Chapter 138 Airdrop Service

The corridor, still gleaming and cold after its renovation, stood apart from the dilapidated urban village outside. She hurried downstairs, and the door to her apartment slid open.

The noisy, turbid air outside rushed in. She took a deep breath, suppressed the tightness in her heart, and walked towards the small restaurant at the alley entrance in her memory.

Less than ten meters out of the unit door, I turned the corner where there was a pile of debris.

A figure stood in the middle of the narrow alley like a ghost!

Yu Ling braked suddenly! Her heart leaped into her throat!

The man was wearing old work clothes that had been washed white and were stained with oil. He also wore a linoleum cap of the same style, with the brim pulled down so low that his face could not be seen clearly.

He was pushing a shabby three-wheeled food cart. On top of it was a half-worn iron plate stove, and next to it was a handwritten sign, blackened by cooking fumes, but the words were clear and eye-catching:

"Bankrupt Pancake Man"

"(Only the wife of the president can redeem it)"

The man lowered his head, the shadow of his hat casting across his face. His scraper scraped against the cold iron plate, making a sizzling noise. It didn't seem like business, more like waiting for something to happen.

Yu Ling's heart was pounding like a drum! A chill shot through the soles of her feet and into her head! She instinctively stepped back: "Who...you? Get out of the way!"

The man stopped scraping. Slowly, very slowly, he raised his head.

Beneath the brim of his baseball cap lay a plain, even honest, middle-aged face. His skin was rough and dark, and the corners of his eyes were wrinkled. But his eyes were sharp and calm, revealing a kind of insight that was unlike that of a street vendor.

He glanced at Yu Ling's face, without surprise or doubt, as if he had known she would come.

His voice was hoarse, his local accent was thick, but his words were clear:

"lady."

The man spoke, his voice not loud, but it was louder than the noise in the alley.

“…The president asked me to deliver a message.”

He paused, looking at Yu Ling's eyes, which had instantly widened and were filled with horror, and then he slowly finished his attack:

“…interest is due.”

He locked his eyes with her, as if he was executing an order:

“…Today…”

“…Can you take the fried eggs?”

"Please…Please take the fried eggs?!" Yu Ling's head buzzed! The absurdity, fear, and shame of being exposed in public engulfed her like a tsunami!

The man in front of her, the "bankrupt pancake man" pushing a broken cart, every word he uttered was like Zhao Chen's invisible hand, reaching through space to strangle her neck!

Interest!

Interest again!

The meat wasn't enough, so they're charging fried eggs instead?!

"Crazy! Totally crazy!" Yu Ling screamed! Fear and humiliation made her completely collapse!

She didn't care about being hungry or resisting, she just wanted to escape! Escape from this devil's den that was shrouded in Zhao Chen's shadow!

She turned around and rushed back to the luxurious cage she had just escaped from, not caring about her sprained high heels!

Rushing to the door of the unit, the smart door slid open silently!

She dove in!

I slumped to the floor, feeling icy cold. Overwhelming exhaustion, fear, and a hopeless despair with nowhere to escape washed over me like icy water. Tears finally burst forth.

Just then—

“Buzz buzz buzz—”

A low and continuous humming sound penetrated the top-grade soundproof glass and exploded in the deadly silent room!

Yu Ling raised her head suddenly, and looked towards the source of the sound with tearful eyes - the huge floor-to-ceiling window!

Outside the window, against the backdrop of the dilapidated rooftops of the urban village, a pure black, streamlined four-rotor drone with a cold red flashing light was hovering in the air like a ghost!

Under the drone, there is a square, silver-white object with the familiar Shiba Inu logo printed on it - an insulated box!

On the front of the incubator, a small LCD screen glowed a faint blue. A line of text scrolled clearly across it, its cold electronic form revealing a chilling warmth:

Runny Fried Egg (Interest)

"Airdrop coordinates: President's wife's living room"

Consequences of Rejection:

Compound interest kicks in…

"(Next order: Double egg critical hit)"

The cold electronic words are still rolling.

The black drone hovered precisely outside the window, with the silver insulated box swaying underneath.

"Consequences of rejection: Compound interest kicks in... (Next order: Double egg critical hit)"

The four words "double egg critical hit" with a programmed teasing caught Yu Ling's eyes!

The huge sense of absurdity and the suffocating feeling of being controlled from all sides made her feel cold all over and her tears froze on her face.

Zhao Chen!

What the fuck do you want?!

Is the golden cage not enough?! Even breathing is charged interest?!

A mixture of fear and rage exploded in her chest! She leaped up, grabbed the nearest object—a cold metal ornament—and smashed it against the French window with all her might!

"Get the hell out of here!!!"

“Bang!!!!”

The muffled sound is ear-piercing!

The ornament smashed into the top-grade tempered glass! The glass remained motionless, not even a scratch. The object was flung away by the reaction force, tumbling to the ground with a clang.

The drone outside the window seemed to sense this impotent fury. It slightly adjusted its hovering stance, its blue screen flickering beneath it, and its "Compound Interest Started" speeded up.

Then, under Yu Ling's red eyes, a delicate robotic arm extended from under the drone, and with surgical precision and stability, it gently knocked on the corner of the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

"despair."

There was a slight sound of the electronic lock popping open.

Under Yu Ling's ghostly eyes, the tightly closed, fortress-like floor-to-ceiling window... a stingy window in the corner, actually... slid open silently!

A cool breeze with the stale smell of the urban village blew into the luxurious ice cellar.

At the same time, the silver insulated box of the Shiba Inu hanging under the drone was poured in!

The robotic arm releases.

The insulated box drew a small parabola and landed steadily on the shiny coffee table in the middle of the living room as if it was supported by an invisible hand.

Outside the window, the drone completed its mission, climbed and turned silently, and disappeared into the gray urban village skyline.

Only the small window was open, letting in cool air.

Also, there's the silver insulated box on the coffee table that looks like Pandora's box.

Yu Ling was rooted to the spot, as if under a spell. She looked at the box, then at the easily broken window, then down at the smashed and deformed metal ornaments on the ground...

A huge feeling of powerlessness and crushing despair washed over her like icy water. The fortress she had carefully constructed to escape was as fragile as a piece of paper before Zhao Chen's power.

He is everywhere.

He can do anything.

He...really disappeared?

No, he used a stronger and more pervasive method to declare his existence and "interest"!

She shuffled slowly, like a zombie, to the coffee table, her eyes fixed on the incubator. The cartoon Shiba Inu logo mocked her defiance.

She reached out her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly and cold, and touched the cold shell of the insulated box.

A warm touch comes through.

Is there really a fried egg inside?

She took a deep breath, as if she had made some kind of decision, or as if driven by a strange force, she exerted force with her fingers and suddenly opened the lid of the insulated box!

A powerful and familiar heat wave, mixed with the aroma of top-grade butter, the unique fragrance of black truffles and the slightly sour taste of black vinegar, exploded in your face!

In the insulated box, on the white silk padding, lay a bone china dinner plate.

On the plate was a perfectly cooked, runny fried egg that looked like a work of art!

There was no knife and fork next to the plate.

It was just a neatly folded small note that smelled like hospital disinfectant.

Yu Ling's heart suddenly twitched! With trembling hands, she picked up the note.

The familiar, penetrating handwriting of Zhao Chen caught my eye. It wasn't printed, but carried the clumsiness of "Pancake Man" and... a heart-pounding paranoia:

"Lingling,"

"Interest."

"(Icing sugar reserve: 0.5 pieces, urgently needing to restock)"

"The Pancake Man Whose License Was Revoked But Never Bankrupt"

At the bottom of the note, in even smaller handwriting, was a squiggly sketch of… a fried egg. Next to the fried egg, an arrow pointed to an empty jar labeled: "Icing Sugar Reserve: Critical!!!"

Yu Ling held the note, looking at the handwriting that was so familiar to her, looking at the fried egg wrapped in honey truffle, exuding a fatal temptation, and then looking at the simple drawing of the frosting jar marked "Danger"...

The hungry beast in the stomach woke up and roared wildly!

Slowly, as if bewitched, she stretched out her finger and gently dipped it into the warm, glistening honey on the edge of the plate.

A sticky and slightly sweet taste came from my fingertips.

She raised her hand and gently brought the honey to her lips.

The familiar, rich sweetness explodes on the tip of your tongue.

Mixed with a hint of...indescribable, sour and salty taste.

They were her own tears.