The large dining room had around 45 diners eating breakfast. Some of the customers came from the nearby businesses, some had been brought along by their friends, and other customers came after seeing all of the positive reviews online. Just like previous customers, the newcomers quickly became hooked on the delicious dishes that were being sold at such cheap prices. 

“sluuurrrppp” 

Gao Long sloppily sucked noodles into his gullet while the other university students watched in horror. 

(⊙⊙)(☉_☉)(⊙⊙)

“gulp”

He swallowed the last mouthful of seafood noodle soup and washed it down with some cold and refreshing water. Gao Long noticed that some of the soup had splattered onto his glasses and wiped it away as he checked the state of his spirit veins.

‘The amount of energy I’m gaining from each dish is not enough. One bowl of seafood noodle soup is equivalent to one regular energy crystal and the spicy beef curry is double that amount. One cup of the sorghum alcohol provides slightly more energy compared to the spicy beef curry. The only problem is that I can’t handle drinking multiple servings of alcohol. If only there were more dishes that contained more energy.’

Noticing Gao Long’s frown, Du Hong said, “Gao Long, you should order the two new dishes.” 

Gao Long looked at the menu and was shocked by the prices of the new dishes.

‘1000 Credits for tea with rice and 550 credits for a side dish??? There’s also a drink that’s 920 Credits.’

Soon, he realised, ‘If these new dishes are several times more expensive than the other items, perhaps they have several times more energy within them.’

Gao Long immediately raised his hand in the air. A masked waiter that had the figure of a woman and was slightly shorter than Abyss 2(first masked waiter) noticed and approached the table. 

Fu Chen had created several more waiters to deal with the influx of customers and the female server was one of them.

A pleasant feminine voice came from the waiter, “What would you like to order, sir?”

“I’d like to order one side dish, one green tea rice, and one cup.”

“Alright, your order will be here soon.”

-----------------

“It looks very simple.”

Gao Wu voiced his opinion when he saw the green tea rice.

Gao Long stared at the bowl of rice that was submerged in green tea and agreed with his brother. Compared to the spicy beef curry, the green tea rice had few ingredients and didn’t give off a strong aroma.

‘Does this really contain more energy than a bowl of seafood soup?’

He picked up the spoon and took a sip of the tea. 

‘It’s a bit bland.’

Gao Long ate half of the green tea rice before checking his spirit veins. His entire body froze in shock.

‘I can’t believe that the amount of energy in my spirit veins increased by such a large amount.’

It turned out that one tenth of a serving of the green tea rice provided the same amount of energy as one bowl of seafood noodle soup. Gao Long had consumed half of the bowl which was equivalent to the energy of five bowls of seafood noodle soup. 

He quickly downed the rest of his green tea rice and popped a piece of rolled omelette into his mouth.

“mmmm”

His eyes widened as he chewed into the light and tender omelette. The sharp and pungent flavor of cheese combined with the savory, salty, and delicately sweet eggs felt extremely flavorful compared to the bland green tea rice that he had eaten earlier. 

Gao Long took a sip from his cup of green tea with roasted rice. The fresh grassy and nutty tea helped wash down the slightly heavy cheesy omelette. He enjoyed the sensation of the hot liquid traveling down his throat before taking another bite of the eggs. Gao Long alternated between drinking the tea and taking bites of the omelette before nothing was left in front of him. 

The other students had also ordered some of the new menu items and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of energy they were receiving. 

--------------- 

“Cheers!”

Gao Long, Gao Wu, Sun Ning, and Wan Xinyue clinked their cups of green tea together before each of them took a large gulp. Immediately afterwards, all of them grimaced slightly. They had decided to add some of the sorghum alcohol to their tea to create a cocktail. Unfortunately, they hadn’t prepared for how strong the sorghum alcohol was despite being diluted by the green tea.

Meanwhile, Du Hong chuckled and drank the whole cocktail they had prepared for him in one gulp. 

Peng Huang stared scornfully at Wan Xinyue and Gao Wu who were cheering as Du Hong downed a second cocktail.

‘I don’t understand why the old geezer decided to accept them as disciples. They may have some skill, but they’re merely talented commoners. Look at how unruly they are. Even Master Du is joining them.’

Du Hong saw Peng Huang’s expression and put down his cup. 

‘I’ll need to change his behavior soon.’

“Alright, finish up the last of your food. We’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”

The others quickly shoveled the last bits of food. Wan Xinyue looked at Sun Ning and mischievously smiled.

“Sun Ning, you have some cream on your face. I’ll help you get it off.”

She licked the cream off of Sun Ning’s cheek before Sun Ning could respond. Wan Xinyue swallowed the cream and licked her lips. Sun Ning blushed and quietly said, “Thanks.”

Gao Long and Gao Wu watched the strangely arousing scene and felt awkward. Gao Wu whispered into Gao Long’s ear, “Brother, do you think that they’re… you know...”

Gao Long silently nodded as he stared at the two girls. 

Sun Ning saw Gao Wu and Gao Long staring at her and felt embarrassed before glaring at them which made them avert their eyes.

After the interesting scene, Du Hong and his disciples paid the bill and exited the restaurant.

--------

Meanwhile, Fu Lian was in the kitchen with her hands covering her eyes. Her mask had been removed after she saw Wan Xinyue’s actions through the display installed in her mask. She snapped out of her daze after Fu Chen spoke to her.