get it?

Another hour passed. After the kitchen had called countless times to protest, Manager Zhu, who had been staring at the clock on the wall, suddenly sprang to his feet with a shout.

"Ahahaha, sorry, it's eleven o'clock. We're closing!"

Watching the excited Manager Zhu, Shen Qian reluctantly stuffed the last squid skewer into his mouth and asked unwillingly, "Don't restaurants usually wait until all the customers have left?"

"We are a legitimate business. We strictly obey the law and never exploit our employees' working hours!" Manager Zhu declared with a solemn expression.

"Fine, then I'll leave."

As Manager Zhu looked as though he had been granted a new life, Shen Qian added, "The food was pretty good. I'll come here often from now on."

Manager Zhu froze on the spot.

"Now is the perfect time to lift. Convert all that food into physical strength!"

After leaving the restaurant, Shen Qian quickly hailed a cab to the South City branch of Jiuzhou Martial Arts Hall.

Ever since getting a membership card last time, Shen Qian had not returned to the martial arts hall for various reasons. But given his current physical condition, the only way for him to improve as quickly as possible was with the help of the hall's professional equipment.

Though it was already late at night, quite a few rooms at Jiuzhou Martial Arts Hall in South City were still lit, with people training diligently inside.

Shen Qian entered the front lobby. Two young receptionists in simple, fitted training uniforms still stood behind the counter, but the sweet girl Xiao Xuan, who had received Shen Qian before, was nowhere to be seen.

However, Shen Qian was not here to pick up girls, so he did not care. He walked to the counter and said directly, "A Platinum Cultivation Room for the night. The name on the membership card is Shen Qian."

The receptionist on the right checked on the computer, then said apologetically, "Sorry, the last remaining Platinum Cultivation Room has already been reserved. Would you consider a Gold Cultivation Room instead?"

Shen Qian frowned, then shook his head helplessly. "Then Gold it is."

Shen Qian still had over three thousand yuan on his card, more than enough to cover an overnight stay in a Gold Cultivation Room. After the paperwork was done, the receptionist led Shen Qian toward the back.

Past the partition was the martial arts hall's public lobby. At the moment, quite a few people were gathered around the Simulation Machine, apparently watching something.

Shen Qian glanced over, then immediately turned away without interest, because he seemed to have spotted someone he disliked.

"Shen Qian?!"

He could not be bothered with Zhao Xin, but Zhao Xin had clearly noticed him as well.

Shen Qian pretended not to hear and headed straight upstairs.

"Why is your ranking gone?" Zhao Xin stepped down from the Simulation Machine and called out gleefully, "Did they catch you cheating? Hahaha..."

Zhao Xin's words caught Shen Qian off guard. What ranking?

He stopped and looked up. He quickly understood what Zhao Xin meant. Sure enough, his name was gone from the electronic display marked "Trainee Potential Index Rankings."

He had ranked thirty-sixth in the last test, but now thirty-sixth place belonged to a completely unfamiliar name. Not only that, his name was gone from the entire top fifty.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xin still ranked thirty-eighth, the same as before.

Seeing Shen Qian stop, Zhao Xin became even more animated. "I knew there was no way you could be that strong. Sure enough, either the machine malfunctioned or you cheated!"

"Idiot." Shen Qian gave him a sidelong glance and replied blandly.

"You're courting death?" Zhao Xin's expression changed.

"Young Master Zhao, the results are in. Congratulations, your Burst Strength has broken through 145!" At that moment, Manager Zheng, whom Shen Qian had seen before, walked over to Zhao Xin and said joyfully.

The onlookers nearby let out several sounds of amazement.

Only then did Shen Qian realize that these people had been watching Zhao Xin's physical test. Still, he was somewhat surprised. If he remembered correctly, Zhao Xin's strength had only been a little over 130 last time. It had only been about a month, yet he had improved pretty quickly!

Shen Qian guessed that the other party might have taken some kind of drug too.

"Your Potential Index has reached 78, enough to rank third at our branch!"

Manager Zheng seemed even happier than Zhao Xin. Pointing at the large screen where the rankings had changed, he said, "Reaching this rank not only gives you better discounts, but also plenty of hidden benefits. They will definitely exceed your expectations!"

"What benefits?" The one who asked was not Zhao Xin, but Shen Qian, whose interest had been piqued.

"What does that have to do with you?" Zhao Xin sneered. "Shen Qian, if you know what's good for you, don't show your face in front of me again—"

Zhao Xin suddenly could not continue, because the look in Shen Qian's eyes at that instant sent a chill through him.

That icy gaze tinged with violence was beyond his understanding. An unprovoked fear seized his throat.

"Shen Qian!"

At that moment, another delighted cry, slightly breathless, broke the tense atmosphere. A petite figure ran up to Shen Qian, bringing him back to his senses.

"Xiao Xuan?"

Shen Qian turned his head and looked at the sweet girl in hot pants. The inexplicable violence in his heart slowly faded, and his expression returned to normal.