After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 64 Catfish Boss Hot Pot Restaurant (12)

As soon as 005 finished speaking, before he could say anything else, his gaze suddenly fell on a girl next to An Jing who was burying her head and trying her best to hide her face.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and the composure on his face crumbled for a moment.

"...What are you doing here?" His voice came out unintentionally, his tone unusually unsteady.

After saying that, he sat up abruptly, almost making the chair creak.

009 was startled by his actions.

What the hell? Isn't this guy usually very calm?

The girl slowly raised her head, her smile a little stiff, and she looked somewhat guilty.

"...Hello, Brother Wu." Xu smiled and gave an embarrassed smile.

005's expression instantly became extremely complicated.

He remained silent for three seconds before slowly raising his hand to cover his face, as if forcibly suppressing some emotion that was about to erupt.

009 and 018 both glanced at him sideways.

That's extremely rare.

005, who is known for his calm and composure, actually lost control for the first time during a mission.

He slowly lowered his hand, turned his head, and looked at An Jing with a questioning gaze.

What's going on here?

An Jing tilted her head, unwilling to explain.

But when he tilted his head, he met Xu Xiaoyi's gaze.

When Xu Xiaoyi saw 005's expression just now, her eyes practically screamed "Save me!"

It's quite normal for 003's sister to be recognized by 005.

005 and 003 have a good relationship and are old partners.

They have been carrying out high-risk and secret missions side by side for many years, and their bond is so deep that it's almost like that of brothers.

An Jing's mind raced; knowing now wasn't the time to pursue this, she immediately smoothed things over for Xu Xiaoyi:
"Never mind that for now," she said softly. "Something's really wrong this time."

005 withdrew her gaze, took a deep breath, and knew that pursuing this matter at this moment was pointless. She nodded and said, "Go on."

The two lowered their voices and quickly exchanged information.

An Jing used very few words to tell him the known details of the rules in this mysterious magnetic field:
"The menu is divided into vegetarian and meat dishes. The vegetarian dishes are easy to fill you up, and if you can't finish them, you either have to pay the bill or leave the food uneaten, which is a dead end. The meat dishes make you hungrier the more you eat, but they are the kind of meat, so you'll either die if you pay the bill or not eat it."

Then I talked to him about the other rules.

005 nodded: "Okay."

He paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "We found and questioned a girl with a missing arm outside. She escaped from the hot pot restaurant. Although her mental state is unstable, what she described is similar to what you said."

"She said she came with a boy. After paying the bill, the boy had his leg broken, and she had her arm broken. After they left, the boy died from blood loss, while the girl survived by sheer luck."

An Jing's eyes widened slightly: "I know, I saw the couple when they were paying the bill. So they really do get thrown out after paying? She's still alive, but she's missing an arm."

"It's really... hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse," she murmured. "I hope she can hold on."

005 gently shook his head: "We don't expect her to regain much of her sanity. It's already a miracle that she got out."

He paused, then his expression suddenly turned somber.

"There's something I need to tell you."

An Jing turned her head to look at him.

005's expression turned slightly cold, and his voice lowered: "We arrived late this time because of an accident. You sent the signal very early, but the staff of the receiving information department were assassinated. Two people died, and the other person sent the message to 002 before dying. That's how we learned that you were trapped and immediately organized a search and rescue operation."

An Jing's expression immediately turned cold.

"Was it a premeditated assassination?"

"Yes," 005 affirmed. "And this person is clearly after you; he wants you dead."

“I suspect it’s some other faction within the Special Affairs Department. As you know, the Special Affairs Department is currently a mixed bag, and your information is probably already known to quite a few people.” An Jing frowned and sighed.

Does that mean she indirectly caused the deaths of those two employees?

“In other words…” she whispered, “I’m being watched.”

“Yes.” 005 nodded calmly. “So you have to be careful. If things get bad… 002 might take back your freedom. Don’t blame her. She’s doing this for your safety.”

"I know she means well."

"Ah."

He paused and added:
"There's another piece of information."

"This mysterious magnetic field has appeared in a residential building before."

An Jing paused: "You mean before?"

005 nodded, his voice low: "We detected similar energy fluctuations at the time, and were just about to send people in when the magnetic field suddenly disappeared. We couldn't find anyone in the entire building, whether they were alive or dead."

"Nothing disappeared, but no one was there. The number of people who went missing in that accident was as high as several hundred."

"The waveform of the magnetic field energy detected that time... is exactly the same as this time."

An Jing's eyes narrowed as she seized upon a piece of information, and she suddenly asked in a low voice, "You mean everyone has disappeared?"

“Not one left.” 005 nodded.

An Jing narrowed his eyes, then suddenly clapped his hands: "I understand!"

"No wonder the catfish head boss doesn't care about countering the rules."

Her eyes were sharp, as if she had finally caught the core logic it was trying to hide:

"Because from the very beginning, it never considered our table as a target, and it didn't even take our attempt to retaliate seriously."

"Its purpose is others."

"It's stalling for time."

"It wants to slowly eliminate all customers table by table using rules. As long as everyone at other tables is dead, it doesn't matter how many bad reviews our table gives or how many rules we trigger.

"Because by then, customers will have no way to control the stores in terms of rules, and they will slowly drag us down."

"It will win when everyone is dead."

005's eyes darkened: "You mean..."

"So, the mysterious magnetic field that disappeared that time was because everyone inside died?" 018 couldn't help but ask, his tone unusually angry.

"Yes, I guess that as long as the person dies, it will be judged as the winner by the rules, and the magnetic field can be taken back, and a new opportunity can be found to generate a magnetic field again. And this catfish boss will become stronger and stronger."

005 slowly exhaled and whispered, "Then we can't let the others continue eating, otherwise we won't be able to control it."

"How do we do it?" 009 asked.

"We can't wait any longer," An Jing said in a low voice. "We can't let all the people over there die."

"As long as we can stop it from completing the process of devouring all customers, it will have no way to end the rules on its own."

005 nodded: "Then let's divide the work..."

But just as he finished speaking, the restaurant lights suddenly flashed.

The entire hot pot restaurant seemed to be scanned by some unknown force, and the air suddenly turned cold.

“There’s a table…and everyone’s dead.” 018’s tone changed abruptly.

The four were startled and immediately looked to their left.
That corner table, which used to seat three people, was now empty.

And the meat in the pot... was still bubbling and churning.

An Jing's eyes were icy cold as he slowly clenched his fist.

(End of this chapter)