Xiao Mei tilted her head, her oversized glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose.
"Seafood? What is... seafood?"
She turned the styrofoam cup in her hands, squinting at the vibrant, glossy label. It was lightweight, feeling almost empty. There was no hum of radiation, no smell of preservation chemicals. Just a white cup with a picture of a strange, pink, curled creature and red broth.
Then, her eyes moved downward.
Xiao Mei's jaw dropped.
She blinked rapidly, rubbing her eyes to ensure the fatigue of the wasteland wasn't causing hallucinations.
"Commander..." Xiao Mei swallowed hard. "I... I think I need new glasses. Can you read this price tag for me?"
Jiang Wan, currently standing with her arms crossed and looking incredibly imposing despite wearing fuzzy gray bunny slippers, leaned in.
Price: 2 Mutant Crystals.
Jiang Wan whipped her head toward Lin Yao, her ponytail swishing.
"Shopkeeper, does this really cost two crystals?"
"Yup." Lin Yao popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, looking unbothered.
Xiao Mei almost crushed the cup.
Two crystals?!
Two crystals could buy a purified gallon of water. It could buy a box of rifle rounds. It could bribe a guard to look the other way. Who in their right mind would spend that on a cup of dry flakes?
"Does it require a ritual to consume?" Jiang Wan asked, her tactical brain trying to justify the cost. "Does it grant temporary invulnerability?"
"To eat it? No. Just hot water," Lin Yao replied.
Xiao Mei narrowed her eyes at Lin Yao, clutching the cup protectively but suspiciously.
"Shopkeeper... you're not scamming us, right? Is this just sawdust with red dye?"
To Xiao Mei, it didn't make sense. In the settlements, 'soup' was usually boiled rat bones and dehydrated potato skins. If this was just flavor powder, it was a robbery.
Before Xiao Mei could continue her interrogation, Jiang Wan raised a hand. The sleeve of her oversized gray hoodie flopped down, covering her fingers. She looked less like a commander and more like a cozy college student, but her voice remained steely.
"We will try it."
Xiao Mei blinked. "Commander?"
Jiang Wan was intrigued.
Either this was the boldest scam in the history of the apocalypse, or there was something special about this "Instant Noodle."
She had already assessed Lin Yao. The woman had no visible weapons, no armor, and skin that looked like it had never seen the sun, let alone a radiation storm. Yet, Su Ling the most dangerous mercenary in Sector 4 was working for her.
And if Su Ling was loyal, the goods had to be real.
Besides, Jiang Wan was starving. She had spent the last three days on a recon mission eating nothing but protein blocks that tasted like chalk and despair.
"Fine," Xiao Mei sighed, adjusting her glasses. "But if this is sawdust, I'm writing a very bad review on the settlement wall."
Jiang Wan calmly picked up two cups Spicy Seafood Flavor and placed four high-grade crystals on the counter.
Lin Yao smiled. "Excellent choice. It clears the sinuses."
She extended her hand toward them.
Xiao Mei stared at Lin Yao's open palm.
"..."
What was this?
A secret handshake? A demand for a bribe? A psychic reading?
Xiao Mei took a step back, hiding behind Jiang Wan.
"Wait... what are you doing?"
Lin Yao sighed, wiggling her fingers. "The cups. Hand them over. I need to scan them to remove the inventory lock. Unless you want the anti-theft system to vaporize your eyebrows when you walk out."
Xiao Mei choked. Vaporize eyebrows?
She shoved the cup into Lin Yao's hand immediately. Jiang Wan followed suit, her expression stoic, though her eyes flickered toward the ceiling, looking for the "anti-theft system."
Lin Yao took the cups and ran them over the black scanner embedded in the marble counter.
"Done." Lin Yao handed them back.
As they took their cups, Lin Yao finally took a good look at the two women.
Before, they were just armored customers. Now, stripped of their trench coats and heavy gear, wearing the soft hoodies and leggings from the Fashion Section, they looked normal.
Jiang Wan, specifically, was striking. Without the layer of dust and the weight of command, her sharp features softened. She looked less like a weapon and more like a tired woman who just wanted a break.
The apocalypse really did a number on people's ability to chill, Lin Yao thought.
She stood up and pointed to a sleek machine in the corner of the room that hadn't been there yesterday.
"Okay, listen up. Peel the lid halfway back. Place the cup on the platform. The machine does the rest."
"Machine?" Xiao Mei frowned.
"What kind of technology is this?" Jiang Wan asked, walking over to the device. It was white, shiny, and had glowing blue buttons.
"It's a Water Dispenser," Lin Yao said. "It gives you water boiling hot, ice cold, or room temp. Filtered, purified, and infinite."
Xiao Mei looked at the machine in disbelief.
"An artifact that produces unlimited purified hot water?"
Strategic value: Immeasurable, Jiang Wan thought instantly. If we had this in High Garden, we could save 40% of our fuel reserves.
Xiao Mei hesitated, then peeled back the lid of her cup. Inside, she saw a dried brick of wavy noodles and some sad-looking dried vegetables.
"This looks... dead," she whispered.
She placed it under the nozzle.
A stream of steaming, crystal-clear water shot out, filling the cup to the perfect line before stopping automatically.
"This...!" Xiao Mei gasped, watching the steam rise. "It's automatic! No buttons needed?"
"Sensors," Lin Yao explained, handing them two plastic forks. "Now, go sit at the table over there. Use the sticker to hold the lid down. Wait three minutes."
She pointed to a small, round bistro table that had appeared near the window, accompanied by two plush velvet chairs.
Xiao Mei looked at Jiang Wan, her expression full of doubt.
Jiang Wan gave a small nod. She processed her own noodles, staring at the steam with intense focus, then walked over to the table.
The bunny slippers made a soft shuff-shuff sound against the tiles.
They sat down.
Xiao Mei leaned toward Jiang Wan and whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Commander, is this really safe? Three minutes... can food really cook that fast? Is it alchemy?"
"It might be pre-cooked and dehydrated," Jiang Wan theorized, though she sounded unsure. "Old World military rations were similar. But... they never smelled like this."
"If it poisons us," Xiao Mei whispered dramatically, "Su Ling will loot our bodies."
"If it poisons us," Jiang Wan replied deadpan, "I am haunting this store."
Xiao Mei: "..."
From behind the counter, Lin Yao snorted. She had overheard them.
Haunting the store? That's a new one. I wonder if the System has a ghost-busting vacuum.
Time ticked by. The smell began to escape the cups.
It started as a faint note of salt and spice. Then, it grew. It became a rich, savory cloud that smelled of the ocean not the polluted, black sludge ocean of the current world, but the clean, brine-scented ocean of the past.
Garlic. Chili. Shrimp.
Jiang Wan's stomach let out a growl so loud it sounded like a distant thunderclap.
She froze, her cheeks turning a rare shade of pink.
"Time's up," Lin Yao called out, checking the holographic clock.
"This should be ready," Xiao Mei said, her mouth watering uncontrollably.
"Open it," Jiang Wan commanded, her voice slightly strained by hunger.
They peeled back the lids.
A cloud of steam exploded upward, hitting them in the face. It wasn't just steam; it was an aromatic assault.
Xiao Mei's glasses fogged up instantly.
"I can't see! But I can smell!" she cried out. "It smells like... spicy heaven!"
Jiang Wan stared into the cup. The dried brick was gone. In its place were springy, golden noodles swimming in a deep red broth. And there, floating on top...
"Are those..." Jiang Wan used her fork to fish out a small, pink curl. "Shrimp?"
Real shrimp. Tiny, dehydrated, and rehydrated shrimp. Meat.
In the wasteland, meat was a luxury. Seafood was a myth. Jiang Wan didn't wait. She abandoned her noble etiquette. She lifted the cup and took a sip of the broth.
The heat hit her first a clean, scalding warmth that thawed the ice in her chest. Then, the flavor.
Spicy. Savory. Salty. It exploded on her tongue.
Jiang Wan's eyes widened. She felt a bead of sweat form on her forehead.
"Commander?" Xiao Mei asked, wiping her glasses. "Is it toxic?"
Jiang Wan didn't answer. She took a massive bite of noodles. They were chewy, bouncy, soaking up the spicy soup.
She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Xiao Mei," Jiang Wan said, her voice rough with emotion.
"Yes, Commander?"
"Buy them all."
"What?"
"Buy. Them. All," Jiang Wan said between slurps. "If the Wild Dogs get their hands on this, I will declare war."
Just then, Su Ling walked back into the store, looking dusty from her patrol. She saw the two women in their hoodies and bunny slippers, burying their faces in noodle cups.
Su Ling sniffed the air.
"Spicy Seafood?" Su Ling asked, looking betrayed.
She turned to Lin Yao.
"You told me we only had Beef flavor left!"
Lin Yao smirked, leaning back in her chair.
"I lied. I was saving the good stuff for paying customers."
Su Ling's eyes narrowed. She looked at Jiang Wan, who was currently drinking the broth straight from the cup.
"Hey," Su Ling barked, walking toward the table. "That's my favorite flavor."
Jiang Wan lowered the cup. Her lips were red from the spice. She looked at Su Ling with a challenge in her eyes.
"It's two crystals," Jiang Wan said coolly. "Can you afford it, mercenary?"
Su Ling reached for her knife.
Jiang Wan reached for... a fork.
"Ladies, ladies!" Lin Yao clapped her hands. "No fighting in the noodle lounge! Or I turn off the hot water!"
Both women froze.
They looked at Lin Yao. Then at the water dispenser. Then at each other.
"Fine," Su Ling grumbled, sitting down at the third chair. "But if you slurp too loud, I'm charging a noise violation fee."
Jiang Wan smirked. She reached into her bag and pulled out a spare chocolate bar she had bought earlier. She slid it across the table toward Su Ling.
"Peace offering," Jiang Wan said. "Now shut up and let me eat my shrimp."