"Mhm!"
Xin Nan nodded, quietly dialed the phone, and then brought it to his ear.
Before long, the call was connected, and a clear female voice came from the other end of the line:
"Hello, this is the Yangcheng Public Security Yipin Police Station, may I ask."
Confirming that the "monsters" around him showed no abnormalities, Xin Nan spoke in a blaming tone:
"Why aren't you here yet? Didn't we agree to eat hot pot together?"
"Huh? Sir, you..."
"Hurry up and come, Xiao 'Wei' and I are already here. If you don't come, I'll die for you to see."
After all, she was a trained police officer, and the girl on the other end of the phone sensed something was wrong.
"Sir, are you in danger?"
"Yes, Xiao Wei is here too. When will you arrive?"
"Sir, please give us your address."
"Didn't I already say it's the Boss Lady Hot Pot next to the Yipin Road Subway station?"
Huh???
At this moment, the operator on the other end of the phone probably had a string of question marks appearing above her head. Danger? A hot pot restaurant?
Who would encounter danger in a hot pot restaurant? Are they going to cook you?
Besides, you seem excessively calm, not like someone being held hostage.
"Sir, are you sure this isn't a prank? You encountered danger at the hot pot restaurant?"
"Of course, I guarantee it with my personality. This hot pot restaurant is amazing! And very special. By the way, you'd better bring your few materialist..."
Facing the terrifying reality of this Unnamable Hot Pot Restaurant, Xin Nan never thought it was a problem that a few beat cops could solve, so he had to find an opportunity to mention the Materialist Bureau, hoping to attract their attention.
And throughout the entire conversation, Xin Nan did not forget where he was, so he never relaxed his observation of the people around him, especially the Boss Lady.
But just as he uttered the word "materialist," he clearly saw the red worms on the Boss Lady, who was still enjoying the pain with her eyes closed as if there were no abnormalities at all, instantly turn towards him.
Feeling that saying those two words was like poking a taboo, he calmly, almost coldly, quickly changed his words at this moment, turning "materialist" into "maintenance."
"You'd better call your maintenance worker friends!"
Then, he hurriedly hung up the phone.
The most important information he wanted to convey was not conveyed. Next, he could only watch the police's actions.
But "it" knew about the Materialist Bureau?!
Why would such a monster know about the Materialist Bureau?
Xin Nan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately imagined many scenarios.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, somewhat sluggishly, those red threads floated back into the Boss Lady's body, but a small portion still fixed on him.
The female waiter beside him picked up the menu and handed it to him.
"Hello, can you order now?"
"Of course, just a clear soup pot."
In Yangcheng, red pot is the standard. Clear soup is already challenging the bottom line, let alone a clear water pot.
But as a hot pot restaurant determined to emulate Haidilao, they did have clear water pots.
The waiter's body stiffened, and after a two-second pause, she said, "Sir, wouldn't you like to try our red pot? Especially the beef tallow pot, it's very fragrant. Try it, you must try it!"
At the food delivery counter, a chef was chopping freshly cut fat into small pieces and throwing them into a pot to simmer into clear "beef tallow."
Hmm, I remember the Boss Lady used to like wearing perfume very much. It seems this beef tallow pot will indeed be very fragrant.
Xin Nan spat out the universal excuse.
"Poor!"
The young lady's expression stiffened, then she smiled again, "It's okay, today is our anniversary, the pot base is free."
"But I have a sensitive stomach. Spicy food irritates it, so I'll have clear soup."
The young lady's expression remained stiff for a long time before she finally nodded and drew a checkmark on the clear soup.
Saying that, Xin Nan started checking items on the menu again. He dared not touch any of the meat dishes and selected only vegetarian dishes.
"These dishes will be served first."
The waiter's expression stiffened again, her eyes widening, and she forced a smile:
"Sir, please have some meat. Our meat dishes are very fresh. If you're worried about the cost, it's okay. Today is our anniversary, and everything is free. Try it, you definitely..."
So, a person's face could be this weird.
Xin Nan looked at her with amusement and said,
"I said, are you annoying? Am I the customer or are you? These dishes will be served first. We are all vegetarians!"
At this moment, the gaze from the female boss at the food delivery counter became obvious again, and a sense of crisis permeated the air.
He who knows when to quit is a wise man!
"Serve these first. My friends will be here later, and we'll order more then."
Perhaps it was because of the promise of more orders, or because friends were coming, the female boss's scrutiny reluctantly subsided.
Yipin Police Station.
Xiao Lin, who was on duty, frowned. Although she was confused, she still found the location and broadcasted over the radio:
"There's a report of a possible hostage situation at the Boss Lady Hot Pot Restaurant, unit 37, Yipin Station. Please proceed to investigate."
With a crackle, a man's confused voice came from the radio:
"Hostage situation at a hot pot restaurant? Leave this interesting matter to us. Are there more details?"
"I don't know either. The caller was very vague and strange, but he might really be in danger. Anyway, we have nothing else to do today, so be careful."
"We're nearby. Not many people dare to make false reports these days. Speaking of Boss Lady Hot Pot, I think I've been there before. Their Boss Lady is very beautiful."
Xiao Lin was speechless at her somewhat unprofessional colleague and hung up the call.
Meanwhile, the two police officers arrived downstairs at the hot pot restaurant in just five minutes.
After going upstairs and seeing the bustling diners, although their police instincts sensed something was wrong, they thought that with so many people, it didn't seem like a dangerous place, so they walked straight in.
Passing the screen, they scanned their surroundings out of professional habit, observing the environment.
After all, sometimes people like the one who called, like Xin Nan, might be under duress, and applying pressure rashly could lead to unpredictable consequences.
However, before they could identify who made the report, they saw the food delivery counter.
In an instant, the two police officers couldn't help but tremble.
Humanity's most primitive and intense emotion is fear.
And the most intense, most primitive fear is not the kind that makes you scream or want to run.
It is the fear that instantly shatters reason and disperses sanity, causing the body to stiffen and lose control, and the soul to become numb.
The two police officers watched as the chef took brain flower and liver slices from the Boss Lady's body, while the Boss Lady was still smiling with pleasure and was alive.
Such things beyond their comprehension clearly told them that this was not something that could be resolved with firearms and manpower, let alone that they didn't have firearms!
The two trembled and moved their feet, but as soon as they stepped back, all the diners in the hot pot restaurant looked up and gave them a toothy smile.
The two then froze in place.
The most terrifying were the waiters, who stared at the two with cold eyes and kept saying:
"Officers, we are an honest business here. Our ingredients are the freshest, and our customer satisfaction is the highest. What are you here for? Why are you here?"
Saying that, the waiters walked towards the two.
Forming a circle, they walked towards the two.
And the diners, in unison, licked their lips.
Don't... don't come closer!
Don't come closer!
✦✦✦