Rest

dark...

A slight covering sensation came over him, Shen Heng suddenly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is a short-haired girl holding a blanket.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Le Gu Nan's hand paused in mid-air, and she said softly with some apology.

"Fine."

Shen Heng shook his head, clearing his mind slightly, then looked at Le Gu Nan.

Le Gu Nan looked somewhat listless, but he didn't seem to be in pain like Wu Cheng had when he was woken up.

How are you feeling physically?

"When I first woke up, I experienced some phantom pain because I had fainted from the pain earlier, but it got much better after a while," Le Gu Nan recalled his experience.

"As of now, apart from being a little mentally tired, there aren't any major problems."

"That's good."

Shen Heng breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the others who were still unconscious in the room.

Are you the first one to wake up?

"Hmm, it's probably because I often have to analyze things, so my mental state is quite strong," Le Gu Nan replied softly.

Shen Heng nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"After we passed out, what happened next? What happened to the Calamity Beast?" Le Gu Nan asked Shen Heng.

Shen Heng briefly recounted the subsequent battle.

"So..." Le Gu Nan looked at Shen Heng, "After we passed out, were you fighting the Calamity Beast alone?"

"Yes, but in the end, it was the captain and Wu Cheng together who killed Shadow Erosion." Shen Heng nodded.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do to help." Le Gu Nan's voice suddenly became somewhat dejected.

Seeing Le Gu Nan like this, Shen Heng pondered and said:

"You don't need to worry about that. Everyone has their own strengths. Just focus on doing what you're good at."

Le Gu Nan raised his eyes and looked at the young man smiling lightly in front of him.

She nodded slightly, her hand tightening slightly.

Feeling the blanket in her arms, Le Gu Nan remembered what she had originally intended to do, and she suddenly spoke:

"Do you want to sleep a little longer?"

"No."

Shen Heng picked up his phone and glanced at the time.

It's 6:03 AM. Have you slept for more than two hours...? Putting down his phone, Shen Heng turned to look out the window.

It was still quite dark, but dawn was not far off.

Shen Heng turned to look at Le Gu Nan.

"Want to go out for breakfast?"

"Have breakfast?"

Le Gu Nan stared blankly at Shen Heng.

I don't know how we suddenly got onto the topic of having breakfast.

More than ten minutes later.

The two entered a small shop lit with warm yellow lights.

Steam rose continuously from the steamer by the door, making it feel especially warm on a cold morning.

"Boss, two bowls of soy milk, two fried dough sticks, and four meat buns." Shen Heng Shen Heng placed his order with practiced ease and found a seat by the window.

Le Gu Nan sat somewhat awkwardly opposite him, his fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the slightly chipped wooden table.

She secretly glanced up at the simple yet cozy little shop.

A yellowed menu was pasted on the wall, several bags of flour were piled up in the corner, and the owner was humming a little tune as he worked at the stove.

"Is this your first time eating in a small place like this?" Shen Heng handed over a pair of chopsticks.

"Yeah, I'm usually at the station. My family wouldn't have brought me to places like this before." Le Gu Nan took the chopsticks.

"You can give it a try, although you might not like it." Shen Heng nodded slightly.

Soon, the steaming hot food was served.

The food filled two large bowls to the brim.

Shen Heng added two spoonfuls of white sugar to his bowl, then pushed the sugar jar toward Le Gu Nan:

"Give it a try?"

Le Gu Nan tried to add sugar like Shen Heng, but accidentally spilled a few drops onto the ground while stirring.

She instinctively reached out to wipe it, but Shen Heng stopped her.

"It's alright, these little shops don't care about that."

Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

After taking her first sip of hot soy milk, her eyes widened slightly.

The sweet but not cloying warmth spread from my throat all the way to my stomach, dispelling the chill of the morning.

"How is it?" Shen Heng took a bite of the fried dough stick, and golden crumbs fell onto the plate.

"It's delicious..." Le Gu Nan replied softly, a slight smile unconsciously curving her lips.

Shen Heng smiled as well.

Outside the window, the sky gradually brightened, and the Chenguang shone through the mist onto the dining table between the two of them.

At this moment, there are no Calamity Beast, no battles, only a simple breakfast and the ordinary warmth of everyday life.

Shen Heng watched as Le Gu Nan carefully picked up a steamed bun, and suddenly spoke:

"Actually, you are very important."

"Huh?" Le Gu Nan's chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

"Analysis, Reconstruction, treatment..." Shen Heng's voice was calm, "Your role is far greater than you imagine."

"But... it seems like we don't use it often," Le Gu Nan said hesitantly.

"Some things can't be judged by how often they're used. Like your treatment; if it were used frequently, wouldn't that indicate a problem with our Supervision Bureau? So..."

Shen Heng looked at Le Gu Nan,

You are more important than you think.

Le Gu Nan's ear tips turned slightly red.

She didn't reply, but simply lowered her head and took a bite of the bun, oblivious to the scalding soup overflowing from it.

To avoid scaring the restaurant owners, the two didn't eat at one place, but instead went to several different restaurants.

Rice noodle rolls, sticky rice chicken, boat congee...

We continued until we reached a small shop with a sign that read "Old Xiguan".

The two went inside and, on the owner's recommendation, each ordered a bowl of beef brisket wonton noodles.

They had just taken their first bite of noodles when the shop door was pushed open again.

An old man strolled in and knocked on the counter with practiced ease.

"A Qiang, shrimp dumplings and siu mai as usual!"

The boss, wiping his hands, peeked out from the kitchen. "Uncle Chen, no shrimp dumplings today."

"Hmm?" The old man frowned. "For over twenty years, I've never seen you run out of stock. What's going on today?"

The boss lowered his voice, glanced in the direction where the two were sitting, and whispered:

Something big happened at the seafood market last night; I heard there's a Calamity Beast there.

Upon hearing the words, Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan paused in their actions.

They looked at each other, then silently continued eating.

The conversation behind me continued.

"Huh? Calamity Beast?" The old man's eyes lit up. "Hasn't the Supervision Bureau dealt with it?"

"I heard they went to deal with it, but the place was almost destroyed," the boss replied.

"It's about to collapse? How can such a big market collapse?" the old man exclaimed in surprise.

"It's almost there, it hasn't collapsed yet," the boss corrected.

"Oh, it's about to collapse!" the old man exclaimed, then asked, "Has anyone seen what that Calamity Beast looks like?"

The boss glanced at the old man, unsure whether he understood what "quick" meant.

But when asked that, all he could say was, "No, it's the middle of the night, who could see that? Even if someone did, they'd run away as fast as they could."

"Has the Calamity Beast been dealt with?"

"I heard it's been resolved."

"That solves the problem, but we still don't have shrimp dumplings yet."

"I don't want to either, but the owner of the shrimp stall I usually go to is worried. He said he won't be open for the next few days."

"So, there won't be any shrimp dumplings for the next few days?"

"No, I just didn't know today and missed the other market. I'll go earlier tomorrow and then I'll have it at the other market."

"That's good, that's good..."

Shrimp dumplings... Le Gu Nan gently turned her gaze back to Shen Heng.

Shen Heng's attention was no longer on the boss and the old man; instead, his eyes were unfocused, as if he were listening to something.

After a moment, he opened his mouth slightly again, and this continued for a while.

"What's wrong?" Le Gu Nan asked, looking at Shen Heng who was looking over.

Shen Heng looked at Le Gu Nan.

"They're awake and want us to bring them breakfast..."