Paul thought Ares was telling a ghost story.
He sneered, "You're bankrupt, but I still have money."
Ares remained expressionless and pointed in Sheng Jiu's direction: "The Little Boss here doesn't accept credits."
Paul: ?
He turned his head in confusion, meeting Sheng Jiu's curious gaze, and subconsciously asked, "Then what do you accept?"
Sheng Jiu thought for a moment before nodding, "Interstellar Mushrooms, thorn peppers, mutated octopus tentacles, green ginseng roots, Explosive Lotus Seeds... I'm not picky."
Paul: ...
Well, "I'm not picky!"
Just tell me, in my current state, which of them do you think I could beat?
Paul lay flat on the spot, sneering, "Then I might as well die of thirst."
Ares chuckled after hearing this. "Alright, another patch of Interstellar Dates is coming up, they might need fertilizer."
Paul was so angry his blood was boiling. He wanted to challenge Ares to a duel, only to find himself bound tightly.
Paul realized then that he was bound very well: "You…"
Ares repeated his previous question: "So, do you have money?"
Paul remained silent.
Ares didn't mind: "If you don't have money, you can have Sleep Calming Agent, Gene Nourishing Liquid, or nourishing fluids. If all else fails, you must have nutrient solutions, right? What about nutrient pastes?"
Paul initially didn't want to move, but unable to bear Ares's increasingly outrageous words, he sneered, "I have a broken AI, do you want it?"
Ares, hearing this, thought, "Here comes the thing!" and quickly nodded, "It's barely acceptable."
Paul sneered, "Do you think I'm stupid? If you had an AI, you would have gone back long ago. Why would you be lingering on this desolate planet?"
Ares shrugged indifferently: "If you refuse to give it to me, then I'll have to use you to fish for mutant octopuses. They like the smell of humans, so if I use you, the mutant octopuses will definitely come out."
The thought of the terrifying feel of the mutated octopus tentacles, and that sticky sensation, sent a shiver down Paul's spine. He roared, "Commander Sel, don't go too far! We prisoners have human rights too!"
Ares: "Oh."
Paul: ?
Damn it, once I'm free, you'll be the first one I kill!
Paul ultimately assisted, handing over a discarded AI.
Sheng Jiu poured him a glass of Interstellar Dates water.
The water tasted vaguely familiar, and Paul frowned. "There really are interstellar dates around here?"
Ares nodded. "Advanced mutation, the interstellar date vines are so large they cover the sky."
Paul licked his lips but didn't speak, simply finishing the water in large gulps.
After finishing the glass, Paul looked up at Sheng Jiu. "Is there any more?"
Sheng Jiu didn't answer immediately, turning to look at Ares.
Ares instantly understood: "Do you have money?"
Paul: ?
If he wasn't tied up, he would have jumped three feet high: "Don't go too far! My AI is a useless piece of junk, is it only worth a glass of dates water?"
Ares nodded: "You know, yours is a useless piece of junk, right? Don't you think about how hard it is to kill interstellar dates, and how hard it is to obtain them?"
That's true.
Although Paul's expression was unpleasant, but he didn't utter a word in rebuttal. He merely gave Sheng Jiu an inscrutable look.
A question mark floated above Sheng Jiu's head.
What are you looking at?
Look again and I'll strip you naked!
Sheng Jiu rolled her eyes at him, poured another glass of interstellar dates water, but didn't rush to give it to Paul. Instead, she turned to look at Ares.
Ares quickly interjected, "Let's use you to fish for mutated octopuses. The Little Boss wants to sell Spicy Stir-fried Octopus Feet tomorrow."
Paul: ?
He instantly bristled, "Are you guys crazy? Eating mutated octopuses? Those things are poisonous!"
Hearing this, Sheng Jiu vaguely understood Ares's previous assessment of Paul.
Infamous, but not entirely bad in essence.
Sheng Jiu was about to explain when Ares beat her to it: "The Little Boss can handle it, you just need to be the bait."
Paul: Damn it!
Paul finally conceded with silence.
Sheng Jiu fed him two more glasses of interstellar dates water.
Then, Ares took him away.
The balcony door was closed again.
Sheng Jiu stood there, still holding the empty glass in her hand. After a long while, she muttered to herself, "Why don't I feel like I'm making money even though the customer has come?"
After muttering to herself, Sheng Jiu realized something else: "Now that Ares and the others have AI, can they leave?"
[Theoretically, it is possible.]
Sheng Jiu: ?
Although reality might differ somewhat.
But, they should be able to go back, right?
Thinking about how long it would be before she encountered new diners after they left, Sheng Jiu felt a little empty inside.
However, the effects of the interstellar dates tea were quite good.
Sheng Jiu finished tidying up and fell asleep.
In her dream, Sheng Jiu vaguely felt that she had forgotten something.
It wasn't until she woke up the next day that Sheng Jiu realized…
They hadn't cleaned the restaurant yesterday!
Realizing this in the morning, Sheng Jiu prepared to rush downstairs.
They hadn't cleaned all night, wouldn't there be cockroaches?
No!
She was scared too!
Just as she stepped out of bed, before she even washed her face, there was a knock on the door.
Sheng Jiu hurriedly rubbed her face, tidied herself up, and then went to open the door.
Ares stood at the door, dressed in a rainbow of colors, holding a similarly rainbow-colored person in his hand.
Sheng Jiu: ?
Wow~
Seeing Sheng Jiu up, Ares let out a long sigh of relief.
He knew he'd knocked a bit too early.
But he hadn't cleaned the restaurant last night!
He wanted to get up early and come here to tidy up!
Upon seeing Sheng Jiu, Ares gestured to her first: "Could you please turn on the water, Little Boss? We need to clean ourselves up first."
Sheng Jiu made two "oh" sounds and quickly open the water for them.
After waiting for more than half an hour, there was another knock on the door.
Ares, now clean and tidy, carried Paul in.
Paul was now unconscious.
Anyone who's been used as bait all night would be in a terrible state.
Besides, he's a patient!
Doesn't anyone care? He has a wound half an arm's length long on his body!
Bastards!
Before he lost consciousness, Paul was still cursing.
Unfortunately, it was no use.
After setting the person aside, Ares began carrying the spoils of the night into the house.
One cup of Exploding Lotus Seeds.
Six green ginseng roots.
Four large buckets of mutated octopus tentacles.
One bucket of thorny peppers.
Two buckets of Interstellar Mushrooms.
Two buckets of unidentified wild scallions.
Ares wasn't sure if Sheng Jiu needed the last two buckets.
He just happened to find them and, since he was already there, he grabbed them.
At this moment, seeing Sheng Jiu's gaze fall on it, Ares smiled sheepishly: "I saw they were all green, so I brought them all together. I don't know if they'll be of any use."
[Interstellar Wild Scallions, no special effects, but they taste good, and scallions from a desolate planet are almost free of pollution.]
The system provided a timely explanation, and Sheng Jiu was delighted to hear that even scallions, which could be used to make the dishes fragrant, were now included.
She quickly thanked Ares and let the system process the ingredients. Then, she and Ares cleaned up the restaurant together.
After tidying up the restaurant, Sheng Jiu rubbed her empty stomach and muttered to herself, "What should we eat for breakfast?"