Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi..

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Inviting to Drink Leads to Trouble Instead

“`

Drinking wouldn’t start until eight tonight; it was the perfect opportunity to have dinner beforehand to line the stomach.

While devouring large bites of meat, she reminded herself to remember to ask Brother Peng where to buy that Mutant Beast Meat later in the evening.

It wasn’t for the slight energy boost or the rich nutrition, she simply loved the taste of the meat.

It really was delicious, and her craving had nothing to do with greed.

At half-past seven, Ye Nai left her home and rode her electric bike to Brother Peng’s barbecue stand. At the alcohol section, she saw several boxes of large bottles of strong white liquor from different brands.

...

“Did you try the white liquor during the day?”

“I did, no problem, I just miss yesterday’s roasted pig trotter more.”

“Hahaha, if you want to eat, come often.”

“Where do you usually buy this type of meat? Do we have a meat vendor here?”

“If you trust me, get your supply from me. Our meat is brought out by our own team. I take a portion to cook for them as payment for the meat, and the rest I sell normally. If you want, I can share some with you. It’s not that other meat vendors aren’t reliable, it’s just that their business channels are different. They sell the meat mostly to places out of town and don’t do business locally.”

Ye Nai nodded repeatedly, delighted, “Yes, yes, that sounds great, do you have meat today?”

“Of course not today. After I close up, I’ll go home and sleep until almost noon. You can find me then; I’ll send you a list and prices, and you can come to my house to pick up whatever you’ve decided on.”

“Ok, ok.”

It was almost eight, and no one had come to drink with Ye Nai yet, but neither she nor Brother Peng were in a rush. Ye Nai picked out a bottle of white liquor for herself, poured a cup, and ordered several skewers of grilled chicken wings to eat slowly.

She had already made her announcement: from eight to nine, just this one hour. Whether people came or not was up to them—if they didn’t, she’d even save some money.

Three minutes past eight, two men arrived, looking a few years younger than her father, of medium height, with sturdy, well-fed physiques.

They paused briefly outside the stall, then confidently headed toward Ye Nai. As they passed Brother Peng, they ordered a few skewers to accompany their drinks.

Ye Nai, with a chicken wing in her mouth, glanced at them.

“Here for a drink? Go over there and help yourselves to the liquor.”

Liquor was indeed pricey since all the farmland across the country was in short supply, and brewing alcohol required grains. The two small bottles Ye Nai bought in the morning had cost over fifty, and now she was drinking from a big bottle, which couldn’t be found for under seventy in shops.

Each man grabbed a bottle, sat across from Ye Nai, poured themselves a full cup, and Ye Nai filled her own to the brim as well. They clinked glasses and downed the liquor in one gulp.

Only after that did they exchange names, add each other’s phone numbers, and Ye Nai created a group to add them to.

Having a seat and drinking here was already a statement; everything else was easy to discuss.

The three of them drank intermittently, and by the time half a bottle was finished, another man and woman came to drink. Their behavior together suggested they had just met on the road and weren’t intimate.

The two men from before took their liquor and barbecue to another empty table.

The newly arrived man and woman each chose a bottle of white liquor, sat down opposite Ye Nai, and just like the others, clinked glasses for a full drink first, briefly introduced themselves, exchanged phone numbers, and were then added by Ye Nai to the group. She sweetly called everyone brother or sister, regardless of their actual ages.

“`

With drinks and dishes laid out, the atmosphere was so relaxed that it loosened tongues. The other party said they weren’t looking for trouble, and Ye Nai followed suit, declaring she was just there to make money to pay for training. She worked only a few hours every morning and trained in the afternoon, after racking up enough points, she’d head into the Secret Realm to earn money. She wasn’t going to stubbornly fight it out with the piles of trash.

These gang leaders who had come for a drink were clearly smart enough to judge the situation. A Big Space User with an active squadron behind them—even if the person themselves wasn’t a warrior—was a noteworthy unregistered team member, definitely poised for future entry into the Secret Realm. It’s no surprise that dealing with rubbish in the danger zone was just a temporary money-making step. And now that an opportunity for a drink and a chat had been presented, they all turned up to meet face-to-face.

They had also heard about someone blocking Ye Nai during the day and knew the stupidity of the gang leaders involved. Anyway, none of the four sitting here now had taken part in that.

Around 8:30 PM, another big shot arrived, and in the following half an hour until nine, seven more people showed up—four men and three women. By the final minutes of nine o’clock, there were twelve people in total sitting with Ye Nai, drinking their hearts out. Initially at separate tables, they ended up pushing several tables together to form one large drinking group.

In the Level 5 danger area, there were more than twelve minor gang leaders with established clout. Those who didn’t show up weren’t Ye Nai’s concern.

Ye Nai did as she promised: that night, everyone was going to drink their fill. By 11 PM, besides Ye Nai, who was sitting stable as a rock with just a flushed face and no signs of intoxication, all twelve of them had collapsed under the tables.

The other customers who were eating late-night snacks intermittently clapped and cheered on their drinking contest, bursting into laughter when each of them started dropping one by one.

Ye Nai wasn’t about to let them off the hook; she stood up, holding her bottle of liquor, pointing at those diners whose laughter was the loudest.

“Come on then, you who laugh the loudest seem quite unconvinced. Drink with me, if you win, I’ll pick up the tab for your table.”

At that moment, aside from needing to pee from drinking too much, Ye Nai felt fine—alcohol sweating right out of her system, a strong stench of drink clinging to her, but her mind was crystal clear, her voice booming, not a hint of drunkenness.

“…”

The loudly laughing diners suddenly went quiet, pretending as though the incessant laughter hadn’t been coming from them just now.

They were just there for a late-night snack and to watch the fun; getting into a drinking contest wasn’t their style, definitely not.

Seeing them back down, Ye Nai didn’t pursue it further. She pulled out her phone to pay Brother Peng.

“Is it okay to leave these guys passed out here?”

“It’s fine. Let them sleep. They’ll leave on their own when they wake up. You be careful on your way home, stay safe.”

“Will do.”

Ye Nai put away her phone, whipped out her electric scooter with a gulp, and, amidst Brother Peng’s laughter, left leisurely.

She smoothly arrived back at the residential area and had just entered the main gate when, moving between two buildings, she was stopped again.

The stopping point was excellent: there was no light between the two buildings, with streetlights either at the front or behind, and the headlight of her electric scooter didn’t reach far either, leaving Ye Nai unable to see clearly the features of the people stopping her. Just from their silhouettes, there seemed to be a mix of tall, short, fat, and thin figures—at least a dozen of them.

She couldn’t fathom why the local tyrant valued her so much. They declined the invitation for drinks that night, only to pull tricks afterward. Well, she couldn’t blame them for the hauntings encountered by those who walk the night too often.

Ye Nai quietly stepped down, storing her electric scooter in her Space, and in a swift motion, she produced a high-lumen flashlight. With a click, she switched it on, dazzling a few of the people in front of her unexpectedly.

“Move aside, I’ve been drinking recently and don’t wish to take lives.”

“Drinking? That’s good; we were waiting for you to come back from drinking. You were pretty bold during the day, weren’t you? Let’s see how you show off now that you’re drunk.”

There were quite a number of people across from her, and from within the pitch-black shadows where the flashlight didn’t reach, someone sneered eerily, their voice mocking.