Chapter 222: Authority
“I…” The Waiter’s mouth opened and closed, wanting very much to retort by asking why he should tell him.
It couldn’t be said that the two of them had a good relationship; it could only be said that there was a one-sided deadly grudge.
If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t win, the Waiter would definitely jump up and slap Zhang Qian a few times to vent his anger.
However, the crucial point of the problem was that he couldn’t win…
Considering the strength gap between himself and Zhang Qian, he still gave up on this not very wise idea.
After all, although the current him was a bit gluttonous and greedy for money, at his core he was still that cowardly Waiter who feared death and wouldn’t do something equivalent to seeking death.
Looking up toward Zhang Qian following the sound, the Waiter hesitated for a moment before honestly saying, “I’m not clear either; your situation is truly rare. At least as far as I know, there’s no second one, so there are no examples to reference.”
The hoarse, strange voice sounded very much like it was mocking something, but Zhang Qian could feel that this guy wasn’t lying.
It felt awful…
He had originally thought that returning to the Dining Area would allow him to leave, but it still wasn’t possible?
But his transaction with the Ghost Restaurant had already been completed; there was no reason he should be able to continue staying here.
“How did the previous guests leave?” Zhang Qian asked.
The Waiter was silent for a moment, as if pondering something, and only after a while did he reply, “I’m similarly unclear. Generally, they automatically disappear after settling the bill, or if they don’t settle the bill, they’re taken away by the Ghost Restaurant. I don’t know the specific principle.”
Whether as the Shopkeeper or as an ordinary Shop Assistant, to the Ghost Restaurant he was just a worker and completely unaware of its operating mechanism.
And the problem Zhang Qian raised probably required the creator of the Ghost Restaurant to come personally to answer it; it wasn’t something a marginal figure like the Waiter could explain.
“One question, three unknowns?” Zhang Qian glanced at the Waiter, then turned and walked toward the only light.
Since the Waiter didn’t know the answers to these problems, he could only try to find them himself.
The long table under the light appeared somewhat messy, with unknown soup splashed on the tablecloth, staining it with colorful spots.
Some empty bowls were also casually discarded on the tabletop, with remnants of food still visible inside.
Perhaps due to a shortage of manpower, this place obviously hadn’t been cleaned or organized yet.
Picking up the bill placed in front of the seat, Zhang Qian suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “Where did these dishes come from, and what about those arms that served the food?”
The Waiter was about to speak when Zhang Qian preemptively reminded him, “Don’t forget your experience in the Resting Area. Even if you’re a Fierce Ghost now, it has no influence on me. On the contrary, there’s no need to worry about accidentally killing you. So you’d better think it through before answering. If you can’t remember, I’ll help you recall.”
Immediately after, the two Ghost Hands clinging to the Waiter’s face also cooperated by exerting force, their pitch-black fingernails deeply embedding into the dry, thin skin, the immense strength on several fingers squeezing until the Waiter’s bones creaked.
Zhang Qian could also see that this guy seemed to be harboring some unspeakable idea, far from being as honest as the Waiter in the Resting Area. Without intimidation, he probably had no intention of cooperating properly.
Perhaps supernatural power had clouded his mind, or maybe it was the nature of a Fierce Ghost?
After all, even the Mannequin with a Fierce Ghost’s body often became strange; someone with weaker strength like the Waiter should find it hard to maintain his sense of self under the influence of a Fierce Ghost.
The Waiter’s throat bobbed, and he slowly said, “Those things… are not my own ability. Right now, besides my strength becoming a bit greater and my appetite becoming somewhat terrifying, I’m not like those Ghost Controllers with all sorts of strange abilities.”
“These are all abilities that come with the Ghost Restaurant itself. It’s just that the Shopkeeper can slightly control them to serve food or intimidate and such.”
Perhaps the threat had worked; the Waiter spoke in detail, with no intention of hiding anything.
Hearing this, Zhang Qian grew curious and pressed, “You can control those withered arms? Besides that, does the Shopkeeper have any other permissions, and how do you use them?”
Was the permission to leave the Resting Area included among them?
Hearing this, the Waiter just shook his head. “Because of that damn guy, I fundamentally had no chance to familiarize myself with the conveniences brought by the Shopkeeper identity, so naturally I don’t know about more permissions.”
“As for why those arms can be controlled by me, I feel it’s more like an instinct. With just a thought, they move on their own.”
After all, no guests had appeared for several decades, so the Waiter had rarely come to the Dining Area and fundamentally had no chance to properly explore.
The previous time, thanks to Zhang Qian, he had finally come once but nearly stuffed himself to death. So he could only leave here first, hoping to digest slowly with a human body, and didn’t have time to properly probe the surrounding environment.
In other words, although the Waiter had been the Shopkeeper for several decades, in many aspects he wasn’t much different from newcomer Zhang Qian and fundamentally didn’t know more information or clues.
“Just thinking about it makes it happen? That’s too unscientific.” Zhang Qian grumbled, then beckoned toward the nearby darkness.
Soon.
An arm silently passed through the boundary between light and dark, quietly hovering above the dining table.
Zhang Qian wasn’t surprised at all; after all, if the Waiter could do it, there was no reason he couldn’t.
It just wasn’t quite accurate to say this arm was under his control, because there wasn’t any extra supernatural power in his body, nor that feeling of contact with a Fierce Ghost.
“It’s not under my control, but obeys the Shopkeeper identity?” Zhang Qian mused thoughtfully.
The arm in front of him looked no different from the one the Waiter had summoned, like a mummy dried for dozens of years, thin like a brownish wooden stick, comparable to the Waiter’s own arms.
Curiously circling behind the arm, he couldn’t find where it had emerged from, as if a door just wide enough for an arm had been opened in space, allowing this arm to abruptly hover mid-air.
A Ghost Hand on the ground trembled, ending its idling under Zhang Qian’s command, slowly climbing onto the dining table and then leaping up, wanting to jump onto the withered arm to test its depth.
After all, it was an unknown thing; Zhang Qian didn’t dare experiment on himself, so sending out the infinitely rechargeable Ghost Hand was undoubtedly more appropriate.
However, the moment the Ghost Hand just touched the withered hand, that previously still arm suddenly lashed out, flipping to grab the Ghost Hand and then slamming it viciously onto the tabletop.
“Bang!”
