He Lingyu stood there without changing expression. Her calm, unhurried posture made Pi San feel uncertain.
Was this woman really some hidden expert?
Impossible.
He could not sense any aura of an ability user from her at all, and earlier she had even said, “You ability users are good at killing zombies.”
With that thought, Pi San steadied himself again. They had so many people. Could they really fail to take down a single woman?
Even if they relied on sheer numbers, they could crush her.
So Pi San spoke with confidence, “You said it yourself. Fine, since this place will be ours sooner or later anyway, why don’t we go outside to fight? That way we won’t damage the stuff in here. It’d be a shame.”
He Lingyu let out a short laugh. “So confident? No need. Right here is fine. I can still protect a few pieces of furniture.”
She was acting chuunibyou again, using the restaurant’s protection to put on a show.
“Confidence is the artillery that will blow you apart,” Pi San said, smirking. “Don’t despair when you lose. I won’t kill you. You’re pretty, so why don’t you come with me instead?”
“Stop yapping,” He Lingyu shot back. “A grown man acting like a nagging auntie, talking this much. If you lose later, won’t it be embarrassing? Don’t get mad and smash my shop out of spite.”
Her jab landed cleanly and shut him up.
“Fine,” Pi San spat. “Don’t blame me when I stop holding back.”
His attack reached her in an instant, with no hesitation, aimed straight at her body.
Pi San even split his attention to watch her face, expecting panic, tears, and apologies.
Instead, He Lingyu did not even blink. She looked like she was in a good mood, her lips curling slightly upward.
Putting on a brave front.
That was what Pi San told himself. He still refused to believe she simply did not care about him.
Until…
“Aaah!”
His fist hit He Lingyu, yet it felt like he had punched a bronze cauldron with a bare hand, the way he had before awakening any ability.
The recoil slammed through him. His hand was hurt, and his whole body was thrown backward.
With a loud crash, he smashed into the wall.
Strangely, the wall, despite looking shabby, was completely fine. Not even a crack.
Even the chair with the shortened leg did not wobble.
Everyone was stunned.
Pi San lost?
Pi San, the man whose strength was second only to Yuan Gaofei, lost?
In a single move?
They had not even seen He Lingyu strike.
In the entire restaurant, only He Lingyu, the eye of the storm, showed no reaction at all.
Because she had already figured it out the night before.
That unpaid customer had accidentally brushed against her while grabbing food. The game had judged it as an attempt to hurt her, and had thrown him out.
Back then, He Lingyu had quietly rejoiced, and she had also thought, sooner or later, someone would test this.
She had even wanted to try it.
She just had not expected the day to come so fast.
“You lost,” He Lingyu said calmly, keeping up the professional composure of a so-called expert, expressionless.
Pi San coughed, spitting blood. “What are you standing around for? Get her!”
He was not someone who admitted defeat easily. Besides, they could not fail. If they did…
His men snapped out of it and rushed in together, abilities flaring.
Even Qu Ming attacked, moving quickly. If they won, great. If they failed, Pi San could not blame him for not trying.
Then…
“Aaah!”
“Aaah!”
“Aaah!”
Screams filled the room. As expected, every attack failed.
Pi San gritted his teeth and tried to stand, but he did not notice the hand he used to push himself up.
That injured hand was already fragile. Supporting his weight again made it worse.
Crack.
“Aaah!”
He Lingyu spoke with an almost playful tone, “Oof, that’s a fracture.”
It nearly made Pi San vomit blood from sheer anger.
“Do you still want to continue?” she asked.
It was a polite question. She knew they could not keep going.
But she had other intentions.
Pi San sneered, forcing himself upright. “Today we got unlucky, but that doesn’t mean Gaofei Base has no one left. Just you wait!”
He threw down the threat and tried to leave.
He Lingyu did not let him.
“Stop.”
The group’s steps stalled.
“What, you want to hit people and then walk away?”
Sure, no one had been seriously harmed, but the spectators’ nerves had taken a beating. She was not going to let them go without learning something.
Pi San’s jaw clenched so hard it looked like his back teeth might shatter. “What do you want?”
“Nothing much,” He Lingyu said lightly. “Since you started a fight, you should compensate us for emotional damages. Hand over anything valuable you’ve got.”
The feud was already set. Even if she did nothing now, it would not erase it. She might as well take advantage while they were still intimidated and squeeze out some benefits.
They did not understand the “game.” They only believed He Lingyu was terrifyingly strong, so they did not dare disobey. They quickly handed over their crystal cores and valuables.
“Now can we go?” Pi San snarled, face twisted with humiliation.
He Lingyu smiled brightly. “Thanks for the generous tips, honored guests. Come again next time.”
Only when Pi San and his people left the restaurant did the ones hiding nearby dare to come out.
They surrounded He Lingyu like she was some rare animal.
“Boss, you’re actually that strong!”
“Yeah! If we’d known you were this strong, we wouldn’t have hidden. What were we scared of? Those scum!”
Pi San’s group had bullied and harmed people for a long time. The resentment had piled up. Now everyone poured out praise and anger at once.
He Lingyu’s social anxiety flared. She immediately looked to Hua Yue for help.
“Alright, everyone,” Hua Yue said firmly. “If you’ve taken a task, go finish it. It’ll be dark soon, and the time limits won’t wait.”
She rescued He Lingyu from the crowd. The two of them returned to the counter and sat down.
“Xiao Yu’er, you just let them go like that?” Hua Yue asked.
“I didn’t,” He Lingyu replied. “I took their crystal cores.”
Hua Yue shook her head. “You know what I mean. Don’t play dumb. We just let a tiger go back to the mountains. What if they bring Yuan Gaofei here next time?”
He Lingyu heard the worry in Hua Yue’s voice, but what could she do?
This was the apocalypse. There was no law enforcement, but that was not a reason for her to cross the line. She still wanted to hold onto her bottom line.
“Auntie Yue, I understand what you’re worried about,” He Lingyu said quietly. “But I can’t do what you’re thinking. I don’t have it in me, and I don’t want to.”
For someone who feared people, He Lingyu’s gaze was unusually steady. It was her way of showing she meant it.
If Hua Yue could not accept it and insisted…
Thankfully, Hua Yue softened.
“I understand, Xiao Yu’er. I won’t say things like that again. I was just worried…”
She had been afraid they would return with someone stronger, someone their small restaurant could not withstand.
And she had also been afraid He Lingyu might change into something she did not recognize.
Hua Yue reached out and stroked He Lingyu’s hair. “I’ll protect you.”
Her voice was so soft that He Lingyu did not catch every word, but she felt the warmth of the embrace. Maybe this was what a mother felt like.
“Auntie Yue, don’t worry,” He Lingyu said. “I’ll protect the restaurant, and I’ll protect you. Inside the restaurant, no one can hurt me.”
“Alright,” Hua Yue murmured.
After Pi San’s group left, the restaurant returned to its bustle.
Most people hurried to finish their tasks, but some were afraid of retaliation. While it was still light out, they returned to the base early.
[Xiao Bai’s affection for you increased to 30.]
He Lingyu’s attention snapped to the message.
Xiao Bai’s affection had gone up?
She looked again and realized why.
Someone had upgraded the doghouse.
Compared to the simple wooden shelter she and Auntie Yue had built, Xiao Bai had essentially moved into a villa.
The entrance was bigger, the structure looked sturdier, and there were even decorative touches.
The only thing unchanged was the sign He Lingyu had written herself, “Beware of vicious dog. Strangers keep out.”
[Doghouse upgrade task completed. Reward: one time clock machine.]
A time clock?
He Lingyu was baffled. Had she escaped wage slave life just to clock in every day?
She pulled the machine out from under the counter and studied it. Her mood brightened instantly.
This was not that kind of time clock. It was not meant to restrain them, but to record.
To record, that was all.
Now the restaurant had more customers. People accepted tasks, completed tasks, and received rewards, but words alone were not proof.
It could not be left to them to claim rewards freely, and it could not rely only on He Lingyu’s word either. The purpose of the time clock was to register fingerprints.
When someone accepted a task, they pressed a handprint on the task board, and the game recorded it. Once the task was completed, the reward would automatically be logged under that person’s record.
Next time they came to eat, they would only need to press their fingerprint on the device to receive their free meal.
How could He Lingyu not be happy with something this useful?
She installed it on the spot.
About twenty to thirty people stayed to work on tasks, and some clearly wanted to keep doing them in exchange for staying here long term.
After all, this place had food and safety. They only needed to do simple labor.
At Gaofei Base, they were the lowest of the low, doing the dirtiest work while being bullied by ability users.
But here, they could even take hot showers.
In a world where clean water was scarce, the fact that this restaurant had hot showers was an enormous temptation.
Of course it was unrealistic to think everyone here was a saint who would always behave.
But they had all seen He Lingyu crush Pi San.
Her strength was obvious. No one dared cause trouble here unless they wanted to die.
And in a place with stable food, a place that felt almost like a normal life, only an idiot would start chaos.
[Cleaning the restaurant’s third floor task completed.]
[Cleaning the unnamed building task completed.]
[Cleaning the fenced courtyard task completed.]
Completion notices popped up one after another. He Lingyu could not stop smiling.
But these were all simple tasks, and the rewards were mostly small items, nothing substantial.
He Lingyu did not panic at all. She posted new tasks right away.
This time, though, no one rushed to claim them.
When they saw the new tasks on the board, everyone hesitated. They looked at each other, and not a single person pressed their handprint.
He Lingyu frowned. “Why isn’t anyone taking them? Are they too hard?”