Dongfang Yuan's vehicle had just upgraded to level 5, undergoing a dramatic transformation, and he was currently brimming with excitement, enthusiastically explaining the changes to Qi Xu.
Qi Xu was genuinely impressed. "Your sister really has great taste—it’s starting to look like a proper battle vehicle!"
"It’s so cool! The delivery van has plenty of space, runs purely on electricity, so it’s resource-efficient, and there’s great potential for future upgrades," Dongfang Yuan grinned, tilting his chin up proudly. But then he noticed a stranger nearby and quickly composed himself, adopting a serious expression as he turned to Tonsils Never Speak.
"Hey there, sis! I’m Bianbian..." Tonsils Never Speak gave an adorable smile, instantly melting Dongfang Yuan’s attempt at seriousness. His restrained smile broke free again, and he even extended a hand. "Dongfang Yuan."
"Your sister’s name is so lovely! I really like it. I’m Luo Xinpan. I feel like we’re fated to meet—Qi Xu, Dongfang Yuan, Luo Xinpan—all our names carry beautiful hopes for the future."
Qi Xu nodded with a smile. "I noticed that too. It really does feel like fate."
Dongfang Yuan, even more susceptible to a girl’s sweet charm than Qi Xu, immediately found this new lucky charm likable.
Gradually, the rest of the group arrived, so they didn’t linger at the entrance for long.
After paying the entrance fee together, they headed inside to chat.
In addition to the ticket, each person had to contribute five survival coins as a seating fee and another five as a deposit.
The hedgehog waiter at the door, dressed in formal attire and a top hat, bowed respectfully to everyone.
"Welcome to our buffet restaurant!"
It wasn’t much different from the buffet restaurants in the survival game. Each ticket granted a two-hour stay, with unlimited food, but excessive waste would result in deductions from the deposit.
Tonsils Never Speak took the initiative to cover everyone’s entrance fees and deposits.
"Since Qi Xu got the location card, let me handle the tickets. I really hope you’ll give me this chance. Meeting you all a bit later made me nervous, so I just want to get closer to everyone quickly."
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang scratched her head sheepishly. "This feels kinda awkward..."
Chinese Master Chef chimed in, "Yeah, no need for that."
"It’s fine. I’ve got plenty of survival coins, and with my luck, I usually get whatever I want without spending much anyway."
Dongfang Yuan could tell the girl was nervous, so he took the lead and walked in. "Alright then, I’ll freeload this time. Just call me when we need to fight monsters later!"
Now that I’m rich too, no worries—I’ll find a way to pay her back later.
Qi Xu also stepped forward. "Come on in, everyone. Besides eating, we can chat. No point wasting time at the door."
Only then did the group enter. Following the principle of neither wasting nor missing out, they secured their seats and then scattered to grab the food they wanted.
All the dishes looked vibrant and smelled irresistible. Soon, the table was piled high with plates.
Retired Magic Boy eyed the overloaded table skeptically. "Can we finish all this?"
Golden Bell Armor Iron Shirt reassured, "Don’t worry, I’ll clean up the leftovers!"
Wolf Warrior 009 added, "Exactly, no need to stress."
Qi Xu gave a thumbs-up. "Hearing that from you two at a buffet? Total peace of mind!"
Luo Xinpan gazed at the group with sparkling eyes. She loved this little team—where every request was answered, every voice heard, and the teasing was always good-natured, never crossing the line.
This was the perfect team dynamic. She’d definitely latched onto the right group.
Old White Dragon circled the buffet and returned with three bottles of white liquor and two bottles of fruit wine. The other drinks looked mediocre, but these were decent.
The hedgehog waiter’s eyes bulged. Who was this guy? These were the most expensive drinks in the whole restaurant! He’s… bullying monsters! Waaah…
Qi Xu, having visited many stations, was familiar with these creatures. This hedgehog waiter usually seemed quiet and expressionless, but now it looked downright flustered. So, Qi Xu handed it 10 survival coins as a tip.
"Oh, esteemed guest, this isn’t necessary…" The little hedgehog clutched its tiny paws anxiously.
"It’s fine. You’ll have your hands full with us today—we’re a lively bunch."
The hedgehog waiter excitedly accepted the coins. "No problem, no problem! The restaurant’s empty anyway. Make all the noise you want! I’ll even whip up some extra dishes for you!"
"Great, thanks so much! You’re such a fantastic manager!"
The hedgehog waiter bashfully waved its hands. "I’m just a waiter..."
"You’ll be a manager someday. You’ve got real business sense."
[Buffet Restaurant Hedgehog Waiter’s favorability toward you has increased by 15 points. Current favorability: 15!]
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow in realization. So, this was an ambitious waiter. Tipping didn’t raise favorability, but praising it like a manager did.
When Qi Xu returned, Old White Dragon asked curiously, "Why the tip?"
"Has anyone else gotten a system notification about increased favorability after interacting with monsters at stations?"
Retired Magic Boy raised his hand. "Yeah! At the beauty salon, I bonded with the cat lady over skincare tips, and the system said her favorability went up by 35 points!"
Old White Dragon also recalled, "The first time I went to the bar, I outdrank the wine monkey, and the system said its favorability hit 60. That’s how I got the part-time bartender job."
Luo Xinpan added, "I got my job from a monster merchant the same way—favorability reached 60."
The others were clueless. "You can do that?!"
Old White Dragon rubbed his head awkwardly. "I was too drunk to remember the details..."
Qi Xu summarized, "From now on, if we meet monsters offering jobs, we should try raising their favorability. At 60, there might be special opportunities."
"Got it! So, be sweet and generous!"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang’s eyes lit up. "I could sing for it! My classmates and roommates loved my singing—they even recorded me and posted it on TikTok. Got hundreds of thousands of likes! Netizens said I was amazing!"
The group fell silent, except for Bianbian, who cheered, "Wow, we’ve gotta hear that sometime!"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang giggled modestly. "Ah, it’s probably just average. Everyone’s just being nice."
Qi Xu coughed and changed the subject by turning to Wolf Warrior 009. "So, what’s the issue you mentioned?"
Wolf Warrior 009 suppressed a smirk. "I suddenly got a survival assistant named Qiuqiu. Seems pretty versatile—selling items, searching info, even basic conversations."
Qi Xu warned bluntly, "That Qiuqiu’s a sneaky one. Just treat it as a tool. It’s the one behind the whole ‘little blue flower’ mess."
"Wuwuwu, Qiqi, don't you love me anymore? You haven’t said a single word to me all this time, and you even find me annoying..."
..........
