Ding-ling.
The little bell above the door chimed as Zhou Zhuang led his crew back into the familiar Ham Boom-Boom.
But unlike before, the front-desk girl who should've been there to greet them was nowhere in sight.
…Huh? Where'd she go?
Did they clock out early or something?
The restaurant felt dim—only one or two ceiling lights were on, casting lonely pools of illumination across the space.
Zhou Zhuang, Angela, and the two department heads walked up to the counter.
Ding ding ding.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Zhou Zhuang leaned on the front desk and called into the quiet restaurant.
His voice echoed back at him.
No response.
Zhou Zhuang's expression turned a little dead inside.
You've gotta be kidding me. I finally got funding from Angela, and I was just about to show off in front of Faust and the others—now you're telling me there's nobody working?
So what, I took the money for nothing?
He could only shrug internally and accept that today was apparently not his day.
Behind him, Anna and the others stood awkwardly.
The leadership hadn't spoken yet, so as subordinates they couldn't exactly go sit down on their own and leave their boss standing at the counter.
So they fidgeted. Quietly. Uncomfortably.
Faust, on the other hand, didn't share their embarrassment at all.
Ever since the company had dumped them into some location in the City without warning, she'd been observing the surroundings with calm interest.
This "transfer" was different from the door they'd used before. There hadn't been any prerequisite like opening something first.
If her memory was intact, then Faust's working hypothesis was:
This looked less like "moving through a doorway" and more like space overlapping—then separating again.
Of course, that was only her conjecture.
After watching Zhou Zhuang call out with no answer, she stepped past the others and walked to the counter.
Zhou Zhuang, already drafting excuses in his head, heard a flat voice interrupt him.
"Manager."
He turned. Faust was at his side.
"Oh, Faust."
Zhou Zhuang assumed she was here to ask why he still hadn't gotten them seated or ordered, so he explained quickly:
"Looks like nobody's here at this hour. We'll probably have to go somewhere else for the dinner."
"No, Manager." Faust corrected calmly. "I'm not here for that. You were alone at the counter, so I came to wait with you."
"…Alone? I'm not alone—Angela and the department heads are right—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because in the time it took him to look, Angela, Malkuth, and Hod had already led Anna and the others to a table inside and sat down.
Malkuth was still surveying the décor. When she noticed Zhou Zhuang looking over, she waved and mouthed at him:
Hurry up and order.
"…Ah."
Zhou Zhuang's face turned into the very definition of stuck.
He'd been ready to declare the place empty and reroll to a different restaurant—
but now everyone was already seated.
So what was he supposed to do now?
Seeing the headache written all over his face, Faust spoke again:
"Manager—since Angela and Ministers Malkuth and Hod chose to sit down, that suggests there are staff here. They simply haven't come out to work."
"Of course, that is only a guess," she added, as if signing off a report.
Zhou Zhuang thought it over.
It did sound plausible.
After all, he'd spooked the staff earlier that morning and warned them to be careful when going out—
but it didn't make sense for everyone to vanish entirely within a few hours.
And there was no way the cafeteria window would let him come here for nothing, right?
So yes: someone was probably inside.
"In that case," Zhou Zhuang decided, "let's check the kitchen."
"Since Angela and the others already sat down, it'd be awkward to tell them this was a wasted trip."
"If we're leaving, we leave after we confirm there's truly no one here."
Faust nodded and followed behind him.
As they walked deeper into the restaurant, Zhou Zhuang couldn't help noticing something.
"Wait… this place is this big?"
He'd thought it was just the small dining area near the entrance—like the last two times.
But inside, it was far larger than it looked from outside.
Soon, the two reached the kitchen door.
"Knock first," Zhou Zhuang said after a moment.
Faust replied with a quiet acknowledgment and stepped forward.
Zhou Zhuang lifted his hand to knock too—then awkwardly lowered it when he realized she'd already done it.
Instead, he leaned in and raised his voice.
"Hello? Is anyone here? Are you open today?"
Still no response.
Zhou Zhuang gave Faust a look, signaling her to enter.
"Sorry to disturb you," Faust said.
She paused for a heartbeat—then pushed the door open.
Zhou Zhuang poked his head inside and called again.
"Anyone there? Are you open today?"
The kitchen was spotless. His voice bounced off the clean tiles and steel surfaces.
He stepped in, scanning left and right.
"Wow. This kitchen is insanely clean," Zhou Zhuang remarked. "At least I don't have to worry about my immune system fighting whatever I eat."
"…But it really doesn't look like anyone's here," he added, circling the stove.
Just as the two were about to leave—
Something clattered to the floor.
Both of them froze.
They exchanged a glance, then moved toward the sound—one in front, one behind.
They stopped at a thick metal door.
Cold air seeped through the seams.
A freezer.
Zhou Zhuang reached to pull it open slowly from behind the door. Faust, meanwhile, grabbed a handy knife from a utensil rack and angled herself toward the opening, ready.
A black shadow burst out of the freezer, holding a long object.
Faust's arm snapped up over her head.
Blade falling—
Then stopping, hard, right above the figure's head.
"W-what's going on?" Zhou Zhuang blurted, stepping out from behind the door that had blocked his view.
Faust and the person stood frozen in a lethal tableau.
When Zhou Zhuang finally saw who it was, his eyes went wide.
"Ah—Front-desk girl!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Li Na snapped back to herself.
Her fingers loosened instinctively, and the baguette in her hands dropped to the floor.
"Why were you holding a baguette?" Zhou Zhuang stared at the fallen bread, utterly baffled.
"Ah… you… I…" Li Na stammered, unable to form a full sentence.
"Come out first," Zhou Zhuang said, noticing her trembling. "I don't even know how long you've been in that freezer."
He gently pulled Faust aside to make space.
Li Na walked out in a daze, as if her mind still hadn't caught up with how close she'd just come to dying.
She followed behind Zhou Zhuang and Faust toward the kitchen exit like a sleepwalker.
"So where's your boss?" Zhou Zhuang asked as they walked. "Why are you the only one here?"
"And are you even open today?"
No answer.
After a while, Zhou Zhuang frowned and turned around.
Li Na had stopped in place.
Her eyes were red, tears gathering at the rims.
And the quiet kitchen suddenly felt much colder than the freezer.
....
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