The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

"Why?" Bai Wanwan asked.

"She already has a partner," Bai Lei said, gesturing for her to look to her left. "See that man? The one in the black T-shirt."

"Is he a Superpower User?"

"Yes, a Superpower User. The leader of the Gale Mercenary Corps, Xue Can."

Bai Lei shared what he had found out with Bai Wanwan.

"Shen Lu must be out of her mind," Bai Wanwan said, growing even angrier. "It’s just a Mercenary Corps. How can it compare to our Bai Family? The benefits we can offer her are definitely far greater than anything Xue Can could give."

"What can you do? That’s just Shen Lu’s difficult personality for you," Bai Lei said with a shrug. "Don’t be so anxious, sis. I doubt they can keep this partnership up forever. There will come a time when Xue Can is out of his depth. Besides, there’s no rule saying she can only have one partner."

"You have a point," Bai Wanwan said, giving her brother an approving look. "You’d better work hard and become her partner as soon as possible. Get Shen Lu to open a shop in the Upper City District."

Superpower Users have heightened senses. Xue Can knew someone was watching him. He glanced over and saw a young brother and sister wearing gas masks.

He could tell from their clothes and style that they were from the Upper City District.

Xue Can nonchalantly averted his gaze and went to the back of the line.

He ordered a sampler combo and began to eat slowly and deliberately.

The brother and sister who had been watching him were gone.

Suddenly, Xue Can felt a sense of unease.

Superpower Users can sense one another, unless the other party has a higher Superpower Level and is intentionally concealing their presence.

But the brother of the pair who had been watching him had a lower Superpower Level, so Xue Can had sensed him easily.

His worst fear had come to pass—another Superpower User had discovered Shen Lu’s food stall.

Although it was bound to happen sooner or later, the thought that he might not be able to get his hands on Shen Lu’s food in the future still made him uncomfortable.

’She’ll probably keep this stall running, right?’

Xue Can wondered uncertainly.

After finishing his food with a troubled mind, Xue Can went to find Shen Lu.

"Boss Shen," the man said in a low voice. "Can I have two minutes of your time?"

"No," Shen Lu refused bluntly. "As you can see, I still have a lot of customers waiting to eat."

"If you don’t mind, I’ll just say it here," Xue Can was a man of action. His expression was serious and his tone was sincere. "I want to formally apologize for what happened that night. I’m truly sorry. I did have malicious intentions, and I shouldn’t have tried to brush it off with flimsy excuses afterward."

"I know that no matter what I say, you won’t forgive me easily..."

"Stop, stop, stop," Shen Lu interrupted him with a frown. "Don’t say any more."

’Can’t you see all the gossipy faces around us, eating this up like it’s the juiciest news of the year?’

’Dude, if you’re going to apologize, could you be a little more careful with your words? The way you’re putting it is going to give all these oblivious onlookers the wrong idea.’

"As a show of sincerity, I can do three things for you, free of charge," Xue Can didn’t see anything wrong with his apology. Since he’d started, he had no reason not to finish. "Or, financial compensation is also an option. Boss Shen, I promise I will never do something like that again."

After his surprise attack had backfired and he’d been injured, Xue Can had thought about it carefully.

Shen Lu was either a normal person equipped with high-tech self-defense weapons, or her Superpower Level was higher than his.

In any case, making a move against her was definitely not a wise decision.

Wrong was wrong. For the sake of his own future well-being, Xue Can could swallow his pride and apologize.

Shen Lu took a deep breath. "Can you shut up now?"

’She really wanted to lose her temper. This incredibly calculating man was definitely scheming against her again!’

But she couldn’t just have a public falling-out in front of her customers, so she could only bottle up her anger.

"Boss Shen, I’ve said what I needed to say. Please consider it." Xue Can gave her a nod full of apology. "I won’t disturb you any further."

As soon as Xue Can left, the customers immediately started gossiping.

"Boss Shen, what on earth did Mr. Xue do?"

"It couldn’t be..."

"For Mr. Xue to apologize so humbly, it must mean he truly knows he was wrong."

"To be fair, there aren’t many men like Mr. Xue who are capable and also willing to apologize when they’re wrong. You should just forgive him this once, Boss Shen."

...

"It’s not what you think between me and Xue Can," Shen Lu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Have you all forgotten I have a fiancé?"

Only at the mention of Fu Cheng did the crowd remember.

"But with your fiancé in his condition, why hang yourself on that one tree?"

"Yeah, Boss Shen, you’re so young. Don’t be so stubborn."

"Putting it bluntly, at least Mr. Xue is hale and hearty. Your fiancé is..."

Seeing their comments getting more and more out of line, Shen Lu quickly cut them off. "If you keep this up, I’m going to get angry. And if I get angry, I’m closing up shop for the day."

"No, don’t! Oh, Boss Shen, we were just talking casually."

Only then did the crowd begrudgingly drop the subject.

As soon as the mission completion notification sounded, Shen Lu finished up her work and went to find Ma Laosan.

"A renovation company? Of course! Our management office has its own. We handle basically all the shop renovations on Gold Street. Don’t you worry, our prices are fair, and we’re honest with all our customers," Ma Laosan said with a particularly fawning smile.

’That unfinished building has more than ten floors. The renovation job will bring in a huge profit, won’t it?’

Ma Laosan led Shen Lu to another office. Inside was a balding man in his thirties, wearing glasses.

"Old Xu, we’ve got a job! Get over here and make some tea," Ma Laosan said boisterously.

Old Xu pushed up his glasses, his voice slow and deliberate. "Old Ma, you’re teasing me again."

"How am I teasing you? This is Boss Shen, the one who bought the abandoned building yesterday. She’s here today looking for a renovation company."

Before he had even finished speaking, Old Xu shot to his feet. Everything blurred for a moment, and by the time Shen Lu’s vision cleared, Old Xu was beaming, enthusiastically pressing a cup of tea into her hands.

"So it’s Boss Shen! Please forgive me for my ignorance. Sit, sit! Have some tea to wet your throat."

Old Xu had never eaten at Shen Lu’s stall, so he didn’t recognize her. But he had heard about the big sucker who bought the abandoned building yesterday.

’When he’d heard about this sucker, Old Xu had been lamenting how he never got to meet such easy marks.’

He never expected that the very next day, this sucker would come looking for him.

Shen Lu accepted the tea with a smile and sat down as he suggested.

"We have the blueprints for the unfinished building, so there’s no need to take new measurements. It’s currently twelve stories high. Boss Shen can choose to add more floors or just cap it off."

As he spoke, Old Xu pulled a roll of blueprints from a cabinet. "Each floor is about 800 square meters. We won’t overcharge you; we’ll renovate it for 100 Star Coins per square meter. It might not be palatial, but it will be absolutely clean and tidy. When it’s done, it will definitely be the most magnificent building on Gold Street!"

Shen Lu smiled. "May I see the blueprints?"

"Of course." Old Xu pushed the blueprints toward her. "When this abandoned building came into our hands, we had a meeting about renovating it into a hotel. That’s why we had the plans drawn up. But our management office had limited funds, so the project was shelved. Lucky for you, it’s all ready to go."