CHAPTER 254: CHAPTER 254: WHOEVER DARES TO OPPOSE GHOST STALL, I’LL SMASH HIS DOG HEAD IN THE GAME

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Hearing Stedley’s words, Ren Suo, who was watching from outside the screen, was slightly taken aback. He naturally didn’t know how many assumptions Stedley’s mind had conjured upon hearing the term ’Fairy Palace’, but clearly, Stedley’s train of thought had given Ren Suo considerable inspiration.

Thus, the female shop owner neither denied nor admitted it, but instead looked at the cloaked assassins and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

At that moment, the cloaked assassins couldn’t have been more surprised, exclaiming in eight different languages,

"What ability is this? Let us go!"

"You are making an enemy of the Cards!"

Just then, the Little Nine-Tailed Fox yelped and lazily glanced at them, causing them to instantly cower.

"Could this be the mysterious force of the East?"

"Your ability is beyond our imagination, sir."

"We were too presumptuous this time. The Cards are willing to compensate."

"Since Stedley has your shelter, sir, we can report to our Killer Organization to cancel the assassination order against him."

"I am Spade K. Please seriously consider our sincerity, sir. We are extremely sorry for our impoliteness."

In just a few sentences, the cloaked assassins quickly changed their attitude. They were now groveling and offering compensation, all in hopes of reconciling with the female shop owner.

The Killer Organization was indeed different; they neither panicked like hoodlums nor displayed the arrogance of powerful forces, and they lacked the principles of major organizations. Once they realized they couldn’t escape the food stall’s suppression, they immediately recognized the vast disparity between themselves and their opponent.

They were faithless assassins, pure egoists. Naturally, they saw no reason to risk their lives here for Stedley.

However, the female shop owner had only one response to their pleading: "What do you want to eat?"

The cloaked assassins calmed down, and their leader, Spade K, asked, "Do we have to eat?"

The shop owner nodded.

"Can we order anything?"

The shop owner nodded again.

Then Spade K pondered for a moment and said, "I’ll have the teriyaki tyrannosaurus steak."

The other team members instantly understood their captain’s intent and chimed in:

"One fried Hellhound, please."

"Is there a soup made entirely from Kun?"

"A dozen skewers of roasted trilobites!"

"Grilled saber-toothed tiger meat!"

"I’ll have the teppanyaki Hounds of Tindalos!"

The cloaked assassins ordered dishes that were virtually impossible to prepare. Although unrestrained in their requests, they all watched the shop owner closely, trying to see if she would be angered by their orders.

However, contrary to their expectations, the shop owner said nothing and silently began preparing their meals.

But Stedley, behind the food cart, saw everything clearly!

The shop owner...no, the Food Goddess opened a drawer inside the cart, reached in, and pulled out a huge chunk of bloody flesh.

Because his awakened spells were related to blood, Stedley was very sensitive to blood energy. The moment that piece of flesh appeared, he immediately sensed its tremendous energy. This energy was unrelated to spiritual energy; rather, it spoke of muscle robustness and abundant blood. To put it in more scientific terms, it was akin to body fat percentage. For instance, Stedley had seen individuals of the same weight—some "fatty boys" and some "muscle beasties"—and their flesh was entirely different.

This was undoubtedly the flesh of a beast more terrifying than any human, yet Stedley, who had slaughtered countless creatures at the training base, couldn’t identify it.

The Food Goddess then swiftly began chopping. Oil sizzled as it hit the pan, flames flared with the rising heat, and she skillfully cooked a steak.

When it came to the familiar seasoning step, Ren Suo hesitated for a moment.

Firstly, this group of people, like Yellow Hair, were indeed random intruders. They hadn’t been attracted by the Ghost Stall but had discovered it while pursuing the man in Red Clothing.

It was only when they attacked the Ghost Stall that the game considered them customers.

It was then that "Midnight Walker" finally remembered it was a ’Supernatural Adventure Management’ game and forcibly made them cease fighting and sit down for a midnight snack.

From the reaction of the cloaked individuals, Ren Suo made a few guesses. First, they were unwilling to sit down; according to their claims, they were suppressed by a mysterious force from the East. Second, judging by the shop owner’s advice to Stedley, this suppression could only be maintained as long as they posed no threat.

Ren Suo recalled the customers who had previously wanted to dine and dash. They had intended to cause trouble, yet they still sat down to eat shit. This was already odd—True Demons, though possessing wisdom, lacked humanity. Why then did each of them adhere to the rules so strictly?

Seeing this group in black cloaks, Ren Suo finally understood: this was the power of the game’s settings.

However, unlike those in black cloaks, most other customers were likely under strong psychological suggestion from the Ghost Stall, a suggestion probably related to their deep-seated desire for destruction—this being the biggest difference between customers who were Demons and Ghosts and regular people.

These black-cloaked individuals, though clearly born of law-breaking and crime, weren’t True Demons, let alone Half-Demons. This was possibly because they were neither Awakeners nor had they undergone extensive psychological training at the training base.

Thus, they weren’t subjected to psychological suggestion but were instead forcefully suppressed by the Ghost Stall. They were well aware that they were in a strange predicament.

It was as if the game’s settings, infuriated, didn’t even bother to disguise its actions, directly using a strong, mystical power to hold their heads down, thinking, "Whoever defies the Ghost Stall, the game will smash their dog heads!"

Normally, with such obnoxious customers, Ren Suo would naturally have poisoned the food.

But unlike Demons and Ghosts, these were normal people. They were already scared, knowing the power gap was too vast. Even if they ate shit, they probably wouldn’t initiate combat.

It’s like ordinary people passing by a Shaxian Snacks stall, suddenly being shoved inside by several Great Han and forced to eat a bowl of fried wontons. Even if they were furious, would they dare retaliate on the spot?

Moreover, these black-cloaked individuals didn’t seem to be under much survival pressure, and each possessed enough sense, so Ren Suo didn’t need to season their food specially. Of course, they also showed no interest in sharing their stories.

Since things were stable, Ren Suo decided to add some unusual seasonings this time:

"Joy" was necessary; after all, being happy is paramount in life.

"Compassion," "Enthusiasm," "Sympathy," "Understanding," "Justice," and "Trust"—time for them to gulp down this bowl of hot chicken soup for the soul.

And finally, a touch of "Love." I heard you guys like Léon: The Professional?

The first to taste the midnight snack was Spade K. The other black-cloaked assassins anxiously watched their leader. Spade K, looking at the steak of unclear origin before him, didn’t hesitate; under these circumstances, he had no choice but to eat.

Picking up his knife and fork, he cut the steak into strips and ate them. The black-cloaked assassins waited for their leader’s reaction, yet Spade K merely ate his steak in silence, finished it shortly, and stood up.

Then he walked to the side, stood silently, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and began to smoke alone.

Food for the other black-cloaked assassins was also served one after another: steamed Kun soup, skewered trilobites, deep-fried three dog heads...

After they finished eating, they too stood up in silence. Some joined Spade K to smoke, while others gazed up at the New York night sky, or took out their phones to play games.

When all the black-cloaked assassins had finished eating, Spade K discussed briefly with his team. Then, looking at Stedley, he said, "You... take care of yourself. We’ll try to buy you a few days, but be ready to fight at any moment."

"However, the organization’s list of targets will soon expand." Spade K, holding the cigarette butt, considered tossing it away. But then, he pulled out a clear plastic bag from his pocket and put the cigarette butt inside.

"We, The 13 Spades, will defect from the Cards. When the organization hunts us down, they might not focus on you, which would at least divert some of the forces pursuing you."

Stedley was stunned. He looked at the female shop owner, then back at Spade K, and asked, "Why?"

"I just remembered what kind of person I truly want to be, and they felt the same," Spade K said. "If possible, I hope you can help us remove the bombs inside our bodies."

"Being tools of the organization is just too boring," another team member said. "I always told myself that someday, I would have my own time to do what I like..."

"And that time is actually right now," a distinctly female voice from among the black-cloaked assassins added. "Any delay is just a compromise with one’s own cowardice."

"I’m used to killing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a peaceful life," a short, black-cloaked assassin laughed.

"It’s time to change."

"Though I am but a mundane mote, my heart still aspires to the skies."

Seeing this almost 180-degree change in attitude from the Spade Squad, Stedley could hardly believe it.

But then he reflected on his own psychological changes after eating the pig blood curd and looked at the female shop owner’s calm demeanor. He suddenly understood something and went over to help the Spade Squad with their bombs.

Stedley asked, "Aren’t you afraid I might take this opportunity to kill you, Spade K?"

"The moment I chose to defect from the Cards, I was no longer afraid of death," Spade K replied. "Dying by your hand, for me, would also be a form of redemption."

Stedley fell silent for a moment. After dealing with Spade K’s bomb, he suddenly asked again, "You’re just an assassin proficient in killing techniques. What can you do after leaving the Cards?"

"I’ve killed many people," Spade K said. "Poor and rich, men and women... I don’t know if they were good or bad, evil or virtuous, nor do I have the right to judge others. Those are the lives I took. I will remember them as the shackles that awaken me."

"When I’m bored, I enjoy reading martial arts novels from the Mysterious Country and superhero comics from the Federation. Perhaps that’s an indication from fate."

"I have rediscovered the beauty of life and decided to sever all ties with my past. But I won’t let the suffering I endured be in vain, nor will I waste my skills."

"From now on, I will be the sword in the night, the guardian before the dawn, burning this tattered body of mine to add fuel to the world’s fire!"

"Previously, I would use ’I am here’ to pronounce a target’s death sentence."

"In the future, I hope this phrase will be used to declare their safety."