Xiao Mei paused, her plastic fork hovering over the cup.
"Mix it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Yes," Lin Yao directed from behind the counter, leaning forward with the intensity of an orchestra conductor. "Stir from the bottom. The flavor powder settles. If you don't mix it, the last bite will be salty enough to kill a small mammal."
Xiao Mei and Jiang Wan exchanged a glance. The Vice-Commander of High Garden nodded solemnly. This was a mission.
They dipped their forks in.
As the noodles turned, the golden broth churned, releasing a second, more potent wave of aroma.
Xiao Mei couldn't take it anymore. She was a simple girl who had grown up eating algae paste. This smell was triggering primal instincts she didn't know she had.
She lifted a tangle of curly noodles, blew on them once, and shoved them into her mouth.
The moment the noodles hit her tongue, her eyes went perfectly round.
Then came the flavor.
"Oh... oh my god," Xiao Mei mumbled, her mouth full, abandoning all etiquette.
It started with a savory explosion of seafood stock a taste she had only read about in pre-war encyclopedias. Then, the heat kicked in. A sharp, electric zing of chili that raced down her throat and set her stomach on fire.
Jiang Wan was more cautious. She lifted a single, rehydrated shrimp. It was pink. It looked impossibly delicate.
She placed it in her mouth.
Her eyes closed.
The shrimp released a burst of sweet, briny juice. It had the texture of real meat. For a second, Jiang Wan wasn't in Sector 4, surrounded by ruins and death. She was... somewhere else. Somewhere warm. A beach? She had never seen a beach.
She took a sip of the broth.
A shiver went down her spine, rattling her very core.
Jiang Wan possessed an Ice-Attribute Gift. Her body was naturally colder than an average human's, a side effect of her power constantly leaching her warmth. She lived in a perpetual state of low-grade chill.
But this broth? It was like swallowing a miniature sun.
"Mmh..."
The sound escaped Jiang Wan's lips before she could stop it.
Su Ling, who was already halfway through her own cup, looked over and smirked.
"Good, right?" Su Ling teased, wiping a spot of red broth from her lip. "Be careful, Commander. You're melting."
Jiang Wan didn't even glare at her. She couldn't. She was too busy engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the noodles.
"The vegetables," Jiang Wan whispered, crunching on a rehydrated piece of cabbage. "They crunch. They actually crunch."
"And the egg bits!" Xiao Mei cried out, fishing for the tiny yellow fluffs. "They're like fluffy clouds of savory joy!"
The three women fell silent. The only sounds in the shop were the aggressive slurping of noodles and the occasional contented sigh.
They drank the broth. They scraped the corners of the cups. Xiao Mei even licked the foil lid.
And then, it happened.
As the last drop of spicy soup vanished, a strange phenomenon took over.
Xiao Mei dropped her fork. Her head fell back against the velvet chair. Her breathing slowed.
Jiang Wan sat perfectly still, her hands resting on the table, her eyes unfocused.
Steam began to rise from their skin.
The steam coming off Xiao Mei was a sickly gray color. The steam rising from Jiang Wan was a faint blue mist.
They had entered the "Food Coma of Purification."
Lin Yao watched from the counter, propping her chin in her hands.
"Look at them," she sighed, watching the steam rise. "They look like dumplings in a steamer basket."
[Host, please do not eat the customers.]
"I'm not going to eat them," Lin Yao grumbled. "I'm just jealous. I want spicy noodles too. Why do I have to pay retail prices in my own store?"
[To prevent embezzlement and ensure the economy remains stable.]
"Economy? System, I am the only economy in a fifty-mile radius!"
Lin Yao ripped open another cheap chocolate bar the only thing she could afford with her meager personal allowance and chewed it aggressively.
She watched the trio.
The "Spicy Seafood Cup Noodles" weren't just food. According to the item description Lin Yao could see:
[Item: Spicy Seafood Noodle Cup]
[Effects: Restores 40% Satiety. Grants 'Internal Furnace' buff for 2 hours (Cold Resistance +50). Minor Toxin Purge (Sweats out low-level radiation).]
It was basically a medical procedure in a cup!
Thirty minutes passed.
The gray steam around Xiao Mei dissipated. The blue mist around Jiang Wan faded.
The first to wake was Jiang Wan.
Her eyelids fluttered open. The usual icy blue of her irises seemed deeper, more vibrant. She took a deep breath, and for the first time in years, her breath didn't mist in the air.
She looked at her hands. The pale, almost translucent skin now had a healthy, rosy flush.
She clenched her fist. Frost coated her knuckles instantly thick, jagged ice shards that formed faster than she had ever managed before.
"My channels..." Jiang Wan whispered, staring at the ice. "The blockage in my thermal regulation... it's gone."
Usually, using her power hurt. It felt like her blood was freezing. But now? She felt warm. The spicy energy from the noodles acted as a buffer, allowing her to channel the ice without freezing herself.
"Commander?"
Xiao Mei sat up. She blinked, looking around wildly.
"Commander... why is everything so... high definition?"
Xiao Mei reached up to adjust her glasses, only to realize they were smeared with steam. She took them off to wipe them.
She looked at the menu board across the room.
[Price List: Shampoo - 2 Crystals. Coffee - 3 Crystals.]
She could read it. Without her glasses.
"I..." Xiao Mei's voice squeaked. "I can see the price of the coffee. I can see the dust mote floating near the ceiling light."
She turned to Lin Yao, her eyes wide and terrified.
"What did you feed us?"
Su Ling stretched, her joints popping. She just felt energized, like she had slept for ten hours. She looked at the two panicked women and rolled her eyes.
"Relax," Su Ling said. "It's just good soup. It clears the gunk out of your system."
"Just soup?" Xiao Mei stood up, knocking her chair back. She pointed a trembling finger at the empty styrofoam cup. "That was... that was alchemy! That was a biological enhancement serum disguised as dinner!"
She turned on Lin Yao, marching up to the counter.
"Who are you?" Xiao Mei demanded, though her voice was filled with awe rather than aggression. "Are you a scientist from the Capital? A witch? A mutant with the power of... flavor?"
Lin Yao blinked, finishing her chocolate.
"I'm a convenience store owner," Lin Yao said simply.
"Lies!" Xiao Mei slammed her hands on the counter (gently, because the marble looked expensive). "Normal noodles don't fix my astigmatism! Normal noodles don't make the Commander glow blue!"
Jiang Wan walked up behind Xiao Mei. She moved differently now lighter, less stiff. The bunny slippers made her silent approach even more eerie.
"Xiao Mei is right," Jiang Wan said, her voice serious. She looked at Lin Yao with a gaze that could cut steel.
"You are not just a merchant."
Jiang Wan leaned in.
"You are a strategic asset."
Lin Yao leaned back. "I prefer the term 'Retail Therapist.'"
Jiang Wan shook her head. "That noodle cup... it purged the radiation buildup in Xiao Mei's optical nerves. It balanced my elemental backlash. Do you realize what this means?"
"That you should buy more?" Lin Yao suggested hopefully.
"It means," Jiang Wan said, her voice dropping to a whisper, "that if the Warlords find out about this, they won't just try to rob you. They will bring an army to enslave you."
Su Ling stood up, her hand drifting to her knife. "Let them try. I need the overtime pay."
"I am serious," Jiang Wan pressed. "This isn't just a store. It's a miracle factory. You are sitting on a gold mine in the middle of a war zone."
Lin Yao looked at the three women.
One was a lethal mercenary with fabulous hair.
One was an Ice-Queen Commander wearing bunny slippers.
One was a frantic assistant who could now see into the future (probably).
Lin Yao smiled. A slow, confident smile.
"I know," Lin Yao said. "That's why I have high prices."
She tapped the counter.
"But don't worry about my safety. The store has... aggressive insurance policies."
[System Note: Defensive Turrets available for unlock at Level 3. Current defense: Indestructible Barrier + High Voltage Doorknob.]
Jiang Wan studied Lin Yao for a long moment. Finally, she exhaled, the tension leaving her shoulders again.
"Fine," Jiang Wan said. "Keep your secrets."
She looked at the empty noodle cups.
"But we have a problem."
"What?" Lin Yao asked.
"I'm still hungry," Jiang Wan admitted, clutching her stomach. "That was just an appetizer. Do you have... dessert?"
Lin Yao grinned. She tapped the holographic screen.
[Side Task Complete: Generate 50 Crystals.]
[Reward Unlocked: 'Snack Bar' Level 2.]
On the shelf next to the chocolate, new items shimmered into existence.
Brightly colored bags. Fizzy drinks in glass bottles.
Spicy Potato Chips.
Cola (Ice Cold).
Gummy Bears.
Xiao Mei gasped, clutching her chest. "Is that... is that a bear made of gelatin?"
"Dessert is served," Lin Yao announced. "But read the sign."
She pointed to a new rule that had just appeared below Rule No. 1.
[Rule No. 2: No fighting over the last bag of chips. Violators will be turned into toads. (Just kidding, but you will be banned).]
Jiang Wan looked at the Cola. Condensation dripped down the glass bottle.
"Caffeine," Jiang Wan whispered. "And sugar."
She slapped a pouch of crystals on the counter.
"I'm opening a tab."