Chapter 67: Tormenting a Friend, Then Tormenting a Waitress

With that, the Tower's personnel structure was essentially clear.

Most normal Tower inhabitants made up the Tower's staff.

Tower inhabitants with a high tolerance for hunger were trained as security guards.

Those with a poor tolerance for hunger became Gluttonous Weirds.

"What are their main duties in the Tower?"

Yan Jing asked, pointing at the Gluttonous Weirds in front of him.

"Combat."

"Because they eat more than we do, their combat power grows faster than ours," Rose said, "even though they aren't very bright up here..."

She tapped her own head.

"But they're the Tower's main fighting force."

"We've never actually seen them fight, though. Probably because there haven't really been any conflicts inside the Tower."

She turned her head and lowered her voice.

"Mr. Giant Mouth and the others said this, so it isn't considered a secret."

The administration.

At the mention of Mr. Giant Mouth, Yan Jing's heart stirred.

With this, the social structure of the entire Tower was complete.

He wanted to press for more details about Mr. Giant Mouth, but Rose was unwilling to say anything else.

Clearly, that fell under the category of things she couldn't disclose.

Watching the Gluttonous Weirds eat, Yan Jing wondered if he could snatch a few items of food from them if he were sitting at the table.

His conclusion was that it would be highly difficult.

Although these guys weren't incredibly strong overall, they seemed highly exclusionary. A few underfed staff members tried to squeeze in among them to snatch a bite or two, but were quickly blocked out by their combined efforts.

Those toad-like short limbs were surprisingly agile. With just a gentle sweep, they could accurately snatch their target food; with another sweep, they could link up to form a barrier to bat away the hands of anyone trying to steal from them.

By the time the barrier dissolved, the food beneath it was gone.

The most crucial point was that if he participated as a player, he couldn't make any moves that resembled an attack on these guys—like slapping their hands aside.

Doing so would drain his Mental Immunity Value.

Having figured this out, Yan Jing quickly deduced the correct way to tackle the Gluttonous Ghost Banquet task.

First, it was best completed by a team.

Second, the team needed someone with a strength-type or control-type Ritual.

By sacrificing a small amount of Mental Immunity Value, that person could temporarily block the Gluttonous Weirds while the rest of the team worked together to grab the food.

No wonder Shen Youran had said that teaming up for Dungeons became increasingly important in the later stages.

However, this approach was not the optimal solution for Yan Jing.

If possible, he didn't want to just barely eat two items and call the task complete.

The gap between an S-grade reward and a Grade C reward was simply too vast.

He needed another way.

His gaze wandered before finally landing on the waitress serving the food.

"Xiao Mei, does anyone manage this place normally?"

He asked with feigned casualness.

"Manage?"

Rose shook her head. "What's there to manage with these Gluttonous Weirds? They sleep when they're full, and wake up after a while."

"Then they just go back to eating."

"The waiters here just need to keep serving dishes endlessly."

"Aside from a few slightly smarter numbered Gluttonous Weird gentlemen, the rest of them have shockingly low IQs."

"Someone once tried picking up a rock from the roadside to feed a Gluttonous Weird. Guess what, boss? It ate it without hesitation."

Rose lowered her voice.

"But no one did that again. Word is that the Gluttonous Weird felt sick after eating the rock, so it ate the guy who fed it to it, too."

"Although that Gluttonous Weird received a 'punishment' for violating the employee ban, no one wants to throw their life away for a cheap laugh."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Let's go, Xiao Mei. I'll treat you to a meal."

"Really?!"

Rose looked up. In her excitement, she couldn't hold it back, and drool leaked from the corner of her mouth.

When she realized it, she didn't feel embarrassed at all, simply using her sleeve to casually wipe the drool away.

For a Tower inhabitant, drooling was perfectly normal.

They figured that people drooled regularly from the moment they were born, and would do so again in old age when they could no longer control their bodies.

Therefore, someone who never drooled was the weird one.

...

During dinner, while Rose was wolfing down her food, Yan Jing slipped in a few more questions about the Gluttonous Weirds.

The most important of them all was how their physical resistance measured up.

The answer he got: fairly average.

Only the second tier of the Gluttony pathway granted the ability to develop eating resistances.

Yan Jing committed this information to memory. After the meal, the two headed back.

There were far fewer customers at night compared to the morning.

This was completely different from the Surface World.

Rose offered an explanation.

"The main reception hall on the first floor holds a regular cocktail party from 7 PM until midnight. Guests visiting the Tower generally choose to go socialize at night."

Hearing this, Yan Jing decided to close up shop early at 10 PM.

He was preparing to check out the situation with the "Waiter" task.

"There aren't many customers left, and we've already exceeded our performance quota for today. Let's close up. Go back and get some sleep."

Since Rose and the little boy were official Tower employees and didn't have clearance to enter the first-floor hall, Yan Jing gave them both the night off.

Yan Jing first went to check on Mantou. After confirming she was fine, he changed his clothes in the restroom and headed straight to the main reception hall on the first floor.

No one stopped him, and no one questioned him.

Because no one would ever suspect a Tower employee of getting off work early.

If someone failed to meet their performance quota multiple times, the "punishments" they would face were no laughing matter.

Not to mention, these were special times.

Therefore, when Old Master Liu, dressed in a greeter's uniform, spotted Yan Jing, his eyes went wide.

"Good evening, welcome!"

Seeing the group of handsome men and beautiful women beside him already bowing slightly, Old Master Liu had no choice but to hurriedly follow suit and chime in.

"Good evening. Thank you all for your hard work."

The corners of Yan Jing's mouth curled up. He pulled out 10 Eerie Coins and tucked them into his friend's breast pocket.

Then he walked through the door.

"Grandpa Liu, did you know that guy?"

A young man standing next to Old Master Liu whispered to him.

"Yeah, I know him."

Old Liu's tone was odd, as if he were suffering from a toothache.

"As expected of you, sir. They say you're from the outside, so naturally you know a lot of people. You could just tell that guy had an extraordinary aura."

The young man gave a thumbs-up.

"Work hard, and you can be like that too."

Old Liu felt his toothache worsening.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he realized something was off.

That brat Yi Ji shouldn't be so bored as to purposely slip him 10 Eerie Coins for no reason.

He recalled the spy novels he used to read, and how spies passed messages...

In that instant, Old Master Liu's heart began to pound.

So, he discreetly slipped his hand into his breast pocket and pinched out a cigarette from the pack of Hongtashan he kept there.

Then, while no one was watching, he flicked his fingers and fiercely threw it into the distance!

Smack!

The cigarette struck the distant marble floor, surprisingly making a sound like a small firecracker.

For a moment, everyone's attention was drawn over there.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Old Liu hurriedly grabbed the 10 Eerie Coin bill, raised it above his head, and quickly inspected it under the light.

Front, back...

There was nothing.

Just as he was feeling puzzled...

Beep— Beep—

A barely audible sound rang out, followed by a vibration at his waist.

Instantly, Old Master Liu's face slumped.

He had forgotten about the walkie-talkies...

Motherfucker, so that brat really was just that bored!

He hurriedly put the Eerie Coins away, pretending nothing had happened.

And just as he was fiercely cursing Yan Jing in his head...

He looked up, only to see a figure wearing a red mask and a pure white frosted coat, with bandages wrapped around his neck, walking toward him from a distance.

In an instant, Old Master Liu's face slumped all over again.

...

...

Putting away his walkie-talkie, Yan Jing smiled and walked into the main reception hall.

There were many guests inside right now. Fortunately, the vast floor space kept it from feeling crowded.

The overall color scheme of the reception hall leaned dark, forming a sharp contrast with the golden lobby outside.

Paired with the specially crafted starlight effect overhead, it made people feel as if they were standing beneath a luminous night sky. The classical music echoing through the air added a soothing atmosphere.

On both sides of the hall were self-service food areas, while the center was the dining area.

Yan Jing found an empty round table for two. The moment he sat down, a female Inner World resident dressed in a waitress uniform walked over.

"Good evening, sir. What would you like to order?"

The waitress deliberately restrained her mouth, which was slit all the way to her ears, keeping her voice very soft.

"Do you have a menu?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Yes."

The waitress handed Yan Jing a thin, single-page menu and smiled.

"On here are our signature dishes and today's chef specials. If you have any other requests, you can let me know, and we will do our best to accommodate them."

"Furthermore..."

She passed over a brown card and a pen.

"This is your wishlist. As an exclusive service for your meal today, you may write down one additional request during your thirty-minute dining period."

"The conditions are that you cannot leave the table during the service, the request must be within my capabilities, it must not have a high probability of endangering my life, and it must not directly involve Eerie Coins."

Looking at the brown card, Yan Jing grew thoughtful.

Just as the documents had shown, the Tower did provide these waitstaff with some extra protection.

Just the rule about not leaving the table alone would give anyone making a request plenty of reservations.

Of course, there were always some people who cared little about the stares of others.

Yan Jing glanced at a distant corner, where faint, lewd sounds could be heard drifting over.

Fortunately, as a player, he had his Mental Immunity Value.

If his Mental Immunity Value dropped below 60 and he had to work as a waiter...

The picture it painted was too horrific; Yan Jing didn't even dare imagine it.

"My request isn't too difficult."

Twirling the pen in his hand, Yan Jing wrote a line of text on the brown card and handed it to the smiling waitress in front of him.

Actually, aside from that mouth, objectively speaking, the waitress was quite elegant and pretty.

She had the kind of look that felt very approachable.

That was also the reason Yan Jing had chosen this table.

The waitress looked at the card in her hand, and then her smile stiffened.

"A-are you sure?"

She asked in disbelief.

The paper read:

'Go ask about the requests and preferences of 20 other guests and report back to me. Regulars preferred.'

"I'm sure."

Yan Jing nodded.

Free labor—it would be a waste not to use it.

Besides, it wasn't completely free.

He still had to order something, after all.

"As for my order, I'll just have a glass of plain water. A small one is fine."

200 Eerie Coins. Not bad.