Chapter 21: I Just Wanted to Cook Some Millet Porridge

Yellow Tooth didn't say a word after pulling out the pots and pans; he just stared straight at the bald man and his group.

By now, everyone knew the truth. Seeing that the jig was up, the bald man and his cohorts scurried away in embarrassment. The onlookers, realizing there was no more show to watch, dispersed in a swarm.

The young woman who had originally walked away returned, couldn't help herself, and gave Yellow Tooth a thumbs-up. Li Xingyue and the other three followed suit.

Liu Er draped an arm over Yellow Tooth's shoulder. "Tell me, Brother Yellow Tooth, when did you stuff that stuff into the trunk? How come I didn't see it?"

Liu Yi shook his head. "That's not the point, little brother! The point is, Yellow Tooth, why did you bring that thing back with you in the first place?"

Yellow Tooth scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish. "I actually just wanted to cook some millet porridge for myself when I had some downtime. Of course, you guys would get a share—look, I even grabbed five bowls!"

The reason Yellow Tooth gave left everyone stunned, but it was thanks to him that the situation didn't spiral into an endless dispute.

After the woman finished counting the vehicles and supplies, she transferred another 1,000 points to Li Xingyue. Before leaving, she introduced herself as Huang Qian.

Looking at the 3,000 points in his wristband, Li Xingyue proposed splitting them equally. No one objected, and each person received 600 points.

"We're suddenly rich!" Yellow Tooth said, staring at his wristband, unable to hide his excitement.

Liu Yi suggested they go to the shopping district in District C to spend some, a proposal everyone agreed to.

They walked along the main square street for half an hour until they reached the shopping district. It looked a lot like the street food markets from the previous world, with stalls and shops lining both sides of the road.

Liu Er tugged at Liu San’s sleeve. "Look over there, little brother, want to go?"

Liu Er looked where Liu San was pointing and saw a place with several scantily clad women sitting at the entrance, soliciting customers.

At this time, besides the restaurants, this "Red Pavilion" was the most popular spot on the street, with people constantly going in and out. Those who went in had eyes full of anticipation, while those who came out walked with weak, wobbly legs.

Liu Er and Liu San looked at Li Xingyue. "Captain, coming along?"

Li Xingyue, naturally, had no interest in that. He waved his hand dismissively. "You guys go ahead. I'll wander around here, and you can come find us when you're done."

With that, Liu Er and Liu San entered the Red Pavilion. Liu Yi didn't follow; instead, he went to a small supermarket and bought three bottles of beer, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter.

He handed a beer and a cigarette to each of them. Li Xingyue lit his cigarette and took a drag, immediately feeling that long-lost, familiar sting in his throat.

*Hiss—exhale.*

"Now that hits the spot!" Yellow Tooth said, nodding repeatedly as he smoked.

Liu Yi exhaled a cloud of smoke. "It hits the spot, all right, but it’s also truly expensive. These few items cost me 40 points!"

The three of them wandered through the shopping district, lamenting the high cost of living. Although it looked like a rural market fair, it was still far better than the outer districts. They couldn't even imagine what Districts A and B were like; without the strength, they had no way to get in.

"By the way, if we want to advance to Rank 2, we need 1,000 points, right?" Li Xingyue suddenly asked the others.

"Right. I heard that zombie crystals brought back from the outside are all turned into evolution potions of the same grade. Like that Rank 3 crystal we brought back today, it will be made into a Rank 3 potion."

"I recall that Rank 2 potions cost 1,000 points, Rank 3 is 2,000, and Rank 4 is 4,000 points."

"Hmm, our next goal is to reach Rank 2 as soon as possible! Let's just focus on taking more missions."

They chatted idly, and within a few minutes, Liu Er and Liu San returned.

"Alright, let's find a place to eat. We've been eating canteen food for two days and haven't even seen a scrap of meat."

At the mention of food, the three brothers and Yellow Tooth straightened up, instantly energized, and began discussing what to eat.

They soon arrived at a decent-looking noodle shop. After they sat down, a middle-aged man came over to take their order.

"Boss, I want two bowls of noodles. One bowl with just meat and no noodles, and one bowl with just noodles and no meat!"

The owner looked at Yellow Tooth, his brow furrowing. "Young man, can we be a bit more normal?"

Li Xingyue couldn't help but laugh; this guy really was a bit of a weirdo.

In the end, all five of them ordered two portions of noodles each, with an extra serving of meat for every bowl. In less than 20 minutes, the food was served.

This meal cost them 300 points...

Just as they were enjoying their food, a voice suddenly piped up from nearby.

"Oh, look who it is. If it isn't you little brats!"

Li Xingyue and the others looked up to see the bald man from earlier in the day, now followed by four other men.

Liu Er crunched on a piece of garlic and stood up to face the bald man. "What’s this? Here for noodles, or here to pick a fight?"

The bald man bristled with anger and was about to roll up his sleeves, but his teammates held him back, whispering in his ear.

"Captain, don't be impulsive. Look, there are ten bowls of noodles on their table. Their other teammates will surely show up soon, and we’ll definitely lose out. There will be other days; no need to rush today!"

After hearing his teammate's analysis, the bald man decided it made sense. He let out a cold huff and stormed out of the noodle shop.

Yellow Tooth, who had been staring down at his noodles, glanced at the shop entrance, slammed the table, and jumped to his feet. "Damn it, so arrogant! If he’d stayed two seconds longer, I would've started killing!"

Li Xingyue was silent for a few seconds before looking at Liu San. "San, go call that bald guy back. Master Yellow is ready to go on a rampage today."

Liu San understood Li Xingyue's intent immediately, smiled knowingly, and turned to head out.

"Hey, hey, hey! No, no, I was just joking! Let's eat, let's eat."

Yellow Tooth was startled and quickly grabbed Liu San, who was almost out the door, and pulled him back.

Soon, they were full. Liu Yi passed out cigarettes to everyone, and they walked back while smoking.

"Captain, are we taking a mission tomorrow?"

"What does everyone think?"

After Liu San asked Li Xingyue, Li Xingyue looked at the other three, but none of them had any strong opinions.

"Then let's wait until dawn tomorrow and see if there are any suitable missions, then we'll decide."

They soon returned to the hunter squad dormitory building by the main square in District C, where they occupied a room in the middle of the third floor.

Once inside, everyone prepared for bed. Li Xingyue smelled the thick stench of sweaty feet in the room and felt helpless. "I’m telling you guys, can we please wash our feet?"

Yellow Tooth poked his head out from under his blanket. "Forget it, Boss Moon. Using extra water costs points. It won't be too late to wash them once we have more points!"

Yellow Tooth had a point. Even though they were evolvers, their rank was too low, so their daily water quota wasn't much—barely enough for everyone to wash their faces.

Forget it, he'd deal with it later. Li Xingyue didn't say anything more, took off his socks, and got into bed.

Just as he closed his eyes, he felt the bed sink. Immediately after, Yellow Tooth’s voice rang in his ear: "Old Li, tell me a story."

*Are you kidding me???*