Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Alluring Swarm Lord

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu: "(wiping sweat) The people of Cangcheng's enthusiasm for jianbing guozi... is a bit beyond what I expected."

Wangshu: "Been so busy my feet haven't touched the ground. The batter's nearly running out — I should be able to close up early today."

Jingliu: "So, why didn't the past me object?"

Wangshu: "Another customer just showed up. Talk later, Senior."

Jingliu: "..."

Of course, another customer really had shown up.

Maybe they'd been drawn to Wangshu's portable cart, maybe they were just curious about the so-called "Homeworld Select," or maybe the foot traffic near the academy was simply that good.

The line at the stall was never long, but it never broke either.

"Smells amazing."

A girl who looked petite and delicate took a deep breath in front of the cart.

"Right? Homeworld Select — a snack with a thousand years of heritage has gotta be good. The whole point is making it fresh to order, so the aroma hits you right away."

"Wait till tomorrow — once I get the cart organized, I'll have shouzhuabing too. Even more fragrant."

Wangshu kept the conversation flowing naturally. His body might have gotten younger, but social experience didn't disappear along with the years.

He wasn't sure what office work was like, but for jobs that required interacting with people, being chatty was generally a plus — as long as you knew where to draw the line.

"Mm~" The girl hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded with a smile playing at her lips. "Then I'll come again tomorrow."

Wangshu's hands paused ever so slightly.

I was just talking big. I wasn't actually planning to make shouzhuabing.

Perhaps life in a nation of long-life species really was more leisurely. Even with the war still flaring up from time to time, Cangcheng — as a trade hub and commercial paradise — seemed to leave its people with very little sense of urgency.

He was quiet for a beat, then naturally moved past the subject. "Right then — so what would you like added, miss?"

The girl didn't seem to agonize over it, her tone breezy: "Everything."

Maybe... this was just how Cangcheng people were. All morning, Wangshu had lost count of how many times he'd heard "everything."

By now his movements were thoroughly polished — ladle the batter, spread the crepe, crack an egg, scatter scallions — all in one fluid sequence.

"Xianzhou appetites sure are something. Us short-life species could never stomach an 'everything' order."

He mused aloud while deftly spreading sauce.

Jianbing guozi wasn't exactly filling on its own, but the Xianzhou had an abundance of ingredients, and Wangshu had put them all on the menu as add-ons. The result was a rather bloated selection.

"I'm not from the Xianzhou."

The girl's voice went slightly softer.

It was nearly noon and the foot traffic had picked up, but she showed no signs of moving along. Arms propped on the cart, chin resting in her palms, she watched the young man's performance with evident interest — completely at ease, as if they were old friends.

"Even better then — this jianbing guozi will definitely fill you right up."

It didn't take long. The batter would dry out quickly and needed to be taken off the heat.

But the girl wasn't looking at the food. She quietly watched his profile. "Aren't you going to ask my name?"

Why would I ask your name? Are all you Cangcheng people this forward?

Wangshu shook his head, flicking aside the bangs that had fallen loose from the morning's rush, and smoothly put on a smile. "Then what's your name, miss?"

"Huosi."

"Huosi? Do you know Huohuo?"

After saying it, Wangshu laughed at himself. Huohuo was quite old — probably in her forties or fifties when the game's storyline began — and certainly had no connection to Star Calendar Year 6299.

"Not Huosi..." The girl shook her head, her enunciation clearer this time: "It's — Huo — Shi."

Wangshu blinked, straining to parse it. His retroflex consonants had never been great — sounds like "si" and "shi" were genuinely hard to distinguish, and even after the girl repeated herself, it didn't sound much clearer.

He mumbled something in response. The girl said "Huoshi" — he still hadn't caught it clearly. But it was just an acknowledgment; the customer was king, after all.

"Here you go — all done! Wishing you great business and all the best in Cangcheng!" Wangshu beamed.

Most people who came to Cangcheng were here for business. Of course, ordinary folk existed too — during wartime, Cangcheng's non-belligerent stance made it something of a haven in its own right.

"I'm not here on business. I'm here looking for someone."

The girl who'd called herself Huoshi took the food, her fingertips brushing across Wangshu's hand in passing.

"Then I hope you find whoever you're looking for soon, miss." Wangshu went with the flow.

Huoshi nodded, accepted the jianbing guozi and moved aside. But before leaving, she took one more deep breath.

Still so fragrant — just like Them. Rich, sweet.

But the scent seemed to be fading lately. It probably wasn't Wangshu.

She continued following the trail, not lingering. She took a bite of the thick, generous jianbing guozi, licking her slender fingers along the way. Not bad!

Even after finding her target, she'd come back tomorrow to try the so-called shouzhuabing.

"Cangcheng really is a big place. So many beauties."

Wangshu was somewhat awed. Setting aside the Foxians with their innate alluring constitutions, long-life species were virtually free from disease from birth. Their features were at least well-proportioned — everyone above the passing line.

"Hey, hey!!! No cutting in line, customer!"

Wangshu suddenly noticed someone trying to push ahead and quickly called out to maintain order.

Everything fell back into line, and the stall returned to its busy yet peaceful rhythm.

Until about ten minutes later, Wangshu heard a voice that sounded very familiar — like little Jingliu's, yet also like a teacher who'd been kind to him back in school. He instinctively looked up.

A new customer stood before the stall. Strikingly beautiful — luminous, pale skin, features exquisitely painted, an aura clean and translucent. The gender was hard to determine... though their flowing hair presented a lovely gradient, like peach blossoms in spring.

"What can I get you? Menu's right there."

"Everything."

The same familiar request. But that voice he'd thought he'd imagined a moment ago seemed to have returned to normal.

Wangshu was a bit uneasy. He made a mental note to ask adult Jingliu in the group chat later. This was the Star Rail universe, after all — asking questions was never a bad idea.

"Aren't you going to ask my name?"

Steam rose from the griddle. He was focused on cooking when that voice came again, this time carrying a tone of casual expectation.

Wangshu: ...

He was quiet for a beat before speaking. "What's your name?"

He really didn't have a habit of asking customers their names, and rarely encountered people like this.

"Chana." The customer's answer was clean and crisp.

Do you want to seize the future?

An image flashed through Wangshu's mind, but his expression remained all smiles. "That's a beautiful name. Very evocative."

Chana seemed mildly surprised by Wangshu's composure, then said without preamble: "I'm here to save your life."

Wangshu: "Ha, haha..."

Is this person insane?

The thought popped into his head.

He wasn't too worried about the Cangcheng crisis. Abundance's creatures were formidable, certainly, and the Emanator Hoolay could destroy Cangcheng.

But the Propagation-enhanced Jingliu had been born to counter Abundance. Infinitely stacking damage plus extreme lifesteal made her the ultimate Abundance-killer.

"I'm not joking."

Chana insisted.

Wangshu busied himself with the crepe, unsure how to respond.

Chana narrowed their eyes. Their ability seemed to have failed — words that should have instilled instinctive trust apparently had no effect on the boy.

"You've never heard of the Alluring Swarm Lord? She wasn't even trying to hide, and you were chatting away with her without a care in the world."

Left with no choice, they dropped the bombshell.