Seeing the City return to its old familiar state, Lina felt a faint wave of nostalgia.
That miraculous pillar of light outside—just as inexplicably as it had appeared—had vanished just as inexplicably. The strange period where nighttime looked like daytime had ended. In short: a normal night was back, and she couldn't help missing it.
After this… life should finally return to normal, right?
Bored out of her mind, Lina propped her cheek on her hand and sat on the stool behind the front counter. Through the restaurant's glass window, she watched the scattered Fixers outside wrap up the tail end of their jobs and head back toward their offices.
This time of day is seriously the worst…
Her eyes were unfocused as she stared at a scene that was always changing, yet somehow never changed at all.
The boss was in the back kitchen "personally selecting ingredients" with the chef. Meizhen had disappeared somewhere to slack off. And Lina was the only one stuck here, minding the front.
She sighed.
And honestly, she still didn't understand what her boss was thinking—pricing the place this high. Even the breakfast here cost almost as much as other restaurants' full meals.
He always said, "Our chef's cooking is worth the price."
…And to be fair, the chef was a mystery. Lina had no idea where the boss had found him. Even just the aroma drifting out while he cooked was enough to make a person lose control.
No wonder the boss never let the staff watch in the back kitchen.
Ding-ling~
"Hm? Meizhen's back?"
No.
It was those two strange customers from yesterday noon.
Recognizing them, Lina immediately put on her professional service smile.
"Two bowls of Liu Association Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles, total *****."
She smiled as the beautiful woman paid.
Weird… she calls that man 'Manager.' Are they corporate higher-ups? But aren't company people usually in the Nest?
And… wow. Even company types get up this early…?
Lina took the cash, made change, then grabbed the ticket and headed for the kitchen.
"Boss, there's an order—"
…
Zhou Zhuang shifted on the seat, adjusting into a comfortable position, watching Angela sit across from him.
But the morning's incident still made it hard for him to speak naturally, so he could only stare out the window, quietly marveling at how "nice" the weather looked.
Outside, the sky still held a few stars.
The City's sun hadn't started work yet.
Thinking of work, Zhou Zhuang remembered: today was his first official day as Manager.
He turned to Angela.
"Angela—so my job is basically like an old security guard watching CCTV all day, right?"
Remembering certain "realistic" fan interpretations, he asked about his work duties.
Angela considered for a moment.
"Manager, all of your assumptions will be resolved the moment you take your seat at the workstation."
"And please rest assured—as your secretary, I will remain by your side throughout working hours."
"Oh. Okay."
It was basically a non-answer, but Zhou Zhuang didn't push. The atmosphere between them had finally stopped being painfully awkward, and he didn't want to wreck it.
A sturdy man arrived, carrying two bowls of rice noodles.
"Here are your two bowls of Liu Association Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles."
He set them down, then continued, still holding the serving tray:
"We apologize for inconveniencing you due to our shop's oversight and wasting your valuable time. After you finish your meal, the shop will provide our signature beverage for you and your companion."
He bowed slightly and left.
Zhou Zhuang blinked.
Companion?
Also… they hadn't even waited long. But hey—free stuff is free.
Eat first.
…
A pleasant breakfast later…
Full and satisfied, Zhou Zhuang wiped his mouth and leaned back into the sofa, watching Angela eat with effortless elegance.
Mm… this is the life.
But he didn't get to enjoy the view for long—Angela finished quickly, drew out a napkin, and dabbed her lips with graceful precision.
Right then, Lina brought over the two promised drinks.
Zhou Zhuang, being honest, voiced his confusion.
"Um… earlier you said we'd been kept waiting, but we just got here. Did you maybe bring this to the wrong table?"
Lina replied politely, "Hello, sir. This is the owner's decision. He said it's an apology for yesterday and today. Even though you didn't pursue the matter, the shop still wishes to offer compensation and an apology for our lack of consideration."
She set the drinks down, bowed, and withdrew.
Zhou Zhuang lifted the free drink.
It was dazzlingly colorful—just looking at it made a person feel better.
So this is what "expensive" looks like.
He took a sip.
There was no way to describe it properly—rich, layered, absurdly good.
And it's free.
Relaxed, he gazed out the window again.
It almost felt like he was back in his old life… except the vibe was more like eating late-night snacks than having breakfast.
Then he noticed something.
Wait. It's still pitch-black outside.
Shouldn't the sun be clocking in by now?
Grumbling internally at the sun, he pulled out the company-issued phone.
6:00 AM.
"Hm?"
He checked again.
No mistake.
"Ohhh… right."
It was Black Day time.
The City's ordinary people had officially entered their difficult four days.
Thinking about the fallout from that incomplete "mind/soul completion," Zhou Zhuang could practically see grotesque sin-born creatures crawling through every corner of the City.
He watched Angela take the last sip from her cup.
Then Zhou Zhuang chugged the remaining half of his own drink in one go, scraped the corner of his mouth with his tongue, stood up, and stretched.
"Mmm—time to go get familiar with my workstation."
He and Angela rose.
He strode toward the exit, nodded farewell to the burly server and the front-desk girl, then—right before pushing the door open—he remembered something.
He turned back.
"Oh, by the way—just a friendly reminder. It's going to be pretty dark for the next four days. For commuting, you should really go in pairs."
Then he pushed open the door and left with Angela.
Lina stared after him, completely baffled.
She turned to the boss beside her.
"Boss… what did he mean by that?"
But then she noticed the boss's expression.
It was dead serious.
"B-Boss?"
Lina's heart tightened.
"Lina," the boss asked sharply, "where's Meizhen?"
"Huh? She clocked in, then went out for a walk. Boss… did something happen?"
Lina felt an unpleasant chill crawl up her spine.
The boss headed for the back kitchen.
"I'm going with the head chef to find her."
"Lina—once we're out, lock the door and wait for us to come back."
"And remember: ignore any knocking. We'll have keys."
"Y-Yes!"
A little later, the boss emerged fully armed—carrying a two-handed greatsword on his back.
The head chef wore a white chef's uniform stained with blood-red marks and held a boning knife in his hand.
"Remember, Lina," the head chef said, looking at her trembling form, "if anything feels wrong, go to the cold storage in the back."
He tossed her a ring of keys.
"I don't want to come back and see a pile of meat."
....
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