Chapter 18 (2/2): I want this shop

Chen Xin quickly stood, wanting to pay and leave behind those three.

As the three said they wanted to pay, the Front Desk Man’s smile twisted into something eerie.

His eyes squinted into crescent moons.

“Very well.”

“Honored customers, before settling your bill, you can participate in our store’s promotional event.”

He bent down and took out three Gold Eggs.

“Inside these three eggs, one contains a prize for a free meal.”

Jumping Hotpot Restaurant Rules, Article 8: 【Do not trust the in-store cashback promotions; they are scams.】

“Don’t play along!” Jiang Xi’s warning was drowned out by the sound of hammer strikes.

The man grinned as he raised the hammer and smashed an egg.

With a “crack,” the Gold Egg split open, revealing a small card.

Chen Xin leaned closer and read the card aloud, “Huiwen Mall discount coupon…”

Huiwen Mall?

A new location had appeared.

With no result for a free meal, the Front Desk Man kindly said, “No worries, you can continue.”

… A trap. Definitely a trap.

Jiang Xi’s cold voice cut in, “If you don’t want to die, don’t continue!” She gripped the man’s arm.

The man’s strength surged.

He seemed oblivious to the resistance, aiming at the leftmost egg again.

Another “crack” sounded.

The second Gold Egg broke open, and an arthropod-like creature with two body segments shot out and bit the man’s head.

“Crack!” Everyone heard the sound of skull bones breaking.

Chen Xin, nearest, screamed in terror.

Behind Jiang Xi, Meng Lingling saw a scene nearly causing her to faint—monster-like mouthparts chewed and swallowed the man alive.

The front of the creature, previously unidentifiable, bulged with a lump.

Then it twitched and crawled, revealing human facial features.

It was the man’s face.

Frozen in agony, the man helplessly looked at everyone.

The creature’s upper body had grown the man’s arms, while its lower body sprouted multiple limbs like an ant.

“What… is that thing…” Meng Lingling’s lips quivered as she stumbled back.

“Very unfortunate,” the Front Desk Man’s smile stretched nearly to his eyes, his tone gleeful and mocking, “You’ve gotten the worst prize.”

The woman screamed as if waking from a nightmare.

The boy beside her seemed oblivious to his father’s fate, happily holding up the hammer for the last egg.

The creature’s mouth opened wide, and the man’s face watched his son bitterly.

“No, no, no…” the woman panicked and clutched her son. The creature bit her arm and, with a “crack,” easily tore it off.

The woman screamed in despair.

As the creature lunged again, Jiang Xi forcefully shoved her away.

The woman was pushed out.

The creature bit air; the man’s eyes atop its head fixed on Jiang Xi.

A shadow loomed over Jiang Xi’s head, the stench from its mouthparts overwhelming.

“What service?” Jiang Xi’s lips curled flat, hatred shining in her gaze.

“I’m going to give your place a bad review!”

Fortunately, bad reviews still worked.

The creature froze like a statue.

Jiang Xi turned and pulled the bewildered Chen Xin toward the second floor, Meng Lingling close behind, with Lan Fengtai mechanically trailing due to the rule’s control.

The woman ran upstairs holding the child, shedding tears.

At her breaking point, she slammed into Jiang Xi and slipped through a half-open door.

“Bang!” The door slammed shut heavily.

“Six!” Meng Lingling steadied the almost-falling Jiang Xi and complained, “What kind of people are these?!”

No time to hesitate, Jiang Xi led the three deeper into the corridor, spotting a room labeled “Staff Room.” She yanked the door open and quickly shut it behind them.

Bad reviews couldn’t control the monster for long; hiding here was only temporary.

Chen Xin and Meng Lingling held their breath, not daring to speak loudly.

Their backs chilled.

Chen Xin looked fearfully at Jiang Xi.

“How do we get out?”

“If we pay just now… can we leave?”

Jiang Xi said, “The Front Desk Man is not the Shop Manager.”

Chen Xin was stunned.

Jiang Xi scanned the staff room, seeing several waiter uniforms and one chef’s outfit hanging on the wall.

She went to the rack and rummaged, explaining, “I saw a photo on the front desk.”

Chen Xin stared at Jiang Xi in confusion.

Jiang Xi pulled a necklace from the chef’s uniform pocket, flipping open the pendant, inside was a photo.

“…”

The clue was right in front of them.

“The person in the photo at the front desk… it’s this guy.”

Chen Xin and Meng Lingling leaned in.

The pendant’s photo showed a boy about six or seven years old, standing by the seaside, wearing overalls, smiling brightly.

Chen Xin recalled the chef’s words:
If my son were still alive, he would be as old as you.

“Chef… is the Shop Manager? Is he in the cult hoping to save his son?” Chen Xin’s mind raced.

“Can a cult really bring the dead back to life?”

Meng Lingling: “If we give the necklace to the chef, can we get out? Does anyone have cash? Can we pay online?”

Jiang Xi handed the necklace to Chen Xin and continued searching.

From one waiter’s clothes, she pulled out a note.

[ I am a customer; the customer is me. I am not a waiter… I am a waiter…
Check out, yes, check out! Only by checking out can we leave!
Big meat costs fifty, hand costs a hundred… heart, two hundred,
Only one heart is needed! ]

“Are they asking us… to cut off our flesh?” Meng Lingling’s hairs stood on end, a chill crawling down her spine.

Jiang Xi pondered.

She had seen waiters stabbing their own hearts… The waiters were once customers trying to buy a chance to leave with their hearts.

But those waiters who dug out their hearts and still lived had clearly become corrupted.

They didn’t hand their hearts to the Shop Manager but gave them to customers, becoming part of the corruption.

… She wondered if the hearts of corrupted beings could still count as payment.

Chen Xin, fiddling with the necklace, spoke up, “Jiang Xi, look, inside the pendant—”

“Shh… shh…”

A faint tapping sound came from the tiled floor.

The monster on the first floor was coming up.

The three immediately closed their mouths.

Chen Xin took the key from the pendant and signaled Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi took the key, her eyes moving.

She stepped lightly to a cabinet and tried the key, but it didn’t open.

She kept searching while Chen Xin nervously clutched the pendant.

The monster was just in the corridor.

Tap… tap…

Meng Lingling stayed close to Lan Fengtai.

Thankfully, Lan Fengtai remained silent.

She keenly observed Jiang Xi’s actions and understood she was trying to use the key to open a lock belonging to it.

Jiang Xi’s eyes scanned the room.

“Key…” she whispered.

The monster outside suddenly stopped moving.

Meng Lingling quickly covered her mouth.

Jiang Xi ceased searching and pointed at the direction Meng Lingling indicated.

All was still.

Suddenly—

The monster seemed to detect their trail, stamping and rushing forward.

Chen Xin clenched the pendant tightly, nearly suffocating.

Jiang Xi focused intently on the doorway.

“Bang!” The corridor door suddenly exploded with noise.

It was the mother and child.

Hearing the monster had left, they dashed out.

The monster heard the noise and turned to chase.

A series of tapping sounds faded away.

Chen Xin and Meng Lingling still didn’t dare move.

Jiang Xi quietly moved toward a corner of the floor, crouching and feeling around inch by inch, her finger touching a protrusion.

She pried it open, revealing a keyhole inside.

Jiang Xi inserted the key and turned it.

A pitch-black idol appeared in front of them.

Chen Xin was shocked.

The idol was about the size of a palm, looking identical to the one downstairs.

It was grotesque and emitted an ominous, evil aura.

The moment the idol appeared, Jiang Xi’s appetite surged wildly.

She was hungry.

Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry…

“Jiang Xi?” Meng Lingling asked, “What does this idol do?”

“….” Jiang Xi suppressed the raging hunger, slipping the egg-like idol into her pocket.

“I’m going down to pay. When I signal, you all run.”

Meng Lingling grabbed Lan Fengtai’s arm. “Pay? You want to cut off your flesh?”

“… Let it be!” Chen Xin gritted her teeth. “I’m the one who dragged you all into this cult.”

“No need. Just know to run.” Jiang Xi’s voice was calm.

… Somehow, it was a very reliable feeling.

Jiang Xi decisively pulled open the door and looked down from the second-floor stairs.

A scene of carnage… The monster’s mouthparts were chewing on half a body.

The woman holding the child had failed to pay and couldn’t leave the hotpot restaurant.

While the monster ate, Jiang Xi silently slipped down the stairs, her abdomen writhing in pain.

She said nothing and slipped into the kitchen.

The chef was watching the monster eat. “…”

He hesitated, glancing at the kitchen door Jiang Xi had just closed behind her.

The cutting board still held the bloody heart.

Jiang Xi offered it to the chef as a token.

“Check out.”

The chef looked down at the bloody heart and then at Jiang Xi’s expressionless face.

“Alright,” the chef smiled, seemingly indifferent about the successful checkout.

The monster blocked the doorway; even if Jiang Xi qualified to leave, she would be swallowed by it first.

Yet Jiang Xi didn’t rush to escape as the chef expected.

She slipped a hand into her pocket, fingers stroking the idol, struggling to resist the hunger within.

“Heart costs two hundred. Our group price is 153.”

The chef was momentarily stunned. “You’re asking me to pay you back?”

“What else?”

Jiang Xi was noncommittal.

“Plus the rotten food and the staff’s cannibalistic acts, you owe me compensation for Spirit Pollution and medical expenses.”

“277.”

The chef stared in surprise at Jiang Xi.

No one had dared to bargain with him before.

“Miss, do you think the monsters in my shop are NPCs?”

“Do you think this is some kind of real performance?”

“Pay your debts.” Jiang Xi said firmly.

Her dark eyes locked on him.

The chef saw… hunger in them.

“… What do you mean? Does she want to eat me?”

The chef said, “Okay… how much compensation do you want?” He bit back his irritation, thinking she’d die sooner or later anyway.

Jiang Xi coughed lightly, barely suppressing her appetite.

“I want this shop.”

Chef: “…”