By eleven-thirty, the restaurant was starting to fill up.
Ah You stood near the kitchen entrance, watching the dining room through the small circular window in the swinging door. Office workers from the nearby banks and government buildings were trickling in. The usual crowd – people looking for cheap, fast lunch before heading back to their air-conditioned cubicles.
Nothing special. Just another Tuesday.
But today needed to be different.
He'd spent the last two hours working with Uncle Tan on a special soup – mushroom broth with kai lan and hand-pulled noodles. They'd made it rich and fragrant, using those premium dried mushrooms. The smell alone was incredible, filling the entire kitchen with an earthy, savory aroma.
Uncle Tan had even gotten a little excited about it, which was rare. The old cook usually just went through the motions, making the same dishes he'd been making for twenty years.
"This smells damn good ah," Uncle Tan had said, tasting the broth. "Like restaurant in Hong Kong. Boss should put this on the menu properly."
But smell wasn't enough. They needed customers to actually order it.
Ah You wiped his hands on his apron and pushed through the kitchen door into the dining area.
Zhang Jie was at the front counter, going through reservation books. She looked up and frowned.
"Why you're not in the kitchen?"
"Zhang Jie, I have an idea," Ah You said quickly, before he lost his nerve. "The special soup today – it's really good. What if I recommend it to customers? Like... actively sell it?"
"You want to be a salesman now? You're a kitchen helper."
"I know, but—"
"No buts. You do your job, don't—"
"Please." He met her eyes. "Just for today. Let me try. If it doesn't work, I'll... I'll work extra shifts for free. Two weeks."
Zhang Jie studied him suspiciously. "What's gotten into you?"
"I just... I need this to work. Please."
She looked at him for a long moment, then sighed. "Fine. You can try during lunch. But if you mess up any orders or piss off customers, it's your head. Understand?"
"Yes! Thank you, Zhang Jie!"
[QUEST PROGRESS: 10%]
Small steps. He could do this.
The lunch crowd started arriving in earnest around noon. Ah You watched from his position near the wait station, trying to figure out the best approach.
A group of office ladies sat down at a table near the window – four of them, all dressed in smart business attire, chatting and laughing as they looked at the menu.
Ah You grabbed a notepad and walked over.
"Good afternoon, welcome to Golden Phoenix. Can I get you started with some drinks?"
"Just water," one of them said, barely looking up from her phone.
He should just take their order and leave. That was the normal play. Don't be pushy. Don't annoy customers.
But normal wasn't going to get him fifty percent revenue increase.
"Actually," Ah You said, "before you order, can I recommend today's special? Our chef made a premium mushroom soup with hand-pulled noodles. The mushrooms are imported from Japan – really high quality. It's not on the regular menu."
One of the women looked up. "Japanese mushrooms?"
"Yes. They're dried shiitake – very fragrant, very rich flavor. The soup has been simmering since this morning." He could smell it from here, that deep umami scent. "Honestly, it's one of the best things I've ever smelled in this kitchen."
The women exchanged glances.
"How much?" another one asked.
Shit. He didn't know. Uncle Tan hadn't set a price yet.
"Uh... let me check with the chef. One moment."
He rushed back to the kitchen. Uncle Tan was plating a plate of char kway teow.
"Uncle Tan! The soup – how much are we charging?"
"Hah? I don't know. Ask Zhang Jie."
Back to the front counter. Zhang Jie was arguing with a delivery driver about a late order.
"Zhang Jie, the special soup – what's the price?"
"What soup?"
"The mushroom soup! The one I'm selling!"
She threw up her hands. "I don't know! Fifteen ringgit? Twenty? Just make sure it's worth it!"
Twenty ringgit for a bowl of soup was expensive for a place like Golden Phoenix. Most dishes were between ten and fifteen.
But the ingredients were premium. And if he was going to hit that fifty percent increase...
He went back to the table.
"Twenty ringgit per bowl," he said confidently. "But it's a large portion, very filling. Can be a meal by itself."
The women considered this.
"I'll try one," said the one who'd asked about the price.
"Me too," another chimed in.
"Make it four bowls," the first woman said. "If it's good, it's worth it. If not..." She gave him a pointed look.
No pressure or anything.
"Four bowls, coming right up."
He put in the order and helped Uncle Tan plate them. The soup looked as good as it smelled – rich brown broth, vibrant green kai lan, hand-pulled noodles coiled like a nest, topped with sliced spring onions and a drizzle of sesame oil.
When he brought the bowls to the table, the women's eyes widened.
"Wah, this looks restaurant-quality leh," one of them said.
They took their first sips.
Silence.
Then: "Oh my god."
"This is really good!"
"The mushrooms are so flavorful!"
"Where did this come from? I've eaten here before and never seen this on the menu!"
Ah You tried not to grin like an idiot. "It's a special dish. We don't make it often. Limited ingredients."
"You should make it more often," one of the ladies said, already going back for another spoonful. "This is better than some of the fancy places in town."
[QUEST PROGRESS: 18%]
Yes.
Over the next hour, Ah You worked the dining room like he'd never worked before. Every new table, he'd recommend the soup. Some said no. But enough said yes.
Word started spreading. Customers at other tables saw the soup being served and asked about it. The aroma was doing half the work for him – it was impossible to ignore.
"What's that smell?"
"Is that the special soup?"
"Can we order that too?"
Uncle Tan had to make three more pots. Then four. The kitchen was going through dried mushrooms at an alarming rate.
Zhang Jie pulled Ah You aside around one PM.
"What did you do?" she hissed. But she wasn't angry. She looked... impressed? "We've sold forty bowls already! That's almost a thousand ringgit just from one dish!"
"Is that good?"
"Good?! On a normal Tuesday we make maybe five thousand total! We're already at three thousand and lunch isn't even over yet!"
[QUEST PROGRESS: 38%]
Almost there.
But he couldn't get complacent. He needed to keep pushing.
Ah You went back to the kitchen and activated his Nature Sense again, scanning all the ingredients. What else could they do?
The herbs. The restaurant had bunches of fresh herbs – cilantro, Thai basil, mint. He could sense which ones were the most aromatic, the most flavorful.
"Uncle Tan, the Thai basil today is really strong. What if we add extra to the pad thai? Make it more fragrant?"
Uncle Tan looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "You want to change the pad thai recipe?"
"Not change. Just... enhance. Trust me."
The old cook shrugged. "Your funeral if boss complains."
But boss wasn't here. And the customers liked it.
The enhanced pad thai started getting compliments. Then orders. Then repeat orders from people who usually got other dishes.
[QUEST PROGRESS: 52%]
"Holy shit," Ah You whispered.
He'd done it.
The system screen flashed:
[QUEST COMPLETE!]
[Golden Phoenix Restaurant Revenue: +56% compared to average Tuesday]
[Calculating rewards...]
But there was no time to celebrate. The lunch rush was still going strong, and he had tables to serve.
By two-thirty, the dining room had finally cleared out.
Ah You leaned against the wall near the kitchen, completely exhausted. His feet hurt. His back hurt. Everything hurt.
But they'd done it.
Zhang Jie was at the register, counting receipts with a calculator. Her eyes kept getting wider.
"Eight thousand seven hundred ringgit," she muttered. "Eight thousand seven hundred... on a Tuesday..."
Uncle Tan walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron. "I ran out of mushrooms. Need to reorder. Also the Thai basil."
"Reorder everything," Zhang Jie said, still staring at the receipts. "Whatever we used today, double it."
She looked at Ah You. Really looked at him, like she was seeing him for the first time.
"How did you know?" she asked. "About the mushrooms. The soup. All of it."
He shrugged, trying to play it casual. "I just... paid attention. To the ingredients. To what customers like."
"Nobody pays that much attention."
"Maybe they should."
Zhang Jie was quiet for a moment. Then she did something Ah You had never seen her do before: she smiled. A real smile, not the fake customer-service one.
"You did good today, kid. Really good."
[REWARDS DISTRIBUTING...]
[+50 Esper Points]
[+1 Mystery Box]
[+1 Skill Upgrade Token]
[NEW TITLE UNLOCKED: Natural Merchant]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 2]
The notifications flooded his vision. Ah You tried not to react, keeping his face neutral even as excitement bubbled up inside him.
"Go take your break," Zhang Jie said. "You earned it."
He didn't need to be told twice.
The back alley was blessedly quiet.
Ah You sat down on an overturned crate, finally letting himself relax. He pulled up the system interface and started going through the rewards.
[MYSTERY BOX ACQUIRED]
[Open now? Y/N]
He selected yes.
The box icon on the screen spun, then burst open with a little animation. Three items appeared:
[ITEM RECEIVED: Herbal Encyclopedia (Basic)]
[ITEM RECEIVED: Nature Affinity Boost (Consumable)]
[ITEM RECEIVED: 200 Ringgit (Cash)]
Wait. Cash?
He checked his pockets. There was a wad of bills that definitely hadn't been there before – two hundred ringgit in crisp notes.
"What the hell..."
The system could create money? Real, actual money?
He stared at the bills, then at the system screen, then back at the bills.
This was... this changed everything.
He opened the Herbal Encyclopedia. It was a digital book within the system interface, filled with information about plants – their properties, uses, growth conditions. Stuff that would be incredibly useful for his Nature Sense ability.
The Nature Affinity Boost was a small glowing green orb icon. The description said:
[NATURE AFFINITY BOOST]
[DESCRIPTION: Permanently increases your connection to plant life. Expands Nature Sense range by 5 meters and improves clarity of sensory information.]
[USE NOW? Y/N]
He selected yes without hesitation.
Warmth spread through his body, starting from his chest and radiating outward. It wasn't painful like when the ring had first activated – this felt... natural. Like something clicking into place.
When it faded, he could immediately sense the difference.
The bougainvillea plant in the corner – he could sense it more clearly now. Not just basic needs, but more nuanced information. The plant was old, had been there for years. It was hardy, resilient. It liked the neglect, actually – preferred being left alone to thrive on its own terms.
There were other plants too, beyond the immediate alley. He could sense the potted plants in the restaurant, the trees on the street, even the grass growing in the lot next door.
Fifteen meters of range now. And so much clearer.
This was incredible.
[SKILL UPGRADE TOKEN AVAILABLE]
[Would you like to upgrade Nature Sense to Level 2?]
[Cost: 1 Skill Upgrade Token]
[WARNING: This is a valuable resource. Use wisely.]
Ah You hesitated. The token seemed important. Maybe he should save it?
But then again, his ability was his only real advantage right now. Making it stronger made sense.
He used the token.
[NATURE SENSE LEVELING UP...]
[NATURE SENSE LV2 ACQUIRED]
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: Basic Plant Communication]
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: Minor Growth Acceleration]
[DESCRIPTION: You can now send simple suggestions to plants and slightly accelerate their natural growth processes. This requires concentration and energy (MP).]
Ah You looked at the bougainvillea again.
Could he really...?
He focused on it, trying to... communicate? Was that the right word?
Grow, he thought. Reach toward the sun.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, slowly – so slowly he almost thought he was imagining it – one of the branches extended slightly, a new leaf unfurling.
"Holy shit," he breathed.
He could make plants grow.
His MP bar had dropped from 50 to 45. So it did use energy. But still.
This was actual magic.
Ah You sat there in the alley, staring at his hands, trying to process everything that had happened.
Twenty-four hours ago, he was just another nobody struggling to survive in Kuching. Now he had superpowers. A system. Magic abilities.
His phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number:
Good afternoon. This is Linda from Golden Phoenix. I heard about your performance today. Very impressive. I'd like to speak with you about a business opportunity. Are you free tomorrow evening?
Ah You stared at the message.
Linda. The boss's daughter-in-law. The one who'd looked at him like garbage yesterday.
Now she wanted to talk business?
This was either really good... or really bad.
He typed back:
Yes, I'm free. What time?
The reply came almost immediately:
7 PM. Hilton Hotel lobby. Don't be late.
Hilton Hotel. That was the fancy place downtown where politicians and rich businessmen stayed. Way out of his usual world.
What the hell had he gotten himself into?
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: The Mysterious Invitation]
[Accept? Y/N]
Ah You looked at the notification, then at the two hundred ringgit in his hand, then at the bougainvillea with its newly grown leaf.
He'd spent his whole life being careful. Being small. Trying not to make waves.
Maybe it was time to try something different.
He selected yes.
[To Be Continued]