Chapter 1371: The Ever-Expanding Restaurant
The number plates that had fallen on the floor were soon ignored. Xu Huo bent down to pick one up, casually slipping it into his pocket, then followed the waiter to a dining table.
Because there were many customers in the restaurant, later arrivals had to share tables. However, not everyone was easy to deal with. At the table the waiter found, two fierce-looking men with vicious eyes were seated. As soon as the chair was pulled out, the one on the left used an ornately decorated pistol to hook the back of the chair, tilting his chin to indicate they should find another table.
The waiter smiled and said, "The Bauhinia Restaurant allows shared seating."
The man holding the gun opened his mouth to say something, but the man beside him stopped him. "Since it's the restaurant's rule, we shouldn't break it. But if the later guests voluntarily ask to switch tables, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Of course, that's allowed," the waiter replied.
Then the man looked at Xu Huo and the other two, making his meaning clear.
Dai Song was about to step forward, but Xu Huo grabbed his arm. "Let's just forget it. Switching seats isn't a big deal."
Dai Song naturally refused. This wasn't about whether it was a big deal or not. There were at least fifty or sixty people in this restaurant. If they backed down without a word, others would see them as pushovers, and everyone would try to bully them. That would lead to endless trouble. Did they even want to clear the instance and leave?
"Let's just forget it," Xu Huo repeated. "It wouldn't be good to break the restaurant's things."
Dai Song was quick-witted and immediately followed up, "We'll just pay for the damages... This isn't a shady establishment, is it?"
The last sentence was directed at the waiter, who maintained a polite smile and pointed to the price list hanging on the wall. "The restaurant cannot interfere with guests' actions, but breaking things requires compensation according to the price list."
Dai Song followed the direction of the gesture.
There, besides the price list for items in the restaurant, there was also a ballot box and a blackboard announcing the "Daily Special."
Yesterday's "Daily Special" had been "Deer Antler Soup."
"Breaking plates and bowls is a hassle to clean up, and it's better not to cause trouble for the restaurant staff," said a thin, dry young man from the next table, smiling broadly as he pulled Xu Huo and Dai Song toward his table. "Come, come, I've got plenty of room here!"
This time, Dai Song didn't insist and sat down.
"Don't take them too seriously," the thin man said in a low voice. "Those two are no pushovers. I saw them team up and kill three players this morning when I came in. The restaurant doesn't care about player life or death. If you lose, you lose your life; if you win, you pay damages. There's no benefit."
"You've been here half a day. Do you know the instance rules?" Xu Huo asked quietly.
"Easy, easy," the thin man said. "I've asked around too, but I don't know if it's true. It seems that when the restaurant closes at night, rooms appear inside. Everyone wants to grab a room, so they're very wary of others."
"Are there any dangers in the restaurant at night?" Dai Song couldn't help asking.
"I'm not sure about that," the thin man shrugged. "But before we figure out the instance rules, it's safer to grab a room."
Just then, a restaurant waiter came over and asked if Xu Huo and the others wanted to order.
"I've already ordered. Let's eat together!" the thin man invited them. Just then, his food arrived—a hearty mix of meat and vegetables.
"No need, we'll order ourselves." Dai Song snatched the menu from the waiter and quickly ordered a few vegetable dishes, then handed the menu to Xu Huo. Xu Huo didn't look at it but said to the waiter, "Give me the same as my friend's."
"When is the 'Daily Special' voting?"
"Voting is open until the restaurant closes during the day. Write the dish name on the paper and pen provided and put it in the ballot box," the waiter replied.
Xu Huo thanked him.
The waiter turned and left.
"Just ordering those few dishes might not work," the thin man said while eating. "Think about it: to vote for a dish, you have to have eaten it, right? Otherwise, how can you choose?"
That made sense, but the menu had hundreds of dishes. Even if they could eat through them all, they couldn't afford it. They could only pick the dishes that most players present had ordered. To vote for the "Daily Special," it naturally had to be a dish most people had eaten.
In fact, to avoid eating something unclean, at least half of the players had chosen all-vegetarian dishes.
The thin player seemed oblivious to this, wolfing down large chunks of meat from his plate. The brightly colored food oozed steaming, fragrant broth, the rich aroma stimulating everyone's appetite. Once noticed, it seemed like only that meaty scent could be smelled.
Many people put down their utensils.
Dai Song gritted his teeth and stuffed food into his mouth. Seeing Xu Huo also stop eating, he couldn't help saying, "You'd better eat more."
The hungrier you were, the harder it was to resist temptation.
Xu Huo shook his head to indicate he wasn't eating anymore, wiped his mouth, and went to the small bar in the corner of the restaurant, ordering an expensive cocktail.
This spot wasn't ideal because of a corner, so he could only see half the restaurant. But that wasn't a big problem. To gather as much information as possible, most players who had entered stayed in their seats even after finishing their meals.
By afternoon, the restaurant was packed with nearly a hundred people. As more guests came in, the restaurant's area would subtly expand. It was now twice the size it had been when Xu Huo entered, and the small bar had moved to the center. Other players had also taken a liking to this spot.
Xu Huo gave up his spot first and sat back at the dining table.
Dai Song and the thin man had also left their seats, and their positions had moved from the corner to the center.
Dai Song, who had been looking around, sat down and said, "There's only this one restaurant. The door inside leads to the kitchen, and guests can't enter. But I spent some money to get information from the waitstaff. Inside the kitchen, there are two storage rooms and a freezer. The storage rooms and freezer have password locks, and the waitstaff generally don't go in either."
"How many people are in the kitchen?" Xu Huo asked.
"Three head chefs, ten sous-chefs, and five waitstaff specifically for prep work. These eighteen people don't enter the restaurant. Only five people handle the restaurant: one bartender and three for musical performances," Dai Song said.
"There are seven waitstaff in the restaurant," Xu Huo added. "Two pairs of twins among them."
Both Dai Song and the thin man were taken aback. The former asked, "Which two?" and the latter asked, "How did you figure that out?"
Xu Huo pointed out the two waitstaff who had never appeared with their respective twins and casually made up an excuse. "There was a bit of dirt on the edge of their shoes when they served the food."
Whether he had discovered it by chance or seen it directly wasn't important. Only two people were involved. What mattered was that this restaurant had special restrictions.
(Chapter End)