As time passed, Xin Nan's nervousness grew stronger.
In less than ten minutes of sitting down, Xin Nan had already seen multiple "vital parts" served on the table.
So, as it stands, there are few parts of her body that cannot regenerate rapidly or are irreplaceable.
Those places that should have been fatal were being repeatedly destroyed, yet her vitality remained so robust.
Even if the Materialist Bureau truly arrived, could they really confront such a monster?
How would they kill a female boss who had no vital parts and could not die?
At the food delivery counter, a chef was currently taking out a portion of brain flower.
This made the female boss's smile even more pronounced.
Her body tensed up, and the smile on her lips widened.
At this moment, Xin Nan noticed that although the chef handling the ingredients was still wielding his knife, the waiters were still moving, and the diners were still eating, the red worms on their bodies were all tense.
Looking closely, Xin Nan finally discovered the stiff and numb movements of their actions.
It was as if puppets had lost their master, merely continuing to "fall" due to the momentum of their previous actions.
His eyes flashed, and Xin Nan withdrew his gaze.
Interesting.
Just then, the police arrived. After the two of them entered, they indeed noticed the humanoid monster in the kitchen area.
Any normal person would probably be scared stiff facing this scene.
"Hey, hey! I've been calling you for ages, don't just stand there, hurry up and come over!"
Hearing this voice, surrounded by waiters and diners, they felt like they had grasped a lifeline. They quickly looked over, only to see a youth waving at them.
"Why did it take so long? Didn't you say on the phone you'd be here soon?"
The phone?
He was the one who called the police!
"What are you waiting for, hurry up and come over. Sorry, they are my friends, and they're here to eat too."
Upon hearing they were here to eat, the waiters stopped advancing, merely watching the two with cold eyes.
With the entire place filled with "eccentrics," Xin Nan's presence gave them an unimaginable sense of security. Although their legs were still trembling, compared to the surrounding diners and waiters, Xin Nan's side was much better.
The two of them sat down bit by bit with stiff faces. The waiters who had been staring at them intently finally withdrew their gazes and forced out smiles revealing their teeth.
"Guests, can you order more dishes?"
"No need, there are still people who haven't arrived!"
The waiter, disappointed but not giving up, continued to ask:
"Are you really not having any more? Our dishes are very fresh, try some."
Directly ignoring the professional female waiter who sounded like a broken record, Xin Nan looked at the two police officers.
At this moment, the two "newcomers" probably had a hundred questions, but their finally returning reason told them that speaking carelessly here would be fatal.
As if not noticing the cold sweat on their foreheads, Xin Nan started the conversation:
"Just the two of you? Where's your maintenance friend? Hurry up and call him over, it's more fun to eat such delicious hot pot together."
The older police officer, after all, had more experience. He quickly guessed something from Xin Nan's brief performance.
Xin Nan had clear soup hot pot, vegetarian dishes, while the people around them were all eating meat. He was probably buying time in this manner.
He asked him to make a phone call, which should not provoke an extreme reaction from the surrounding monsters.
Only, only call for help!
As if remembering something, a trace of hope flashed in Old Li's eyes. He instinctively reached for the radio on his shoulder.
The speed of the red lines twisting suddenly increased, and the Boss Lady at the food delivery counter became sensitive again.
Your very existence almost made them rampage, and you're touching the radio?
Seeing that you don't have headphones, if the radio's sound is too loud and leaks out later, do you think we'll die?
Old Li also realized this, his hand freezing mid-air.
"When you're out for a meal, don't think about work. Turn that thing off!"
Hearing this, Old Li nodded at Xin Nan, quickly turned off the radio, and then tentatively picked up the phone.
Seeing that the Boss Lady showed no unusual reaction, Xin Nan then gave him a look.
Old Li began to dial.
Yangcheng First-Class Police Station.
The female officer on night duty sat alone in the deathly silent duty room, bored, repeatedly pressing the enter key on the keyboard with her index finger, watching hyphens appear line by line on a blank Word document.
Just as she was thinking about the previous alarm information and wondering why a hot pot restaurant would be dangerous, she was suddenly startled by the phone. After taking a deep breath, she quickly took off her headphones, picked up the phone from the desk, and was stunned when she saw the number.
"Brother Li, is the matter resolved? Why are you calling instead of using the radio!"
A stiff, hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Why aren't you here yet? Didn't we agree to eat hot pot together?"
In the summer heat of July, the young female officer couldn't help but shiver.
She had just heard that sentence!
Is this hot pot restaurant haunted? Why is Brother Li also...
Realizing the situation was tricky, the female officer further discerned the suppressed fear in Brother Li's voice and instinctively asked:
"Brother Li, are you alright?"
"Haha, Xiao Lin, do you remember our appointment from the morning before yesterday? Hurry up and come, everyone is waiting for you."
With that, Brother Li hung up the phone.
In the duty room, Xiao Lin hugged herself, goosebumps all over her body.
What exactly happened at that hot pot restaurant?
Everyone is waiting for me, they aren't waiting for me on the road to the underworld, are they?
Under the incandescent light, the female officer trembled with fear.
After a while, she finally calmed down and remembered Brother Li's words from just now.
The appointment from the morning before yesterday?
But the morning before yesterday was training.
Hmm?
Wait, the training the day before yesterday was!
No way...
Xiao Lin's eyes suddenly narrowed. After a long while, she frantically flipped through her notebook, found the latest page, and located that phone number. With a mixture of trepidation and disbelief, she dialed the number.
On the other end, a somewhat cold voice came through:
"Location."
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Xiao Lin tremblingly said:
"Third floor of Unit 37, Yipin Street, Boss Lady's Hot Pot Restaurant. Two police officers and at least one civilian are already being held hostage inside."
The call ended.
Xiao Lin, however, couldn't snap out of it.
"When you encounter cases that you can't understand or handle, call that number. It actually exists. Who are they..."
Night, 9:25 PM.
After sending out the information he received and getting off the subway at the next station, the young man in the grey suit exited the platform, went to the restroom, lit a cigarette, and looked at the glass in front of him, resting and contemplating.
At the entrance of the restroom, both people entering and exiting the men's restroom on the left and the women's restroom on the right seemed to not see a person smoking by the sink, automatically making way for him and leaving after washing their hands.
The youth exhaled smoke, his gaze unusually sharp.
"No wonder the Repentance Society hasn't made any moves in that country recently. So they've come to Yan Country to cause trouble... and they had to choose Yangcheng!"
"But we haven't sensed much abnormality during this time. What exactly are they doing in secret..."
Shaking his head, the youth's phone vibrated. The sender was marked as "Minister," and the message contained only three simple words.
"Good work."
"The Minister is really patient, despite being such an impulsive and maliciously playful person..."
The youth took the last puff of his cigarette, opened the faucet, casually rinsed his hands, and then turned to head towards Exit A, where the elevator was.
"Next, I'll just call for a ride-hailing car and take a random drive around the city."
As the man thought this, he suddenly stopped, as if smelling something. His nose twitched slightly, and then he changed to another exit, leaving the subway station from Exit D.
Soon, a rich, foul smell of hot pot wafted to his nose.
At this moment, his phone also rang. The displayed number was a police system code, clearly indicating the affiliated police station.
According to the technical means within their department, all "abnormal" reports would be assigned to members nearby for investigation or resolution.
Today is really lively!
However, there is already one matter that is imminent and must be dealt with. This matter will have to be postponed, and one can only hope that the involved parties are lucky.
He answered the phone and said weakly:
"Location!"
"Third floor of Unit 37, Yipin Street, Boss Lady's Hot Pot Restaurant. Two police officers and at least one civilian are already being held hostage inside."
What a coincidence!
The youth looked up at the words "Boss Lady's Hot Pot Restaurant" on the building not far away.
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