Hotpot is simple in principle: meat and vegetables into one pot, everything gets blanched in the same broth.
At Lumina Square, inside Zhufu Hotpot, the air is thick with layered, appetite-punching aromas:
Beef tallow + chilies raging in a boiling red broth
Kombu + bonito melting into a clear, gentle white broth
Thin slices of meat curling instantly as they hit the soup
Mushrooms and vegetables releasing their clean, earthy fragrance
The constant gulu-gulu of boiling is the restaurant's eternal background track—red and white broths rolling like miniature volcanoes, steam blurring the satisfied faces of diners. Chopsticks fly, laughter rises: pure human "smoke-and-fire" liveliness.
Vivian & Siki: work mode… and a taboo word
In the middle of the bustle, Vivian, wearing a neat server apron, looks at her junior Siki—who has eyes full of determination—and nods with quiet satisfaction.
But inside, Vivian is muttering:
Hugo, where did that idiot run off to these past few days…? And also—
Wuwuwu… Lord Phaethon! Lord Asclepius!
Vivian was useless—she couldn't completely crush those lunatics on the inter-knot who dared to split you two apart… If you can hear my prayer, please come out of retirement already…!
Siki notices Vivian zoning out, eyes watery, body trembling.
"Senpai? Are you okay? Did you overwork again? You should rest—leave it all to me!"
Vivian snaps back, silently cursing herself for spacing out again, then smiles apologetically.
"It's fine. Siki, thank you for coming to help today. For me… working at a hotpot place is a first."
Siki starts to reply, grateful—
"Senpai, don't mention it. If you hadn't introduced me to a job back then, I'd probably have starved to dea—"
The moment "die" hits the air, Vivian's brows tighten like she's been pricked by an invisible needle.
Almost reflexively, she lifts a finger and gently—slightly trembling—covers Siki's lips.
"Siki." Vivian's voice is still soft, but there's a thin crust of ice under it now. Her eyes are unusually serious. "Don't keep saying words like death…"
She turns her face away, as if refusing to let Siki see what's surging in her eyes.
"I… don't like it."
Siki freezes. She finally realizes she stepped on something deeply buried.
"Ah—s-sorry! Vivian-senpai! I didn't mean it! I just talk too fast… I'll never say it again!"
Flustered, red-faced, eyes almost tearing up, she tries to flee into busywork.
"I—I'll refill soup! I'll clear tables—!"
But Vivian catches her arm.
The irritation dissolves instantly, replaced by helplessness and a hint of tenderness.
"It's okay. I know you didn't do it on purpose. Just… be careful next time, alright?"
She pats Siki's messy hair like soothing a small animal.
"Come on. Chin up. Let's serve our guests properly."
Siki relaxes, nodding hard.
"Mm! I'll do my best, senpai!"
Chiya & Trigger arrive… and Vivian intercepts the "next time"
Just as the mood warms back up—
Ding-ling~
The door swings open.
"Heh-heh—finally I can eat hotpot properly," Chiya says, pushing in while holding hands with Trigger. "Last time I came to a hotpot shop, I was here to arrest a patient."
Trigger's interest spikes immediately—she's been out on missions and missed a ton of updates.
"Chiya—what patient was so reckless they ignored your orders? Should I help you discipline them?"
"Who else—Ling," Chiya complains. "She promised she wouldn't eat spicy刺激 stuff. If her checkup hadn't shown nothing wrong, I would've—uh… anyway, let's find a seat first."
He looks around: almost full.
Hesitates.
Then the dreaded sentence appears:
"Trigger… maybe next time we—"
Everyone knows "next time" can be code for "I'm going to ghost this."
And Vivian—veteran of New Eridu's working world, senior to the "Sixth Street wage emperor" Siki—smells that pigeon aura instantly.
No way.
A customer you've already caught cannot be allowed to escape.
Vivian glides in like a professional assassin of "maybe later," wearing her sweetest service smile.
"Welcome to Zhufu! Two guests—this way please. We just had a window seat open up. Great view, good ventilation—perfect for enjoying hotpot."
"May I ask what broth base you'd like?"
As she speaks, she smoothly gestures toward the "just happened to open" window table.
Which is, in fact, a genuinely good table—
and also absolutely one she had Siki clear and reserve at lightning speed the moment she saw them.
Chiya gets steamrolled by the sheer momentum: his "next time" is forcibly swallowed.
He glances at Vivian's radiant, saintly smile, then at his empty stomach, then at the comfy seat.
Refusal simply will not form.
He looks to Trigger for help.
Trigger doesn't change expression—only gives Vivian a barely noticeable nod of approval.
She follows.
Besides, Trigger is already calculating: compared to the high-intensity physical activity she's planning later, she needs proper food first.
Because—
"Massage is strenuous exercise. It requires sufficient stamina."
"…Trigger?"
"Ah! No! Nothing! Chiya, let's sit!"
Vivian's smile brightens, like she just completed a major quest.
But honestly… it's only two small customers…
Wuwuwu, Vivian really wants to serve Lord Phaethon and Lord Asclepius even once!!!
Still, she stays perfectly professional, hands them the menu.
"Today we recommend our signature spicy tallow mala base—rich and intensely satisfying. We also have a fragrant mushroom-kombu base that's light and nourishing. Kombu or tomato-beef bone are also popular…"
Her gaze lingers slightly on Chiya—she can tell he's the decision-maker.
And then her brain pricks:
That ahoge… why does it feel familiar? Like I've seen it more than once…?
Chiya answers quickly:
"Yuan-yang pot. Half spicy, half sour soup."
"Understood."
Vivian turns away, frowning in thought—
when—
Section 6 barges in and the restaurant temperature drops to zero
Ding-ling—!
The door opens again—harder this time. The wind chime rings a little too fast.
A completely different airflow pours into the warm, noisy shop:
suppressed. tense. heavy.
Chiya looks up, confused—
and sees three from Section 6 entering:
Miyabi freshly rebooted from NPC mode
Yanagi, slightly out of breath
Soukaku, stomach audibly growling
…and then—
"Mm-neh mm-neh!!! (Little master! I'm here!!)"
"…Xu Ge Ya?"
With an excited squeal, Xu Ge Ya—previously dead-tired in the car—revives instantly, springs off Yanagi's shoulder using it as a launch pad, and flies straight toward Chiya's open arms.
Chiya is shocked, but he's already trained: arms open, ready to catch.
Then—
Trigger calmly picks up the bag of red bean buns.
With perfect precision, she bags Xu Ge Ya like contraband, cinches the opening shut, and ignores the struggling inside.
"Sorry, Chiya. I thought we had an uninvited guest."
Her eyes lift—cold and sharp—toward the three at the door.
Yanagi, feeling that clear wave of displeasure, merely smiles serenely and walks forward.
"Hello, Doctor Chiya. We meet again. About our previous rudeness—Section 6 has been feeling guilty. Since we happened to run into you, please allow us to treat you to a meal as an apology."
"Uh… no need. By the way—where's Yuma?"
"He's been healthy lately," Yanagi smiles sweetly, "so I decided I can add a little more burden onto his shoulders. I sent him back to compile the report."
Then she steps closer, eyes bright behind the lenses.
"Doctor Chiya, may we sit at th—"
"No, Ms. Yanagi."
A voice cuts her off—cold and absolute.
Trigger stands.
Not fast, but with the weight of a mountain rising.
Her tall frame unfolds fully; her gaze locks onto Yanagi like an ice spike.
The "keep away" chill around her solidifies into a warning aura.
She moves in front of Chiya like a wall, blocking Yanagi's line of sight completely.
Her words land heavy and clear, with zero room to negotiate:
"Chiya is eating. This is private time."
"We do not accept work-related interruptions, and we do not need Section 6's 'apology dinner.'"
"Leave."
The shop freezes.
Whispers die.
Only the hotpot's boiling gulu-gulu remains—suddenly loud and vicious in the silence.
Every diner's eyes bounce between these two women like they're watching a duel.
Yanagi's smile stiffens for a fraction of a second—
then snaps back into a flawless social mask.
Instead of retreating, she takes another small step forward. Her heelss, clear and crisp in the silence.
"Miss Trigger… must you be so distant?"
Her voice stays calm, even carrying a measured hint of injured innocence—as if Trigger is the unreasonable one.
"We truly did just run into you, and we truly want to apologize."
Then she tilts her head, trying to look past Trigger's shoulder toward Chiya.
"Doctor Chiya—"
Chiya, caught in the middle, feels like a dried fish being roasted over fire.
He only wanted hotpot.
Now he's the eye of a storm where two overwhelming auras crash head-on:
Trigger: protective, cold, uncompromising
Yanagi: smiling, soft-spoken, but quietly oppressive and relentless
He shrinks back in his chair, instinctively trying to disappear into the shadow Trigger casts.
His hand reaches out and grabs the edge of Trigger's clothes like it's a lifeline.
What do I do?!
Right as he panics—
"Hi hi hi, the broth base is here—uh…"
Vivian arrives with the pot, then abruptly realizes both Trigger and Yanagi have turned their focus onto her.
Under two overwhelmingly powerful gazes, she pauses, hesitates, then tests the water—
"Um… may I ask what broth base the three of you would like?"
Meanwhile, in the parking lot: the siblings are eating popcorn with their eyes
Elsewhere, in Lumina Square's parking lot, the sibling duo watches the "Asura scene" inside Zhufu via Fairy-linked surveillance and cackles in delight.
"Nice, bro—using an excuse that we're busy, letting Ms. Yanagi's group go first, then pulling CCTV with Fairy. We get premium gossip with zero risk. Quack!"
"I only thought of it just now. If we showed up in the store, Chiya would use us as a reason to slip away."
"Like this—he's a bird in a cage, a turtle in a jar. Heh-heh-heh. Let's see how you deal with it!"
Then Fairy's voice cuts in:
"Assistant No. 3. Your laughter is irritating my audio sensors. Please return to your normal mode."
"…?"
"As Assistant No. 2 would say—please become a quiet NPC again."
"..."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 100)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 100)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter89)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter86)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter63)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter75)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 53
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 57
From Junkman to Wasteland 35
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