Cursing loudly, four men dressed in black walked through the entrance.
Their physiques were a stark contrast to the others; they weren't gaunt or sickly, but rather ruddy-faced and healthy—some even sported protruding beer bellies.
As soon as these men entered, the entire restaurant was instantly filled with an air of terror. No one spoke, and everyone scrambled to pick up their pace.
Some stood up to leave immediately, while others frantically sped up their eating or began stuffing their food into bags.
“Get lost! Hurry up, dammit! Every single one of you reeks.”
The men continued to shout insults, occasionally kicking the people who tried to scurry past them.
“I’m counting to three... Three!”
After one of the men in black finished his shout, he stomped over to a diner who was rapidly shoveling food into his mouth and grabbed the back of the man's head!
Bang!
The man’s head was slammed heavily into his plate. The dish shattered instantly, and the man's face was ground into the shards and disgusting food scraps.
“Didn’t you hear me? Scram!”
With that, the man in black yanked the diner up by his hair and threw him to the floor. He watched with a laugh as the man scrambled to his feet and fled with blood streaming down his face.
With that example set, the remaining diners fled toward the exit in a panic. The group of bloated men in black laughed uproariously at the sight.
A mother, accompanied by her child, was frantically stuffing meat into a bag. By the time she moved to leave, she was lagging behind the rest. As she passed by the men, one of them snatched the bag from her hand.
“Damn it! You want to die? What’s taking you so long? Packing a bunch of trash?”
The mother watched the bag of meat being snatched away as if her most precious treasure had been stolen. Her eyes filled with a sudden, tragic despair. She grabbed the man’s arm and pleaded, “The child hasn't had meat in months. We finally saved up enough... please...”
“Let go! Don’t touch me with your filthy hands! Eat? Eat your mother!” The man threw her to the ground and slammed the bag of meat into her face, splashing grease and broth everywhere.
“Don’t hit my mommy!”
Beside her, the little girl who had been too terrified to speak finally cried out and ran toward her mother.
But halfway there, one of the men lashed out with a kick, sending the child flying out the door!
“Go on, get out! Go howl outside!”
“No! Nannan!”
The mother let out a shrill scream, lunging toward the door with all her strength to check on her child.
Bai Feifei witnessed the entire scene with shock. Although her body was not under her control, she felt an instinctive surge of rage. She couldn't help but ask Xu Mo, “Evil God, sir... what is wrong with these people?”
“What? Can’t stand the sight? You can kill them in a bit,” Xu Mo replied, his tone as casual as if he were talking about snapping a twig.
Bai Feifei: “...”
“I just want to know who they are. How can they act like this? Doesn’t anyone do anything about it?”
“Do something? Heh...” Xu Mo shook his head with a laugh, too lazy to answer such a naive question. “You’re quite the comedian. As for them, they’re our... customers.”
By now, the restaurant had been cleared out. All the previous diners had been driven away, leaving only the four men and Bai Feifei, who sat at the very back.
The men sat down with a laugh, only then noticing a woman sitting in the shop with her feet propped up on a table, watching them with a cocky, mocking expression.
The group froze for a moment. Before they could start cursing, they recognized the Scavenger uniform Bai Feifei was wearing.
They exchanged a few glances and ultimately just muttered some insults under their breath. They didn't come over to cause trouble and instead found a place to sit.
“Shopkeeper! Hurry up with the food! Same as the usual specs, and make sure the portions are generous, got it?!”
“Also, we’re hungry. Serve us first!”
One of them slammed his hand on the table, his words clearly pointed at the other guest.
Looking at their backs, Xu Mo raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He really hadn't expected that they wouldn't come over to provoke him. He had thought these men would actively seek their own deaths.
But it didn't matter. If they didn't come to him, it didn't mean they didn't have to die. He would just go to them.
At that moment, the shopkeeper emerged from the kitchen, dripping with sweat and carrying several plates of meat. He paused for a second when passing Bai Feifei but ultimately didn't stop, heading toward the table where the four men sat.
He couldn't afford to offend either side, but by comparison, the female Scavenger had seemed more reasonable earlier.
Meanwhile, Bai Feifei’s voice echoed in Xu Mo’s mind.
“What do you mean by ‘customers’? Why would you need to do business with people like this?”
“Business? Something like that.” Xu Mo chuckled and stood up from his chair, walking toward their table.
Since they dared to steal his food, he decided they truly had a death wish!
“Hehe, gentlemen, please enjoy...”
The shopkeeper was all smiles as he placed a plate of soy-braised beef on the table. Suddenly, a slender hand reached out and snatched it away.
The men froze, all of them turning their heads in unison.
They saw a young girl naturally holding the plate of meat. She opened her mouth wide and stuffed the entire plate’s worth of meat into her mouth!
The wild action created a terrifying contrast with her delicate appearance, leaving all five people around her stunned.
The owner: “?”
The men in black: “?”
“Mmm, not bad. The taste really is synchronized. What a steal. This way, I get to enjoy the food without worrying about getting fat.”
With his mouth full of meat, Xu Mo spoke indistinctly while reaching out to grab a braised chicken leg to stuff in next.
The owner’s legs began to tremble. He hurriedly set down the other dishes and scurried to the side.
The men in black never imagined that even though they hadn't provoked this Scavenger, she would actually dare to look for trouble with them here at the coal mine!
They were just about to snap when Xu Mo moved first.
Bang!
He slammed a foot heavily onto their table. Taking a bite out of the chicken leg, Xu Mo looked down at the four men with a haughty gaze.
“Do you know who I am?”
The action and tone were completely mismatched with Bai Feifei’s fragile frame, yet the sheer pressure of his presence actually managed to intimidate them.
“Who... who are you?” one of the men asked, his face pale with anger.
After finishing the chicken leg, Xu Mo casually wiped the grease off his hands on the clothes of the man next to him and gave a wicked smile.
“It’s enough that I know who you are. You’re the little foremen of the Black Smoke Coal Mine, right? I have a big deal for you.”
The foremen looked at each other, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. One of them spoke up.
“The coal mine’s business all goes to the Inner City through fixed channels. Besides, these things aren't for us to—”
Xu Mo didn't wait for him to finish, cutting him off with a raised hand.
“The young master of the Huang family has a big day coming up in a few days. He’s holding a ceremony and needs to buy some coal for a bonfire.”
Upon hearing the name of the “Huang family,” the foremen’s eyes sharpened slightly.
“The Huang family... How much do they want?”
Xu Mo didn't answer verbally; he simply held up one finger.
The foreman curled his lip. “One ton? If it’s only that much...”
“One mountain.”
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