15. Braised Pork in Spiced Sauce

In recent days, the sales at Nanlai Restaurant have repeatedly reached new highs.

The neighbors came to support it chiefly because Nantuo is the granddaughter of Nan Yuanhai, but it’s not as if people have no mouths or tongues. The delicious food at Nanlai Restaurant is undeniable, and there’s also the old friendship from before.

So after going home, they would either rave to their family and friends about the delicious dishes they had that day or, during their usual strolls, praise Nanlai Restaurant to passing neighbors. Naturally, they themselves appeared frequently among the diners.

Business was booming, but Xin Huan noticed something: sometimes a trace of worry flickered across Nantuo’s brow. Though fleeting, it was unmistakable and usually appeared when Nantuo glanced toward the wind chimes behind the back door.

Xin Huan understood this was because there had been no activity at the back door for quite some time.

Nantuo felt conflicted—she had only recently finalized a deal with the system, securing zero fees and a raised crystal core buyback price, yet no dimensional guests had come for days, which seemed unreasonable.

But whether guests appeared was not something she could control.

She soon thought of Ji Xiangming and his group who had come to the restaurant not long ago. The young woman named Xie Wei in their party had asked if it was permissible to reveal Nanlai Restaurant’s location to others. Nantuo had agreed, hoping that more people from the post-apocalyptic dimension would learn of the restaurant; otherwise, relying solely on accidental discoveries would not bring many customers all year round.

Some time had passed since their team left, but had Xie Wei simply forgotten about it, or did no one believe such a restaurant could exist deep in the desert?

As if sensing her thoughts, Xin Huan suddenly stepped forward with a serious expression: “Sister Nantuo, do you think we have too few customers from our side? I can return to Tianling City and tell everyone about Nanlai Restaurant’s benefits, so the mercenaries will come here.”

Nantuo naturally disagreed. Mercenaries travel in groups to face beasts safely—how could Xin Huan cross the hazardous Golden Sand Desert alone to return to Tianling City? Besides, even if she went back, there was already Xie Wei; if people didn’t believe Xie Wei, why would they trust Xin Huan?

So Nantuo refrained from mentioning the difficulties to prevent Xin Huan from acting impulsively and only said, “But I can’t be without you even for a day.”

Hearing this, Xin Huan smiled sheepishly.

Well, that was true—she did help Sister Nantuo quite a lot at the restaurant every day.

Seeing that Xin Huan had no plans to go back, Nantuo sat her down and carefully laid out the situation of Nanlai Restaurant.

“In your opinion, where does our restaurant stand in the entire Golden Sand Desert?”

Xin Huan thought for a moment: “It’s not near Tianling City, but it’s not deep in the desert either—the desert is incredibly vast.”

Being neither too far nor too close was actually an advantage.

If it were too far from Tianling City, no one would come; too close wasn’t necessarily good either, since Nantuo’s dishes weren’t cheap. After enduring prolonged disasters, people didn’t have much money—why would they choose Nanlai Restaurant over cheaper and filling dried beast meat?

Xin Huan knew what Nantuo was worried about and racked her brain to share all the information she thought could benefit the restaurant.

“The mercenaries who ate here before weren’t really there just for the three-flavor wonton; they were short on water and saw Nanlai Restaurant as a place to resupply.”

They had been reluctant to mention their water shortage out of respect for Nantuo’s status, but Xin Huan saw through it and told her, which led to their water bags being refilled.

“Although Golden Sand Desert is vast, mercenaries generally travel fixed routes. One of them isn’t far from our restaurant; otherwise, I wouldn’t have ended up here on foot after my teammates left me behind,” Xin Huan ventured. “If mercenaries spend a certain amount of crystal cores, we could provide them with some of the desert’s rarest drinking water. That way, more people would be willing to come.”

“And it would prevent situations where people abandon teammates because of resource shortages,” Xin Huan’s voice grew softer.

“Your suggestion is very helpful,” Nantuo patted her shoulder reassuringly.

At that moment, the system spoke: [The restaurant’s anchor point, within a radius of fifty meters, is affected by spatial fluctuations that repel beast attacks.]

That could indeed be useful. Nantuo pondered deeply.

—

In the Golden Sand Desert, a group was heading toward Nanlai Restaurant.

This team of mercenaries appeared quite young, mostly in their early twenties, radiating energy and drive in their eyes—not to be compared with veterans who had spent seven or eight years struggling in the desert.

The oldest was Bao Heng, only twenty-six, cautious and meticulous, able to keep the younger ones’ recklessness in check. They had been a team for several months without major incidents.

This time, they had come to verify an unbelievable rumor.

There was a restaurant in the Golden Sand Desert.

When Xie Wei told them this, everyone suppressed strange expressions out of respect. But this was no different from saying “Bao Heng’s family owns a spaceship.” In fact, most would sooner believe the spaceship story.

“Get out of here, your family’s the one with the spaceship!” Bao Heng glared at this group of jokers.

Still, Bao Heng thought he knew Xie Wei well—they had been teammates in a mercenary squad before parting ways for various reasons.

Bao Heng believed Xie Wei was not one to lie or deliberately lead people astray into the desert to find a restaurant.

Moreover, the entire team vouched for her, saying they returned safely because they got water there.

Either everyone was hallucinating, or it was true.

Both possibilities were terrifying.

So Bao Heng planned to confirm it himself. While some beasts could induce hallucinations by poisoning nerves after biting mercenaries, beasts capable of trapping an entire team in the same illusion were unheard of. If such a beast existed, all mercenaries had to be alert.

And if the restaurant really existed, who could pull off such a feat? In other words, was the owner even human?

—

Bao Heng repeatedly hesitated, but he wasn’t lacking in curious or brave teammates. These young people egged him on: “Let’s check out the place Sister Wei mentioned. Maybe we won’t find the restaurant at all.”

“Even if such a strange restaurant exists, we can just look from afar. Do you think it’ll eat us?”

Their words sounded nice, but when a building actually appeared in sight, they all howled and drove straight toward it—forget about looking from afar; that was nonsense!

Bao Heng sighed, knowing these people were unreliable.

Only when the sign “Nanlai Restaurant” came into clear view did they stop and approach cautiously.

“It looks like an ordinary restaurant.”

“No windows, you can’t see inside.”

“Should we go in?”

Bao Heng circled them, earnestly warning, “Don’t forget to stay alert; beasts could appear anytime. Don’t open the door just yet. Don’t touch the walls, don’t pick at the bricks, and definitely don’t put brick pieces in your mouth!”

Gao Youqing suddenly made a discovery and called everyone over: “Look, there’s a paper posted by the door with writing on it.”

Everyone leaned in.

The paper read:

1. Those who enter the restaurant to purchase food and pay are considered customers.

2. If the door cannot be opened, it means the restaurant is closed.

3. Please be sure to exit through the entrance door.

4. Those carrying guns, ammunition, long knives, daggers, or other weapons must place them outside or in an opaque backpack, ensuring weapons are concealed and safe before entering.

5. Customers with minor blood stains must cover them before entering; those with heavy bleeding or continuous bleeding must have someone else purchase food on their behalf.

6. There may be other customers inside; do not act suspiciously or disturb others dining.

7. Violators bear the consequences.

What did this all mean? They looked at each other, confused. Restaurants in Tianling City didn’t have such rules. Especially the part about concealing weapons—why bring them if they had to hide them?

Though they planned to sneak in quietly, the sign’s author had seen through that.

Liang Yue spoke mysteriously, “I get it.”

Everyone’s eyes filled with curiosity as she nodded knowingly: “This is a kind of rule-based urban legend!”

“Hah!” They thought she was about to reveal a major discovery.

Gao Youqing said, “Liang Yue, you’re reading too many novels. If you keep this up, I won’t go with you to the flea market anymore.”

Seeing no one believed her, Liang Yue excitedly pulled out a yellowed scroll from her bag, arguing, “How isn’t it? In the books, places filled with unscientific forces always have untouchable taboos. If you break the rules, the once peaceful scene instantly turns grotesque—limbs scattered everywhere, blood oceans, beauties turning into beasts, and so on.”

She then affirmed, “It’s exactly like that.”

Qi Yushu, who jokingly claimed Bao Heng’s family had a spaceship, nodded solemnly: “Luckily…”

“Luckily what?” Liang Yue pressed.

“Luckily this isn’t your yellowed rule urban legend; yours is way scarier.”

Liang Yue panicked: “Don’t you believe me?”

Bao Heng reassured, “Who said we don’t? The rules are here to prevent intentional violations. We just won’t go in.”

Finding rules in such a mysterious place was better than none, and not going in was safer.

But others disagreed—they had come all this way. If Xie Wei and her group made it back safely, why couldn’t they?

After much debate, they checked to ensure no one violated any rule. Then the boldest, Gao Youqing, took the lead to push open the restaurant door.

The door opened with the gentle chime of wind bells. Inside, there were no scattered limbs or blood seas—only a beautiful woman.

“Welcome to Nanlai Restaurant. What would you like to order?” she asked.

She appeared about their age, the mysterious owner of the restaurant. Her long, sleek hair was pinned up; long, curled eyelashes cast faint shadows on her eyelids. Her inscrutable smile made her seem like a fleeting ray of light—appearing fragile and harmless, yet no one dared act rashly.

If Nantuo knew what they were thinking, she’d say it was all imagination.

A younger girl squeezed forward: “Here’s the menu!”

“Hmm? Ugh!” Qi Yushu suddenly made a strange sound, making everyone tensely look at him.

Covering his mouth, Qi Yushu shook his head and apologized with a smile.

—

What were they supposed to do? Oh, order food.

“Let’s sit down first,” Nantuo said. “It’s not right to block the entrance.”

They treated this as an order and obediently found a table, sitting stiffly.

There were other customers inside, of course. These people looked like they came from nowhere, casually dressed in slippers, pajamas, and oversized shorts—clothes ill-suited for desert survival.

Bao Heng and his team shared a tacit understanding: these were the “fake customers” meant to lure rule-breakers. They wouldn’t fall for such a trap and barely glanced their way.

Xin Huan stood by the table holding the menu, nudging Qi Yushu with a hint of surprise: “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Qi Yushu had lost composure earlier because he recognized Xin Huan—they came from the same orphanage.

“What are you doing here?” Qi Yushu asked cautiously. “Are you still Xin Huan?”

Xin Huan rolled her eyes. “I was hired to work here.”

“Captured to work?” Qi Yushu panicked.

Xin Huan raised an eyebrow. “How can you be a mercenary if you’re that hard of hearing? Can’t you hear the beasts approaching behind you?”

Bao Heng didn’t relax despite Qi Yushu knowing the waitress. He just wanted to leave quickly.

“Once we order, can we leave?”

Xin Huan asked, “Do you mean takeout?”

Bao Heng was reminded and quickly said, “Yes! We want takeout.”

Xin Huan recommended, “Some dishes aren’t easy to pack. You don’t even have a table in the desert, so try the cured meat—it’s convenient to eat. You can cut it up and put it inside bread. How about that?”

The hesitant group eagerly responded all at once.

“Great! That’s my favorite meat!”

“Let’s have that. How much?”

“Yeah, that’s best.”

Xin Huan stifled a laugh and gave the price.

After paying, the group nervously sat at the table, pretending to look around casually but their eyes darted wildly.

They noticed the fake customers were surprisingly intelligent, their expressions lively. They ordered and paid, and when enjoying their food, even showed exaggerated expressions of delight.

But when leaving, these fake customers always exited through the front door.

“Is there another door over there? Where does it lead?” Gao Youqing whispered.

Liang Yue cleared her throat. “Don’t forget rule three.”

—Please be sure to exit through the entrance door.

That was close—they almost broke the rules. Gao Youqing wiped cold sweat from his forehead; the traps were everywhere.

Waiting felt interminable, but after only a few minutes, Xin Huan returned with a stack of takeout boxes.

Qi Yushu gently touched a box; it was warm, and a faint fragrance of meat wafted in the air.

Bao Heng picked up a box and signaled for everyone to follow him.

Qi Yushu was last to rise. As he stood, Xin Huan quietly tugged at his arm.

—

“Phew,” Gao Youqing exhaled deeply. “It’s nothing. We made it out.”

“And got some food,” another young man eagerly stared at the takeout box in Bao Heng’s hand. One box had been slightly unsealed earlier, and the aroma had been driving him crazy.

“Not to eat now,” Bao Heng said.

“Why not?” they all said in unison.

“I mean, not yet,” Bao Heng cautioned. “Let’s get away from here first. If it’s still just meat, then we’ll eat.”