Chapter 17: Chaos At The Restaurant!

At that moment, a woman in her mid-to-late twenties and thirties, exuding sophistication and wearing an apron, approached the pair with great joy and took Olivia's hand.

"Oh my, what brings my dear friend to this humble little place today?"

Seeing the woman, Olivia's smile became even brighter.

"Maris, you're such a tease! If it wasn't for the spicy hotpot at your place, why would I be here?"

The close relationship between the two women made Benjamin feel slightly awkward standing beside them.

"Ah, is this your boyfriend? Wow, where did you find such a handsome guy? He's a hundred times more dashing than my husband! Oh dear, when did you get a boyfriend and not tell me?"

Suddenly questioned by her friend, Olivia's face reddened even more. Even Benjamin felt a bit awkward. He didn't expect Olivia's friend to be so quick-witted and mistakenly assume they were a couple.

"Benjamin, my friend is a bit hasty. It was just a misunderstanding, and please don't take it to heart."

Waiting for her friend to leave, Olivia began to explain the situation. Unsure of how to respond, Benjamin chuckled as if nothing had happened.

However, just as the two were about to continue their conversation, a loud shout erupted from a nearby table.

"Damn it, what kind of service is this? Why is there a cockroach in our hotpot? Pay us compensation, now!"

The shout was so loud, and the restaurant was crowded. Everyone turned towards the table with the three men. A few cockroaches lay on the pot's lid alongside the nearly empty hotpot on their table. The sight made the other diners feel nauseous, and they began checking their food.

At this point, the waiter sensed trouble and didn't dare to intervene, quickly rushing to the kitchen to call the owner.

Upon hearing the commotion, Maris hurried out. After listening to her staff's report, her expression darkened.

Finding foreign objects in the food at the restaurant was absolutely unacceptable. She carefully inspected every dish before it was served. Therefore, the appearance of cockroaches in the hotpot seemed utterly preposterous.

Of course, given the current situation, there are better solutions than this, even if she were to explain. So, after carefully considering her options, Maris approached the table of the three men who had just discovered cockroaches in their hot pot.

She looked into the pot and then at the boiled cockroaches placed on the pot lid. Although she was confident in the restaurant's procedures, seeing such a scene made her furrow her brow.

"I'm sorry, but how did you find these cockroaches in your hot pot? Normally, our restaurant's procedures are very clean. We inspect the food multiple times before serving it to our guests. In all these years, even when our restaurant was just in a small roadside, we never had a situation like this."

Many of the restaurant's long-time patrons agreed with Maris's explanation. The restaurant is famous for its traditional spicy hot pot and its excellent service and cleanliness. So, the discovery of cockroaches in the hot pot truly astonished many customers. After all, this was an infrequent occurrence.

"What the hell are you implying? Are you saying we put the cockroaches in the pot ourselves?"

As soon as Maris finished explaining, one of the three men at the table angrily stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and pointed at her. The other customers' faces turned pale with fear. On this man's arm was a distinctive tattoo, the symbol of the Rose Gang, founded by a notorious boss in New Harbor.

Maris's face turned pale, and Olivia, who was nearby, looked at Benjamin anxiously and whispered.

"This is bad. These guys are from the Rose Gang. They're usually very arrogant and like to cause trouble for restaurants that refuse their protection."

Hearing Olivia's explanation, Benjamin's eyes narrowed. At this point, Maris also realized the gravity of the situation. She didn't dare confront the gang members. So, after careful consideration, she spoke softly to the three men.

"I sincerely apologize. Our restaurant is just a small business. If we have offended you, please forgive us. As for the cockroaches in the hot pot, we will compensate you. Furthermore, from now on, whenever you visit, your meals will be on free. I hope this will satisfy you."

At this point, the surrounding customers sympathized with the restaurant owner's soft approach to resolving the issue. In truth, they were somewhat wary of these thugs as well. After all, these people didn't have respectable jobs and often caused trouble outside, and nobody wanted to get tangled up with them.

However, after exchanging glances, all three ruffians stood up abruptly. Then, one of them slammed his hand on the table and forcefully flipped the still-hot hotpot, sending it flying toward the restaurant owner.

"Damn it, with a filthy and disgusting restaurant like yours, you still want us to return for another meal? If you don't compensate us today, you might as well shut down this place."

Bang!

The other two joined in, breaking chairs and tables around them.

From inside the kitchen, seeing his wife splashed with boiling water by the thugs and witnessing his restaurant being vandalized, Maris's husband could no longer stand it. He grabbed a kitchen knife and charged out from behind the house.

"You bastards, I'll risk my life against you today."

Seeing her husband rushing towards the three thugs with a knife, the restaurant owner's face turned pale with terror, and she hurriedly shouted.

"Husband, don't!"

But her cries could not quell her husband's anger. With a downward slash, the knife in his hand was aimed directly at the shoulder of one of the thugs.

"Ah!"

The employees and customers in the restaurant were all extremely panicked, screaming continuously.

However, the bloody scene they imagined did not occur. Instead, the knife in Maris's husband's hand was chopped down onto a wooden plank, a remnant of the chair that the thugs had just destroyed.

"Damn it, you almost scared me to death. Fine, you dare to try to chop me with a knife? Today, we will trash this place of yours!"

Bang!

The stout figure of the restaurant owner was kicked out by one of the thugs.

Initially, the restaurant owner had found the courage to fight the thugs due to his overwhelming anger. Now, his knife had been taken, and he had been knocked down. In an instant, his face turned pale, and his eyes filled with fear.

Seeing her husband being attacked and the three thugs threatening people with a knife, the restaurant owner's wife clenched her teeth, grabbed a stool, and charged at them, shouting.

"Whoever dares to hit my husband, I will risk my life against!"

Thud!

However, with just a little effort, Maris was quickly kicked away by one of the thugs.

"Damn it, are you two tired of living? If I don't beat you to death today, I'm not a thug!"

Seeing Maris and her husband beaten, Olivia could no longer sit still. She quickly stood up and ran towards her friend.

"Stop it, all of you! I've already called the police. If you continue causing trouble here, the police will surely take you to the station."

Seeing a beautiful young woman with like a doll-like appearance standing before them, the three thugs couldn't help but stare. Then, one of them, unable to resist, swallowed his saliva.

"Damn, where did such a beautiful woman come from? Miss, would you like to spend some time with us tonight?"