As she entered the elevator and disappeared from everyone's sight, the surrounding employees dispersed and returned to their respective posts.
"Is that your manager?"
Qi Xiao struck up a conversation with the cashier:
"You all seem very afraid of her."
"We respect her!"
Hehe.
Respect to the point of trembling?
"Check out, check out."
Qi Xiao pushed the train coins over, wanting to quickly pay and get the treasure chest.
Just as the cashier was about to take the train coins, a hand pressed down on them.
It was the supervisor.
He pushed the train coins back:
"Sir, this meal is on me, consider it making a friend."
"Making friends is one thing,"
Qi Xiao pushed the train coins back again: "But this bill, it still needs to be paid."
Qi Xiao smiled:
"You can treat me next time, but not paying the first time is really too impolite."
Just kidding, trying to stop me from paying now clearly means he wants me to break a rule.
After some back and forth, Qi Xiao successfully paid.
The supervisor immediately put on a smiling face:
"Congratulations, you have successfully finished the Huo Huo set meal without violating any rules, and you have received a Level 3 Treasure Chest!"
The staff immediately gathered around, clapping and cheering in congratulation.
Someone even held a banner with four large characters written on it:
You're awesome.
Qi Xiao feigned extreme surprise:
"Wow, really? Is there really a treasure chest! Wow, how am I so amazing!"
"Of course, the treasure chest needs to be collected from the manager's office, this way please."
I knew there was a catch.
Qi Xiao had no choice; for the treasure chest, he could only follow him into the elevator.
Other diners seemed oblivious, continuing to eat on their own.
What's going on?
It was the same when the manager came earlier; could they not see him?
Arriving on the third floor, the elevator doors opened to a luxuriously decorated office.
The manager sat on a rose-colored king's chair, with her back to them.
The supervisor respectfully exited the room, and the elevator descended.
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Qi Xiao spoke first:
"Hello, Manager, I'm here to collect the treasure chest."
"How many years has it been? Has a Train Conductor finally appeared who doesn't break the rules?"
Hiss, Manager, why is her voice so squeaky?
A standard squeaky voice, no, even squeakier than those little soft milk voices or cat-like voices.
Her voice and appearance don't quite match.
The manager turned around and took off her wide hat.
She released her hand, and the hat automatically floated to a solid wood coat rack.
Qi Xiao gasped.
Under the hat was a black goat's head, with a pair of golden vertical pupils staring at him, rotating eerily.
"What, scared?"
Qi Xiao shook his head.
"Just, quite surprised."
The manager lifted her leg, and her high heels automatically loosened their straps and floated to the shoe rack.
Although a bit impolite, Qi Xiao's gaze was still drawn to them.
They were a pair of fair human feet, with black painted toenails and a distinct arch.
"What, checking if I only have three toes?"
"No, no, purely personal preference."
"Why do you men have so many foot fetishes?"
"Appreciating beautiful things is our nature."
The manager chuckled softly, then changed the subject:
"No one can finish a hot pot meal without breaking a single rule."
"Of course, you're not the first."
"There was a Train Conductor before, just like you, who finished the hot pot without violating any rules."
The manager stood up, and the zipper on the back of her black corset dress automatically unzipped:
"He said it was all thanks to a module, what module was it called......"
"It's been too long, I can't quite remember. It was something like… Station Announcement."
The manager's long dress slipped off, revealing a body as fair as a lamb.
"Are you, by any chance, also relying on this module?"
......
"Welcome back everyone! Hey, this way, mind the stairs."
Zhang Baobao wiped away sweat; he had finally managed to see off these robot grandpas.
Don't come again in the future, serving you is too dangerous!
If he hadn't brought the candied threaded steel back in time, these guys would probably have gone berserk by now.
Zhang Baobao returned to the private room and began to clean up.
"What kind of teeth do they have, eating threaded steel like it's a banana?"
train coins?
Each robot's seat had a train coin on it.
Zhang Baobao's eyes lit up when he saw them.
It's a tip!
Seeing no one outside, he quickly closed the door.
He couldn't let the damned supervisor see them, or they'd be confiscated again.
Goodness, these guys are really generous.
If they came often, his indenture would be settled.
Speaking of which, he wondered how Third and Fourth were doing.
With a bang, the door was pushed open.
Zhang Baobao was just collecting the train coins when he was startled, losing his grip and dropping them on the floor.
"Boss, it's ruined, everything's ruined!"
Seeing that it was Fourth, Zhang Baobao breathed a sigh of relief:
"How many times have I told you to be steady, steady, steady! Why can't you learn!"
He knelt under the table, reaching for the train coins.
"That kid Qi Xiao, he didn't violate a single rule, he cleared it without taking damage."
"What?!"
"He also got a Level 3 Treasure Chest, he just went to the manager's office, I'm guessing the manager is giving him the treasure chest now!"
"Holy crap!"
Zhang Baobao excitedly looked up, hitting his head on the table.
......
In the office.
Qi Xiao sat on the manager's king's chair.
The manager, dressed only in black lingerie, sat on Qi Xiao's lap, leaning into his embrace, sobbing incessantly.
Tears soaked Qi Xiao's clothes.
"Saying he'd go to the New World to find a way to save me from here, saying he'd come back and take me with him, liar, liar!"
"You men are all liars!"
Qi Xiao was held captive by her, unable to move.
He had finally understood after all this time: it was a clichéd love story about a man hurting a woman's heart.
The previous session had a man who, like him, possessed the Station Announcement module, finished the hot pot without violating any rules, and incidentally captured the manager's heart.
Later, this man left and never returned.
What he was facing now was merely a heartbroken woman.
"Manager, how about this, you tell me his name and what he looks like. When I get to the New World, I'll definitely find him and bring him back for you!"
"Even if he's dead, I'll find his son, his grandson."
Seeing her eyes turn fierce, Qi Xiao quickly corrected himself:
"Bah, bah, bah, a man like that wouldn't have anyone bear him children."
"Alright, even if he's turned to ash, I'll bring that handful of ash back and plaster it on your wall to calm your anger!"
"I don't need it."
The manager put on a pair of black lace gloves and gently stroked Qi Xiao's cheek.
"You're as handsome as he was, stay here, stay and keep me company."
"I can give you anything you want."
Qi Xiao remained silent for a long time:
"Then did you get what you wanted?"
The manager's golden vertical pupils turned cold, and she backhanded Qi Xiao's neck.
Qi Xiao's face turned red from being choked:
"Manager, when you touched my face, why did you put on gloves first?"
Qi Xiao's words completely enraged the manager; she waved her hand, sending Qi Xiao flying.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Qi Xiao climbed up from the carpet, the restraint on him gone.
"I don't trust you."
The manager walked over and squatted in front of Qi Xiao. With a hook of her right index finger, a green glowing parchment floated from the table.
"Sign this contract, and I'll let you leave. Go to the New World and help me find him."
A contract? It didn't look like anything good.
Qi Xiao lifted his face and smiled:
"I guess he didn't sign this contract with you either, did he?"
The manager took a deep breath.
A curved black horn emerged from her forehead, and the horn shot out a black light, piercing through the floor.
"You'd best not try to anger me again, kid."
Downstairs, a vegetable cutter was shot through the head by the black light, his brains spilling onto the cutting board.
"It's over, it's over, the manager's angry, run!"