107: Babale's Conjecture

Baba Le and Little Hu ultimately did not make it to last week's grilled fish stall location.

This was because they were intercepted by several burly soldiers before they even got close to Nameless Lake.

The reason given was that the area around Nameless Lake had been designated a military exercise zone by the troops, and it was temporarily inconvenient for the public to visit for spring outings.

Baba Le and Little Hu were a bit bewildered.

Listening to the occasional cannon fire from Nameless Lake, they felt both curious and apprehensive.

As ordinary citizens, they had never witnessed such a scene.

Seeing that Baba Le and Little Hu neither spoke nor left, Ban Yangming, who was responsible for the outer perimeter, immediately narrowed his eyes.

There had long been an order from above strictly prohibiting any unauthorized personnel from approaching the battlefield where the exotic object was being eliminated; if anyone ignored the warning and insisted on lingering, the soldiers on alert duty could take them down first.

Just as Ban Yangming was about to step forward and deliver a final ultimatum, he saw the two people opposite him suddenly jolt, then, with awkward smiles, they turned and got into their car and left.

Ban Yangming smiled with satisfaction, then turned his head and led two soldiers to patrol elsewhere.

However, during his patrol, listening to the intense sounds of battle coming from the lake, he suddenly sighed.

The two soldiers beside him exchanged glances, finally unable to resist speaking.

“Without the Captain and He Jingrui, our Fox Hunt Squad’s strength has plummeted; now we can only do perimeter guard duty, which is truly frustrating.”

“The Captain just left, and we couldn't persuade him, alas!”

Ban Yangming turned to look at the two, habitually wanting to offer a few words of comfort, but he was also very confused at the moment, and after thinking for a moment, he let out another sigh.

At this time, on the road leading to the city.

Little Hu, while driving, exclaimed:

“Brother, this is the first time I’ve been so close to soldiers in my entire life! Their camouflage uniforms look so cool!”

Excited as he was, he didn't notice Baba Le's dazed expression.

Not getting a response, Little Hu couldn't help but look over.

“Brother, what’s wrong?”

Baba Le seemed to awaken from a dream, asking Little Hu.

“Little Hu, do you think the military would conduct exercises only half an hour away from the city? And with live ammunition?”

Little Hu scratched his head.

“I’m not sure about that, but probably not, right?”

Baba Le nodded, then a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

“I bet there’s a story behind this.”

Little Hu was stunned.

“Military exercises are normal, right? What story could there be?”

Baba Le stroked his chin, then seemed to think of something, his eyes lit up, and he suddenly snapped his fingers.

“That’s right, do you remember the incident last Friday, at the Little Boss’s stall, where the strange fish dragged someone into the water?”

At the mention of this, Little Hu couldn't help but shrink his neck.

Although he was quite far from the shore at the time and didn't see the fish with his own eyes, hearing people describe it later still sent a chill down his spine.

However, he still said skeptically:

“No way, just for one strange-looking fish, the military would cordon off such a large Nameless Lake and not let anyone near? That sounds so far-fetched.”

Baba Le, however, thought it more and more plausible, and to strengthen his argument, he took out his phone and searched for recent news from various places.

“Look, there are more and more news reports about strange species being discovered recently. Like this one from abroad, it says someone found an adult-sized giant bird in the wild, which even caused a sensation locally!”

Seeing Little Hu’s expression waver, Baba Le continued:

“This world is becoming increasingly unfamiliar; maybe the ‘invasion from another world’ that was widely spread online before is actually true!”

Hearing this, a hint of fear couldn't help but appear on Little Hu's face, and his fingers gripping the steering wheel turned somewhat white from excessive force.

---

At eight o'clock the next morning, Lu Chuan and He Jingrui once again set up their stall on time.

The old man next to them looked somewhat surprised, then shook his head and chuckled.

“Kid, I thought you would change your stall location today!”

Lu Chuan gave an awkward laugh.

The old man was good in every way, except he liked to speak plainly and hit people where it hurt.

As time slowly passed, it was already well past noon in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that the surrounding stall vendors were starting to pack up, Lu Chuan fanned himself while wiping away sweat, and after thinking for a moment, decided to pack up as well.

“It’s a shame about this pot of fatty intestines; it’s going to be a bargain for someone again.”

Lu Chuan squinted, looking at someone next to him who was covering her mouth and trying hard to stifle a laugh, and couldn't help but snort.

Seeing that the small cart's stand had been put away, and there still wasn't a single customer, he shook his head sadly.

“Let’s go, home.”

The wheels began to roll, just as they were about to drive away.

“Wait!”

A frantic shout suddenly rang out from behind.

Lu Chuan looked back in confusion, finding a group of girls running towards them.

He looked closely again, and the girl running at the very front, wasn't she one of the two who had packed up super spicy fatty intestine noodles yesterday?

Lu Chuan’s eyes immediately lit up, and he quickly signaled He Jingrui to get out of the car and set up the stall again.

At this moment, Hua Hanhan and Zhu Xinlei, along with several other girls, had also run to the stall.

Hua Hanhan leaned on her knees and caught her breath before looking up at Lu Chuan with a puzzled expression.

“Little Boss, why are you packing up so early today?”

Lu Chuan didn't really want to answer that question, but under her clear yet naive gaze, he still reluctantly said:

“I didn’t have any business all morning, so I naturally packed up early.”

As a result, Zhu Xinlei next to him immediately asked in surprise upon hearing this:

“That’s impossible! Your super spicy fatty intestine noodles are so delicious, how could you not have any business?”

“…”

Lu Chuan was silent for a moment, then decided to avoid this topic that made him both sad and awkward.

However, the 'big smart one' next to him had already enthusiastically started to explain.

“Because fatty intestine noodles can only be sold to people preparing for interviews!”

Hua Hanhan and Zhu Xinlei only then realized, and burst into laughter, unable to straighten their backs.

Lu Chuan glared at He Jingrui, then helplessly said:

“Um, if you want to buy super spicy fatty intestine noodles, you still need to show your resume or an interview notification text message!”

Hua Hanhan and Zhu Xinlei indicated they understood, and while taking out their phones, they gave a look to the other girls accompanying them.

The girls understood, and either took out their resumes or found their text messages, going up one by one for Lu Chuan to review.

Seeing how cooperative the girls were, Lu Chuan's gloom from being ignored all morning also dissipated quite a bit.

“Alright, alright, are you eating here or taking it to go?”

Hua Hanhan and Zhu Xinlei had already discussed it before coming, so they answered in unison:

“We’ll eat here! Fresh out of the pot, it should taste even better.”

Lu Chuan understood, and began skillfully blanching the noodles, adding the super spicy topping, and scooping a large spoonful of red broth.

Soon, several steaming bowls of super spicy fatty intestine noodles, with varying degrees of spiciness, were successively prepared.