Led by Le Gu Nan, the two walked into the store.
Le Gu Nan walked familiarly to a quiet corner at the back and sat down, seemingly trying to avoid the gaze of those passing by the entrance.
He then raised his hand and gestured softly to the boss, without making a loud announcement.
The owner, wearing an apron, smiled and nodded, indicating that she would come over later. It was clear that she was already quite familiar with this short-haired girl.
Shen Heng looked at Le Gu Nan, who had turned her gaze away, and asked, "Are you used to the breakfasts in Capital?"
"Well, at first it wasn't quite right. They all prefer salty drinks, like salty soy milk and salty tofu pudding. But after eating them a lot, as long as the flavor isn't too strong, some of them are actually acceptable," Le Gu Nan explained.
Shen Heng nodded, recalling how, on his first trip to Capital, he had been persuaded by a chef at the Lakeside Center to drink a bowl of soy milk.
"Soy milk?"
"Hmm, that won't work!" Le Gu Nan refused without even thinking.
The two looked at each other, then laughed simultaneously.
The owner, wearing an apron, came over after finishing with another table of customers.
"Nan girl, you brought a friend today?"
"Yes, I'm from my hometown in Lingnan." Le Gu Nan nodded to the shopkeeper.
"You've come all this way, are you here for tourism?"
"No, I'm here for work."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Le Gu Nan said softly,
" Uncle Wang, please order the same two dishes as before, double portions, and also two bowls of sweet soy milk."
"Okay!" the boss replied amiably, then turned and left to prepare.
A moment later, the food was served.
Each person receives two meat patties, a bowl of lightly braised tofu pudding, and a bowl of sweet soy milk.
The two of them came out just to try something new and have something to do; they had already eaten their actual breakfast at another place before they came out.
Le Gu Nan introduced the dishes on the table,
"The meat patties here are very generously filled, and the bottoms are crispy from frying; they taste great."
"Then for the tofu pudding, I had Uncle Wang get used to making it with a light gravy, and I added some shiitake mushrooms; it tasted quite delicious."
"If all else fails..."
Shen Heng looked at Le Gu Nan as he slowly introduced himself, and suddenly chuckled.
Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan, who had originally intended to suggest that if she didn't like the taste, she could switch to soy milk, immediately stopped in her tracks.
She looked at Shen Heng cautiously and asked, "Wh... what's wrong?"
"No, it's just that I feel everyone has grown a lot," Shen Heng said with a light laugh.
The conversation between Le Gu Nan entered the store, and the introduction just now, all reminded him of the girl who used to get nervous even when talking to people.
Then, what she caused reminded Shen Heng of the people at the Linhai Supervision Bureau.
Everyone is growing up...
Although Shen Heng was referring to everyone, Le Gu Nan understood that Shen Heng was mainly talking about her.
Despite having grown a lot, she couldn't help but feel a Xiaoxiao nervous and excited.
Not knowing how to reply, she could only pick up her bowl of sweet soy milk and sip it slowly.
"By the way, how is everyone in the bureau doing?" Le Gu Nan suddenly asked.
"Like I just said, I've grown a lot..."
The two chatted as they ate slowly.
Suddenly, Shen Heng paused, his gaze falling on his wrist.
"A call request from Daoist Master Li!"
The sound of the Ringing Sound reached Shen Heng's ears after a slight vibration.
Shen Heng looked at the wristband, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
He paused for a moment, then said, "Connect!"
Soon, the communication was established, Li Daoyi's deep, somewhat rough voice came through.
"Where have you been this early in the morning? I couldn't find you anywhere in the entire Lakeside Center!"
"I went out for breakfast."
"Hmm? Breakfast, which seat?"
"Okay, I'll send it to you after I hang up."
"Okay, hurry up!"
After the call ended, Shen Heng had Ringing Sound send his location to Li Daoyi before turning his gaze to Le Gu Nan, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"A friend, well, a mentor and friend, is coming over. You should have heard of him, Li Daoyi, another S-Class who's based in Capital," Shen Heng said.
Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan's eyes widened slightly. "Hmm? You still know Daoist Master Li?"
"Yes, I met him at a meeting at headquarters when I first joined, and then we met again when I went to the training camp," Shen Heng recalled.
Le Gu Nan nodded in realization, then asked, "Should I leave now?"
"No need, you can keep it. I can introduce you to him while I'm at it," Shen Heng said.
Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan hesitated for a moment, looked at Shen Heng, and finally nodded.
The two didn't have to wait long, only a minute or two, before a figure walked in from outside the shop.
Shen Heng's gaze lingered on that figure for a moment.
Yes, he was still wearing a clean but not very neat martial arts uniform.
Li Daoyi's gaze swept around the store and quickly landed on Shen Heng.
He lifted his leg and walked over, but then paused slightly. As his gaze swept over Le Gu Nan, he walked over again.
"You little rascal, so you came here to pick up girls. No wonder you didn't come to see me!" Li Daoyi laughed as he sat down next to Shen Heng.
Upon hearing this, Le Gu Nan's face immediately turned red.
She opened her mouth, but then seemed unsure what to say and closed it, lowering her head.
Shen Heng glanced at Le Gu Nan, who had his head down, then turned his gaze back to Li Daoyi.
He didn't refute it, but instead began to explain.
" Le Gu Nan, my former colleague from Linhai, now works in the Research Department. Her Reconstruction ability is A-Class."
"Hmm? Transferred from Linhai to the Research Department?" Li Daoyi looked at Le Gu Nan, "Taking charge of a project yourself? Or what?"
"No, I was basically following Professor Yan around, helping with some materials." Le Gu Nan took a deep breath, then looked up and answered in a soft but clear voice.
"I see!" Li Daoyi nodded, his gaze sweeping across the table before he picked up the last untouched meat pie from Shen Heng's side and took a bite.
Shen Heng ignored this, only speaking after he swallowed a mouthful:
"Master, why are you looking for me so early in the morning?"
Li Daoyi paused in his chewing of the meat pie, as if reminded, then quickly stuffed the rest into his mouth, patted the crumbs off his hands, and squinted at Shen Heng.
"Didn't you have a problem with your Configuration? Why don't you seem worried at all?"
"Oh, this?" Shen Heng said suddenly, then calmly replied:
"I did intend to inquire about the Configuration this time, but since I've been using it for several months and haven't encountered any other abnormalities besides the 30% reduction in the Origin Power limit, I'm not in a hurry to do it in a day or two."
Upon hearing Li Daoyi frowned, raised his hand and pushed Shen Heng's shoulder, causing Shen Heng to turn slightly to his side, and then raised his hand to press against Shen Heng's abdomen.
Seeing the greasy hand that had just held the meat pie, Shen Heng's lips twitched, but he still didn't stop him.
Li Daoyi covered his face with his palm, closed his eyes, and probed inward with his spiritual power.
Soon, a Configuration he had never seen or imagined before appeared before his eyes.
A golden ring, its shape constantly shifting, stood at the center, surrounded by primal Origin Power flowing and swirling around it like a nebula...