Xie'erzi Zhen, restaurant.
With enough Beili to make even a greedy pirate blink, Luoqi didn't bother with the noisy main hall. He chose a private room without hesitationquiet, clean, and easier to keep eyes off his suitcase.
The moment the dishes started arriving, Lufei's mood skyrocketed.
A full table of steaming food appeared, filling the room with rich scentsmeat, broth, fried vegetables, sauces so thick they clung to the air. Lufei's eyes practically lit up.
Then he attacked.
In minutes, most of the food had vanished into his stomach like it had never existed. Plate after plate emptied so fast that even the waitstaff started glancing through the door with nervous disbelief.
Luoqi watched it happen, then calmly lifted his cup and took a sip.
"…More," he told the server outside.
A moment later, another stream of staff poured in, carrying hot dishes one after another, setting them down with hurried hands. The private room turned into a battlefieldexcept the only thing getting slaughtered was the restaurant's inventory.
While Lufei shoveled food with heroic determination, Luoqi leaned back and looked at the pink-haired boy sitting beside him.
Kebi was fidgeting with his hands, posture stiff, like he was afraid the chair might explode.
Luoqi set his cup down.
"So," he said, tone casual, "you were caught by a fat pirate woman, and then Lufei saved you. Sounds like you've had a rough start, Kebi."
Kebi flushed, nodding awkwardly. "Y-yes…"
"But your dream is to become Haijun," Luoqi continued, eyes sharp beneath the relaxed tone. "If you keep following us around… are you sure that's a good idea?"
Kebi blinked.
Luoqi's voice remained even, but each sentence hit more precisely than the last.
"In a bit, we're going to a Haijun base to save that Sandao Liu swordsman."
Lufei, chewing, paused just long enough to listen.
"That could mean conflict with the Haijun," Luoqi said. "If they see you with us, they might assume you're one of us. And then? You can forget about becoming Haijun forever."
The room went quiet for a heartbeatexcept for the sound of Lufei munching.
Kebi froze in place, as if his thoughts had jammed. He had been so swept up in following Lufei, so dazzled by the idea of adventure and freedom, that he hadn't let himself think about consequences.
Lufei swallowed, then looked at Kebi with a seriousness that didn't fit his usual carefree face.
After a moment of thought, he nodded.
"Kebi," Lufei said, "let's split up here."
Kebi's mouth fell open. "E-eh?"
Luoqi watched, mildly impressed.
Lufei might look simple, but he could be frighteningly perceptive in the ways that mattered. Once a truth was placed in front of him, he didn't flinch away from it.
"Luoqi's right," Lufei said. "You've got your Haijun dream. Staying with us isn't good for you."
Kebi's hands tightened, trembling. "B-but…"
"No 'but,'" Luoqi cut in, and his tone sharpened slightly.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
A wanted poster.
He placed it flat on the table where Kebi could see it clearly.
"Kebi," Luoqi said, "I'm not an ordinary person."
Lufei paused chewing again, glancing over.
"I'm a Da Haizei who's being hunted by the Haijun and Shijie Zhengfu."
He tapped the poster lightly with one finger.
"Lufei is fine for now. He's not famous yet. But you? If you spend even one more minute with me, the chance of you achieving your dream drops. Do you understand?"
Kebi stared at the poster blankly.
Then his eyes moved down.
Down to the bounty number.
Three seconds later, it was like lightning struck his brain.
His eyes bulged so wide they looked ready to pop out of his face.
"E-eh?!" he screamed, voice cracking. "Eight hundred million Beili?! Luoqi xiansheng… you… you're wanted for eight hundred million Beili?!"
He looked like he might faint.
"W-what did you even *do*?!"
Lufei, mid-bite, nearly choked. He coughed, then turned to stare at Luoqi with genuine shock.
"Eight hundred million?!" Lufei blurted. "Luoqi, you're that amazing?!"
Luoqi waved a hand as if the number meant nothing.
"It's not that amazing," he said, smiling faintly. "I just slaughtered a pig that happened to be… pretty 'noble.'"
The way he said it was so casual that Kebi couldn't tell if it was a joke.
Luoqi's mind, however, flickered back to a memoryTianlongren screaming, crying, begging when death finally arrived.
Even the so-called "noble" looked pathetic in front of mortality.
The thought made Luoqi want to laugh.
Across from him, Lufei pressed a hand down on his straw hat, eyes bright with competitive fire.
"Luoqi, you're awesome!" he declared. "That means I have to work hard too! I'm the chuanzhangI can't lose to my crew!"
Then, with a sudden gentleness that surprised even Kebi, Lufei looked at him and nodded.
"Kebi," he said, "go."
Kebi's throat tightened. His eyes shimmered a little, fear and gratitude mixing into something messy.
He stood, bowed deeply to Lufei, and forced his voice to come out steady.
"Thank you, Lufei xiansheng," he said. "I hope your dream comes true."
Then he opened the private room door and slipped out, disappearing into the restaurant's noise.
The moment he left, the room's energy shifted againlike the air had been holding its breath.
A young woman walked in carrying a large tray of food.
She wore a simple white T-shirt and a short blue skirt, and her smile was bright enough to feel harmless. Pretty. Youthful. The kind of face that could disarm a guard before her hands reached his pockets.
She set the tray down with a practiced motion.
"Here you go," she said cheerfully. "Fresh dishes for you two."
Luoqi's brows lifted slightly.
*So she came herself.*
Namei stepped closer to the table, carefully placing the plates one by one. And as she did, her other handher "empty" handslid subtly toward the suitcase resting on a nearby chair.
The movement was almost imperceptible.
Almost.
Luoqi's Jianwen Se Baqi caught it instantly.
*Interesting.*
His mouth curved in amusement. Before Namei's fingertips could even brush the suitcase handle, Luoqi reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and tugged.
Namei let out a startled gasp.
In the next heartbeat, she was pulled right against himoff balanceand sat down hard on top of the suitcase.
Her eyes went wide.
Luoqi's hand remained at her waist, steady, possessive, and far too casual for a stranger.
Namei's smile froze for half a second… then snapped back into place, switching into a different kind of expressionshy, flustered, sweet.
"C-customer," she said, cheeks coloring just enough to look convincing, "what are you doing? Our restaurant doesn't offer… that kind of service."
Lufei looked over, mouth stuffed, and blinked.
"Luoqi, do you know her?" he asked, still chewing like he'd never learned the concept of manners.
Namei's attention flicked to Lufei for the first time.
And her eyes nearly fell out of her head.
The way he ate was not human.
Within seconds, the new dishes she'd just brought were gone. Lufei's stomach expanded again like a balloon, and Namei stared at him like she was watching a magic trick performed by a monster.
Luoqi spoke calmly, as if nothing unusual was happening.
"Sort of," he replied to Lufei, then looked at Namei. "Don't be scared. My partner ate an Emo Guoshi, so his body is… special."
"Shishishi!" Lufei laughed, delighted to be asked to demonstrate. "That's right! I ate the Xiangjiao Guoshi! I'm a rubber man!"
To prove it, he grabbed his own cheeks and pulled them outward, stretching his face into shapes a normal person couldn't dream of.
Namei jerked back a little, eyes wide.
"E-Emo Guoshi?" she blurted. "Those things… they're real? The kind worth at least a hundred million Beili?!"
Luoqi chuckled softly.
"Of course they're real," he said. "In fact…"
His gaze dropped pointedly toward the suitcase under her.
"There's an Emo Guoshi in that box you're sitting on."
Namei's smile twitched.
For a moment, she forgot to breathe.
Then she forced a laugh that sounded painfully stiff.
"R-really? Haha… you're joking, right…"
Inside, confusion flashed. Why would he say something like that? Why would he *invite* her to look?
Luoqi's eyes narrowed with playful cruelty.
"How about it?" he asked. "Do you want to take a peeksecretly?"
Lufei's expression changed, brows drawing together. The word "secretly" made something click in his simple head.
"Luoqi," he said slowly, "is she a thief?"
Namei's heart jumped into her throat.
She spun toward Lufei and pasted on the most wronged, innocent expression she could manage.
"Of course not!" she insisted. "I'm just a normal server. You must be misunderstanding!"
For half a second, she thought she might have saved it.
Then her peripheral vision caught something on the table beside Lufei.
A wanted poster.
Her eyes flicked over it, almost by instinct.
And the numbers at the bottom punched her in the face.
Eight. Hundred. Million.
Namei's blood ran cold.
*B-ba… eight hundred million Beili…?*
She turned her head slowly, staring at Luoqi like he had transformed into a demon while she blinked.
His smilewarm, calm, almost gentleno longer looked gentle at all.
In Namei's eyes, it became the smile of a monster who could crush her with one hand… and still speak politely while doing it.