[Stumble into the Future]: Final Part

A gorgeous waitress greeted them with a smile. She had short, ash grey hair that flowed down to her neck in waves and hazel brown eyes. She wore a small apron over a pink uniform and a matching hat to go along with her overall attire.

A small name tag was clipped over her shirt that read: Ming Seul-Ki; she was half-korean and chinese. Once she took another glance at Yu mei, the waitress's smile turned into a frown.

"Yu Mei, what do you want now?" She groaned in annoyance.

"C'mon, Kiki," Yu Mei leaned over the counter. She pulled down her oni mask, revealing her full red lips. "What's with the bitchy attitude today?"

"That's because every time you come here, a fight breaks out, and I'm the one who always have to clean up after you," Kiki complained.

Yu Mei pushed herself off the counter, "Trust me, Kiki, it won't happen again this time. That's a promise from your bestie." She patted Kiki's shoulders in reassurance; a cheeky grin plastered her face.

"Just like what you said the other day," Kiki rolled her eyes. She doesn't get paid enough to handle all of Yu Mei's dumb crap. She might even go crazy if Yu Mei kept her shenanigans up.

"Oh yeah! By the way, I like you to meet my new pal, Batu," Yu Mei presented him as if he was some sort of rare exhibition.

Kiki's eyes roamed all over his body like he was a piece of candy. He was certainly better-looking than most guys she'd seen in this city, 'Where did Yu Mei find this hot specimen of a man?' She thought to herself.

"Yo," He greeted with a simple wave. Batu wanted to give her a cool impression of himself. Well, he hope he did.

"H-hello," Kiki bowed her head slightly. She quickly pulled Yu Mei closer and whispered in her ear, "Don't tell me this guy's your boyfriend?"

"Why, jealous?" Yu Mei smirked at her.

"I honestly thought you were the type to go for girls."

"Oh, shut up," Yu Mei pushed her away. "Can you bring us to a table now?"

"Fine, fine," Kiki lazily waved at them to follow her.

The interior had a traditional chinese design of red wall and laminated wood benches. However, It was cramped with only a small walkway to get by. Beautiful red lanterns lined the ceilings while soft chinese tunes played in the background.

The diner was nearly packed full with loud chatter and laughter. Some men gazed at Kiki and Yu Mei with lust as they walked by. However, they quickly turned away once they noticed Batu's menacing glare. Kiki brought them to an empty table, where they sat down, and handed them menus.

"Don't need em," Yu Mei handed the menus back to her. "Just give us the specialties."

"You're choosing for the big guy, as well?" Kiki frowned.

"I don't mind," Batu waved her off. "I'll eat whatever, to be honest."

She glanced at Batu for a moment, "Alright, then I'll be back with your food." Kiki smiled at him before walking away. Her hips swayed before his eyes as she entered the kitchen.

"You'll love the noodles here; Mama Ming makes the best noodles in the world," Yu Mei rested her feet on the table as if she owned the place.

"Hey, can you tell me what city we're in?" Batu suddenly asked. He wanted to get right down to the main issue.

"Okay, now I'm really worried about your brain," She replied, shifting one foot over another. "But, if ya really want to know, we're in Altai City, or as I like to call it: The Capital of Corruption."

That couldn't be; Batu was sure of it. This city was far too advance to be Altai City. Furthermore, the city that he knew was still developing. He would know since he had lived there for his entire young life. However, Yu Mei didn't seem to be lying, though.

"How's that possible?" Batu frowned. "Altai was still in the works, and I'm sure as hell it wasn't as big or high tech as this concrete jungle."

"Maybe you could be either one of those fictional time-hoppers or just super crazy," She joked. "I bet it's the latter."

Time travel. That could possibly be the case. Moreover, It had to be that damn portal; it seem that he had time-traveled far into the future because of it. A bad feeling rose up in his gut, and Batu didn't like it one bit.

"What year's this?"

"2150. Do I win a million bucks now?"

"Fuck..." He buried his face in his hands. He didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was all there. The city, holograms, high-tech gadgets; it was right in front of Batu. Why did this have to happen to him? Batu had an urge to punch a wall right now.

"No way," Yu Mei dropped her legs from the table, seeing the solemn expression on his face. Yu Mei could sense something off about Batu; his emotions were all too real.

She looked around the area to see if anyone was eavesdropping then spoke in a low voice. "There's no way you're a time-hopper, right? How'd you even get the tech for that?"

"I didn't; a weird portal suddenly popped outta nowhere and dragged me into this mess." He sighed out. "2019. That was supposed to be the current year, at least for me."

"That's insane!" She cried out with disbelief. All the patrons in the diner suddenly turned heads, and Yu Mei quickly covered her mouth. "I'm still iffy about you bein' a time traveler and all. Got any concrete proof?"

"What about this?" Batu tossed his phone onto the table. It slid to a stop in front of Yu Mei. "It's the only thing on me besides my wallet."

"Woah~ talk about ancient tech," Yu Mei held his phone up to inspect it. "And it's in mint condition, too. Y'know, if you sell it off now, you could earn some pretty heavy dough; collectors love these type of old tech," Her eyes glimmered brightly.

Out of curiosity, Yu Mei randomly pressed the power button, and an image of Batu with two other boys appeared on screen. They all had wide grin on their faces as they stood in front of an arcade machine.

"Gimme that," Batu quickly snatched his phone away and shoved it back into his pocket.

"Who're they?"

"My bros, Hue and Erlan. We'd won first place in a local game tourney a while back."

"That sound's pretty kickass." Yu Mei complimented. "I wonder why those names sound familiar though?"

"How so?"

"Beats me," She shrugged her shoulders. "My memories are usually a little fuzzy when it comes to remembering people."

Kiki exited the kitchen with a tray of two large bowls of piping hot noodles. She placed the tray down and handed both of them their bowls, "Two house noodles ready to eat," she said unenthusiastically.

Yu Mei rubbed her hands together excitedly. She grabbed a pair of chopsticks and chowed down immediately with delighted moans. Kiki plopped down next to Yu Mei and rested her head on her arms. Fatigue and irritation was written all over her face.

"What's up with you?" Yu Mei asked, slurping on her noodles.

"It's the Black Wolves," She groaned. "They've been harassing us again."

"What did they do now?"

"They wanted mama to pay up the protection money by today or else they'll come destroy our diner."

"I told you before, Kiki, let us help you and Mama Ming out," Yu Mei said. "The Black Wolves would have to think twice about extorting you guys if your restaurant is under our protection."

"And be embroiled in a gang war?" Kiki crossed her arms. "We rather let the cops handle this."

"You know the Black Wolves are just gonna bribe them again."

"What else could we do? We don't want to risk our livelihoods that mama worked so hard for."

Batu listened in on their conversation in silence. Even in the future, crime and gangs still run rampant in the cities. It seemed that some things never change at all. Suddenly, the bell rung as the entrance door slammed open, startling everyone in the diner.

Five men walked inside with grim faces. They wore white jackets with a large image of a black wolf and dark jeans. The men all had jock builds and radiated an aura of intimidation.

The diner grew stark silent while some brave ones spoke in hushed whispers. None wanted to earn the ire of these fierce men. After all, everyone in these parts knew the infamy of the Black Wolves. The Black Wolves slowly scanned around the room, searching for someone specific.

"Damn it, it's them," Kiki bit down on her lips. A tinge of fear swelled up in her heart when they suddenly spotted her.

Thick swirls of tension loomed the air as heavy footsteps marched towards Batu's table. Everyone avoided eye contact with them while some took the opportunity to run away.

Jochi, a man with a thick beard, sweptback hair and a scar on his right eye, stopped in front of them with an intense glare, "Ming Seul-Ki, your protection fee is due. Hand it over." His voice was deep and raw like that of a wild beast.

"We told you yesterday that we were going to hand it over by the end of the week!" Kiki suddenly stood to face him. However, she looked like a small kitten facing against a grown lion.

"The protection fee is due when we say it is," Jochi furrowed his brows. "And that's today."

"Please, just give us one day. That's all I ask," Kiki grit her teeth, trying to hold her anger in.

Jochi suddenly snapped his fingers, and one of his men smashed the table into shambles with raw strength alone. Bowls of fine china shattered while noodles splattered across the floor.

"Hey, who the hell do you mutts think you are?" Yu Mei frowned at them. They had wasted her favorite noodles, and now she was pissed.

"I don't think you know who we are, little girl," Jochi grimaced.

"Yu Mei, please, I'll handle this," Kiki quickly said. She didn't want her best friend to get into anymore trouble.

"Oh, I'm fully aware who you scumbags are," She ignored Kiki and retorted back. "All of you are just a bunch of disgusting maggots who only prey on the vulnerable."

"Perhaps, we haven't been brutal with our methods lately since a random bitch like you have the gall to talk shit to us," Jochi said with a scoff. "I hope you enjoy working at a brothel because that's where'll you end up at. Vien, you know what to do."

"No don't!" Screamed Kiki.

Suddenly, a man with a dark complexion threw a punch at Yu Mei. It was too quick and unexpected for anyone to see clearly. However, a hand caught Vien's lightning fast punch just before it reached Yu Mei's smirking face. Batu stood before Vien, hurting his hand in a crushing grip.

"I suggest you guys get the hell out of here. Now."