Chapter 798: Encountering Exorbitant Price Gouging

"Pfft, coming to such a lousy restaurant and acting like a rich guy." Kristina looked down on Ye Xiu’s nouveau riche behavior.

"If you’ve got the guts, then don’t eat!" Ye Xiu said.

Why shouldn’t I eat? I’ll eat, and I’ll eat you into poverty! Kristina’s inner monologue was running wild, but she didn’t dare say it out loud.

At that moment, Ye Xiu received a text message from Ghost Shadow: "Young Master, I have arrived on King Island with the intelligence personnel."

Ye Xiu replied, "Proceed with building the intelligence network across the island as planned."

Ghost Shadow: "Understood!"

War often begins with intelligence. A war fought without preparation can lead to many unexpected situations. Although these wouldn’t pose a threat to Ye Xiu’s life, it would be very difficult for him to win this war quickly on his own. To ensure fewer casualties among his subordinates and the martial artists from around the world, building an intelligence network was imperative.

"Brother, are you guys from out of town?" a diner asked, walking over to strike up a conversation.

The other patrons in the restaurant wore amused expressions. Even a fool could tell that Ye Xiu’s ’family of three’ were not locals; who else would carry such a large bag and bring so much cash just for a meal?

"Yes, we are," Ye Xiu nodded.

The man who started the conversation was inwardly delighted. Acting overly familiar, he sat down next to Kristina to face Ye Xiu. "Then you’re in luck, running into me the moment you arrived in Tiger City. Oh, by the way, my name is Tang Kai. There’s nothing in Tiger City I can’t handle. Is there anything you need my help with?"

As he spoke, his eyes kept uncontrollably glancing at the dozen or so bags of cash on the floor.

"Your help doesn’t come for free, does it?" Ye Xiu asked with a smile.

Tang Kai was stunned for a moment, not expecting Ye Xiu to see right through him. "Come on," he said, recovering. "Listen to yourself. Who does anything for free these days? You’re outsiders and aren’t familiar with Tiger City. Spending a little money to avoid a lot of trouble is well worth it."

"That makes sense," Ye Xiu nodded. "I want to become the City Lord of Tiger City. Can you help me with that?"

Tang Kai’s expression changed instantly. "Are you messing with me?"

The onlookers began to chuckle. Even a fool could tell that Ye Xiu was toying with Tang Kai.

Only Kristina didn’t laugh; she had a feeling that Ye Xiu genuinely wanted to become the City Lord of Tiger City.

"It looks like you can’t help me, which means you won’t be earning my money," Ye Xiu said with a smile.

Tang Kai’s face turned sour. He slammed the table and shot to his feet, roaring, "Kid, I can overlook you refusing my kindness, but to mock me in public and make me lose face? Believe it or not, I can have you thrown out of Tiger City with a single word!"

As he spoke, the five young men who had been eating at Tang Kai’s table got up and approached, beer bottles in hand.

Seeing this, the other diners sneered. Tang Kai’s soft approach had failed, so now he was resorting to brute force.

"Tang Kai, we’ve been traveling for a long time and just want to have a quiet meal. I hope you don’t force my hand," Ye Xiu warned kindly.

This could be considered a very kind warning. However, to Tang Kai and the other patrons, it sounded as if Ye Xiu was terrified of Tang Kai and his five friends.

"Fine, you want to eat in peace? You can. But first, you have to settle the score for making a fool of me," Tang Kai said coldly.

"How do you want to settle it?" Ye Xiu asked.

Tang Kai pointed to the dozen bags of cash on the floor. "Give me all this money, and we’ll call it even. Otherwise... heh, my buddies here are famous for not knowing their own strength."

The diners gasped. They had assumed Tang Kai just wanted to extort some money, not take every last cent Ye Xiu had. That was far too greedy.

"Sigh, I must’ve picked a bad day to go out. I’ve run into two sets of idiots already," Ye Xiu sighed. Then, the teacup in front of him floated into the air, drifted over to Tang Kai, and with a CRACK, exploded into fine powder. "Come on," Ye Xiu challenged. "Show me just how rough you can get."

The diners were stunned. The skill Ye Xiu had just displayed was clearly a technique of a Martial Artist. Furthermore, only a Martial Artist who had reached the Grandmaster Realm could manipulate objects from a distance.

Tang Kai and his five friends, however, were merely surprised for a moment, showing no fear.

Tang Kai sneered, "So, you’re a Martial Artist. So what? I’ll have you know, my brother-in-law is the Deputy Director of Tiger City’s Order Department. You dare touch me? Go on, try it."

SLAP!

Ye Xiu stood up and slapped Tang Kai so hard he sprawled onto the ground. "I touched you," Ye Xiu said coldly. "Now what?"

The diners were all in shock. No one expected Ye Xiu to still dare to make a move after Tang Kai revealed his backer. Provoking the Deputy Director of the Order Department was no simple matter. It could lead to financial ruin, imprisonment, or even a mysterious disappearance.

Tang Kai lay on the ground, stunned for a full half-minute. He truly hadn’t expected Ye Xiu to hit him. Scrambling to his feet, he pointed at Ye Xiu and roared, "Fine! Very fine! Ever since my sister married my brother-in-law, no one has dared to hit me! You just wait! You just wait!"

Fearing another blow, he and his five friends scrambled away to find his brother-in-law and tattle.

Seeing this, the other patrons rushed to the counter to pay their bills. They had all heard about the character of that Deputy Director. Since they had been watching the spectacle while Tang Kai was beaten, they would surely be implicated if they stuck around.

"What’s going on?" When the waitress returned from the kitchen after placing Ye Xiu’s order, she saw the other diners lining up and clamoring to pay, so she hurried to get busy. In this small restaurant, the waitress also served as the cashier.

Soon, only Ye Xiu’s table remained in the restaurant.

"Did something happen?" the waitress timidly asked Ye Xiu.

"Their mothers called them home for dinner," Ye Xiu replied casually.

Yeah, right. I’ll believe that when pigs fly.

The waitress stopped paying Ye Xiu any mind and ran back to the kitchen to bring out the food for his table.

Before long, their table was covered with dishes. The waitress had strictly followed Ye Xiu’s "money is no object" instruction, ordering until the table couldn’t hold any more.

"Wow, wow, wow! So much meat!" Jiaojiao was ecstatic. Dazzled by the spread, she began eating with gusto until her face was slick with grease.

As Kristina ate, she eagerly awaited Tang Kai’s return with the Deputy Director of the Order Department for revenge. She hoped the situation would escalate—the bigger, the better. That way, she could escape in the chaos or perhaps attract a true expert who could kill Ye Xiu.

At the very least, she could send out the intel that Ye Xiu had poached all the scientists.

After they finished eating, Ye Xiu called out, "Check, please!"

The waitress came running over cheerfully. "Hello, sir. Your total comes to 102,846. We can round it down. Just give me 100,000."

Hearing this number, both Ye Xiu and Kristina were dumbfounded. The cost of living on King Island was similar to that of Yunluo City in Xuanse, and the purchasing power of the Eternal Kingdom’s currency was about the same as the Xuanse Currency.

Although they had ordered a lot of food, there was no way it should have cost 100,000!

"Are you sure you calculated that correctly?" Ye Xiu asked, his eyes narrowing.

If she hadn’t made a mistake, then the restaurant was guilty of outrageous price gouging.