Shuai Yu stood nearby with a long face, rubbing his nearly empty wallet. He regretted inviting Su Hang out today. The guy was like a bottomless pit—devouring everything in sight. He'd eaten so many buns without even touching the soup. At ten yuan per basket, that was a hundred yuan for ten baskets. This breakfast had been way too expensive.
"Hey, man, still hungry? If you are, I'll buy you another basket," a fat man in a suit approached them, eyeing Su Hang curiously.
Su Hang rolled his eyes. Was this guy really trying to treat him like some street performer?
Before Su Hang could respond, the shop owner spoke up, "The last basket of buns has already been eaten. If you want more, you'll have to wait for a fresh batch."
The fat man wasn't giving up. "Boss, don't tell me your shop only serves buns? Let this young man have a few bowls of noodles instead."
"Ugh, really? Enough already! Boss, just bring the bill," Shuai Yu snapped, annoyed. He quickly called the owner over, paid, and dragged Su Hang out of the shop, almost running out.
"Damn, dude, you sure you're not diabetic? How can you eat so much all of a sudden?" Shuai Yu couldn't help but ask as they walked down the alley.
Qin Shiyu, too, was staring at Su Hang, or more specifically, at his stomach. Watching him devour so many buns without even breaking a sweat had really left her stunned.
"You're the one with diabetes," Su Hang shot back, clearly irritated. He wasn't sick—he was just refueling. Besides, he was still only half full.
Shuai Yu seemed genuinely concerned. "No one eats this much, man. We should really get you checked out at a hospital. There's something wrong with you."
Su Hang sighed, feeling a bit dizzy from the conversation. "I'm fine. Seriously, I've always had a big appetite. I just never wanted to scare you guys with it before."
"Really?" Shuai Yu asked, still doubtful.
Su Hang nodded.
Qin Shiyu raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "So, after eating all that, your stomach's totally fine?"
Su Hang patted his stomach. "Yep, feels perfectly fine."
"You sure this isn't some kind of special ability?" Qin Shiyu asked, eyes lighting up for a moment before she laughed and shook her head. "If it is, it's a pretty useless one."
Su Hang chuckled awkwardly.
"Who says it's useless?" a greasy voice suddenly came from the mouth of the alley.
The trio turned to see the same fat man they had met earlier, now standing at the entrance to the alley.
The man was indeed very fat, almost blocking the entire alley. He carried a briefcase in one hand, and with every step he took, his body wobbled. The oily sheen on his head made him look like a human version of a pig.
"Uh…" The three of them froze for a moment, watching the man waddle toward them.
"What do you want, following us?" Shuai Yu asked, his voice defensive. Despite the fat man's size, Shuai Yu wasn't afraid of confrontation.
The fat man didn't seem offended. Instead, he smiled broadly, a sleazy grin. He ignored Shuai Yu and looked directly at Su Hang. "Little brother, do you mind if I have a word with you?"
"If you have something to say, say it here. No need to step aside for 'private talk' nonsense!" Shuai Yu blocked Su Hang, clearly not trusting the man, who looked more like a crook than anything else.
Since Su Hang didn't show any interest in stepping away either, the fat man let out a dry laugh. He pulled a business card out of his briefcase and handed it to Su Hang. "I'm with Jiuding Group, Chengdu branch, marketing department. Here's my card."
Shuai Yu took the card and glanced at it, then laughed. Turning to Su Hang, he said, "This guy says he's from Jiuding Group!"
Su Hang laughed too, but it was mostly because of the look on Shuai Yu's face.
The fat man's face twitched slightly. Clearly, he wasn't used to being treated with such disrespect.
"Jiuding Group—the one that claims to be a Fortune 500 restaurant conglomerate?" Shuai Yu raised an eyebrow, looking the fat man up and down with a skeptical expression.
The fat man nodded with a smile, trying to appear dignified.
"You? In that dumpling shop? Come on, stop pretending," Shuai Yu scoffed, not buying it.
The fat man remained calm. "Actually, I'm a trained chef. I enjoy collecting local delicacies, and today, I just happened to stop by that dumpling shop."
"Tch!" Shuai Yu sneered, glancing at the card. "Cai Jiuxia, Super Level 2 Cook. Ha! I've seen plenty of scammers like you. Just get lost."
Name: Cai Jiuxia
Age: 43
Level: None
Extractable Skills:
1. Culinary Arts (Super Level 2 Cook)
Extract and refine? [Yes] or [No]
Su Hang wasn't as quick to judge. The system had already scanned the man's details, and it seemed like he was telling the truth. Special Second-Level Chef—while Su Hang wasn't sure what that meant exactly, it sounded impressive.
He waved Shuai Yu aside and gave the fat man a once-over. "What do you want with us?"
The fat man grinned. "I'm not following you; I'm following him." He pointed at Su Hang.
"Then what do you want with me?" Su Hang asked, frowning.
Cai Jiuxia chuckled in a friendly but somewhat strange way. "Little brother, I just have a quick question. Is your appetite always this big?"
Su Hang shrugged. "What's it to you? I didn't eat your food."
Cai Jiuxia waved his hand, trying to reassure him. "No misunderstandings, little brother. I mean no harm! I just want to know—how much do you think you can eat in one sitting?"
Su Hang shrugged again, keeping it low-key.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cai Jiuxia asked, confused.
"I've never been full, so I wouldn't know how much I could eat," Su Hang said with a smug grin. His nonchalant attitude made Qin Shiyu and Shuai Yu stifle their laughter.
"Never been full?" Cai Jiuxia was taken aback. "Are you serious?"
"Do you think I'm lying?" Shuai Yu interjected, his voice sharp. "My buddy doesn't joke around."
Cai Jiuxia smiled even wider. "Well, little brother, here's the deal. Jiuding Group is holding a 'Big Eater' competition, and I think you'd be perfect for it. I saw you eat sixty buns just now, and if you entered, I'm sure you'd place highly."
"A Big Eater competition?" Su Hang, Shuai Yu, and Qin Shiyu all exclaimed at the same time, their faces a mix of shock and intrigue.
Cai Jiuxia nodded. "It's one of our group's biggest events this year. We've invited well-known competitors from all over the world, and many amateur big eaters are signing up too. Based on what I saw earlier, you'd do great in the contest."