Chapter 28: Serves You Right!
Outside the barrier, men howled in fury. Inside the barrier, everyone looked at Ling Jing with boundless awe and reverence.
They had already known the boss possessed extraordinary means—managing to conjure real, edible food out of this godforsaken apocalyptic wasteland was miracle enough.
Yet who would have guessed her combat strength was just as terrifying!
…If this even counted as ordinary combat strength.
Many turned their gazes back toward the “Restaurant Rules” placard the boss had pointed out earlier.
The board had stood right out in the open from the start, yet hardly anyone had bothered to read it carefully on their first visit.
“The manager possesses absolute authority over everything within the restaurant’s operational scope”… So that was what it meant!
Insanely overpowered!
Moments ago, they had all prepared themselves to fight to the bitter end against Rong Na and his thugs. Who could have imagined that with a single move from the boss, banishing the gang would be as effortless as flicking away dust?
An overwhelming wave of relief washed over them.
So the “Chinese Restaurant” under the boss’s care was this safe. Not only was the air free of the emerald mist, but even scoundrels harboring vile schemes were cleanly shut out.
Such unfathomable power—vanishing into thin air and landing outside in the blink of an eye. Not a single soul could fathom how she had accomplished it.
It gave the diners… an unprecedented sense of security!
Those who abide by the rules have no reason to fear the punishment.
Only criminals fret over whether the letter of the law is too severe.
Every last scavenger standing inside—who among them hadn’t suffered at the hands of Mad Dog and his lackeys?
Chased off, robbed blind, beaten, and cursed out.
These thugs had run roughshod over them for far too long. At long last, their day to hold their heads high had arrived!
“What happened to all that barking? Weren’t you going to come in here and beat our asses?!”
“Act tough now, why don’t you? Bleeehh!”
“Well, well, if it isn’t Mad Dog! Looking pretty sick there, buddy—did you choke on your own crap?”
Though they couldn’t see the system notification hovering before Rong Na and his men, everyone sheltered within the white barrier could tell the gang had been thrown out by the boss.
And they were blatantly barred from ever coming back in!
Otherwise, why had they slammed face-first into the barrier like fools just now?
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just look at them, bounced off the barrier and sprawling in the dirt—how utterly pathetic.
Hahahaha! Mad Dog’s face was darker than coal! Thrown out before he even had time to pull up his face cloth, leaving his misery completely bare for the crowd inside to enjoy.
To think these vicious bastards would finally have their day of reckoning!
Even though it was the boss who had dealt the blow, the survivors inside the barrier felt a strange surge of vicarious pride.
A few even stepped forward toward Ling Jing, offering their lavish praise with deep deference.
“Boss, you’re incredible! A casual flick of your fingers… you didn’t even have to lift a finger to wipe the floor with them!”
“That felt so damn good! Boss, I’ll follow you for the rest of my life!”
“Thank you for saving my life, Boss! I’ll never forget this kindness as long as I live! Take all the money I have on me—it’s yours!”
This was the scavenger whom Rong Na had pointed the shotgun at moments ago.
“You’re far too polite. As the shop owner, it is my duty to maintain a stable business environment. There is no need to give me extra coins; please, just enjoy your meals in peace.”
Ling Jing merely offered a polite, gentle smile.
She was speaking the plain truth.
She had no desire to be revered as some prophesied savior; turning a profit was her primary objective.
If someone disrupted her normal business operations, throwing them out was second nature.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t warned the troublemakers. They had simply refused to listen.
In stark contrast to her calm composure, Mad Dog’s crew stood stranded beyond the protective dome, fuming with manic rage.
“Keep barking, you trash! You really think you’re hot shit now?!”
“What the hell is this fine… Heh, pathetic joke. Trying to fine me?”
“Fuck you! Choke on crap? Just wait until you step out of that light—I’ll flay you alive!”
Watching the thugs lose their minds outside, the crowd sheltered by the barrier erupted into louder laughter.
Aulier glared murderously at the diners within the glow. “Laugh it up! Savor it while you can! Like hell you can stay in there forever.”
Rong Na and his men didn’t leave. Instead, they dug their heels in just outside the boundary, settling down to wait.
A classic stakeout.
This woman was undeniably freakish, wielding far more than a single trick.
She could displace their positions in a flash and conjure an impenetrable barrier out of thin air.
Yet when the bells tolled for curfew, could these bastards really avoid stepping out of that light?
“Then sit there and wait, by all means!”
“Bye-bye! I’m going to grab another roasted sweet potato first!”
Hearing the gang’s hollow threats, the people inside simply swayed on their heels and sauntered off.
…
The white light could bar blacklisted individuals from setting foot inside, but it couldn’t stop the mouthwatering aromas from drifting out.
Freshly baked potatoes and sweet potatoes emerged from the roaster.
The caramelized fragrance of roasted potatoes and the rich, honeyed sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes spilled through the air, winding persistently around the thugs’ nostrils.
And then came the voices.
“Whoa! This is heavenly! This sweet potato is so soft and sugary—syrup literally oozes out when you pull it apart!”
“Tell me about it! Such an incredible treat, and it only costs six! city! coins!“
“The roasted potatoes are even cheaper! Only four! city! coins! Steaming hot, fluffy, and tender! Pair it with a bite of that salty, spicy pickled radish, and it’s pure perfection! Absolute perfection!”
As if deliberately putting on a show for the bastards outside, the diners spoke at the top of their lungs with every bite.
They even smacked their lips with loud, theatrical relish!
“It smells so good! Is the one-pot stew ready?!”
“I missed out yesterday! I’m definitely having a bowl today!”
“So many vegetables! This eggplant tastes so rich it might as well be meat!”
“What are you talking about? There’s real meat in here to begin with! Thick, tender slices of pork belly, meltingly soft without a hint of grease—it’s pure bliss!”
Listening to the chatter, quite a few thugs stranded beyond the line quietly gulped down mouthfuls of saliva.
…It genuinely smelled divine.
It had been so many years since they had tasted a decent meal.
Sure, they were able to trade for rations every single day now, but… after smelling an aroma so intoxicating and rich, how was anyone supposed to choke down those rock-hard black biscuits ever again?
After the rage and humiliation came a gnawing pang of regret.
Though none of them dared speak it aloud, the hollow rumblings of several empty stomachs broke out one after another.
They wanted to eat.
Yet they had been completely stripped of the right to enter the white light.
Forget looting the place—they couldn’t even buy a scrap if they wanted to.
And that crowd of scavengers stuffing their faces would undoubtedly polish off every last crumb before stepping out of the dome.
Damn it all!
…
Indeed.
The people inside couldn’t stay beneath the white light forever.
When the bells tolled, they would have to head back to the city.
Yet the people they were now were nothing like who they had been before.
Stuffed to the brim with warm food and clean water, their veins coursed with boundless energy.
Shortly after noon, Long Ya, Long Shi, Old Hu, and Qiu Jie began weaving through the crowd, whispering quietly to one group after another.
Hearing their words, the survivors pondered for a moment before their faces lit up with resolute determination.
In the past, Mad Dog had roamed the wastes plundering at will. Those being robbed had swallowed their fury in silence, purely out of self-preservation.
Survival in the wasteland demanded putting oneself first; even if bystanders witnessed a mugging, no one stepped in to help.
The enemy held the numbers, moving in organized packs.
Now, however, the numbers were firmly on their side.
Though they had arrived in scattered pairs or on their own merely to check out the miraculous vendor’s stall…
Things were different now.
A shared interest—scrumptious food and the safe haven known as the Chinese Restaurant—had bound them tightly together.
To live a better life, that single shared resolve drove the scavengers beneath the white light to tighten their grips around their crude weapons.
Late afternoon.
As the heavy chimes began to echo across the wasteland, Long Qian, standing at the very front, let out a resounding shout:
“Move out! Back to the city!”
Her squad was the very first to step across the boundary of white light.
Right behind them, the rest of the scavengers surged forward in a formidable, united mass.
—Marching directly toward Mad Dog and his thugs.
Outside the barrier, hearing the chimes toll, Rong Na had curled his lip into a sinister sneer, ordering his lackeys to prepare to beat these fools black and blue the moment they stepped out to vent their rage.
The foolish prey actually thought they were the hunters.
Stripped of their firearm for intimidation, both sides wielded nothing more than basic handmade weapons.
Yet the disparity in numbers was staggering.
Moments later, the red-banded, starving gang members were beaten so thoroughly by the invigorated diners of the Chinese Restaurant that their wails echoed across the plain.
At an overwhelming numerical disadvantage, every single thug had to face two or three opponents at once.
Aulier and Rong Na were given “special” treatment: all eight members of Long Qian’s crew swarmed them directly, with several enthusiastic diners joining the beatdown for good measure.
The frail young man planted his boot with savage force straight onto the stomach of blond Pat, who was pinned to the ground howling in pain.
The agonizing ache in his gut from days past had come from a punch thrown by Pat when the thug stole his crystal.
Karma was real, and it had arrived in record time!
Let these bastards taste what it felt like to be stomped into the dirt!
Serves you right!
