Fly-by-Night Eatery 16

Yu You and the others were still suspiciously eyeing the woman, but Su Man needed something from her, so she spoke up and led the woman into a room where idlers were not allowed.

The woman was initially wary, unsure if Su Man intended to do something to her. But Su Man cut straight to the point: “I know you’re a prop player.”

Zhou Miaomiao’s heart raced wildly. She had encountered someone who understood. Fear flickered in her eyes as she looked at Su Man. Surely, bringing her into this small room wasn’t to force her to hand over all her props?

“No way. My things are valuable. Except for what I’m using to pay off my debts, I can’t give you anything else,” she said, stiff-necked and righteous, though her pallor belied her tough words. After a long stalemate, she muttered as if constipated, “It’s not that I don’t want to give them to you, it’s just that there are rules—I can’t just hand everything over.”

Then, in an exaggerated display, she dropped to her knees before Su Man: “Please spare me!”

This made no sense at all.

Su Man thought she wasn’t a despicable person, nor did she seem like someone who’d cheat others.

“It’s just that it’s awkward to discuss this in front of the other employees,” Su Man added unnecessarily. “I don’t want your potions. Do you have anything more advanced? Something that could, say, evolve my weapon?”

Since learning about prop players like Huang Mei, Su Man had been eager to find an item that could evolve her dagger.

Zhou Miaomiao was momentarily stunned.

“Well… I do have something like that, but it’s expensive. You’d have to pay me.”

She seemed a little guilty. “And to be honest, I can’t guarantee the effect. I don’t recommend you buy it.”

“Can’t guarantee the effect?”

“Ah, to be honest, the only thing I can guarantee here is that potion. The rest…” She suddenly lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard. “The rest are things I’ve been experimenting with myself, so I can’t promise anything!”

Experimenting on these props herself?

Su Man’s curiosity about this prop player deepened. This meant they were quite skilled. If she needed something in the future, perhaps these prop players could craft it for her.

Her gaze toward Zhou Miaomiao changed—people with talent deserved respect.

Apparently understanding Su Man’s thoughts, Zhou Miaomiao nervously whispered, “Right now, only I’m messing around with these experiments. Not everyone’s as unreliable as me.”

She looked deeply dejected. “I aspire to be a great inventor, but no one believes in me. Everyone thinks my stuff is unreliable and expensive...”

Suddenly realizing what she was saying, she frustratedly grabbed at her hair. “Sorry, I’m rambling again. You must think I’m weird.”

“Not at all. People with dreams are impressive, not strange. Those who strive for their dreams are even more admirable—that’s nothing odd.”

Su Man said, “How much is your prop? Let me see.”

Zhou Miaomiao saw that Su Man was genuinely interested, not just pretending, and her eyes grew moist. This was the first person to affirm her.

She sniffed, then swiftly produced something that looked like a dropper and began explaining professionally.

“This contains a substance I developed that can alter weapons.” Zhou Miaomiao held the dropper closer for Su Man to see. “This dropper isn’t a simple container either. See those array patterns? I drew them all by hand. They must be effective when combined!”

Su Man was somewhat surprised; she was familiar with such things.

A courier from the mid-tier industry had once shown a similar prop covered in array patterns to the craftsman to help change his identity.

“How much do you want for it?”

Su Man asked.

“Do you really want to buy it?” Zhou Miaomiao seemed incredulous, lacking confidence in herself and afraid of cheating Su Man.

“Yes, really. I trust you.”

It was rare to meet someone like this. Whether it worked or not, she had to try.

“I originally wanted 50,000...” Seeing Su Man’s shocked expression, she quickly added, “I’m not lying. I spent a lot to develop this!”

She hesitated a bit, then said, “How about 10,000...?”

Su Man weighed it in her mind. Keeping business separate, she might buy this fast-food place eventually, which could cost a lot. Ten thousand was not something to throw around lightly.

“Then…” Zhou Miaomiao bit her lip, nearly in tears, offering a rock-bottom price: “1,000. I really can’t go any lower!”

Any less and she might as well give up.

A thousand, subtracting the 500 she owed Su Man for meals, meant she only had to pay 500. That was quite a deal.

Even if she had to add 500 later for the shop, it was acceptable.

After payment, Su Man took the prop.

Zhou Miaomiao clutched her 500 coins, tearfully regretful—she had forgotten she still owed Su Man 500.

Following Zhou Miaomiao’s instructions, Su Man dripped the potion onto her dagger.

The moment the liquid fell, the array patterns on the vial lit up brilliantly, dazzling in their display.

When the arrays settled, Zhou Miaomiao asked, “Do you feel anything?”

Su Man shook her head—nothing.

Zhou Miaomiao paused, then tried to salvage the situation: “Maybe the conditions for evolution haven’t been met yet.”

Conditions?

Su Man, suspecting the potion had failed, still asked, “What conditions?”

“Devouring,” Zhou Miaomiao explained. “The condition for evolution is devouring.”

“I researched that if the weapon devours a common monster, it temporarily gains its ability for about a minute. If it devours a resentful monster, the weapon’s level increases by one. If it devours a powerful monster... I don’t know what happens.”

She nervously looked at Su Man.

Su Man thought Zhou Miaomiao was blabbering nonsense, but she said it so seriously it almost seemed true.

Weighing her words carefully, Su Man said, “Our deal is based on mutual consent and honesty. You can admit if this thing is faulty—I wouldn’t blame you. But you can’t deceive me.”

Deception changed everything.

“No! I absolutely did not deceive you!” Zhou Miaomiao earnestly defended herself. “Everything I said is true! Don’t you deal with those troublesome monsters? You could try it out!”

Su Man decided to trust her for now. Just then, Yu You knocked, saying troublemakers had shown up again. Su Man prepared to go out and test the prop.

Before leaving, she gave Zhou Miaomiao one last chance: “You can still back out now.”

She still suspected Zhou Miaomiao was putting on a brave face. Talented people often disliked admitting flaws in their work, even if, earlier, Zhou Miaomiao had acknowledged some minor defects.

Zhou Miaomiao hesitated. The prop did look like a failure.

“Maybe this potion didn’t work, but everything else I said is true! If it succeeds, it really can devour!” She looked at Su Man earnestly. “You’ll know once you try.”

This was her first sale. If possible, she didn’t want it to end in failure.