Wang Min's face reddened beneath smeared mascara as Zhou Fei—scion of Liangrun Meats—froze mid-stride. "Xiao... Xiao zong?"
The restaurant's ambient chatter died. Mu Wanqing watched realization dawn on Zhou Fei's face—the same man who'd groveled that morning over a ¥700 million wire transfer now stood paralyzed before his sugar baby's tantrum.
"Your girlfriend," Xiao Yang drawled, swirling chili oil into his rice, "insists this crab pot belongs to her."
Zhou Fei's slap echoed like gunfire. Wang Min crumpled, Gucci purse spilling lipsticks and forged academic certificates. "Apologize!" he barked. "Or I'll sell you to Haitian Shengyuan as party livestock!"
The threat held weight. Everyone knew the "luxury expo" doubled as a human auction house for bored oligarchs.
Wang Min's knees hit sticky tile. "P-please, Mr. Xiao! I'll do anything!"
"Anything?" Xiao Yang cracked a crab claw. "Eat this shell. Whole."
Mu Wanqing's chopsticks paused mid-air.
9:02 PM - Parking Lot
Zhou Fei lingered by the Brabus, WeChat QR code glowing on his phone. "About those 'party tools'—"
"Later." Xiao Yang tossed him a blood-stained napkin from Wang Min's meal. "Focus on freezing my organs first."
Inside, Mu Wanqing confronted the restaurant's true marvel—not the Michelin-worthy crab pot, but the woman emerging from the kitchen.
"Chef Liao Yulan," the hostess introduced. "Five-time national culinary champion."
Xiao Yang's mental image of a sweaty line cook evaporated. Before him stood a warrior-poet in stained whites, cleaver dangling from her apron like a samurai's katana. Her cheekbone scar told stories no Yakuza film dared replicate.
"Your mapo tofu." Liao tossed a flash drive onto their table. "Contains every food-safe bunker within 500km."
Mu Wanqing blinked. "How did you—"
"Survivors recognize their kind." Liao lit a cigarette with a blowtorch. "Three tips: Hoard Sichuan peppercorns. Never trust canned oysters. And burn this place before June 30th."
As she strode back to her woks, Xiao Yang's raven swooped down to steal her hairpin—a Soviet-era geiger counter disguised as jade.
Five days left.