The Alley

Shi Fenglian pressed her hands tightly against her apron, trying her best to appear normal. "Just a moment."

This noodle shop is not very big; it only has four tables.

The semi-open kitchen allows guests to have a clear view of the kitchen.

"Why is this guy only coming to eat at this hour?"

Shi Fenglian was busy in the kitchen when she casually asked a question.

"I've only just gotten some free time now." Lu Yan pulled out a pair of chopsticks, tapped them on the Desktop to align them, and added at the end, "Please hurry up."

Yao Yi was huddled in the car playing on her phone when she yawned out of boredom.

Before he could even close his mouth, he heard someone knock on the car window.

Turning my head, I saw a young girl standing by the car door, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

Yao Yi sensed something was off and rolled down the car window. "Is something the matter?"

The little girl's eyes were slightly red, and her voice was trembling with anxiety. "Brother, please help! The dog has fallen into the sewer!"

"Uh, don't rush, tell me slowly, which sewer is it?"

Yao Yi opened the car door, and as soon as he got out, a little girl grabbed his sleeve.

"I'm so anxious, over here, over here!"

Without saying a word, the little girl grabbed Yao Yi and pulled her into the alley.

"The beef noodles are here!"

With a beaming smile, Shi Fenglian placed a bowl of delicious-looking beef noodles in front of Lu Bai: "Add vinegar yourself if you want."

"Thanks."

Lu Bai didn't eat the noodles; instead, he picked up the bowl and took a small sip of the soup.

While it doesn't quite have that dramatic, thunderous sound in the background like in "Cooking Master Boy," the taste is indeed quite good, definitely above average for a small, unassuming noodle shop like this.

He clicked his tongue, stared at the bowl of beef noodles in front of him, and asked, "Did you choose cooking skills in your first Ability Pool?"

His voice was very soft, but in the quiet environment of the noodle shop, it was certain that Shi Fenglian heard him.

"What Ability Pool?" Shi Fenglian asked, feigning a puzzled expression.

"Want to make a bet? If there are more than five pieces of beef in this bowl of noodles, I'll turn around and leave immediately; if there isn't enough..."

Lu Bai didn't say the rest of his words aloud, but he figured the other person would understand what he meant.

Shi Fenglian's stiff smile faltered, and she twitched involuntarily a couple of times.

Abandon illusions and accept the reality that has been revealed.

She stopped smiling, turned around and walked to the shop entrance, used the iron hook to pull the roller shutter door up to a height she could reach with both hands, and then pressed it down to the ground completely with both hands.

With a whooshing sound, the noodle shop went dark.

After doing all this, Shi Fenglian stood up and turned around. "Aren't you underestimating me a little?"

Why did you block your own escape route?

Without turning his head, Lu Bai stared at the beef noodles in front of him, hesitating whether to take a bite.

The taste is indeed quite good, but I'm a little worried that Shi Fenglian might have added something else.

"I never intended to become a deathmatch fighter."

As Shi Fenglian spoke, she took out a cleaver from the front pocket of her apron. "Since I have a rare opportunity to try, let me see just how big the gap is between me and you elite students!"

Towards the end, his words began to carry a hint of gritted teeth.

She ran quickly behind Lu Bai, gripped the hilt of the knife with both hands, and thrust it forcefully into the back of Lu Bai's neck.

Bang!

After a crisp metallic clang, the sudden recoil caused Shi Fenglian to lose her grip, causing the 20-centimeter-long cleaver to slip from her hand.

"You seem to be going a bit too far."

Lu Bai got up and walked towards the kitchen, ignoring the cleaver that had fallen to the ground. "If we're exposed, try to kill me. If that fails, we'll die together. That's what you're thinking, right?"

He tightened the valve on the gas cylinder in the kitchen, looked up at Shi Fenglian looked utterly desperate, and continued.

"I'm guessing you still have a lighter on you, right? If you want to die together with someone else, I suggest you don't do it in such an obvious way. Of course, I suggest you don't try to die together at all, since it won't do you any good, will it?"

"What's the point of saying all this now that things have come to this?"

Shi Fenglian quickly picked up the cleaver, but instead of pointing the blade at Lu Bai, she gritted her teeth and held it to her own neck. "Even if I die, I won't let you get this one bit of me."

Lu Bai smiled and said, "I already said, let's make a bet. If there are more than five pieces of beef, I'll leave immediately."

"Real?"

Shi Fenglian's eyes lit up.

I had prepared myself to die, but things took an unexpected turn for the better.

She made it herself, so of course she knew exactly how many chunks of beef were in that bowl of beef noodles.

If possible, she wouldn't want to be eliminated so early.

Lu Bai walked out of the kitchen, smiling broadly as he raised his right hand.

Pfft! Sizzle~

A flash of light appeared, precisely slicing through the carotid artery in Shi Fenglian's neck, causing blood to gush out immediately.

Whether from anger or a tracheal injury, Shi Fenglian sobbed, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"Of course it's fake."

Lu Bai smiled sheepishly.

They even wanted Shi Fenglian to make another bowl of noodles before leaving, but who knew she'd be so extreme, threatening suicide at the slightest disagreement? Does she think she's Japanese?

He looked at Shi Fenglian, who was gradually losing her breath, and shook his head. "I quite like eating beef, but unfortunately I don't dare to eat this bowl of beef noodles."

[Bite!]

[Points +1, Current Points: 4, Current Rank: 9/357]

This ranking alone reveals a clue: a large number of deathmatch fighters are hunting in this Deathmatch Showdown.

How long has it been? They've already dropped from second to ninth.

"The competition is really fierce."

After quickly tidying up the traces of his crime, he raised the roller shutter to about waist height, bent down to go out, and then pulled the roller shutter down again.

He wasn't overly cautious; after all, this area belonged to the Field Team Three, and even if something happened, it would simply mean he would come to investigate personally.

A secluded alley.

Yao Yi was led around several turns by the high school girl, leaving her completely disoriented.

He couldn't help but ask, "Little sister, where is the sewer you're talking about?"

"We're almost there, just ahead."

The high school girl's anxious expression faded considerably, but since she was walking ahead, Yao Yi couldn't see her.

After struggling to cross a narrow gap, barely wide enough for a person, between the walls, the high school girl finally stopped in front of an empty section of the courtyard wall.

To Yao Yi's surprise, he didn't hear the dog howling, nor did he see any sewers.

Who would walk their dog in a place like this?

Yao Yi instinctively became alert. "You're lying?! There's no dog at all, right?"

He deliberately raised his voice when he scolded others, as if that would make him seem more confident.