The synchronized sound of swords being drawn made Yulian and his two companions, who had just stepped out, stop in their tracks and look in surprise at the long queue at the restaurant entrance.
Richie, who had arrived in a huff with his young waiter, intending to expose the true nature of this little-known restaurant on the spot so he could vent his anger and restore his barbecue restaurant's ranking to its rightful 29th place, was startled and stopped in his tracks.
The noisy argument fell into dead silence after the swords were drawn. Many ordinary people in the long line were somewhat afraid of the gleaming swords, but their insistence on their tofu pudding flavor made them stand stubbornly in place, staring at each other without any intention of backing down.
"Ugly Duckling, do you think they're finally going to fight? We've been waiting everyday, and this time they're really going to draw their swords." Amy carried a small stool, held Ugly Duckling in her arms, and sat by the door. She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes wide open, full of anticipation.
"Why are there so many people queuing up? And why are they drawing their swords so easily? Could it be that I'm not the only one who thinks like this, and they've all come to cause trouble?" Richie looked at the two long queues in front of the door with some suspicion, and the knights and swordsmen in the queues who were drawing their swords. His thoughts suddenly changed.
"Boss, what should we do now?" the waiter behind him asked in a low voice, equally frightened by the scene.
"At a time like this, they definitely need someone to raise their voice and shout. As the biggest victim of this cheating, Richie BBQ Restaurant, as the restaurant owner, naturally has a duty to step up!" Richie felt his heart pounding, blood rushing to his head, his face flushing red. He strode towards the two long lines, raised his arm, and shouted, "Down with the cheating restaurant! Resist the ranking manipulation! Smash this damn restaurant!"
The atmosphere at the restaurant entrance was tense, it was so quiet they could hear a pin drop. Therefore, Richie's shout was heard clearly by every guest.
"Huh?"
The guests all turned to look at Richie, their eyes filled with surprise and a sense of concern for a child with intellectual disabilities.
The sweet vs savory debate is one thing, but when it comes to cheating, manipulating rankings, and smashing up this damn restaurant, nobody agrees!
They cast their votes one by one, and they're still not satisfied with their low ranking on the list. This guy is spouting nonsense, isn't he deliberately trying to embarrass them?
And he even wanted to smash up the restaurant?
Many people thought of the Burning Legion, who received a Rou Jia Mo as a reward yesterday. If they had acted bravely and helped Boss Mai deal with this troublemaker in advance, Boss Mai might have been so happy that he would have given each of them a Rou Jia Mo?
Thinking of this, the guests, who had already drawn their swords, looked at Richie with a hostile gaze. The werewolves from yesterday were too powerful, but dealing with such a seemingly fat and strong ordinary person was still easy.
"A bad guy? It's too much trouble for Daddy to change the door. Let's not let him in this time." Amy's gaze also fell on Richie. She was thinking to herself, and took her little hand off her chin. A blue purple flame danced on her fingertips.
The gazes directed at him made Richie's heart race even faster. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention, and the rush of blood to his head prevented him from noticing the hidden messages in the expressions on the faces of the crowd.
His mind was filled with thoughts of becoming a champion against fraud, leading an angry mob to break down the restaurant's doors, smash up the restaurant that had climbed the rankings by rigging votes, drag out the shameful owner, beat him up, and force him to confess to his vote-rigging fraud in front of everyone.
He hadn't felt this surge of excitement in his heart for many years, it was incredibly exhilarating!
"Down with the cheating restaurant! Smash this damn restaurant that manipulates its rankings!"
Richie had already started unconsciously marching in step, clenching his fists, his face flushed, shouting at the top of his lungs, and walking step by step toward the restaurant entrance with red eyes, looking like he was about to make a move.
"Smash it! Smash it!"
Inspired by his boss, the young waiter, his face flushed, followed Richie, raising his arms and shouting. He hadn't expected his boss to be such a spirited person. Just thinking about leading the customers to smash up this vote-rigging restaurant made his blood boil!
"These two...did they drink too much fake alcohol this morning?" Xi Xi asked with a slightly bewildered expression as she watched the two people walking excitedly toward the restaurant entrance under everyone's gaze.
"There are always some people who like to court death." Yulian curled his lip, glanced at the fat Richie, and showed no interest whatsoever.
Richie strode quickly to the restaurant entrance, then glanced back with some confusion at the two long lines that had suddenly become eerily quiet. He had originally thought that if he raised his arm, the already excited crowd would respond enthusiastically, then swarm him, smash open the door, and rush into the restaurant with him.
But what's with this eerily quiet atmosphere right now?
"It seems we are all civilized people, and we still need someone with guts to lead the team. I will naturally take on this task without hesitation!" Richie looked at the crowd and felt the gazes fixed on him. They were all earnest expectations and the gazes of those who looked at a hero, which made him more confident and filled him with strength and passion.
"Don't panic, everyone! I'm Richie • Bellman, the owner of Richie BBQ Restaurant, the embodiment of fairness and justice! After today's food rankings were released, I'm sure you all saw this restaurant's unusual ranking on the list!"
"That's right, everyone's anger is justified! This little restaurant, which I had never even heard of before, has actually managed to have two dishes in the top 30 and all five dishes in the top 100 in its first time participating in the food ranking competition! This is something that even established restaurants that have been around for decades can't do!"
"Therefore, I am absolutely certain that this restaurant's ranking on the food ranking list is definitely problematic! What kind of garbage is this Braised Chicken Rice? La Zhi Rou Jia Mo? How can dishes with names that make us want to vomit deserve to be in the top 30? This kind of vote-rigging and cheating is truly shameful!"
"As a loyal fan of food ranking lists, I absolutely cannot tolerate this happening right under my nose! We must vent our anger and show those who try to manipulate food ranking lists with their actions that we are not fools!"
"Smash this restaurant that's manipulating the rankings, and restore a clean and honest food ranking system!"
Richie became more and more agitated as he spoke, and finally, he waved his arm, shouted a slogan, and strode sideways toward the restaurant door.
"Why is it so lively today?" Just then, a bell rang in the restaurant, and the door opened.