10. Three-Delicacy Wontons

Pan Yang carefully picked up a wonton, his mind flooded with legends—tales of gold from windfalls turning into stones, or hungry wanderers lured by demons with grand feasts, only to discover they were eating nothing but sand and mud.

But Xie Wei and the others had all eaten...

Pan Yang steeled himself and took a bite. His eyes widened even further than if he had bitten into a stone.

The wonton skin was thin and elastic, as smooth as silk. In his mouth, it felt like a small fish flicking its tail, slipping away instantly. As his teeth gently pierced the delicate skin, a burst of savory broth surged forth, mingling with the filling with every chew.

The meat filling, once released from its wrapper, held its shape perfectly—tender yet resilient. The whole river shrimp, small and exquisite, added an indescribable layer of fresh sweetness.

Just from this half-wonton, a firework seemed to explode in Pan Yang’s mind.

It was too delicious!

He quickly shoved the remaining half into his mouth, wolfed it down, and reached for the next. By the time most of the bowl was gone, Pan Yang’s pace visibly slowed; he began to savor each bite with deep reluctance.

This approach brought its own unique rewards.

In the clear soup floated bits of nori, shredded egg ribbons, and chopped cilantro, with tiny beads of oil shimmering on the surface. Pan Yang couldn't help but lift the bowl and take a sip.

First came a gentle warmth, which, even in this weather, felt not stifling but like a thin, bubbling stream flowing into his mouth, down his throat, and into his stomach, leaving a cozy glow everywhere it touched. Then came the clean, fresh flavor of the broth—not so heavy as to overpower the wontons, yet impossible to forget.

Seeing Pan Yang dazed, Xie Wei, who had witnessed the cooking process, squeezed in a moment to explain: "Good, right? I don't know why it tastes so good either, but I think it's chicken broth."

Chicken broth? How could it possess such freshness without the slightest hint of grease? Pan Yang was utterly baffled.

Just as he was struggling to resist the urge to devour everything in front of him, he caught sight of Xie Wei and Ji Xiangming having already finished their own bowls.

Pan Yang felt a flicker of triumph. *Eating so fast? Now you'll just have to watch me eat!*

To his surprise, Xie Wei stood up immediately and returned in a flash with another bowl full of wontons.

"Huh? Wasn't it one bowl per person?"

"Who said that?" Xie Wei replied. "I bought ten servings."

Hearing this, Pan Yang’s last inhibitions vanished. He dove in, eager to bury his entire face in the bowl.

***

Outside the restaurant, Pan Yang’s teammates were also feasting.

Cheng Kaifeng, injured in the earlier skirmish, was resting against the wall with his eyes closed. Since his right arm was wounded, a teammate was feeding him.

"Let's start with a spoonful of broth," the teammate murmured.

Worn out by the pain of his wound and a restless night, Cheng Kaifeng had been drifting in and out of sleep since the others were still debating whether to enter Nanlai Restaurant.

Half-asleep, he felt a spoon touch his lips. He reflexively opened his mouth, and the warm broth slid in, instantly moisturizing his entire palate. His parched mouth was jolted into life by that single sip, and his whole body clamored for more.

He sat bolt upright. "I’m alive!"

His teammate jumped, correcting him, "You were never dead."

Cheng Kaifeng ignored him, staring fixedly at the bowl of wontons inches away. In the clear soup, the plump, thin-skinned, belly-heavy wontons looked as if they were practically screaming, "I am delicious."

"Hurry!" Cheng Kaifeng urged, pouting. "Feed me, ah..."

His teammate couldn't help but chuckle. "Coming, coming."

The pinkish-white wonton vanished into his gaping maw. The owner of the mouth was scalded by the spurting meat juice but endured it without a sound, lost in the savory explosion filling his mouth.

His teeth easily pierced the thin dough and broke through the filling—a blend of fresh grass carp and pork leg. After experiencing the distinct freshness of both water and land, he reached the succulent, bouncy river shrimp.

The small shrimp was cleanly severed with a slight pressure, its tender sweetness instantly overflowing, and he could even feel the delightful springiness against his tongue and teeth.

"It's to die for!" Cheng Kaifeng thought his expression must look ferocious right now. How long had it been since he tasted such a delicacy?

Even what he once considered "normal" food required saving for a long time to enjoy a single meal at the expensive restaurants in Tianling City.

He would never forget the first time he ate mutated beast jerky. When his teeth hit that piece of jerky, he couldn't help but ask the seller what the difference was between this and chewing tree bark. The seller replied that tree bark is chewable, while mutated beast jerky is not. Tree bark has no strange odor, while the jerky tastes like nothing you could ever describe.

So, Cheng Kaifeng had gritted his teeth, controlled his aching jaw, and thrashed his head wildly until the jerky finally snapped. Though he had eaten meat, it felt more like he had wrestled a live mutated beast.

Mercenaries often joked that mutated beasts helped them train every muscle in their bodies, with the final step being the conditioning of the masseter muscles.

After eating countless pieces of jerky, Cheng Kaifeng had never grown accustomed to it; he had simply resigned himself to his fate.

He never expected that one day, he would be able to eat such divine Three-Fresh Wontons in the Anjin Desert!

At this moment, the image of Nan Tu, whom he had yet to meet, loomed as tall as a deity in Cheng Kaifeng’s eyes.

If this restaurant could stay open, even entering the deadly Anjin Desert didn't seem quite so bleak.

He opened his mouth wide again, urging his teammate to keep feeding him, feeling the meat juice and filling meld in his mouth. Finally, unable to help himself, he grabbed the bowl with his left hand and drank the entire remaining broth, not leaving a single sliver of cilantro behind.

Cheng Kaifeng’s right arm still throbbed with pain. He sat on the ground, curling up to hide his entire body in the rare shade, while the wind and sand of the Anjin Desert never ceased their roar.

Yet, in these circumstances, Cheng Kaifeng felt only one thing.

Pure happiness.

Soon, someone brought over another bowl of wontons.

The group ate in silence, chewing and swallowing greedily.

All the frustration and bitterness of the past years seemed to be poured into these bowls of wontons. It was as if they weren't just chewing dough and meat, but crushing every desperate situation they had endured, every retreat they had been forced into, and every dead-end future, transforming it all into energy to fill their bellies.

By the end, they felt completely soothed, their bodies turning soft, wanting only to lie back on the burning sand and stare at the sky.

This was what it meant to be alive.

***

The seven of them ate a total of nineteen bowls of wontons.

Naturally, there were no wontons left that day; if not for Nan Tu and Xin Huan’s speed, the prepared wontons wouldn't have been enough for the group.

They paid with four Grade-3 crystals. Since Nan Tu couldn't provide change, she filled the water skins of Ji Xiangming’s team as compensation.

This gesture left the group jubilant. The young woman named Xie Wei even tentatively asked Nan Tu if she could tell other mercenaries about the location of Nanlai Restaurant so they could patronize it as well.

Nan Tu readily agreed. "As long as you follow the rules and don't cause trouble, the doors of Nanlai Restaurant are open to everyone."

After seeing off her rare inter-dimensional guests, the first thing Nan Tu did was have the system convert the crystals into money.

Seeing the 1,900 yuan deposit into her bank account, the smile on Nan Tu’s face grew even wider.

"By the way," Nan Tu asked the system, "didn't you say that reaching a certain level of hosting inter-dimensional guests would reward me with attribute points? How is my progress?"

Nan Tu had once received a single attribute point from the system, which she had added to her five senses. It was no exaggeration to say that this single point made her feel much more adept when cooking, making her eager to see what adding points to comprehension or strength would feel like.

The system replied awkwardly, [The progress, well, it's only a tiny bit so far.]

Nan Tu wasn't disappointed. All things considered, she had hosted fewer than ten inter-dimensional guests. She trusted that once Xie Wei and her group returned to Tianling City to promote Nanlai Restaurant, more guests would follow.

While waiting for more inter-dimensional guests, she couldn't forget the ordinary guests of this world. After all, while inter-dimensional guests offered higher profit margins, the volume was low; ordinary guests were the foundation of Nanlai Restaurant's business.

The system chimed in, [Hosting enough inter-dimensional guests won't just reward you with attribute points; it will also unlock new dimensions.]

Nan Tu said indifferently, "Having inter-dimensional guests is a nice bonus, but the ordinary guests are enough to support me."

The system urged, [The first dimension's level isn't very high, so it can't provide you with much help. In the future, opening high-level dimensions will provide special items. While they can't be used on guests at will, they can help you enhance your physical condition. For example, the Cleansing Pill from a cultivation dimension or the Elf Fruit from a magic dimension can help remove harmful substances from your body.]

Hearing this, Nan Tu became interested. What was the greatest danger for a chef? Occupational hazards.

Kitchens were full of smoke; Nan Tu’s grandfather had died of lung disease. He hadn't wanted Nan Tu to take over the restaurant, not just because he couldn't bear to see her suffer, but because he didn't want illness to find her.

Nan Tu understood perfectly why the system wanted her to host more inter-dimensional guests. Although the system hadn't explicitly said so, judging by its behavior of reclaiming crystals for currency and taking a handling fee, it didn't care about her business turnover—it wanted the energy-rich crystals.

After Xin Huan arrived at the restaurant, Nan Tu learned more about the apocalyptic dimension. She knew that crystals were a hard currency because many weapons manufactured in Tianling City used them as an energy source. In daily life, crystals were equally vital.

If viewed in this light, everything made sense. No matter how high her turnover was in her own dimension, it had nothing to do with the system and brought it no benefits. No wonder it was so anxious.

But she wouldn't give in so easily; she had to make the system understand the current situation. "Dropping the restaurant into the desert was your mistake. Business was bad back then, and if an inter-dimensional guest showed up, I would naturally prioritize them, and eventually, my focus would shift. Now business is much better, but there are only a few inter-dimensional guests—they are optional. Hosting them might even affect my regular customers; it sounds like a hassle."

Seeing Nan Tu’s negative attitude, the system quickly relented: [The experience of the first dimension was indeed poor. As compensation, from now on, the acquisition price for crystals from the apocalyptic dimension will increase by 20%.]

Nan Tu said coolly, "First you take a 5% handling fee, then you increase the acquisition price by 20%, or is it increase by 20% then take a 5% fee? Oh, I'm bad at math; you’ve got me all confused."

The system gritted its teeth: [No handling fees for the apocalyptic dimension!]

"Just for this dimension? Or from now on..." Nan Tu pulled back at just the right moment. "Though, I suppose there might not be another dimension anyway."

[...]

[No handling fees for any dimension!]

If the system had teeth, they would be shattered by now. If it had a heart, it would be aching. Unfortunately, it had neither, and since it was counting on Nan Tu to earn energy for it, it had no choice but to keep making concessions.

Having secured such a significant discount, Nan Tu didn't intend to push it to the breaking point. She said, "Then I should indeed think of a way to make it easier for inter-dimensional guests to enter the shop."

Xin Huan, who had finished cleaning up after the rush, washed her hands and reminded her, "Sister Nan Tu, you should set some rules. Bringing weapons in and barging in like they did today is definitely not allowed!"

Nan Tu had been thinking the same thing. If she couldn't allow inter-dimensional guests to enter while regular guests were present, she would miss out on many opportunities. But inter-dimensional guests were unique; how could she make both sides coexist peacefully without causing a scene?

She wrote down a few precautions without much hesitation: weapons must be left outside or in bags, those with visible bloodstains were not allowed in, and provocation or fighting in the shop was forbidden.

In her impression, mercenaries were fierce and unruly. Would they follow the rules she set?

Xin Huan bared her teeth and said, "If they don't obey, I'll throw them out!"

Nan Tu pinched the lingering baby fat on Xin Huan’s cheeks. She could handle that herself.

***

That night, Nan Tu had a dream.

She dreamed that the restaurant was packed with guests, crowded to the point of bursting—business was booming. But upon closer inspection, the chairs were filled with strange, bizarre mutated beasts. They had massive appetites, devouring all the ingredients in the shop and still wanting more.

But when it came time to pay, they all refused. It infuriated Nan Tu.

Just as she was boiling with rage, the rolling pin in her hand somehow turned into a machine gun. In her anger, she mowed down all the beasts who were dining and dashing, leaving a pile of crystals on the floor, which she joyfully scrambled to pick up.

When she woke up and recalled the nonsensical dream, Nan Tu couldn't help but laugh. What was all that about?