I lent my brother 500 yuan, and he offered his wife as collateral.

……

West District of Chengdu.

As night falls, the lights are on.

The Mercedes-Benz G63 came to a stop at the entrance of a narrow, greasy alley.

The engine shut off.

The surrounding noise fell silent for a moment.

This is a famous street of "fly restaurants" in the old town of Chuandu.

The floor was covered with bamboo skewers and grease, mixed with the smell of cheap barbecue seasoning and fermented sewage.

The vehicles parked on the roadside were either peeling electric bikes or human-powered tricycles used for collecting recyclables.

This brand-new black G-Class parked here looks like someone wearing a bespoke suit walking into a pigsty—utterly out of place.

The car door opened.

Qin Feng casually slammed the door of the multi-million dollar luxury car shut with a dull thud.

"We're here." Qin Feng walked around to the passenger side and opened the car door.

Su Qingxue huddled in the leather seat, her hands gripping the seatbelt tightly, her eyes filled with terror as she looked out at the crowded people.

She was wearing a mask today, but it didn't give her much of a sense of security.

The white dress, which was originally quite expensive, stood out conspicuously in the smoky environment.

"Feng... Brother Feng."

Su Qingxue's voice trembled as she lowered her head, "There are too many people... How about I make you some noodles when we get back?"

She is afraid.

She was afraid of being stared at, afraid that her mask would suddenly fall off, and afraid that others would see the still hideous red spots and gauze on her face, which had faded considerably.

"Eating noodles all the time doesn't provide enough nutrition."

Qin Feng didn't give her a chance to back down, reaching out to unbuckle her seatbelt and grasping her icy hand:

"Get down. With me here, no one will dare to gossip."

His palms were dry and warm, carrying an undeniable strength.

Su Qingxue bit her lip and hesitated for a long time before carefully sticking her foot out of the car.

This appearance immediately attracted a lot of attention from those around.

"Holy crap, a G-Class! That car must cost over three million, right?"

"Even rich people eat gutter oil?"

"Look at that woman! She's all covered up like a thief. She must be ugly and ashamed to show her face!"

Whispers and gossip drifted over.

Su Qingxue trembled and instinctively wanted to shrink back into the car.

Qin Feng tightened his grip, pulling her half-into his arms to block most of her view, and strode into the alley.

Don't listen, don't look.

Qin Feng whispered in her ear, "A bunch of people who've gone mad from eating gutter oil, why bother arguing with them?"

The two had only taken a few steps.

Suddenly, an exaggerated shouting sound rang out from in front of a stall next to it that had a sign that read "Sichuan and Chongqing Hot Pot".

"Family! Look at this! This is the nightlife of Chengdu! A Mercedes-Benz G-Class with barbecue, the more you eat, the more fun you get!"

An outdoor livestreamer with dyed yellow hair and holding a selfie stick was shoving his phone camera right in Qin Feng and Su Qingxue's faces.

This streamer is called "Brother Qiang," and he's a minor internet celebrity in the area. He usually gains attention by riding the coattails of trending topics and engaging in vulgar live streams.

His eyes lit up when he saw the luxury car and the beautiful woman (even though her face was covered), as if he had discovered the secret to online traffic.

"Hey handsome, are you here with your girlfriend to experience life?"

Qiang, grinning, blocked their way, his camera practically shoving into Su Qingxue's face: "Don't go! Let the family see what kind of stunning beauty this rich second-generation guy driving a G-Wagon is with!"

The live stream chat was immediately flooded with comments.

[This woman is covered up so much, she must be a tank!]

[This is a "disastrous" series; I bet five packs of spicy strips it's worth!]

[Let the streamer lift her mask! Let's see if she's the next Qiao Biluo!]

Seeing the comments on the screen, Qiang Ge got even more excited and reached out to pull down Su Qingxue's mask: "Beautiful lady, don't be shy! Take off your mask and let everyone see how beautiful the girls in our Chuandu are!"

"roll."

Qin Feng stopped in his tracks, his eyes suddenly turning cold.

That look in his eyes was devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at a buzzing fly.

Brother Qiang was startled by that look, and his hand froze in mid-air.

But seeing the soaring popularity in the live stream, he gritted his teeth, and relying on the large number of people around him, he stubbornly shouted:

"What? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can insult people. Family members, be the judge. I just want to make a friend. Isn't this rich kid being a bit too pretentious?"

"friend?"

Qin Feng released Su Qingxue and shielded her behind him.

His gaze swept over the still-boiling red oil hot pot on the table in front of Brother Qiang.

The red oil was eerily bright in color and had an overpowering, pungent aroma.

A golden light flashed deep within Qin Feng's pupils.

[Open your divine eye for treasures!]

Swish!

Lines of alarming data appeared above the pot of red oil.

【Item: Extra Spicy Butter Hot Pot Base (Extra Strength)】

[Main ingredients: Industrial paraffin (thickening agent), recycled swill oil (commonly known as "saliva oil") with a peroxide value exceeding the standard by 150 times, and Sudan IV (industrial dye).]

Side dishes: Frozen duck intestines (preserved by soaking in formaldehyde), and reconstituted lamb rolls (duck scraps soaked in sheep urine for flavor).

Toxicity assessment: Highly toxic. Long-term consumption may cause esophageal cancer, gastric ulcers, and heavy metal poisoning.

[Recommendation: Destroy on the spot and report to the police.]

Qin Feng smiled.

His smile was somewhat sinister.

"You want to make friends, right?"

Qin Feng stepped forward and pressed Qiang Ge back into his seat.

His movements were so fast that before Qiang Ge could react, he was pinned down and unable to move, his face less than ten centimeters from the pot of boiling toxic oil.

The heat wave hit him in the face, making Qiang Ge's eyes water.

"What are you doing?! You're hitting people! You rich kid are hitting people!" Qiang Ge screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

The surrounding diners stood up, and many took out their phones to record videos, pointing and commenting.

"Young man, isn't this going too far?" The stall owner rushed out with a strainer, looking fierce. "Making trouble at my stall without even knowing who I am?"

Qin Feng didn't even glance at the stall owner.

With one hand on Qiang Ge's neck, he picked up the plate of fresh-looking duck intestines on the table with the other.

"These duck intestines are pretty crispy, aren't they?" Qin Feng asked casually.

"That...that's for sure! The duck was just killed this morning!" the stall owner said guiltily.

"Was it just killed this morning?"

Qin Feng sneered, "This is zombie meat that has been frozen in the cold storage for at least two years. To make it look fresh, it was soaked in formaldehyde solution for three whole days."

"And this pot of oil."

Qin Feng picked up a soup ladle and stirred the dark red soup: "It smells good? That's because too much ethyl maltol was added."

"As for where this oil came from..."

Qin Feng stared at the stall owner, his eyes like knives: "Boss, did you fish this 'saliva oil' with a peroxide value more than a hundred times the standard out of the box, or did you buy it wholesale from some shady workshop?"

"Fifty cents a pound?"

The entire room fell silent.

All the diners, who were enjoying their food with their mouths full of oil, froze in mid-air with their chopsticks.

The stall owner's face turned deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down his forehead: "You...you're talking nonsense! This is genuine butter! This is slander! You won't believe me, I'll sue you!"

Qiang Ge panicked and struggled to shout, "Family members, don't believe him! This guy just doesn't want me to do a live stream; he's deliberately trying to disgust people!"

"Nausea?"

Qin Feng released his grip and pointed at Qiang Ge's greasy face: "Have you been experiencing frequent burning sensations in your stomach, acid reflux at night, and occasional subcutaneous bleeding lately?"

Qiang was taken aback.

All correct!

He had been suffering from severe stomach pain for the past few days, and had also developed many red spots on his body, which he initially thought was an allergic reaction.

"That's a precursor to poisoning from industrial paraffin and Sudan Red."

Qin Feng took a tissue and wiped his hand that had been pressing on Qiang Ge's neck, looking disgusted. "After this, you shouldn't be doing live streams anymore. Just go to the oncology department and get an appointment. If you're lucky, you might live for another two years."

"vomit--!!!"

Qiang Ge's face immediately turned ashen green.

Whether it was psychological or a real reaction, he suddenly pushed the table away, bent over, and vomited violently into the drain.

That hot pot that had just been so tempting was now, in his eyes, a pot of highly toxic chemical reagents!

"I remember now! This smell...it does smell a bit like sewage!"

"Damn it! I had diarrhea all night after eating yesterday!"

"Boss! Give me my money back! I need to go to the hospital too!"

The surrounding diners immediately erupted in uproar.

Some people tried to induce vomiting by sticking their fingers down their throats, while others overturned the table and confronted the boss.

The once bustling night market instantly descended into chaos.

Seeing that things were not going well, the stall owner threw down the strainer and ran away, chased by more than a dozen burly men with red eyes.

Qin Feng stood calmly in the center of the chaotic crowd.

He turned around and looked at Su Qingxue, who was huddled in the corner, dumbfounded.

"Let's go."

Qin Feng took her hand and led her through this chaotic and smoky place.

This time, no one had time to pay attention to what Su Qingxue looked like, and no one cared whether she was wearing a mask or not.

Everyone's busy trying to save their lives.

……

At the end of the alley.

Far from the hustle and bustle, there is only a dim street lamp here.

A small stall with a sign that reads "Grandma's Wonton" sits forlornly in a corner.

The stall owner was a kind-looking old woman who was slowly wrapping wontons.

The water in the pot was bubbling and steaming, emitting a faint aroma of bone broth.

There's no pungent artificial flavoring, just the pure aroma of meat and noodles.

Qin Feng glanced at it.

【Item: Handmade fresh meat wontons】

[Ingredients: Freshly slaughtered local pork foreleg meat, pork bone broth, hand-rolled noodles.]

Additives: None.

[Rating: S-level - A touch of everyday life.]

"This is the place."

Qin Feng pulled Su Qingxue to sit down at a clean small square table: "Grandma, two small bowls of wontons, with extra seaweed and dried shrimp."

"Alright! Young man, you brought your wife to eat?"

The old woman smiled and readily agreed, then quickly started making wontons.

Su Qingxue sat on a small stool, holding a bowl of steaming wontons in both hands.

My stomach rumbled loudly, much to my dismay.

She was really hungry.

but……

She unconsciously touched the mask on her face.

Although this place is remote, passersby still occasionally come by.

Should I take off my mask?

What if someone sees the injury on my face...

Su Qingxue hesitated, clutching the spoon in her hand, not daring to move for a long time.

Just then.

squeak--

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor could be heard.

Qin Feng carried a stool and sat down directly next to her.

He took off his oversized black windbreaker and used his hands to shield Su Qingxue from the outside.

It's like a natural barrier.

Qin Feng's tall stature, combined with the coat, perfectly blocked the view of all passersby.

In this small space, only he and she remained.

And that bowl of steaming wontons.

"Eat."

Qin Feng looked down at her, his eyes as gentle as a pool of spring water: "With me blocking the way, no one can see it except me."

Su Qingxue raised her head and met those deep eyes.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

That feeling of security, of being cared for by the whole world, brought tears to her eyes.

She slowly removed the ear loop of one side of her mask, revealing half of her face.

After initial conditioning with the remaining formula of "Tianyi Shenrong Ointment", plus last night's bone and marrow cleansing treatment.

On her right cheek, the redness had mostly faded, and the newly grown skin was as white as jade, with a baby-like pinkish hue.

Especially her profile, under the dim streetlights, was breathtakingly beautiful.

Even with gauze covering her other half, her stunning beauty was still undeniable.

Su Qingxue lowered her head, gently blew on the wonton in the spoon, and slightly opened her cherry-like mouth to take it in.

The hot soup warmed me comfortably.

"Is it good?" Qin Feng asked.

"Um……"

Su Qingxue nodded vaguely, tears welling in her eyes, yet her eyes crinkled with a smile.

This was the best wonton she had ever eaten in her life.

Seeing her satisfied expression, Qin Feng couldn't help but smile and reached out to wipe the soup stains from the corners of her mouth.

Just then.

Qin Feng suddenly looked up and stared at the fifth-floor window of a residential building two hundred meters away.

It seems someone was taking pictures over there and forgot to turn off the flash.