The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: "Then what is the purpose of you releasing this mission?

Ye Fan was a simple, unrefined man, so he couldn’t comprehend Shen Lu’s sentimentality. He just chalked it up to what he assumed was a woman’s emotional nature.

He’d overheard it before. In the Mercenary Corps, there were always a few scumbags who liked to play around with women, confidently spouting their "understanding" of them during idle chatter.

Ye Fan had inevitably overheard a few things. He didn’t remember much else, just the line that "women are emotional creatures."

The next morning, the first thing Shen Lu did after getting up was check the weather.

’Phew. Good, the rain has lightened up to a drizzle.’

She had exhausted herself yesterday, and her body was still a little sore today. Shen Lu didn’t feel like cooking, so Cai Su made a simple noodle soup for breakfast.

Just as the water started to boil, Wang Daguo arrived with Mrs. Fang and her son.

Cai Su came up to the second floor to get Shen Lu. The moment Mrs. Fang saw her, she grabbed her hand and anxiously asked about her husband.

"We were going to come yesterday when the rain let up, but my mom came down with a fever and was bedridden. She’s a little better today, so we came over." Fang Ming explained why they hadn’t come, his tone respectful and cautious. "Boss, my dad... he didn’t cause you any trouble, did he?"

Shen Lu didn’t know how to answer. After a brief pause, she just told them to come up to the third floor.

Mrs. Fang’s fever hadn’t broken yet, and she couldn’t walk. Her son had carried her on his back to the shop, and by now, Fang Ming was out of strength. So, Wang Daguo picked her up, and they all headed up to the third floor.

Ye Fan was squatting on the floor, studying the pastries Shen Lu had set out.

The pastries were the size of mahjong tiles, a shimmering green, and gave off a faint, sweet aroma.

’They probably taste great. Too bad I can’t try one.’

’But there are several in this stack. No one would notice if I sneak just one, right?’

The more Ye Fan thought about it, the more his mouth watered. He reached out a guilty hand. Just as he pinched a piece, a set of footsteps sounded from the top of the stairs.

’Crap, someone’s coming up.’

Ye Fan nearly lost control and crushed the small pastry in his grip. When Shen Lu came up, the first thing she saw was Ye Fan fiddling with the mung bean cakes.

"I saw they were a little crooked, so I was just straightening them," Ye Fan explained with a straight face. He put on a serious expression and greeted her, "Morning, Boss."

"Morning."

Shen Lu nodded, then pointed to the black body bag on the floor. "I’m very sorry," she said grimly. "Due to a mutant beast, your husband... he didn’t make it."

Mrs. Fang looked as if she had been struck by lightning. Her face turned white as a sheet. If her son hadn’t been holding her up, she would have collapsed to the floor.

"N-No... impossible..." The woman’s voice was barely a whisper, and tears streamed down her face like rain. "How could he be dead? There must be some kind of mistake..."

Fang Ming also found it hard to accept. Only a day and two nights had passed, and the father who still had the strength to break free of steel ropes was now a cold corpse.

He gritted his teeth and handed his mother over to Wang Daguo for support. He then walked forward and pulled open the zipper on the body bag. He had to see with his own eyes if the person inside was really his father.

Fang Peng’s death had been horrific. The mutant beast had burrowed out from between his eyebrows, tearing his entire face apart. Ye Fan wasn’t a meticulous person; he had simply slapped the two flaps of skin roughly back into place and called it a day.

Thus, what Fang Ming saw was his father’s corpse with the two halves of his face misaligned. Even though his face was torn, the terrified expression was still perfectly preserved.

’Dad must have suffered so much before he died, enduring torment no one could possibly imagine!’

"Dad!" Fang Ming could no longer contain his emotions. He threw himself onto his father’s body and began to wail.

Her son’s actions confirmed her husband’s death. Unable to bear the shock, Mrs. Fang fainted.

A heavy feeling settled in Shen Lu’s heart as she watched. She gave Wang Daguo a look, signaling for him to take the unconscious Mrs. Fang downstairs and get her settled.

She herself stood silently to the side. Once Fang Ming had mostly cried himself out, she walked over to the boy.

"The dead are gone, and the living must go on. For your father, this might have been a release."

Fang Ming wiped his tears away forcefully. "...I know."

Ever since his dad started acting abnormally, Fang Ming knew the consequences would be severe. Too many people had died in the Lower City District recently, and he had heard of several bizarre ways they had perished.

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