The Hero Turned Into A Potato And The World Fell To Ruin

Chapter 88: Grandpa! Food! Hungry!

The formidable men who ran the infamous scam operation in Mir for years never imagined they'd be brought down by a bunch of potatoes.

Liu Ji was at a loss seeing the sprawled unconscious bodies of these thugs while the triumphant muscled potatolings now surrounded him.

He had initially intended to join in and help with the fight, but before he could even make a move, his potato squad had already taken down the bunch of thugs.

Those little guys moved with such efficiency, speed, and coordination, leaving Liu Ji and Osar standing on the sidelines and simply watching as the thugs were taken down one punch at a time.

Now, the potatolings clustered around Liu Ji, clamoring for praise and rewards. Besides "Grandpa," they had even picked up some new words, such as "Hungry!" and "Food!"

Left with no choice, Liu Ji could only nod and promise, "Alright, alright. I'll make you all some food as soon as we find a kitchen…"

While he was pandering to the eager potatolings, Nox emerged from the inn, dragging the pretty receptionist in one hand and a scrawny old man in the other. Both were tightly bound with ropes, likely the final members of this criminal gang.

Osar approached and asked, "Mr. Nox, what should we do with them? Hand them over to the city guard?"

The pair's eyes lit up with hope on hearing Osar's suggestion. Unfortunately for them, Nox's sardonic grin quickly dashed their expectations.

The duo's eyes widened in horror, but with their mouths gagged, they could only whimper and shake their heads in protest.

"That might not be a good idea," Calidora chimed in as she stepped outside. "We don't know this place well enough to start racking up a body count."

"True, though it doesn't count if no one finds out… And it would be much more effective if you were to handle it," Nox admitted with a sly smile. "Besides, we could use some extra help around the inn. Don't you think so?"

"Well, yeah," Calidora replied, crouching down beside the tied-up pair.

She lifted the receptionist's face, letting the latter's eyes meet her own that were glowing with a strange light. The once-panicked woman suddenly relaxed, her eyes growing vacant.

The old man next to her, realizing what was happening, began struggling desperately. Calidora calmly pulled him over and slapped him hard across the face.

He immediately froze, staring at the gentle-looking young woman with newfound fear and confusion.

"Don't move, alright?" Calidora said with a sweet smile. "This is only temporary, but if you don't cooperate, I won't hesitate to follow through on Nox's idea."

The old man hesitated, visibly frightened, before finally meeting her gaze.

"There, that's better," Calidora murmured softly, her eyes glowing once more. The old man's expression shifted to the same vacant stare.

"Alright, they're set. You can untie them now," Calidora announced with a sigh of relief. "I'll go handle the ones still unconscious."

Watching Calidora's back as she entered the inn, Nox turned to Mervant while stroking his chin. "Who knew your girlfriend had such a wicked side?"

"You're the one who dragged us into this sketchy place," Mervant shot back, his lips twitching. "Captain told you to find a decent place, and you pick a place like this? Is it even safe to stay here?"

"Heh, you don't get it," Nox said, waving his hand dismissively. "These places are perfect. They're never really used, so everything inside is brand new. You'll see once we get inside."

With that, he headed into the inn.

Mervant shrugged and gestured for the others to follow, then joined Calidora in dealing with the unconscious thugs.

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On entering the inn, the group realized that what Nox said had been absolutely right. The furnishings were practically new, as if they had never been touched.

Besides that, the inn was comprehensively equipped. It resembled a legitimate inn rather than a scam operation.

According to Nox, even if the establishment was protected by some higher-up, they couldn't operate without maintaining appearances. Everything had to be in order to pass inspections, and should they decide to go straight, they could sell the place off as a legitimate business.

Of course, that said, Nox's primary reason for choosing this place was the fact they could stay here for free.

Despite his exhaustion, Liu Ji was kept busy by the chattering potatoes around him. After entering the establishment, he went in search of the kitchen to prepare some soup for them.

While looking for the kitchen, he ran into Calidora, who had also brought the newly reformed (magically) scam crew. Seeing how tired Liu Ji was, Calidora instructed two of the thugs to handle the cooking instead.

Before long, everyone had their rooms sorted out.

Osar and Liu Ji shared one, while Mervant and Calidora took another. Guoguo and Yaine paired up, Girunini and Shelo shared a room, while Nox had one to himself.

Once the cooking was done and the potatoes fed, Liu Ji retired to his room, collapsing onto the bed. He was so tired that he fell asleep without even changing his clothes.

Osar entered, and seeing Liu Ji sleeping this way, pulled a blanket over him.

In the room next door, Yaine was in a similar state. Returning to the room, she undressed, performed a quick cleansing spell, changed into clean pajamas, and fell asleep. Her seamless process left Guoguo, who didn't know magic, feeling envious.

Mervant and Calidora, too, decided to rest right away. Even though they finally had some privacy, the two were probably too tired.

Nox, Shelo, Girunini, and Osar, however, had no intention of resting just yet. With the afternoon still ahead of them, they planned to make the most of it.

"So, should we check out the guild, get a feel for things, or maybe take on a quick job?" Nox asked.

"I'm up for anything," Osar replied with a grin. "Just tell me where to go."

"I'll follow Captain's lead," Girunini said, looking toward Shelo.

"If it's up to me, I'd say let's visit the guild first," Shelo suggested. "If there's a quick job we can finish today, we could give it a shot and see what this so-called hunting ground has to offer."