"Huh, a restaurant owner?" Jiang Ye looked at the photo on his phone.
Liu Jizi checked the documents in his hand and found one. "Ying Anbang, 37 years old, owner of the 'Divine Chef Rat King' restaurant, located at No. 88 Jianshe Road, Wuliu District, Huaishi City."
"What does this 'Divine Chef Rat King' mean?"
"Perhaps... Mr. Ying's zodiac sign is Rat?" Liu Jizi guessed.
"Why don't we go eat at his restaurant?" Jiang Ye had a sudden inspiration. "Send the other people to the restaurant. We can eat and chat. Eating at an ordinary restaurant will create a more approachable atmosphere. If we arrange a formal banquet, they might feel constrained, making conversation difficult."
"Alright, I'll arrange it," Liu Jizi nodded.
...
Two days later, noon.
Spiral Star, Jianshe Road, Wuliu District, Huaishi City.
Drones hovered densely in the sky, like birds frozen in flight.
Military vehicles and police cars were parked along the roadside, with a guard or police officer standing under every tree.
The shops on both sides of the road were still open, but the owners stood curiously at their entrances, cracking melon seeds and looking around as if waiting for something. Some owners had set up cameras and were live-streaming.
The number of viewers in the live stream was soaring, with netizens flooding the comment section.
"What's going on? Is there a murder case?"
"There are so many military and police on the street. How many people would have to be murdered for that? Impossible. It must be an important occasion."
"Is Jiang Ye coming over? Isn't Jiang Ye on Spiral Star?"
"The police officer who just passed by was so handsome, I'm in love!"
"Is the street cleared and under curfew? It doesn't seem like it, there are still many pedestrians."
"Maybe they're all plainclothes. A big shot must be coming for an inspection."
"Last year, the mayor of Muji Star was shot dead during a street speech. I was there at the time."
Finally, a convoy of black hovercars appeared at the intersection and slowly drove over.
Soon, the convoy stopped in front of a restaurant called "Divine Chef Rat King." Guards on the roadside opened the car doors, and several people hurried into the restaurant.
Leading the group was Jiang Ye, dressed in casual sportswear, looking as young as a student on vacation.
He was followed by six people, who were the members selected for the gathering through a lottery. Jiang Ye had already gotten to know them during the ride.
As soon as they entered, a plump middle-aged man greeted them with a beaming smile.
"Greetings, Commander Jiang! Greetings, fellow diners!"
Jiang Ye shook his hand and turned to introduce him to the others, "This is the restaurant owner, Ying Anbang, and also the last member of our gathering today. That makes us complete."
The six people behind him greeted him one after another, saying, "Hello, Boss Ying."
The restaurant had been cleared out. It was evident that it had been thoroughly cleaned, with tables, chairs, and floors polished to a mirror shine.
The decor was quite luxurious. The first floor alone had over thirty tables, and the entire restaurant had three floors, making it a very large establishment.
Following his habit, Jiang Ye chose a table in the corner, a position he considered safer.
After everyone was seated, Boss Ying handed them the menus.
Jiang Ye took the menu, and his expression suddenly changed.
"Black Bean Stewed Rat" 388 yuan
"Charcoal Grilled Little Rat" 180/each
"Snowflake Rat Shred Soup" 298 yuan
"Clear Broth Lion's Head (four pieces, contains rat meat)" 320 yuan
"Blue Lake Ancient Style Rat Soup" 688 yuan
The menu was densely packed with dishes, all featuring rats, and the prices were extremely high.
"Your restaurant... specializes in cooking rats?" Jiang Ye was shocked.
"Our main dishes are rat. There are vegetarian options on the back of the menu," Boss Ying chuckled.
"Rat as an ingredient... is quite uncommon," Jiang Ye continued, shocked. He wanted to ask if it was edible, but he phrased his question more delicately.
"Actually, it's quite common. There are eight rat restaurants in the local area, and ours is the best and most affordable," Boss Ying said. "The rat meat market on Spiral Star is just starting out, so you might not be familiar with it. However, on many alien planets, like my hometown, Marselles Star, and my wife's hometown, Felix Star, there are trillion-dollar rat meat catering markets. Rat meat in my hometown is three times more expensive than beef, and most people can't afford it."
The others at the table were also stunned and visibly shocked, clearly not expecting to be eating this today.
Judging by Jiang Ye's reaction, he had only just found out himself.
However, since they had come all this way and hadn't even sat down for long, it would be inappropriate to get up and leave.
Jiang Ye forced himself to look at the menu for a while. "I've never eaten rat meat before and don't know if I can handle it. Perhaps you could recommend a few dishes suitable for beginners, Boss Ying?"
"The Snowflake Rat Shred Soup is good. The shredded rat meat looks very similar to chicken shreds, and the texture is more like beef... Also..." Boss Ying spoke rapidly, quickly recommending a few dishes.
Jiang Ye nodded. "Then I'll try these few."
Jiang Ye passed the menu to the others. Some boldly ordered the "Grilled Rat," a more substantial dish, while others looked at the menu with dismay and only ordered the vegetarian dishes and drinks from the back.
"Do you all prefer big rats or small rats?" Boss Ying asked.
"What's the difference?" Jiang Ye inquired.
"Big rats eat grass, small rats eat fruit," Boss Ying explained. "Actually, they're both delicious, but they each have their own unique flavors."
"Let's have both, since there are several dishes, right?" Jiang Ye said. "Mix the meat from big and small rats."
"Certainly, certainly," Boss Ying noted on the menu.
The others also requested a mix. It seemed they were all first-timers and had no particular preferences, blindly following Jiang Ye's choices.
"Would you like to choose your rats from the kitchen?" Boss Ying asked. "Normally, we let our customers pick their rats and slaughter them fresh."
A strong sense of curiosity suddenly surged in Jiang Ye, and he stood up abruptly. "I'll go take a look."
Everyone else at the table shook their heads vehemently, clearly imagining some unpleasant scenes and not wanting to see them.
Boss Ying led Jiang Ye through a long corridor towards the kitchen.
A guard stood at the end of the corridor. Upon seeing Jiang Ye, he saluted, and Jiang Ye nodded.
The kitchen was remarkably clean, a fully modern facility. Besides a few chefs in white coats, there were even robot chefs at work. It was evident that this restaurant was not a dive but quite wealthy, as grand as a high-end establishment.
In a corner of the restaurant were many large cages, containing rats.
Jiang Ye had initially expected to see a pile of disgusting, grayish-brown rats squeaking and assaulting his senses.
To his surprise, these rats were exceptionally cute and beautiful, about the size of bamboo rats, plump and round like small sea lions. Their fur was smooth and white, and their snouts resembled those of marmots.
They were likely some kind of alien rodent, certainly not the same kind of rats found in Earth's city sewers years ago.
Jiang Ye's initial conflicted feelings vanished, replaced by a sense of anticipation.
They were cute, and he wanted to eat them!
A robot chef approached and tapped on a cage. Hundreds of white rats were startled and stirred, creating a rustling sound of paws scratching against the iron bars.
Jiang Ye picked out a few that looked the most lively.
The robot chef nimbly opened the cage door, grabbed those rats, and placed them on the counter. With a flash of the knife, their bellies were slit open, and bright red blood and internal organs spilled out. They were killed instantly, the action fluid and seamless.
Jiang Ye did not continue watching. He turned and left, returning to the table to chat with the others.
Today's task was not to eat, but to talk.