On a certain street corner in N City, a hotdog store was celebrating its 15th anniversary. This business had always been quite prosperous, and the evaluation online was quite high. As soon as the news of the launch of new products during the store celebration came out, young people rushed there in droves.
It was Christmas Eve. Snowflakes were flying, yet there were still many people in line on the street. The shop owner put the squishy sausages on the fire and roasted them, creating an aroma of hot grease that wafted from the store.
“Six new hotdogs, one for each of the six sauces.” The young man in front of the store took off his scarf and exhaled white mist into the air.
The shop owner raised his head and was taken aback.
The young man in front of him was very good-looking. He thought for a moment that it was an internet idol who had come to his store. However, this person was dressed normally, without sunglasses, revealing cold black eyes. The shopkeeper quickly tossed such thoughts out.
“Young man, the quantity you ordered is quite large. It’ll take a day to eat it all.” The shopkeeper pointed to the holographic projection in front of the store. “That’s a one-to-one size, see? If you want to taste the sauce, you can buy a small portion…”
“It’s okay. I’m not eating alone.” The handsome young man shook his head. “Six of the new products, please.”
Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, the shopkeeper didn’t intend to make a fuss over money. He quickly wrapped six hotdogs and handed them out with difficulty. To add a festive touch, the bag was decorated with a huge ribbon bow in festive red.
The young man easily took the bag. Before leaving the pickup area, he looked at the camera that was next to the store.
Don’t be a dangerous person. The shopkeeper’s heart jumped.
“Ruan Xian—”
As a result, before the shopkeeper finished worrying, another young man ran over amidst the snow, holding crepes in both his hands and hot drinks in a bag on his arm. One of the crepes was already half eaten, and snowflakes were falling on the milky cream.
“Ah, you bought it.” The new young man had attractive golden eyes and looked equally good. He sniffed the aroma of the grilled sausages and fried onions in the air and gave out a sigh of contentment.
“Nn.” The young man known as Ruan Xian stretched out his hand and wiped the cream from the corner of the mouth of the opposite person. “Let’s find a warmer place to eat.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this store for a long time.” The golden-eyed young man hummed happily. “There’s also a nice hot spring nearby. We can stay there for the night.”
“Okay, sounds good.” Ruan Xian smiled, which instantly dissipated his cold aura. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else?”
“Time is limited, so I can only finish these first.” The golden-eyed young man sighed as he stuffed the half-eaten crepe into his mouth. “…Give me the bag. I’ll start with the spicy one first.”
Ruan Xian took the untouched crepe from him and handed the hotdog bag to Tang Yibu. “Is it still the same?”
The golden-eyed young man swallowed the food in his mouth, nodded vigorously, and kissed Ruan Xian’s forehead.
The shopkeeper thought that it seemed as if he was overthinking things. Not to mention, after meeting with that person, the uncomfortable aura of “Ruan Xian” suddenly dissipated. Even if they really plan to do something bad, holding such a big bag would be inconvenient.
Almost five years had passed since the changes in the 22nd century. The two on the opposite side seemed to be less than 30 years old. They shouldn’t be the “survivors” of the 7-year-old transformation. Now that the world was at peace, he had to change his pessimistic outlook.
It was just a sweet couple. The shopkeeper shook his head and continued to focus on making hotdogs.
The pair of young people who were so dazzling had disappeared into the snow and wind.
“Was this the store you were looking at at that time?” Ruan Xian bit the crepe and walked with Tang Yibu to the most chaotic area of N City.
“Yeah.” Tang Yibu had already taken a hotdog from the bag and bit into it in delight. His eyes even turned a little red. “…It’s as delicious as I thought. My god.”
After that, he held the hotdog to Ruan Xian’s mouth, who took a bite naturally. “It’s really good.”
“When I watched it through the camera, their best seller was the other one.” Tang Yibu’s cheeks were bulging as he muttered while chewing. “It’s a pity that it’s no longer on the menu.”
“Is the warehouse here?” Ruan Xian touched Tang Yibu’s frozen ear, which had turned red.
“Yes. It’s said that Feng Jiang will appear this time.” Tang Yibu felt the heat of the other person’s palm and narrowed his eyes comfortably. “The news was discovered by K6, who manages this area. As a result, these people got a high concentration of fireflies and are planning to sell them.”
“Fu Yu has contacted the police, so why did K6 contact you?” Ruan Xian quickly ate his crepe. “It’s not his style to make an emergency call.”
“The police have been tracking ‘Feng Ge’ for a long time. They’ll arrive in about an hour… But this group of people just bought enhanced nanobots from the black market, so they can’t be dealt with as ordinary drug dealers. The police don’t know this yet. Even if they did, the casualties wouldn’t be small. These people are all core members, so K6 is more inclined to take them down in one fell swoop.”
“I see.” Ruan Xian finished eating and patted his hands. “I hear them. Let’s go.”
“Nn.” Tang Yibu put the drinks and hotdog bag in one arm and took out a black knife.
The temperature control was turned on in the warehouse, which was quite warm. Several people were checking the emerald pill in the box while the others were drinking; their bodies were covered with advanced guns.
“It’s absolutely safe here,” one of them said proudly. “The management of this place isn’t human. One of them is an android in the doomsday period, and his identity is fake. I’ve got him by the balls—if we’re exposed, he’ll be buried with us. Feng Jiang, come on. Don’t look at the goods. Drink!”
Feng Jiang ignored him.
“How did you find out?” another asked curiously.
“How else could I find out? I saw a little beauty in the neighborhood that night, so I followed her. Anyway, we all know that there are messy clones out there now, so how can they be considered human—as a result, as soon as I restrained her, that idiot rushed out, and I shot him in the head.”
The man made a gesture of shooting with his fingers.
“Jesus man, the skull of that thing opened up, but nothing splattered. Most likely, he’s been strengthened by a D-type product. This left him dumbfounded when I found out. The woman managed to escape, but I was able to make a big return and get this management warehouse.”
“I’m still not at ease.” Feng Jiang glanced at the man in disgust. “There’s a human who lives with him, and he appears to be aging. Most likely, he’s one of the people from the doomsday. He may report us.”
“Boss, don’t you have faith in me? I checked. There’s a young girl and a teenage boy living with them. This kind of person who has a family is the best to deal with—I’ve already prepared everything. As long as I see a cop in the vicinity, my brothers will slaughter his family.”
“Feng Ge is too serious.” Another person laughed. “Let’s transfer the goods here, and we’ll leave once we’re done. Besides, we’re equipped with weapons and nanobots. Even if the cops come, they’ll be skinned alive. Don’t worry.”
Before Feng Jiang could reply, an alarm suddenly sounded in the warehouse.
The people who were still leaning on the table just now immediately became alert. They all stood up and held their weapons in their hands.
However, it wasn’t the police that they thought rushed in, but a beautiful young man, walking in empty-handed while wearing an expensive winter coat and scarf.
“This kid is in the wrong place. Fucking idiot.” One of them huffed.
“What’s with all this chattering? Don’t let him leave. You guys over there, stop him! Hey, this person looks pretty good. Don’t kill him. He could be worth some money. Feng Ge, look… Feng Ge?”
Feng Jiang stared at the man opposite, and his face paled.
“Ruan Lijie?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “Why are you—why haven’t you changed at all?! What are you?”
Ruan Xian didn’t answer him. He took out his blood gun from under his clothes and threw a little red round thing on the ground that looked like a clown’s nose.
“Fuck. Take him out. Kill him!”
However, the next second, their newly bought high-tech guns instantly froze.
“Mini EMP.” Feng Jiang sighed. “I recognize this… This is the handywork of the Red Ghost mechanic. Are you from the Red Ghost?”
Ruan Xian didn’t plan to answer him. He shot directly behind Feng Jiang. The two drug dealers who tried to lock the door fell to the ground.
Hearing this name, the men, who had just looked relaxed, suddenly tensed their faces. “Change to an old-fashioned gun and kill him quickly. Regardless of Red Ghost or Green Ghost, there’s only one person on the other side—”
A wave of bullets came surging, but their target stood still under the rain of bullets, dodging neatly and avoiding all their shots.
“Surround him. Don’t let this guy move!”
“Wait! Don’t clump together!” Feng Jiang shouted, but unfortunately, he was a step too late.
The drug dealers who gathered together felt a chill, then heat, on their throats. Before they could see the killer’s face clearly, they all fell to the ground in pain. The nanobots that were supposed to enhance their bodies didn’t come in handy.
“I never said I came alone,” Ruan Xian said as he shot a man who was shooting indiscriminately in the head.
“I spilled my hot chocolate.” Tang Yibu’s tone was aggrieved. The knife in his hand was still dripping with blood.
The hotdog and hot drink in the bag were still hanging from his other arm. The hot drink bag was splashed with a little blood, and a little brown sweet drink spilled along the opening of the lid.
“I’ll take that cup,” Ruan Xian comforted as he fired two more shots. “Why don’t we buy another cup later?”
“…You two…”
Feng Jiang leaned his back against the mountains of fireflies. His expression turned dull. He had obviously recognized Tang Yibu.
In an instant, he was the only person still alive in the warehouse.
“Don’t kill me!” Seeing the two of them turn their heads at the same time, Feng Jiang immediately shouted. “I’m different from them! They are just bandits from the Sea of Ruins, and the choices of collaborators these days are too limited—”
“Bandits?” Ruan Xian didn’t listen to Feng Jiang’s explanation. “Further purifying and transforming fireflies and selling them as a new type of drug was also what these ‘bandits’ forced you to do at gunpoint, ‘Boss Feng’?”
“You don’t understand!” Feng Jiang screamed in pain. “I didn’t want to do this either, but I have to work for the welfare of the survivors, and I need money from all places to do this! You must remember those seven years before the agreement was signed by the Mainbrain. Those ‘things’ outside aren’t humans. Ruan Xian didn’t see through this but reconciled with the Mainbrain! He’s either a coward who’s afraid to die or he’s been brainwashed by MUL-01—”
“Then you prefer to live in an environment like the Sea of Ruins?” Tang Yibu said in surprise. “If that’s true, I really admire you… But I’ve checked. You’ve been rotating between five-star hotels in the past few years.”
“In order to communicate with more high-level people, it’s necessary…” Feng Jiang’s voice fell silent.
Then he seemed to think of something and opened his mouth again. “You can’t treat me like this. Survivors should care about each other! Please, let me go now. I can give you money, as much as you want—”
Ruan Xian neatly tied Feng Jiang up. “We’re not short of money.”
“Give me five minutes. Let me talk about my proposition. You’ll understand… Wait!”
Tang Yibu stuffed Feng Jiang’s mouth with the hotdog bag. “We don’t care. Ruan Xian, how long will it take for the police to come?”
“50 minutes.”
“That’s enough time.” Tang Yibu took off the ribbon bow from the hotdog bag and tied it around Feng Jiang’s head. “It’s quite warm here. Let’s go after eating our hotdog.”
“Give me the honey mustard sauce.” Ruan Xian stepped over the corpses, ignoring all the blood on the ground, and sat down at the table with Tang Yibu. “I’ll arrange a new identity for K6 and the others first, then I’ll notify them.”
50 minutes later.
The heavily armed police broke in, preparing for a bloody battle, but they only saw blood in their eyes.
The corpses of the drug dealers lay in a pool of blood, and only ‘Feng Ge’ sat shivering in front of the boxes of drugs, tied up like a zongzi with a ribbon bow on top of his head.
His electronic wristband was completely blacked out, with two light screens floating around him.
[This is Feng Jiang→]
Below the large words were countless small-print introductions of all the identities of the corpses and their criminal records. The data was accurate down to the time, minute, second, and longitude and latitude of the crime location.
There were only two characters on the other light screen that was red to the point of blinding…
[:D]
The author has something to say:
Tang Enlightenment Hotdog Shop√
Finally, he got to eat it with Ruan—
As a result, those two still don’t have any serious work…_(:з”∠)_