Chapter 82: The Great Canteen Battle

“Hello, my name is Xie Liu, male, still single to this day.” Xie Liu shamelessly squeezed in front of Niwei, attempting to shake hands with this snow-white beauty. But Ye Ling intervened, slapping away his wandering hand. “Keep your filthy hands to yourself! You disgusting creep, stay away from Niwei,” Ye Ling shouted angrily at Xie Liu.

“I’m going to report you for slander!” Xie Liu retorted indignantly, and then Wendy stepped in to mediate. At that moment, a hotdog came flying from somewhere and smacked Wendy squarely in the face.

“Who—was—that—” Wendy turned, only to see Gong Hou grinning mischievously, as if daring her to do something about it. Furious, Wendy grabbed a roast turkey from nearby and hurled it at him, but Gong Hou caught it easily and began tearing into it with big bites. Wendy grew even more infuriated and was just about to hurl something else when Sayo Mochizuki slammed a cream cake onto Gong Hou’s head.

“What the—who—” Before Gong Hou could finish, Li Shizhu, who had been quietly reading a manga, sprang up as whipped cream, splattered by the cake, landed all over his comic book. At once, he lost his composure; glancing around, he saw Sayo Mochizuki across from him, grinning triumphantly. “You! It’s you!” he yelled, grabbing an apple and flinging it in her direction.

Tita was still protecting the food, as though the chaos had nothing to do with her. After spitting out two grape seeds, she reached for a piece of cream cake in front of her, but Li Shizhu was a fraction faster; he’d already grabbed it and was about to throw it at Sayo Mochizuki.

Tita’s hand hung awkwardly in mid-air.

“Mmph...” Tita puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, then reached for a pudding beside her.

Once again, Li Shizhu beat her to it and hurled it at someone.

“...” This time, Tita didn’t even bother to voice her displeasure.

Finally, she looked at the fruit platter. There were so many—surely Li Shizhu couldn’t throw them all, right? With this thought, she reached for it.

Li Shizhu, quick as lightning, grabbed handfuls of fruit from the platter and flung them in every direction. In less than a second, only an empty dish remained, spinning on the table with a hollow rattle.

Tita’s outstretched hand froze in place, unable to retract. She turned her gaze slowly to see Li Shizhu laughing heartily after pelting Sayo Mochizuki into a frenzy.

Tita blinked, silent, and glanced once more at the still-spinning fruit tray...

Clang—a long, sonorous sound rang out. Without a word, Tita grabbed the fruit platter and smacked it squarely into Li Shizhu’s face.

It seemed nothing could stop them now.

…

Vladimir and Faraney walked side by side, passing through a corridor bursting with flowers.

“Are we really going to use that thing in this ranking battle?” Faraney asked elegantly. “It’s not fully developed. I’m worried something might go wrong.”

“I’ve already discussed this with the council,” Vladimir replied, his tone heavy. “They insist it’s safe. Still, I’d prefer you keep a close watch on everyone’s conditions.”

Faraney nodded, then shook her head. “I can’t promise. If I monitor everything, the calculation load is enormous. You know, aside from me, there are several level ten powerhouses.”

“I get it, but you’re the strongest level ten among the younger generation. Don’t talk to me about Zhao Yu—his power is just a bit unusual. And Lei Tian and Shi Shan are both getting old; in a few years, they’ll lose their top-three spots. As the future number one, can’t you handle those unruly kids down below?”

“You overestimate me.” Faraney shook her head with a smile. “But it’s fine.”

They had reached the restaurant door. “Aren’t our friends here too? Wendy, Xie Liu, all of them—they’re reliable, aren’t they?” Faraney smiled as the two pushed open the door.

They stopped short in stunned silence.

…

“Help!”

“A fight!”

“Run for it!”

Countless people fled through the windows and the now-open doors, leaving the restaurant in utter chaos.

Ahead, dozens of dining tables had been piled into a “castle.” Sayo Mochizuki stood atop it, laughing maniacally. “I’m the queen! Hahaha!”

Ye Ling leaped up from the floor, pointing at Sayo atop the castle, shouting passionately, “We are justice! We represent the will of the people! We will resist your tyranny! Brothers, charge!”

“Oh!” Xie Liu, Gong Hou, Lin Yang, Li Shizhu, and Xu Xiong all raised their fists and shouted: “Down with these rich kids!”

“Girls, don’t let these idiots look down on us.” Wendy took a fighting stance, with Tita and the newly joined Niwei stepping forward beside her, the three facing Xie Liu’s group. “Angela! Stop hiding back there—join the fight!”

Angela dashed from behind the wall, running past Xie Liu’s stunned group, then doubled back, bowed apologetically, and hurried to Wendy’s side.

Everyone watched the flustered girl as she ran.

After a brief silence, the battle erupted.

“Go! Go! Go!” Gong Hou roared, charging forward and catching the giant roast turkey Xie Liu had thrown. After taking a bite, he lunged at Wendy. Not to be outdone, Wendy kicked up a basket of French baguettes, snatching two long loaves midair.

“Tita!” Wendy shouted.

“Got it!” Tita nodded, spinning flames toasting the loaves in Wendy’s hands into rock-hard sticks. With a battle cry, Tita launched herself at Gong Hou, as Wendy wielded the baguettes like twin swords and charged.

When titans clash, the brave prevail: Wendy’s baguettes struck Gong Hou squarely on the head, but Gong Hou didn’t dodge or flinch. The massive turkey swung in a wide arc and slammed into Wendy’s face.

Blows landed, faces twisted, and both spat and sputtered, crashing apart: Gong Hou toppled a vase at the door, Wendy shattered the “castle” beneath Sayo’s feet.

Round one: contest of strength. A draw.

Xie Liu barreled forward, and as Gong Hou’s hefty frame came flying back toward him, he ducked, letting the massive body sail overhead. Grabbing fruit from the table, he hurled it at his adversaries. Sayo Mochizuki leapt down from the ruined castle, raising her hands as wind whipped up from her feet, scattering Xie Liu’s flying fruit.

Niwei stepped up, grabbed a watermelon from the floor, and lobbed it—three or four in quick succession. Xu Xiong, charging ahead cluelessly, caught one with his head; the watermelon exploded, sending him crashing to the ground.

Li Shizhu, tripped by Xu Xiong’s fallen body, rolled nimbly across the floor, snatched a metal platter, and flung it like a frisbee at Niwei. She couldn’t dodge in time; the platter struck her forehead and stomach, sending her flying with a grunt.

“You’re dead!” Sayo, seeing Niwei take a hit, flew into a rage. A wild wind swept up the chaos, hurling everything at Li Shizhu, who was battered senseless. Finally, a huge durian smashed into his head, and he collapsed, eyes spinning.

At this point, Lin Yang darted through the barrage of flying food—his power was truly handy—slipping through the chaos to confront Tita. Rolling along the floor, he snatched up a discarded leek, twirled it into a makeshift sword, and unleashed a graceful leek-sword technique, thrusting at Tita’s face.

For once, a flicker of anger flashed across Tita’s ever-expressionless face. She calmly grabbed a three-branched candelabrum, parried Lin Yang’s strike, then spun the candelabrum so that the candles suddenly ignited, transforming into a fiery dragon lunging at Lin Yang’s cheek.

Lin Yang’s swordplay was incinerated in an instant. Stunned, he watched the flames sweep toward him and used his power to blink away. At that moment, Sayo Mochizuki shouted, stripping two ribbonfish of their flesh, leaving only their bones, and fired the razor-sharp fishbone darts at Lin Yang in midair.

Just then, Xie Liu soared past Lin Yang, tossing a tabletop in front of him—a sharp “thunk, thunk, thunk” as the fishbones embedded deeply into the wood.

With a long howl, Xie Liu landed below. Not as fast as Lin Yang, he was still quick to act. He flung a metal tray, leapt onto it, and, like surfing, slid down the long table, scattering food everywhere as he charged fearlessly at Sayo and the others.

“Niwei, ice!” Sayo shouted, toppling the drinks before her. Niwei, scrambling to her feet, flipped her palms, instantly freezing the spilled drinks into ice cubes, which, at Sayo’s command, hurtled toward Xie Liu.

Riding his “skateboard” at full speed, Xie Liu whipped out a carving knife stuck in a leg of lamb, and with dazzling knife-work, shattered the flying ice cubes. With a roar, he closed in on Sayo, launching a kick at her abdomen. Sayo’s reflexes were sharp; she grabbed a fruit platter to shield herself, but with a resounding crash, she and the platter were sent flying, taking out several tables as she landed.

Using the recoil, Xie Liu spun through the air, landing beside Niwei. Undaunted, Niwei drew a fork from a loaf of bread and engaged him in a fierce exchange—knife and fork clashing, gleaming as they spun.

Then Tita moved; the fire dragon in her hand roared and spun toward Xie Liu. He dodged, lost his footing on a slab of butter, and tumbled off the table to the floor.

Seizing the opportunity, Niwei lunged with her fork, but Lin Yang suddenly appeared overhead, smashing a metal fruit tray toward Niwei’s face.

Niwei instantly abandoned Xie Liu, thrusting her fork up to pierce the tray. With a sharp clang, the fork skewered the iron tray, locking into its center.

Both froze for a moment, Lin Yang reacting first. He spun in midair, hoping to wrench the fork and tray away, but Niwei spun with him. When they landed, both nearly fell, barely managing to steady themselves on the long table.

They looked up—less than a meter apart!

Xie Liu rolled away behind Lin Yang, temporarily leaving the fray, as Lin Yang and Niwei stared each other down.

By now, who knew where the fork and fruit tray had spun off to.

The two, still a bit dizzy, realized the other was right there. Without hesitation, they scrambled to grab something from the table to attack with.

Lin Yang snatched a long fish, but as soon as he held it, it drooped limply in his hand, leaving him bewildered. Before he could discard it, Niwei had snapped the claw off a giant prawn, brandishing it menacingly.

Catching herself, Niwei grinned wickedly, clicking the claw twice. With a “shrimp claw pinch,” she lunged for Lin Yang’s lower half, snapping at him twice in a row, sending him ducking and weaving while she pressed the attack, the claw snapping at him from every angle.

Lin Yang retreated suddenly, tossing the juicy fish to block Niwei for half a second. Rolling backward, he snatched up a salted mackerel, sneered, and lunged at Niwei. She hadn’t expected such a quick counterattack, raising the prawn claw to defend herself, but Lin Yang’s thrust was so powerful it pierced the claw, snapping it in two! Niwei recoiled, head tilted, as the sharp tip of the mackerel whizzed past her nose. (Editorial note: Tuna shouldn’t have sharp heads.)

Lin Yang’s “mackerel thrust” was truly formidable, leaving Niwei momentarily stunned.

With a flick of his wrist, Lin Yang wrenched the prawn claw from her grasp. Before Niwei could react, Lin Yang punched her hard in the stomach, sending the snowy girl flying.

Before he could follow up, however, a barrage of long, hard French baguettes smashed into his face, stomach, and arms—hurled like javelins by Sayo Mochizuki to help Niwei. Lin Yang was sent tumbling through the air. Sayo immediately flipped a table, slammed her palm on it, and hurled the entire table at Lin Yang, who was too slow to dodge and was sent flying along with the table.

Xu Xiong now rushed in, leaping over the flying table and Lin Yang, grabbing several iron platters and charging at Sayo and Tita.

“Stop him!” Sayo shouted. Niwei spun midair and dove at Xu Xiong. Tita, having discarded her candelabrum, grabbed a string of some unknown food, wielding it like a whip. The three surrounded Xu Xiong.

But Xu Xiong seemed unfazed; he hurled an iron platter at blinding speed. Sayo barely had time to react before it struck her in the face, sending her flying. The platter, as if guided, veered at a sharp angle and slammed into Niwei’s face, knocking her down as well.

“Electromagnetic control,” Tita muttered softly, quickly deducing the secret to Xu Xiong’s platter-throwing prowess. She turned the unknown food into a whip and lashed Xu Xiong in the stomach, sending him flying dozens of meters into a mound of food.

Li Shizhu, durian still perched on his head, finally stood. Not much good in close combat, he resorted to lobbing things from a distance—one durian landed squarely on Tita’s forehead, toppling the stoic girl.

Xie Liu, laughing, skated in again. Sayo, still dazed from Xu Xiong’s attack, couldn’t react in time as Xie Liu bore down on her, slamming a platter into her face. Sayo gasped, covering her cheeks, and was promptly sent flying into a vending machine.

But before Xie Liu could land, the “castle” of tables that Wendy had toppled suddenly burst open, and Wendy charged at him, wielding a long, multi-segmented cream pouch like a whip. Xie Liu was struck several times, spinning dizzily, and before he could recover, Wendy was upon him. With a squirt, she sprayed cream all over his face, then spun and kicked him away.

Xie Liu crashed through a dozen tables before landing amid the debris.

“Come on, then!” Wendy tossed aside the cream pouch, laughing. Gong Hou crawled out from the wreckage, roaring, “Brothers, we’re not beaten yet! Charge!”

Both sides regrouped, staring each other down, unaware that Ye Ling and Angela had vanished. With a rallying cry, they were about to collide again.

“Cut!” Faraney’s voice rang out suddenly, and the world seemed to freeze.

Everyone who was about to crash together simply stopped in mid-motion, caught airborne, lunging at their opponents, but now frozen in place, as if nailed there.

Only a few pairs of eyes darted about in their sockets.

Ye Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief, pulling Angela from behind her back. “Is it finally over?”

Faraney smiled awkwardly. “Friends, please, try to cherish your hard-won food.”

Vladimir’s face was grim. After a pause, he muttered, “Faraney, are these the trustworthy comrades you spoke of?” Even he had to laugh.

Faraney, a bit embarrassed, released her telekinetic hold. With a collective thud, everyone crashed to the floor. As they got up, they exchanged sheepish grins—Wendy and Gong Hou even high-fived.

Faraney shook her head. “They may be a bit silly, but... I like them.”

Currently available information: The French baguette is the most traditional French bread, rich in nutrients. The baguette is the iconic representative of French bread, characterized by a crisp crust and a soft, slightly chewy interior, growing more fragrant as you chew, filled with the aroma of wheat. Of course, when left out or overbaked, the baguette can become so hard it could kill someone—hence, it is also known as the “French stick.” (Humorous aside.)