Opening a Restaurant in Honkai

The mission was scheduled for early tomorrow morning. Zhao Bai decided to go to bed early to face the challenge with full energy. He closed the restaurant door and went home with Theresa.

Nominally, Theresa was his observer, living off his dime. Her breakfast, dinner, and snacks were all taken care of at the Zhao Family Restaurant.

Tonight, Zhao Bai didn't make any late-night snacks.

Zhao Bai woke up very early. He put a high-concentration Honkai crystal into the motorcycle's energy chamber, grabbed some ingredients, and drove towards the school gate.

He arrived around 5 AM. The sky was just beginning to lighten. Rose petals, still dewy, were a dark red like fresh blood. The night's chill had not yet dissipated. Walking along the way, Zhao Bai didn't see many students.

After all, going out on a mission required discretion. The fewer people who knew, the better.

Zhao Bai began to wait.

Unexpectedly, the girl known for her energy and vitality was actually late. By 7 AM, Zhao Bai still hadn't seen her. His calls only went to a busy signal. She had vanished, leaving him utterly bewildered.

The sun was high in the sky when Zhao Bai finally saw his teammate.

Kiana's running style was very comic-book-like. Her twin pigtails, tied in braids, bounced up and down with her steps. She wore the St. Freya school uniform, her long leather boots hitting the ground with a thump-thump sound. Her cape swayed with her body, and she still had a piece of bread in her mouth.

Her posture was very shojo manga, but her speed was not.

She had been sprinting at a speed that would break world records for a hundred-meter dash. Just moments ago, she was far away, and in the blink of an eye, she ran up to Zhao Bai, panting heavily, hands on her knees, involuntarily bending over.

"You're late again."

Zhao Bai checked his watch. "The original time was 5:30 AM, and you arrived at 8:30 AM. Plus, you're eating while running; your stomach will definitely hurt later."

"I stayed up late playing games yesterday!" Kiana scratched her head sheepishly. "I spent all my allowance on your ice cream so you'd let me copy your homework. After copying it, I got home and realized I didn't have money to buy armor. Bronya took me to play until late, and we failed many times."

So that's what happened.

No, she was still absorbed in online games before a mission? That made no sense at all, no matter how you looked at it. But because Kiana stated her reasons with such an honest face, Zhao Bai subconsciously believed her nonsense, thinking Kiana was late for a reason.

This was utter nonsense!

Kiana wolfed down the bread and then looked at Zhao Bai with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Canghai City isn't some remote desert. Why did the Director assign me a battlefield chef?"

"Wake up. I'm the leader of this operation," Zhao Bai said without mercy, puncturing her statement. "The operation outline, the target, even the funds are in my hands. You're just a follower."

"On what grounds?"

"Perhaps the Director also thinks you're not mature enough and need more training."

As Zhao Bai spoke, he mounted the motorcycle. Kiana's solo flight vehicle piloting class had been failing for a long time, so they could only ride one motorcycle together. Zhao Bai pressed a button next to the instrument panel. With a clack-clack deformation sound, a basket-like compartment slowly lowered.

Kiana obediently squatted in the compartment, like a child going out to buy groceries with her mother.

But it was strange. Kiana's practical skills were always perfect, no less impressive than athletes on a track. However, for the vehicle class, it was like taking a driving test; you had to pass the theory exam before you could take the practical exam. Kiana had never managed to pass this course.

It was truly a sight for sore eyes.

For example, when asked "What do you do if you encounter a major traffic jam?", Kiana would give an answer that was clearly worth zero points, like "Just drive through it." Yet, she could actually carve a path through impenetrable traffic, like a slippery catfish.

The motorcycle lifted them into the sky, the Honkai energy engine roaring powerfully.