A Maybach on a rainy night? Talk to my Levadin!

"..."

Talulah opened her mouth, wanting to say "no," but found that her throat felt blocked by something, and she couldn't make a sound.

"Before facing a matter, don't pre-define an idol in your mind; otherwise, the idol in your mind will become an obstacle to your understanding of the world."

"Let's go eat some Scale Balls!"

……

The market in Longmen is a unique feature of the city. The vendors with their stalls and hawking their wares, the food stalls lining the streets and alleys, and the small, hole-in-the-wall restaurants with their crude wooden signs hanging at the entrances all contribute to the distinctive local atmosphere of Longmen.

Amidst this bustling scene, a completely different picture unfolded at the Dongshi Linwan stall in a prime location within the market.

This location is prime real estate in the market, with the highest foot traffic and should be the busiest place. Dong's Linwan stall was indeed not quiet, with customers coming and going in waves. But what was strange was that everyone who came to buy Linwan seemed cautious and reserved. They didn't even dare to hand over too much change, counted it carefully, put it down quickly, and then turned around and disappeared into the crowd, their steps so fast it was like they were running away. What was even stranger was that the surrounding vendors, who were all trying to get into the prime location, were the only ones who refused to approach the empty spot next to Dong's Linwan.

The reason for this was that a young man had arrived at Dongshi Linwan, and his face was flying in the sky.

He was of the Ursus race, his head covered in white hair like the first snow, with wispy bangs hanging down his forehead, unable to obscure his eyes. The whites of his eyes were more prominent than usual, making even a single glance unsettling. More striking were the irregular white patches on his face, extending from his left cheek to his jawline, like burn marks—a truly horrifying sight. Looking at his arms, the rolled-up sleeves revealed a crisscrossing network of scars of varying sizes, further indicating this stall owner was no ordinary person.

Rumors circulated among the locals that this young man used to be involved in gangsters and got into fights on the outskirts of the city, hacking his way through until his machete was worn out, and that he had several lives on his hands.

These rumors became increasingly exaggerated, but the young man's skills were indeed passed down from the master craftsman, and his fish balls were quite authentic, with the standard old-fashioned flavor.

Therefore, diners had no choice but to go despite their reluctance.

"Is this the fish ball we're supposed to eat?"

Xia Mi smacked her lips.

"This boss looks terrifying..."

Xia Mi hesitated as she looked at the young man in the distance, but then she thought about it again.

"The owner looks like that, yet so many people still come to buy from him, which means his fish balls must be really delicious, right? We'll have these!"

PS: There will be more tonight.

Chapter 216 Dragon Gate Market.

"Boss, four servings of Scale Balls, please!"

Jie straightened up, wiped his hands with the towel draped over his shoulder, and looked up to see four unfamiliar figures. The boy in the lead was wearing a simple white T-shirt and had a black canvas bag slung over his shoulder, followed by three girls.

It didn't matter if it was a new face; I see hundreds of customers every day and forget most of them as soon as they turn their backs. But this person's eyes didn't have the aloofness of a stranger; instead, they exuded an inexplicable warmth, which made me feel a little scared.

Do they recognize themselves, or have they mistaken someone else for someone else?

Why are you looking at me like that with three pretty girls? What does that mean?

Of course it feels familiar. For Zhao Zizhan, who has a rabbit head, the four-star war god like Jiege, who is cheap to produce, has maximum strength, can fight, heal, and also play a fun role, is naturally very familiar. When the character was first released, Zhao Zizhan felt that it was a sure thing when he saw that the artist was A Gui.

This artist is known for creating exceptionally strong operators, including Ash, Snow White, and Ethan, making them a guarantee of strength.

The ability to single-handedly cut down Pompeii naturally made Zizhan a special target for meat pigeons for a long time, until several new gods arrived later.

Although I also have a Yan Kingdom household registration, you're right, but oh my god, Mr. New Energy.

Nevertheless, Brother Jie has made great contributions to his journey in the world of meat pigeons, and seeing the real person in front of him now, he still feels quite emotional.

"Hold on."

Jie didn't think much of it and suppressed his unease. The iron pot bubbled and steamed, and the fish paste gradually floated to the surface in the boiling water, taking on a translucent sheen and turning into round, scaly balls. He skillfully scooped up the fish balls and divided them into four red paper cups, carefully placing four in each cup. He then picked up two tender green cilantro leaves from a small dish and added them in, finally drizzling a spoonful of clear broth over them. The broth slid down the sides of the cups, forming a shallow layer at the bottom.

Before long, four portions of Scale Pills were handed to Zhao Zizhan and his group.

The paper cups were plain with no extra patterns, only a large black "Dong" logo, so simple that they were almost inconspicuous. The plain bamboo skewers were obviously the cheapest kind, but the fresh aroma of the fish balls immediately wafted out.

"Oh! It looks pretty good," Xia Mi said, moving closer to Zhao Zizhan, her eyes shining as she stared at the paper cup in his hand. She then turned to look at Jie behind the stall and couldn't help but tug at Zhao Zizhan's sleeve. "Wow, this is so Hong Kong! Look at the way he's standing there, and that cleaver, doesn't he look like a character from 'A Better Tomorrow'?"

As she spoke, she deliberately lowered her voice and imitated the tone of voice from the movie, pouting as she said, "My name is Chicken, the chicken of JB!"

"Keep your voice down. Didn't you see those round ears on the top of their heads? They have excellent hearing."

"Ah... oh..."

Xia Mi stuck out her tongue and behaved herself.

At this moment, Surtr walked up to Zhao Zizhan, raised his hand and scooped two scale balls from his cup into Zhao Zizhan's cup, saying casually, "I don't really like these, can you eat a few for me?"

Zhao Zizhan looked at the extra Scale Ball in the cup and gave her a helpless look: "At least eat some cooked food. When you were eating ice cream every day before, why didn't you share one with me?"

Surtr raised an eyebrow and answered matter-of-factly, "Because I love ice cream, but I don't like this."

"walk slowly"

"Mmm!! This Scale Ball is really delicious!"

Xia Mi couldn't wait any longer. She picked up a bamboo skewer, carefully pierced a still-steaming fish ball, and popped it into her mouth without even blowing on it to cool it down. The moment her teeth bit through the tender, bouncy fish paste, the delicious broth exploded on her tongue, spreading throughout her mouth with the sweetness of the fish. The scalding temperature made her hiss and gasp for breath.

"Dong's Scale Balls are a long-established brand in Longmen. I used to eat them often when I was little." Talulah also picked up a bamboo skewer, gently inserted a scale ball, and slowly put it into her mouth.

As Jie was tidying up the used paper cups, he paused when he heard Talulah's words. He looked up at her and calmly replied, "Then you should have eaten the one made by your master. He stopped making it a year ago."

"Is that so... Uncle Dong, he..."

A hint of sadness appeared on Talulah's face.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Zizhan, who was standing nearby, immediately covered Talulah's mouth.

"Good heavens, I almost scolded your master to death when I wasn't keeping an eye on you!"

Talulah groaned softly as her hand was pressed down, blinking with a look of confusion in her eyes. Only after Zhao Zizhan released her grip did she whisper, "Huh? So everything's alright?"

"They've retired, they're not dead..."

Zhao Zizhan gave Jie an awkward smile: "Sorry, sorry, we're leaving now."

Upon hearing that the group knew Uncle Dong, Jie opened his mouth, but finally spoke, his tone carrying a subtle reminder: "Be more careful when you walk in the future, and try to find places where the Guard Bureau's agents are."

Zhao Zizhan nodded: "Okay, thanks for the reminder!"

Xia Mi didn't forget to turn around and wave at Jie, muttering, "I'll come eat here again next time."

Jie continued making fish balls, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed that after the group left, playing around, three people in black coats suddenly darted out of the shadows at the alley entrance and followed them furtively.

He stopped what he was doing, frowned, sighed softly, and muttered under his breath, "Damn it... ruining business..."

……

Where are we going next?

The four of them wandered around the intersection of Longmen Outer Ring Road like curious children, looking at this and that, finding everything new and interesting.

Let's not even talk about Xia Mi; she's just a tourist from another world.

Since arriving in Terra, Zhao Zizhan had been a complete country bumpkin, either running around on the tundra or watching Fenrir grin in the mining area. This was his first time entering a city.

As they walked, the group arrived at the outskirts of the slums.

The unfinished buildings, numerous shantytowns, exposed electrical wires, cramped spaces—everything about it is almost exactly the same as the Kowloon Walled City I once saw in movies.

Xia Mi shielded her eyes and looked ahead: "This place... looks like it'll have a lot of martial arts masters... Could there be an old man with sunglasses living here, running a barbershop, and with a nickname like Tornado or something?"

"Where did you learn about Hong Kong from?"

"There are movies and comics too!"

"Then you're really awesome."

The fact that four rich men were so brazenly roaming around the slums naturally attracted a lot of attention. Some people were already itching to start their own businesses, but the main reason they hadn't taken action yet was quite simple.

These guys are now heading towards the Rat King's candy shop.

P.S.: I was supposed to write something tonight, but I strained my back while moving my computer. It took me a while to recover. Damn it, how could I be so unlucky...

Chapter 217 Rat King: What the hell?

The slums are "aerial mazes" made of discarded shipping containers and rusty sheet metal. Every floor has a dense array of iron racks hanging out to dry, with moldy clothes like hanging gray spider webs.

This is Longmen's "no man's land," a corner completely forgotten by the glamorous city.

The development of Longmen has nothing to do with this place, and Longmen's system cannot reach it; this is Longmen's abandoned land.

If order cannot be established by the government, then the void of power will naturally be filled by organizations, and gangs play such a role.

The gangs began charging security fees, which, although exorbitant, prevented residents from being harassed unnecessarily. They also siphoned off profits from managing underground casinos and smuggling operations. Neighborhood disputes were no longer resolved with fists, but were mediated by gang members—a set of rules belonging to the gangs took root in this abandoned land.

Many gangs fought each other relentlessly for a place in the territory and for a sense of pride.

Ultimately, the one with the greatest power, who fought his way out of countless bloody battles, finally established himself in the slums outside Longmen, ending that chaotic period, and became the leader of his generation, was Lin Wo, who told his mother to go to Ge Rui.

People in the underworld usually call him: Rat King.

With Wei Yanwu's permission, the Rat King and Black Cloak participated in gang warfare, much like Ke Jie signing up for a kindergarten Go tournament. But the result was always good; Longmen quickly established order in the slums and managed the people there.

Time flies, and more than a decade has passed since that time.

Lin Gerui is no longer the young man he once was. Now in his twilight years, he runs a candy store in the slums to live out his days in peace, and he is slowly handing over the business of the store to his daughter.

Of course, in a place like a slum, what is called a shop is really just a slightly larger stall. Unlike the old man Zalak lying on the deck chair, the candy shop is filled with colorful and varied candies, and there are many children gathered in front of the stall.

"That's... Uncle Lin?"

At the intersection, Talulah stopped and stared intently at the old man in front of the candy stall. She watched as Uncle Lin looked at the children flitting about his stall like butterflies.

"familiar person?"

Zhao Zizhan stood beside her, his gaze fixed on Lin Gerui, and asked a question he already knew the answer to.

Talulah nodded hesitantly: "Um...that's Uncle Lin, but...he's not quite the same as before."

In Talulah's memory, Uncle Lin was a very bold and hot-tempered uncle who would take action against injustice and would race cars with Madam Wenyue late at night.

But at this moment, Uncle Lin looked exceptionally...kind.

Time inevitably changes many things. I am no longer the person I was back then, and the people I used to know are no longer the same as they used to be.

What about Chen Huijie?

Has she changed too? What will she become?

"Should we go over and say hello?"

Zhao Zizhan asked.

“No,” Talulah shook her head. “If I go, Uncle Lin will know I’m back, and then Commander Wei will know too. That will have a big impact on our subsequent plans. I’m not here just for myself.”

"Let's go, we still have a lot to do. We can catch up later."

With a resolute turn, Talulah and Zhao Zizhan walked in the other direction of the street.

At that moment, Lin Gerui, who was sitting in the recliner, suddenly frowned, as if he had sensed something. He raised his head, his gaze passing through the crowd, and looked towards the intersection.

At first, it was just a casual glance, but when he saw that familiar head of silver hair, his body stiffened slightly, and he almost dropped the pipe in his mouth.

"Um?……"

He sat up straight and squinted.

Then, he saw those familiar dragon horns.

"Um??……"

Lin Gerui abruptly removed his reading glasses, his hands trembling slightly.

But why is there a man with her?

"Um???"

The Rat King's tail stood up.

Something's wrong!!! Something's extremely wrong!!!

The Rat King's reaction at this moment was no less than that of Lin Yuxia bringing home a blond guy who drives a motorcycle with a ghost fire.

That silver hair, those dragon horns, and that tomboyish outfit awakened Lin Gerui's long-dormant memories. Was it the appearance of an old friend, or the son of an old friend?

More importantly, why is there a man with her?

This is no small matter; I need to inform Lao Wei immediately…

and many more……

Just as the Rat King reached into his pocket for the terminal, a sudden inspiration struck him.