After tidying up briefly, Bai Zhou slung his suit jacket over his shoulder and was just about to head out.
Crow's voice suddenly drifted down from upstairs:
"Bai Zhou, someone's looking for you."
"—You'll never guess who."
"...?"
Bai Zhou truly couldn't imagine.
At this hour and in this place, who else could be looking for him besides pursuers armed with blades and guns, itching to slice him into eighteen pieces?
He immediately grew tense.
Then, standing by the window, he saw a hesitating figure pacing downstairs.
Melancholy long hair, a sharp and bushy beard.
Leaning on a length of rebar with one hand, cradling a paper bowl with the other.
...Him?
The bearded man from last night?
What was he here for?
"Mister, don't tell me this is your turf too?"
Walking out of the villa, listening to the incessant drone of cicadas in his ears...
Bai Zhou wore a bewildered expression on the surface.
Behind his back, however, his left hand had already quietly gripped his black truncheon.
Could it be... because of those two missing underlings?
Then that would be a real pity, if so...
"It really is you?"
The man stood among the weeds, leaning on his rebar rod. His clothes were tattered, and he carried a heavy, pungent stench.
Yet what reached Bai Zhou ahead of the smell was his gravelly voice, pelting him with a barrage of questions:
"—Drifting out in the cold at such a young age, does it feel good?"
"You really don't plan on going home?"
...Yet before Bai Zhou could answer, the man's aggressive air of demanding accountability crumbled under its own weight.
For he had gotten a clear look at the dilapidated ruin behind Bai Zhou, as well as Bai Zhou's hale, energetic demeanor.
He didn't look like someone putting up a brave front.
Next, knitting his brows, he asked in a gruff voice:
"You spent the night in this place, all by yourself?"
Not entirely by himself...
Bai Zhou blinked.
"Someone told me they went out scavenging today and spotted you around here."
"I was worried, so I came over to check..."
"Didn't expect you'd actually be here."
Spotted? How?
Bai Zhou pondered it for a moment. It must have been when he washed his face by the river at noon—some passing scavenger had seen him.
He had some recollection of that, but hadn't realized the scavenger belonged to this bearded man's crew.
—Do you scavengers actually carve out territorial jurisdictions?
"Looks like you're not just some willful rich kid like I thought."
Shaking his head, the bearded man actually bent at the waist of his own accord:
"I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions."
"No, no, not at all..."
Hearing this, Bai Zhou waved his hands repeatedly.
He couldn't blame him.
Judging solely by Bai Zhou's age, his decent attire, and his heavy suitcase, it was hard not to jump to conclusions.
Losing both parents at a young age, having his hometown reduced to ruins, and ultimately being hunted across an entire city by a shadowy syndicate...
Such experiences were simply too bizarre.
Not to mention ordinary people being unable to imagine it—even if Bai Zhou recounted it himself, someone would turn around and pack him off to an asylum for treatment.
"So, you came looking for me to..." Bai Zhou asked tentatively.
"Everyone has their hardships. I won't pry into the details; that's the rule of the trade."
The bearded man waved a hand.
"But frankly speaking, being a vagrant is hard, and it's humiliating. Everyone looks down on you."
"You're still young. You can easily go find a job in the city!"
His voice paused there.
"...But if you truly feel you can accept this kind of life, that's fine too."
"If any other scavengers give you trouble, tell them you're with me and you've paid your dues."
"My surname is Qiao. They all call me Old Qiao—Old Qiao of the South District."
With that, the bearded man pointed back in the direction he had come:
"If you ever get lonely and want some company..."
"Come find us where we were last night."
"I take back what I said yesterday."
"—But if you join, you have to hand over a share of what you earn every day. That's the rule."
"Or don't go. Up to you."
With that, Old Qiao thrust out the paper bowl in his hand.
His movements were stiff and awkward, clearly unaccustomed to such gestures, and the paper bowl nearly bumped against Bai Zhou's chest.
"This is...?"
Bai Zhou blinked.
"Braised pork!"
"I figured you hadn't eaten in a while."
Old Qiao's voice was dry, seemingly ill at ease speaking this way.
"Consider yourself lucky, kid. Today is the base's once-a-month meat day. We pooled our money for half a pig and cooked it ourselves."
"The bowl... is clean... Never used. Don't worry."
Piled in the small paper bowl were several glossy chunks of pork belly.
Rich with oil and deep-red sauce, the trembling fat caught the harsh sunlight. A slightly charred aroma of soy sauce mingled with savory meat fragrance and a touch of sweetness, washing over him.
Bai Zhou froze for a second.
He had assumed this middle-aged man came to recruit him.
Yet as it turned out, the man had carried a disposable paper bowl all this way...
Just for this?
"Mister, you might have misunderstood something." Bai Zhou waved his hands hastily. "Actually, I don't intend to be a scavenger. Even if I eat your pork, I won't join you."
"Hm?"
Old Qiao raised his brows twice, nodding with apparent relief instead.
"So you're looking for a job? Then all the more reason to fill your belly first..."
"Not that either," Bai Zhou answered honestly. "I don't have that in mind for now."
Old Qiao choked.
"...Then are you going home?"
"No plans for that either, for now."
Bai Zhou's response was remarkably candid.
Yet the more he spoke, the more the man bristled with indignation, his face flushing red.
"Won't do this, won't do that?"
"—Are you planning to sleep in this ruined shack until you starve to death?"
"Young, whole-limbed, hale and hearty—how can you not feed yourself?"
"Even if you pick through trash to scavenge... you still need the proper mindset for scavenging!"
Bellowing loudly, he forcibly shoved the paper bowl of braised pork into Bai Zhou's hands, causing a few drops of gravy to splash out.
"...Fine! I'm sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."
"Do whatever you want!"
Fuming, Old Qiao turned and stomped off, grumbling curses.
Not lingering in the slightest.
It was as though handing the braised pork to Bai Zhou was all he needed to set his mind at ease.
Even Bai Zhou's words of gratitude and polite demurral failed to halt his stride.
"...He just left?"
Holding the bowl of braised pork that had practically fallen from the sky, with his stomach rumbling, Bai Zhou felt somewhat bewildered by the turn of events.
Wait... what kind of nonsense was this?
He had only just told those two unlucky scavengers the fable of the river god and the axe, and here he was encountering an alternate version—
A bearded river-god uncle popped out of the lake and asked Bai Zhou which axe he dropped, but Bai Zhou wasn't a woodcutter at all; he was just a broke pauper passing by who didn't even own a rusty iron axe.
—Yet the bearded river god didn't care what he said; the river god simply wanted to reward him and bestow a gift...
Everything had happened too fast.
So fast that before Bai Zhou could even ask or decline, a bowl of braised pork had landed in his hands.
Did they know each other before? Why show such bizarre kindness?
As for this question...
Bai Zhou actually had a faint hunch deep down.
Because when Old Qiao spoke with him, the look in the man's eyes wasn't directed at Bai Zhou at all.
It was as though he were gazing at the shadow of someone else.
Nostalgic, wistful, and exasperated at a failure to live up to expectations.
Perhaps he had a story of his own.
—Yet Bai Zhou had no desire to pry into another's private life.
After all, encounters and partings between strangers were all a matter of fate.
It was enough to quietly remember the kindness bestowed upon him.
To Bai Zhou, such unexpected goodwill was both familiar and foreign.
—A little like the feeling of being looked after by everyone as an orphan in the alleys of Wancheng.
"..."
Thinking this, Bai Zhou looked down at the bowl of braised pork in his hands.
It was still warm.
He pinched a piece and popped it into his mouth.
Probably made without cooking wine; the gamey odor of the pork was quite pronounced, the seasoning crude, the meat coarse, and the fat greasy.
Yet, how to put it?
Bai Zhou chewed, his cheeks puffing out.
...Perhaps because he hadn't eaten in so long, he actually found a distinct flavor in it.
Very fragrant.
—At least in Bai Zhou's eyes, this braised pork tasted far better than the exquisitely prepared dishes in the base's mess hall.
"You're right, Crow."
"Every place has good people and bad people."
Eating as he spoke, Bai Zhou turned his head toward the girl in the trench coat beside him.
Crow had been standing right there the entire time, listening to everything.
Had that not been the case, Bai Zhou wouldn't have dared casually eat food offered by a stranger.
"At the very least, I can confirm he wasn't lying," Crow said with an uncertain shake of her head. "Perhaps he saw his son's shadow in you?"
"Who knows?"
Bai Zhou shook his head, pinched another piece of pork belly from the little paper bowl, and slipped it into his mouth.
Melted on the tongue.
His stomach stopped growling. The calories transformed into a warm current that surged through his body, letting him gradually relax.
Smacking his lips, Bai Zhou squinted with satisfaction.
Then he held out the box:
"Want to try some? It's actually not bad once you get used to it."
"No need."
Crow shook her head.
The weeds swayed, and the wind stirred her ink-black hair.
A faint, elusive fragrance drifted out.
"I no longer require low-grade energy like proteins and fats to sustain biological function."
With that, she retrieved two coffee beans from her coat, popped them lightly into her mouth, and chewed.
The damp breeze gained a hint of burnt coffee aroma.
"This is enough."
...
Life's encounters were always wondrously unpredictable.
Moments ago, Bai Zhou was eating charity handed to him by a strange beggar uncle.
Now, he was preparing to head into the city center to dine at an exorbitant three-star Michelin restaurant.
The braised pork had merely whetted his appetite.
Especially since Bai Zhou had to walk three hours on foot following the map to reach the restaurant.
Crow hadn't come along, saying she had business to attend to.
Mysterious as ever.
...Along the way, Bai Zhou never took off his mask, maintaining an exceedingly low profile.
Though the walk was exhausting, it offered him plenty of new insights into this unfamiliar city.
Surprisingly, the bears in Tinghai City could "eat people" right on the open street.
—He had witnessed it with his own eyes!
In front of a shop called "Tianxue Bacheng," a human arm had suddenly shot out from the gaping maw of a large brown bear!
Evidently, a human was struggling inside.
At the time, Bai Zhou had nearly rushed up to send the bear flying with a slide tackle.
Yet a little girl passing by beat him to it, squealing as she threw her arms around the bear, shouting bizarre nonsense like "Such a cute bear-bear!"
—Leaving Bai Zhou to wonder whether there was more to the story.
Finally, before the sun slipped entirely below the horizon...
Under a sky ablaze with fiery sunset clouds, around six-thirty in the evening, Bai Zhou arrived at the bustling downtown core teeming with people.
—Incidentally, the first time he saw those fiery evening clouds, Bai Zhou had assumed Crow was coming!
This Blue Star truly was peculiar. The sun was golden and the moon was white, so why did the sky turn crimson during their changing of the guard?
Back in Wancheng they had a blood moon, so a red dusk made total sense.
What excuse did Blue Star have...?
Quite abnormal, wasn't it?
—Yet he soon had no time for further pondering.
Because right here, he spotted "acquaintances."
Several men in black suits were casually looking around the street.
In their hands were silver briefcases that looked painfully familiar to Bai Zhou.
—The Special Control Bureau's field operations team!
His gut told him...
They were here for him!
His heart chilled. Bai Zhou quickly lowered his head and hurried through the crowd in his mask.
They arrived so quickly...
Had they already finished dealing with things back at the base?
A tense pressure smothered Bai Zhou's chest.
The bustling street felt like a graveyard at midnight, devoid of even a shred of safety.
At any moment, he could collide head-on with pursuers from the Special Control Bureau...
Fortunately, Bai Zhou didn't need to linger in the street.
For he had already arrived at his destination—
[L'Ambroisie]
He had come for the "pocket money" Crow left behind in the establishment.
Knowing full well that Tinghai City held dangers, he had come anyway—
All to collect the equipment and supplies Crow had stored here.
Curiously enough...
L'Ambroisie meant food fit for the gods.
Also known as "Ambrosia of the Gods," its signature dishes were black truffle duck liver, mille-feuille, and chocolate tarts.
—Of course, Crow had told him all of this.
It seemed Crow had frequented this restaurant quite often in the past, enough to stash a portion of her "pocket money" here.
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, Bai Zhou spotted a blind spot—
Back then, Crow must have at least eaten real food.
"'Dress code: Gentlemen must wear a collared shirt and trousers; ladies must be appropriately attired'?"
Bai Zhou softly read the sign at the entrance.
—Wasn't that a stroke of luck?
Bai Zhou looked at himself.
White shirt, trousers, suit jacket slung over his shoulder.
Though he looked nonchalant and slovenly, he met the requirements to a tee.
—Could this too have been within Crow's calculations?
At the restaurant's entrance, all sorts of gold plaques were affixed in dense, layered clusters:
[Centuries-Old Traditional French Cuisine]
[Tinghai City Purple Pearl Three Diamonds]
[Annual Michelin Three-Star Selection]
[Tinghai Top Must-Eat List #1]
[...]
He didn't quite understand it, but it looked impressive.
With a crisp *click*—
He pushed the door open, shutting out the world outside.
Bai Zhou breathed an inexplicable sigh of relief.
As if that sudden sense of urgency had vanished into thin air.
"Welcome to L'Ambroisie!"
Pushing open the heavy doors fragrant with truffles and money, a courteous waiter came forward.
The glow of crystal chandeliers was dazzling, the wall decorations lavish and elegant. Outside the window, tree shadows swayed in the breeze. Everything exuded a soft, refined ambiance that felt utterly detached from the modern metropolis outside.
—And Bai Zhou was an uninvited guest out of place in both worlds.
The guests strolling about were dressed formally, their expressions solemn, their voices hushed as though speaking too loudly would brand them as low-class.
Only Bai Zhou looked left and right, indifferent to the gazes of others as he took in his surroundings with open curiosity.
"Good evening, sir."
The waiter spoke again, his tone low, yet within his polite phrasing lay a faint, indescribable arrogance.
The waiter had naturally reached out both hands, intending to take the suit jacket from Bai Zhou's shoulder...
Yet catching sight of the beads of sweat on Bai Zhou's forehead and the conspicuous stains of dust on the grimy jacket, he discreetly pulled back his white-gloved hands.
Ah... understood.
An insurance salesman pounding the pavement.
And so, the courteous waiter held out a hand to block Bai Zhou, stating with utmost tact:
"—Please step outside!"
"We do not permit the peddling of insurance here!"
Bai Zhou: "?"
What was insurance?
The Adjudicator-300 had something called a safety, though...
Did this man want him to whip out his gun and show him?
Or was this part of the secret code exchange?
...After Bai Zhou stated he was here to eat, the waiter eyed him suspiciously:
"Excuse me, do you have a reservation?"
"Reservation?"
Remembering the lines Crow had coached him on before coming, Bai Zhou replied uncertainly:
"I... shouldn't need a reservation?"
"What?"
The waiter was completely dumbfounded.
Stunned by Bai Zhou's audacity.
—And you claim you're not selling insurance!
No, you really aren't selling insurance—
You're here to pick a fight!
In the nearly two centuries since L'Ambroisie opened, there had never been a guest who didn't need a reservation!
Search all of Tinghai—which celebrity, tycoon, or high-ranking official didn't consider securing a table at L'Ambroisie a badge of honor?
With that in mind, he quietly signaled behind his back.
Two more waiters immediately closed in without a sound.
...And then, the two approaching waiters both distinctly heard Bai Zhou's next words:
"Private Room 103, [L'étoile Voilée]."
Pronouncing the awkward name as though reciting an arcane incantation from his past special training, Bai Zhou woodenly recited the nonsensical lines:
"I have come to hear the unfinished nocturne."
Having said it, Bai Zhou's own face flushed red.
What cringeworthy dialogue!
—Didn't Crow feel embarrassed leaving a secret code like this?
He truly didn't understand the extraordinary beings of the mystical world!
Yet on the other side—
Private Room 103?
The three waiters froze for a moment.
Right after, a plump figure darted past them like an agile gust of wind.
That was...
The manager?
One waiter called out in bewilderment.
By now, as more people gathered near the entrance, the "high society" patrons across the hall turned their gazes over.
—And promptly doubted their own ears.
"Of course—"
"Of course you don't need a reservation!"
Facing the masked youngster at the door, the usually proud and uncompromising manager exhibited a humility they had never witnessed before, his smile blossoming from ear to ear like an open flower:
"—For L'Ambroisie will forever hold the finest table for you!"
He glared fiercely at the three bewildered waiters, shooing them aside, and bowed low with an arm slightly raised:
"—This way, please."
Amid the swirling speculations of the hall, stepping across deep-red carpet and breathing in the scent of truffles and red wine, Bai Zhou walked straight into the restaurant's inner depths where others were forbidden to tread.
Right at that moment—
*Clack, clack...*
Several more men in black suits carrying briefcases hurried past outside the window.
A floor-to-ceiling pane of glass separated the inside from the outside, dividing two different worlds.
Bai Zhou walked toward the depths of the hall, while the Special Control Bureau's pursuers searched off into the distance.
—Their figures crossed by chance, yet drifted ever further apart.
In the evening sky, the sunset clouds faded, replaced by surging darkness.
Heavy storm clouds gathered faintly overhead.
A tempest was brewing—
Yet inside the air-conditioned, palatial luxury of the fine dining hall...
The normally quiet room was abuzz.
With the manager leading the way and waiters trailing behind, even the fabled head chef—notoriously haughty and elusive—rushed out in haste.
Just like that, they thronged around Bai Zhou, whose eyes blinked in bewilderment beneath his mask.
—Like stars revolving around the moon.
The self-styled high society across the hall could only watch his retreating back with strange looks, whispering among themselves in fervent speculation.
Yet they learned nothing.
This had long surpassed the bounds of being a VIP...
It was as though the king had returned to his faithful domain.
In the center of all eyes—
Yet the king did not care.
Chapter 45