Chapter 53: My Diners Are Not Human
Chapter 53: Chapter 53: My Diners Are Not Human
Lu Wu’s own knowledge was limited, but there were many experts on One World Communication.
She scrolled through it and quickly found out what the little stone was.
Fire Rock Crystal. An extremely rare material that could only form on rare occasions when rock was continuously calcined in a high-temperature environment.
If she sold this one piece, it would fetch over a thousand Medium-grade Spirit Stones at the very least.
A single stone had directly fulfilled the payment goal for her mission.
Lu Wu blinked, watching the little creature that had hopped back onto her stall. It was bobbing its head at her, seemingly showing off.
"You’re a little God of Wealth, aren’t you? Here, eat as much as you want. Eat your fill."
Lu Wu pushed the several bowls of ice powder in front of the little creature.
"Chirp chirp!"
The little creature rubbed its head against Lu Wu’s palm, its feathery crest swaying. It was enough to melt anyone’s heart.
The system showed that she had completed three orders for her mission.
Lu Wu was even more delighted.
’So serving a demon beast counts toward my quota too.’
’This business of mine has great potential.’
"Is it good?"
Lu Wu asked with a smile. She saw the little creature let out a few chirps between bites before burying its head back in the bowl.
Its beak wasn’t large, so it could only eat by pecking.
It bobbed its head with each peck, looking clever and mischievous.
It must have found it delicious, because its beak never stopped moving.
Lu Wu had made each bowl with a normal person’s appetite in mind, but in just a short while, all of them had vanished into the little creature’s stomach.
’Don’t be fooled by its small size; that bird has a huge appetite.’
’That little bird’s stomach is a bottomless pit.’
"Chirp!"
The little creature patted its round, full belly with a wing, its lively eyes filled with satisfaction.
It hopped onto Lu Wu’s shoulder and rubbed its head against her cheek. Its cute, coquettish display made Lu Wu raise a hand to stroke its feathers.
The soft feathers were irresistible to the touch.
Just as Lu Wu was about to continue petting the bird, it spread its wings and took flight. After circling above her head for a moment, it began to sing at the top of its lungs.
Although it was just a bird’s call, Lu Wu could hear a beautiful melody within it.
The song carried through the sky, its clear, ethereal voice incredibly piercing.
The little creature was calling for something.
Lu Wu looked up, the little creature’s song in her ears. Before long, she saw a dense, dark mass approaching from the distance.
It was... a flock of birds.
A single glance was enough to make Lu Wu’s scalp tingle from the oppressive aura they exuded.
Though the birds looked small individually, once gathered in a flock, their combined power could likely tear Lu Wu to shreds in an instant.
’Running is not an option.’
Lu Wu stood her ground calmly.
’Since I can’t run, at least I can choose the position I die in.’
Fortunately, the flock had been drawn by the little creature and didn’t attack Lu Wu.
They circled around the little one, responding with a series of "CHIRP CHIRP CHIRPS."
Lu Wu couldn’t understand the language of beasts; she could only see the little creature’s nimble form.
Its wings cut across the sky.
Under the little creature’s command, the flock began to descend slowly.
As the flock drew closer, Lu Wu noticed that the birds were about the same size as the little one, but their feathers were a different color.
Most were reddish-brown, with an occasional feather that was pure red.
Only the little creature was entirely flame-red.
And this flock was led by the little creature.
They began to land, completely surrounding Lu Wu and her stall.
The birds hopped about on the ground one by one, their formation so neat that it looked like a coiled mosquito incense.
"Chirp chirp!"
Lu Wu could hear the excitement in the little creature’s chirps.
"Do you want me to feed them ice powder, too?"
Lu Wu stroked its soft tail feathers, guessing at the little creature’s intention.
"Chirp!"
The little creature nodded in affirmation.
The flock was quite large, numbering just over a hundred.
The payment the little one had given her was more than enough. Lu Wu began to wonder—if she served the entire flock, would her mission progress count as one order, or would it count by the number of birds?
She had to find out.
"Then please wait for a moment."
With the sudden surge in customers, Lu Wu’s spirits lifted, and she rolled up her sleeves to get to work.
Bowl after bowl of ice powder took shape in her hands.
The bowls were placed on the stall one by one. Each time one was ready, a bird would fly over and carry it away in its beak. If any tried to cut in line, they were met with a swat from the little creature’s wing.
Don’t be fooled by the little creature’s tiny size; there was real force behind that swat.
A line-cutting bird was slammed to the ground, sending dust flying.
After the dust settled, Lu Wu saw a small crater in the ground. Inside it, the bird looked like it was sleeping peacefully.
Another bowl was done.
The small beaks easily held the surprisingly heavy bowls of ice powder, making Lu Wu realize she couldn’t underestimate these birds.
Lu Wu was open for business, and business was booming.
It’s just that her customers weren’t human.
’But as a businessperson, isn’t serving any type of customer still service?’
’No need to get hung up on the customers’ species.’
Giving herself a mental pep talk, Lu Wu worked hard, forcing herself not to look at the birds that were shattering the bowls in one go.
These birds didn’t have the same fine control over their strength as the little one.
Basically, for every serving she sold, a small bowl was shattered.
Some of the ice powder would spill onto the ground as a result, and the anxious little creature would fly up and smack those birds with a powerful blow.
Yet, these birds didn’t dare to fight back.
Lu Wu couldn’t ask her avian customers for a review of their meal.
But from the increasingly excited chirping, she could tell they’d probably give her craftsmanship a five-star rating.
"Chirp!"
Seeing the sales proceeding in an orderly fashion, the little creature was quite proud.
It hopped onto Lu Wu’s shoulder, chirping from time to time as if to cheer her on.
"Oh, thank you so much."
Lu Wu was genuinely working in fear and trepidation.
Perhaps having gotten a taste for it, the birds at the front of the line, after finishing their ice powder, began to... well, they began to clamor and chirp noisily.
After a round of internal communication within the flock, the birds still waiting in line grew impatient.
They began to jump in place, flapping their wings as if about to take off.
The little creature quickly suppressed them, causing the birds on the ground to dissolve into chaos.
"Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone."
"I’ll make sure you all get some!"
Lu Wu quickly tried to placate them.
She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but as the flock grew riotous, the surrounding temperature soared again.
She felt that maybe she was so busy she was starting to hallucinate.
Because she discovered that beneath the flock, the ground—so dry it had not a trace of moisture and was devoid of any plants—was burning.
CRACKLE! POP!
The sound of the flames bursting was so loud.
The birds seemed to turn a deaf ear to this miraculous scene.
Or perhaps, the flock itself was the culprit behind the burning earth.
’Alright then, that raises another question.’
’Why would Fire Attribute demon beasts, birds capable of setting the ground ablaze, come to eat her cooling ice powder?’
’Could it be that these birds can’t stand the heat either?’
A thousand thoughts raced through Lu Wu’s mind, but she didn’t dare to ask any of them out loud.
After all, the birds’ beaks looked like they could crack her skull open in a single peck.
She was a firm believer in self-preservation.
After bustling about for over an hour, Lu Wu finally finished serving all of her avian customers.
Lu Wu let out a long breath and rubbed her arms.
[Mission Progress: 113/1500]
’Thanks to the generous patronage of my bird customers, my mission progress has gotten a nice little boost.’