Meal

'Hmm...'

'It's alright...'

After sizing up his new hairstyle through a few glances at his reflection in the street-side glass, Xi Shenlian felt fairly satisfied with the result.

His handsomeness had skyrocketed, surging wildly!!

He was so handsome he wanted to punch himself!!

'Not bad at all. Born with natural charm, as expected of me~'

With that thought, He even flashed a smile at a passing female student who was pretending to play on her phone but secretly checking him out.

In that moment, Beyond her excited little gasp, Xi Shenlian tuned his hearing and caught her heartbeat quickening noticeably.

He understood at once.

His current appearance was indeed quite the weapon!

Next, He arrived at another spot in the neighboring area.

It was a restaurant.

Located in a mall near the subway station.

Based on online reviews, This place was known for great taste and steep prices.

The Auxiliary AI even gave it a rating of seventy percent premium.

Meaning the dishes here cost about seventy percent more than comparable quality in regular areas, thanks to the bustling district markup.

The Auxiliary AI recommended it because, by monitoring the city's traffic, communications, and ordering systems, it confirmed the restaurant had placed excellent orders at the raw ingredient market, with delivery arriving successfully an hour and a half ago.

And according to feedback from the surveillance cameras installed inside, They had just finished handling most of the ingredients.

Now was the perfect time to dine.

Let's just say... the Auxiliary AI had even dug up what underwear the owner wore.

--

From the outside, The restaurant's decor was only above average.

The wooden doorframe had a clear sense of age.

But surviving for years in a bustling street was a skill in itself.

The only small issue was the sign hanging at the door reading "Not Yet Open."

That was because it was only ten in the morning.

Still over an hour until the business hours posted beside the shop.

But after a glance, Xi Shenlian chose to lift the patterned white cloth door curtain and slowly walk in.

Before he could take two steps, Facing his unabashed footsteps, A young server still earnestly mopping the floor looked up with surprise, waving his hands in slight panic:

"Sir, we're not open for business yet!!"

"Please come back later!!"

Xi Shenlian didn't make things difficult for him, simply saying calmly:

"That doesn't matter. By this time, your ingredients should already be prepped, right?"

"I'll take the whole place. I'll cover today's revenue, so you can start early and leave early."

Hearing this, The server knew a big spender had arrived.

But it still somewhat broke the restaurant's rules.

He hesitated, thinking he might need to check with the boss.

Seeing this, Xi Shenlian added calmly:

"I'll pay more. Ten times."

Six short words.

He shut down the waiter.

And he shut down the boss.

--

Two minutes later.

With the waiter and boss now acting somewhat fawning, he smoothly took his seat.

With a tenfold price hike, rules or no rules had become completely irrelevant.

The interior space was only a few hundred square meters, a bit narrow and elongated.

A few long tables paired with rows of high stools made up the so-called dining environment.

And beside it was the open kitchen.

Convenient for customers to grab food and watch the chefs cook in person.

Sitting on one of the high stools.

Xi Shenlian glanced at the dim but non-glaring lights overhead, then spoke to the several chefs ready ahead of him:

"No dietary restrictions."

"Just serve whatever's on hand."

"Keep it coming until I say stop."

Hearing this.

The chefs immediately bowed slightly and replied, "Yes!"

Among them, the head chef.

Was actually the boss.

A middle-aged man around fifty, ordinary-looking but somewhat stern.

For a small high-end restaurant that had successfully operated for many years.

The boss was often the head chef, the restaurant's pillar.

This way, costs could be better controlled, and operations ran smoother.

At that moment.

While preparing the food.

The boss also secretly observed Xi Shenlian from the corner of his eye.

As someone running a high-end restaurant, fairly well-off himself, and working in the service industry.

He could vaguely judge from the clothing labels and fabric quality how much Xi Shenlian's outfit was worth.

It was close to the price of a luxury car.

Though he could afford such clothes.

He'd probably never bear to buy them in his lifetime.

Not because he was poor, but simply because he couldn't bring himself to.

And.

Facing a guest who could wear such clothes as everyday attire.

He clearly understood that this was someone he couldn't afford to offend...

It was precisely because of this understanding.

That he'd agreed earlier to Xi Shenlian's request to book the entire place.

Otherwise.

Even with a tenfold price increase.

Deep down, he still wouldn't have been willing.

Because some dining spots for today had already been reserved in advance.

Booking the whole place.

Would undoubtedly harm the interests and dining experience of certain reservation holders.

For a small high-end restaurant that valued reputation and repeat customers, this was obviously an extremely bad thing...

It could very well cost them regulars!

But...

The situation was ultimately beyond his control.

A boss still had to assess the circumstances.

A minute or two later.

"Please enjoy."

Three plates of neatly sliced tuna sashimi, arranged according to the cut, were respectfully placed before Xi Shenlian.

The chefs, meanwhile, were calmly preparing various follow-up dishes with practiced ease.

Since several chefs were serving a single customer, they all looked quite relaxed.

Two of them even took their time grilling yakitori—skewered chicken.

All of them felt today would be an easy shift!

But soon...

They realized something was off.

That something was Xi Shenlian's exceptionally good appetite.

A single serving.

Five servings.

Ten servings...

All of it disappeared smoothly into his stomach.

At first.

They just thought the customer had a healthy appetite.

But as the meal progressed and the plates piled up.

They came to a stark realization: they had been wrong...

Along the way.

They shifted from cooking with a casual mindset to pulling out all the stops.

Striving to make every single dish the best it could be!!

Don't get it twisted.

It wasn't that the customer's appetite had sparked their professional pride.

It was simply that...

They were genuinely scared...

In this world.

The kind of person who could put away that much food basically belonged to one of two groups.

One: natural-born monsters, the Awakened.

Two: elites among ordinary people, high-level cultivators.

And both groups.

Were the upper class and the embodiment of Human civilization's military might.

They could wipe out every employee in this shop with a wave of their hand...

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