The monster was sleeping in the private room, and as it snored, its enormous belly moved rhythmically.

"Knock knock knock~"

"Boss~"

Suddenly someone was knocking on the door of the private room.

The monster was awakened by the noise. It got up from the ground, opened its mouth, and said in human language, "Come in~"

The door to the private room was immediately pushed open from the outside, and a man in a suit walked in. He said to the monster, "Boss, it's almost time. Shouldn't we serve the food?"

"Okay, go and prepare today's ingredients."

The monster said, "By the way, I'd like to try something different today. Tell the kitchen."

"OK."

The man bowed and withdrew, then returned shortly after, accompanied by several chefs pushing a small cart.

The cart contained a large plate of food, including soup, meat, and a huge bone that looked like a human leg bone!

As soon as the monster saw the cart, it immediately transformed back into human form, revealing itself to be the same shop owner from before.

The boss sat at the table, waiting for the food to be served. He elegantly picked up his cutlery and asked the chefs, "What dishes are you making this time?"

"To the boss, this time I've made braised pork and clear broth dishes. I hope they suit your taste."

"Braised in yellow sauce or clear broth? Okay, you guys can go out first, I'll try it and see if it's good~"

The chefs left after hearing this, and the owner began to enjoy his dinner. There was a lot of food on the table, and the portions were all huge. However, the owner finished eating quickly. He picked up a napkin and said to the man next to him, "Hmm, I really like the taste this time. You can go out too."

The man was delighted to hear this, as he had been worried that his boss would be dissatisfied with the dishes. Now that he had an answer, he said, "Okay, then I'll head down now."

After the man left, the people in the private room turned back into monsters.

At 11 p.m. sharp, the 'Shi Ren' restaurant officially opened for business. As customers entered one after another, a few people went in but couldn't come out.

On the food street, Yue Jiuling and Ya Zi went out to eat alone again, behind the backs of their other colleagues. This time, they went to the barbecue restaurant owned by the octopus spirit boss.

"Boss, please give me two fish, two bowls of fried noodles, and two chicken drumsticks."

Yue Jiuling ordered food from the octopus spirit boss. While placing the order, she said, "By the way, boss, we went to that restaurant across the street that night. Although the demonic energy inside was very strong, we didn't find anything unusual, so you don't need to worry too much about that restaurant."

The octopus-spirit boss wasn't so afraid of Yue Jiuling and her companion anymore. Upon hearing the news, he asked, "Really? You really went in?"

"Yeah, we even ate inside before leaving. We didn't find anything, but the food was a bit expensive."

When the octopus spirit boss heard Yue Jiuling say this, he nodded and said, "Alright, since you went in and didn't find any problems, I'm relieved. But that demonic aura is really too strange. Doesn't your department care about it? The people who go in to eat are all humans. What if something happens?"

"Hmm, we haven't received any reports about this, so it's not really our place to handle it."

Although Yue Jiuling also felt that there was something wrong with that restaurant, since no one had reported it, they couldn't just arbitrarily investigate other people's shops.

"Well, okay, it seems you don't have much power in this line of work."

The octopus spirit boss understood Yue Jiuling's predicament. He took the chicken leg and started grilling it, while Yue Jiuling returned to Ya Zi's side.

As soon as Ya Zi saw Yue Jiuling return, he asked her, "Why did it take you so long to order food? What did you order?"

"Well, since we're living paycheck to paycheck and are a bit broke, and we haven't received our salaries yet, I ordered two fish, two chicken legs, and two bowls of fried noodles. How about that? Do you think that's enough?"

Ya Zi touched her phone with a pang of heartache and sighed, "Enough! Ugh, why is it taking so long to get paid this month? We're almost so poor we're eating dirt."

"Sigh~ I'm so poor too, I'm really looking forward to payday~" Yue Jiuling looked at the balance on her phone and said dejectedly, "I was thinking of going to eat at the restaurant across the street again~ I wonder when I'll have the chance."

"Hehehe~ Me too! Ever since I ate there last time, I've been wanting to go back for another meal, but I'm just too poor, I don't have any money~"

Ya Zi, also looking greedily at the restaurant across the street, said...