At the East Gate of Hudson University, inside Perry’s American BBQ Buffet.
Before William even entered, he discovered that, astonishingly, over thirty Soulmancers were gathered here.
All the Soulmancers from around the entire school were congregated in this place.
$36 per guest, service fee waived for parties of three or more, with designated drinks and beer on the house.
William had actually known about this restaurant for a long time. He had always thought that if he dined here, the owner might run at a loss, but out of kindness, he had never stepped in.
Once inside, Zoey and William found a table and sat down.
The tables in the restaurant were large round ones that could accommodate eight to ten people. The Soulmancers had already occupied four such tables, Bryant included. Upon seeing Zoey, he immediately stood up and walked over to her table, but his gaze towards William was somewhat unfriendly.
As for the other Soulmancers, they all sneakily glanced at Zoey’s table but didn’t dare to approach.
“We’ll serve ourselves.” Wes rubbed his hands together, then went to fetch some food.
“We’ll serve ourselves.” Wes rubbed his hands and then went to the buffet area to get some food. William and Zoey also helped themselves, picking what they liked. Zoey evidently had a penchant for meat. After making a round, she returned with seven or eight plates of various kinds of meat.
A waiter nearby couldn’t help but kindly remind her, “Miss, perhaps you might want to eat these first before getting more. If there are leftovers, we will charge by the pound to avoid waste.”
“I can finish it!” Zoey was confident.
William, on the other hand, didn’t take much because he was more restrained—after all, there were four tables of Soulmancers sitting there!
If all these Soulmancers really let loose and ate to their heart’s content, the owner might genuinely be shedding tears today.
William looked around, observing that every person at their few tables seemed to eat as if they hadn’t had food for days, with every table piled high with food.
Once the BBQ grill was started, as soon as the food was cooked, it was quickly transferred to their plates. Everyone was eating voraciously; the scene was quite lively.
“Waiter, bring us two boxes of beer, the free ones.” It wasn’t clear who suggested it first, but these Soulmancers began to order beer one after another.
The owner, standing at the other end of the counter, saw the crowd taking so much food but remained unflustered. With more than thirty people, he could earn over a thousand dollars in total.
What did it matter if they took a bit more food? Running this BBQ buffet restaurant, the owner had never been worried about customers eating too much. Especially since they also ordered beer. After drinking, how much more could they eat?
Especially when he saw William’s table, he couldn’t help but break into a smile.
A delicate-looking young woman, a polite-looking young man, and a middle-aged man with an extraordinary aura, had only eaten some cornbread and vegetable salad, barely touching the meat on the table.
Five people had taken food enough for seven or eight sturdy men. If they could finish it all, that would truly be something to see.
“Bring two boxes of beer for us as well,” Wes called out loudly.
The owner smiled, more beer? This table was a sure profit.
Half an hour passed.
The owner stood dumbfounded, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, staring at William’s table, the cigarette trembling at the corner of his lips.
How much could a delicate young girl eat?
The ash at the end of the owner’s cigarette had grown long, falling off as he began to question life.
In just a short half hour, William saw Zoey had already taken nearly forty plates of steaks, and the middle-aged man was still eating cornbread, but it was already his fortieth piece.
The owner was counting very clearly because, initially, he was just curious. How many pieces of cornbread would a person who came to a BBQ buffet primarily eat?
The owner stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, took a deep breath, and thought, having eaten so much, they should be about done by now.
“Waiter, bring two more boxes of beer!” Wes had been drinking continuously, competing with the Soulmancers at the other three tables over who could drink the most bottles, and insisting on chugging each bottle of beer. This was already his tenth box.
Yet, the owner hadn’t seen this man take a bathroom break.
Were this guy’s kidneys extraordinarily robust?
The only low-key William was acting like a regular person.
He hadn’t been overeating or drinking excessively, but what he had consumed was enough to break even.
He exchanged a glance with the owner, feeling a bit of sympathy for him, and quietly put down his utensils. Judging by the owner’s expression, he was sure to incur a significant loss today.
“Everyone, from now on, Zoey will be our Manhattan Community Board Director. Please look after her and try not to make things difficult for us,” Wes, drinking with the Soulmancers, started discussing future work arrangements with them.
The Soulmancers were genuinely stunned. They were called here today for a meal, to support the 13th Bureau, or rather, people invited by Zoey, none dared not to come.
When Director Garcia was around, their days had been relatively good. Now hearing Zoey would be taking the role of Manhattan Community Board Director, they all became anxious.
“Deputy Director Wenzel, do you know how Director Garcia has been doing recently?”
With his face flushed from drinking, Wes chuckled, “Director Garcia has retired, and now, the managerial work is Zoey’s responsibility.”
Oh, my goodness!
A group of Soulmancers collectively felt a chill down their spines; they were still holding onto a glimmer of hope. They hoped that Zoey was just in charge of this mission, but from what Wes implied, Zoey would be in charge of the 13th Bureau from now on. Wasn’t this a bit too harsh?
Finally, someone realized that this matter was settled. Holding a glass of wine, he came over to toast Zoey, “Director Wenzel, please look after us in the future. I guarantee I will abide by the law, keep a low profile, and absolutely not cause you any trouble.”
Zoey finished her drink in one gulp and said, “That’s best, I don’t want to have to beat you guys up either.”
The Soulmancer gave a wry smile. After toasting, he had a round of drinks with Bryant, William, and others. Nelson, who didn’t drink alcohol, substituted with tea. Following that, all the Soulmancers lined up to toast Zoey, who accepted every drink, eating and drinking without a break. All in all, the meal was quite harmonious.
Bryant sat next to William, leaning in close and whispered, “Kid, you really got me into a lot of trouble.”
William acted as if he knew nothing, “What do you mean?”
“Was it you who had Deputy Director Wenzel and the others come after me yesterday?”
“Deputy Director Wenzel said that if there’s anything, I can approach him, so I did.”
“Very well!” Bryant said and reached out to pat William’s thigh. He had listened to Zoey’s order to test if William was a Soulmancer.
Using a bit of force should be acceptable, right? Before his hand landed, Nelson had already reached out and given him a very intimate handshake.
“Hmm? This friend looks somewhat unfamiliar. Haven’t seen you before, and you didn’t introduce yourself just now.” Bryant sized up Nelson but didn’t recognize him.
Nelson had concealed his internal energy, only emitting a slight amount.
“I’m Nelson, from Ravenwood.” Nelson noticed that Bryant had malicious intentions towards William, but William clearly wanted to conceal his abilities.
Nelson was more than happy to act on his behalf in such matters.
Moreover, he thought that he might have just saved Bryant’s life. Was Mr. Johnson someone a mid-level Soulmancer like him could offend?
Saving one life is as if saving the whole of humanity!