Chapter 41 - 37: Seven Wolves Street

Chapter 41: Chapter 37: Seven Wolves Street

On Monday, the breakfast stall reopened for business.

Ning He’s window was soon met with another small rush.

They hadn’t been open for the past two days. While the academy students had eaten their fill at the food festival, it couldn’t compare to the stunning sensation of trying Ning He’s new breakfast items for the first time. So, that morning, everyone planned to come and buy their favorites.

Ning He didn’t increase her stock of ingredients. First, she was too busy to handle more. Second, the incident with Alisa had served as a warning; she didn’t want to make enemies with the other stalls in the cafeteria. Their business was currently booming and had already affected the sales of a few Level 1 and Second Level stalls, but it wasn’t serious yet. If she expanded further, that might change. She could end up being targeted again.

For Ning He, running the cafeteria stall was about more than just money. Making money was secondary; her primary goal was to successfully reach third-level and qualify as an overseas chef.

However, this limited Connie and Ah Huai’s income, so Ning He planned to hand over the business for the pocket bread and a few other flatbreads to them.

After hearing her plan, Connie and Ah Huai thought it over and agreed.

Unlike Ning He, who was on her own, they had heavy burdens to bear. With the noodle shop’s fine still hanging over their heads, money was extremely important to them.

However, Connie insisted on a fifty-fifty split. In turn, Ning He taught her the method for simmering the sauces and persuaded her to accept a special discounted price on vegetables. With that, the deal was sealed.

Once Connie and Ah Huai finished their work at the cafeteria, they could set up their own stall in the afternoon when the weather was good. This should significantly boost their monthly income.

With this arrangement in place, Connie and Ah Huai were now firmly tied to her and definitely wouldn’t leave. Ning He could finally free herself up to inquire about leaving the city.

In Beiluo City, only two security companies handled jobs that went outside the city. One was in the First Ring, and the other was in the Fifth Ring.

This distribution was very confusing.

The First Ring was home to Beiluo City’s elites and VIPs, all of them filthy rich. They were the primary clients for security companies, so having a branch there made perfect sense.

’But what was one doing in the Fifth Ring?’

Unable to figure it out, Ning He decided to visit the one in the First Ring first.

The Vitelli Security Company wasn’t far from the Mecha Academy. It had a three-story storefront, and the lobby displayed a five-meter-tall, intensely intimidating Mecha model and a small armored vehicle. All the staff members wore black uniforms and had powerful, sturdy physiques—the kind that looked like they could kill a man with a single punch.

The decor inside was exquisite, with genuine leather sofas, crystal wall sconces, velvet curtains, and tiles so polished you could see your reflection in them—luxurious furnishings impossible to see in the Fourth and Fifth Rings. Dressed in a cheap, synthetic-fiber suit, Ning He strode in casually, only to walk out again five minutes later with her tail between her legs.

The staff’s attitude had been decent enough, but the price they quoted was absolutely terrifying.

A single trip started at fifty thousand.

’Fifty thousand!’

’Even after striking it rich, she’d only managed to save five thousand!’

The staff member had thoughtfully informed her that she could split the cost with others. With each client sharing the expense, the most cost-effective one-day tour package could be had for six thousand.

’She couldn’t even afford six thousand!’

’I could cry...’

With no other choice, Ning He decided to check out the company in the Fifth Ring.

The security company in the Fifth Ring was called Black Panther. The name sounded quite formidable. Ning He followed the pin on her map until the cab driver finally dropped her off in a remote block in the Southeast District.

On the round archway at the entrance to the block hung three words: Seven Wolves Street.

"Little lady, this isn’t a place for ordinary folks. You’d best take a quick look and get going. Don’t stir up any trouble!"

The cab driver glanced inside, clearly wary, left Ning He with this warning, then slammed on the accelerator and sped away.

Ning He stood under the archway and scratched her head.

’Isn’t this the place that burly man mentioned? What a coincidence!’

Still, the cab driver’s words made Ning He a little concerned.

Her previous experience selling vegetables had given her some understanding that formidable people lurked in the Fifth Ring. They seemed to operate in a gray area that ordinary people generally avoided, and contact with them likely meant some kind of risk.

’But she’d made almost no progress on the System’s mission. She was getting desperate!’

’It was just acid rain yesterday, and now the weather forecast was calling for a potential mega-thunderstorm in two days. Who knew when her luck would run out and she’d be taken out by some extreme weather event?’

’Either way, there were risks. Might as well choose the one with the higher return.’

Steeling her resolve, Ning He stepped into Seven Wolves Street.

The moment she entered the street, Ning He was hit by a rich, savory aroma of meat.

’There’s no mistaking it—that’s the smell of meat!’

Having not eaten meat in a long time, Ning He’s mouth began to water uncontrollably.

She scanned her surroundings. There was a roast meat shop and a meat soup shop. Huge, steaming chunks of meat were piled in basins, a sight that could stop anyone in their tracks.

She had never seen a sight like this, not even in the Fourth Ring.

’Where would you even find meat in such huge chunks?’

’A small piece of fried chicken cutlet cost twenty to thirty original coins. This meat was clearly of a higher grade than chicken; how expensive must it be?’

Her eyes wide with craving, Ning He watched a man walk into the roast meat shop, ask for a large chunk to be packed in a box, pay, and walk out.

She saw it clearly. For about two pounds of roast meat, the man paid only one hundred original coins!

’How is that any different from giving it away for free?!’

Ning He had already forgotten all about the security company. The craving for meat temporarily seized control of her body and mind, compelling her toward the roast meat shop.

When she was just a few meters from the shop, the System’s mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind.

"Mutated species detected. Scanning—"

"Scan complete. Incomplete mutated mountain boar. Collection progress: 70%. Host is awarded 450 experience points. Please continue your efforts, Host."

Ning He stopped in her tracks.

’To think she’d actually run into a new mutated species here.’

’This trip wasn’t a waste after all!’

Suppressing her excitement, she looked at the roast meat shop before her and quickened her pace, walking inside.

"Boss, how much is the roast meat?"

The shop was filled with a rich aroma. Ning He was practically drooling as she spoke, her eyes transfixed by the layers of meat skewered on an iron rod, unable to look away.

The owner was a middle-aged man, busy cutting meat. He glanced up at the sound of her voice before lowering his head to continue his work, seemingly unenthusiastic about the new customer.

"One hundred twenty a pound."

Ning He’s heart skipped a beat, her consciousness snapping back from her fantasy of gnawing on meat.

’Why is it so expensive?’

’That’s not right, is it?’

"Boss, I thought I saw the last customer pay a different price? Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?"

This time, the owner didn’t even look up. "That’s the price. Buy it or leave."

’Hey, what’s with the attitude!’

Ning He was about to roll up her sleeves and argue with him, but then she saw the owner’s gleaming, polished knife chop through a large bone as if it were tofu. The hand she had started to raise was promptly lowered.

"Fine, one hundred twenty it is. I’ll take a pound!"

’It’s rare to come across a mutated species. I have to buy some to study, and satisfy my craving at the same time.’

Only then did the owner look up again. He sized her up and down, then set down his cleaver.

"Not just anyone can buy the meat here. Go home, little lady. This isn’t a place you should be."

Ning He was a bit dumbfounded. Just as she was about to speak, the System’s notification sounded in her mind again:

"Warning, Host: This mutated mountain boar meat has not been properly processed. The toxins within its tissues exceed permissible standards. It is not suitable for consumption."

Ning He snapped her open mouth shut and dejectedly left the roast meat shop.

Once back on the street, Ning He suddenly slapped her forehead, remembering what the burly man had said before.

However, she had no plans to change jobs at the moment, so she decided to wait and see.

This place was quite strange. She would need to learn more before making any decisions.