Upon hearing Jeanne mention Char Siu rice, Ch'en and Hoshiguma exchanged a tacit glance. Both understood exactly what this meant; it seemed their companion had truly discovered something. However, they said nothing, continuing to discuss lunch with Jeanne while secretly selecting the restaurant they had agreed upon beforehand, preparing to covertly notify Swire.
"The old place, then. At least they won't call us specially just because of the size of your order. Speaking of which, how many portions are you eating this time?" Ch'en spoke in a half-joking tone, while Hoshiguma listened quietly to their exchange, her hands never stopping their work on the documents.
"All of them!"
The two words out of Jeanne's mouth left the nearby staff members stunned. They had never seen someone order food like this in all their lives; was "buying out the whole stock" even a thing for food delivery? The people around looked at Jeanne as if she were an alien, curious as to what species of human this girl was to be able to state such a grand claim so calmly.
"They have a limit of ten portions per order now—probably scared off by your order last time. How about you just eat eight portions for lunch to tide you over, and when we go back tonight, you can pester the LGD chefs?" Ch'en said expressionlessly. The people around felt that either these three were crazy, or they themselves were falling behind the times. This seemingly small and slender girl was actually that capable of eating?
At this point, some of those with "ghosts in their hearts" wondered if this was some kind of code to have other LGD members storm in and tie them up. But it didn't look like it. When several of them turned away to smoke, they exchanged glances. They decided to wait and see; if they misunderstood, they would be far too aggrieved. Besides, even if they were exposed, they held something that could make the LGD hesitate to act. There was no rush to move yet; it wasn't worth risking their lives over a mere suspicion.
"Could you swap my portion of Char Siu for Pink Sausage? Eating like this with you two these past few days, I'm getting a bit sick of Char Siu," Hoshiguma said with a look of difficulty, one hand clutching her stomach as if the mere mention of Char Siu made her stomach uneasy.
"Then talk to the boss and order another portion. Nine portions for me alone should be about enough." Jeanne wasn't actually that hungry, but she guessed a fierce battle was coming. Eating more to replenish her mana would give her more strength when it came time to hit people.
"Oh, right. No need to get me utensils. I brought my own!" As she spoke, Jeanne pulled a pair of chopsticks from her person. Seeing this, everyone was certain this wasn't a code; the girl was just a pure, unadulterated foodie.
"You bring your own utensils on a mission? What were you thinking..." Ch'en looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, appearing too embarrassed to scold her acquaintance in public.
However, no one could guess what the two of them were thinking deep down. At this moment, Ch'en put on an exhausted expression, handed her phone to Jeanne, and said, "I give up, my ancestor. You deal with it yourself over there. Let me catch my breath... my blood pressure is rising..."
Ch'en clutched her head, looking as if she were genuinely frustrated by her old friend. Beside her, Hoshiguma could only soothe her, saying she was a newcomer and didn't understand the rules of certain things yet.
On the other side, Jeanne finished the order in no time, then skillfully entered Ch'en's payment password to settle the bill. The entire sequence of actions took less than twenty seconds.
"All done! The boss says it'll be here in ten minutes. But he begged you not to order again; he said four of his chefs ended up in the hospital from exhaustion after the last delivery." Jeanne handed the phone back to Ch'en, then sat down to wait for the meal. Ch'en, looking at the reply on her phone that mocked her, thought to herself that she definitely wouldn't go easy on that Char Siu (Swire) later.
Outside, Swire, who was lying in wait, immediately received news of the delivery the moment Jeanne placed the order. The shop owner was an acquaintance of Swire's and, after being briefed on the mission requirements, cooperated fully. Today, only Ch'en's account was allowed to place orders at his shop.
"Pink Sausage and fried dough sticks, plus ten portions of Char Siu rice? Two sets of utensils... delivery within an hour at the latest."
Because they knew from that Vouivre that high-purity Originium "bombs" were likely hidden here, the LGD had to ensure as few officers as possible were involved in the initial phase. Even so, she was requesting the participation of all LGD members? Considering Ch'en and Hoshiguma were on the inside, it seemed the situation they were about to face was not going to be easy.
"Find someone to deliver the food; don't let them get suspicious. Also, drone squad, pack the weapons for the Pink Sausage Dragon and Hoshiguma. Prepare to deploy them via drone in one hour!"
After understanding the situation through the delivery order, Swire immediately made arrangements for the upcoming battle. In truth, that was why Jeanne had specifically mentioned "two sets of utensils." Ch'en and Hoshiguma hadn't brought their weapons inside; if a fight broke out, their combat power would be significantly reduced.
Next, the LGD outside needed to evacuate the citizens who might be out for a stroll. Fortunately, through their previous operations, no one could get in now. On the streets outside, seeing the chain-reaction car crashes that completely blocked the roads, most drivers could only choose to take a detour. Fortunately, there were no casualties; just several malfunctioning trucks colliding after the drivers safely escaped. As for why? The LGD would tell them it was a stroke of luck that those nearly scrapped trucks didn't cause a worse accident on the road.
Ten minutes later, a panting delivery man ran to the entrance of Rhine Gold. The guard was impressed seeing the delivery man running all the way with eleven portions of food.
"Brother, your stamina is incredible! You ran all this way?" One of the guards had already received notice and took the food to deliver it upstairs to Jeanne and the others. The guard downstairs struck up a conversation with this "Mercury."
"Phew, don't mention it. I thought it was a big order and I'd make some extra money, but the road I took was completely blocked by a traffic jam! To avoid a fine, I had to run the whole way." The delivery man was, of course, an LGD officer in disguise. To act out the realism of the run, he had jogged the entire distance with the bags.
"Hey, nothing's easy. Sit down and rest! Your life is more important than earning Lungmen dollars, isn't it?"
While they chatted downstairs, Jeanne, having received the food, began to devour it like a whirlwind. Those seeing this for the first time clutched their phones, ready to call for help at any moment. They never imagined someone could eat nine portions of food in one go! And it wasn't messy; on the contrary, there was a particularly elegant feel to it.
Jeanne wasn't a crude eater; she just ate at a very fast frequency. The speed was such that Ch'en and Hoshiguma, who weren't particularly hungry, also began to "stuff their faces." There was no helping it; when someone next to you eats with such gusto, you subconsciously feel hungry, even if your stomach says otherwise.
Eat up, they thought. There might be a hard battle ahead. Only with a full stomach will there be more strength to wield weapons.
The people observing in secret also relaxed. It seemed there was no action, just an LGD rookie with a massive appetite. But did such a large appetite mean there was something special about her? Considering she was a soldier in Victoria at such a young age and survived a grudge with a superior to come to Lungmen... maybe he should tell Donald to find a way to give her a physical exam. If there was truly something special, it might help with their research.
What he didn't know was that inside the "iron box" beneath his company, a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie was unfolding: an alien beast invasion in a confined space. Below, the Earth Dragons, having nearly passed their juvenile stage, were about to deliver a disaster to these enemies.