Reboot: Mechanic

The name Horology Restaurant sounded familiar to a particular word, but Shi Tian couldn't remember what the word was. 

Nevertheless, the fact that this restaurant had numerous people entering, proved its food quality should be above average. 

For a restaurant to be popular, status meant nothing because only the food could retain a customer's heart. And Shi Tian wanted to eat something good given that he had managed to swindle some money off from Vanessa. 

This was taught by Old Man Chao that money was extremely valuable and that he should swindle more often or not.

Of course, the premise was that one should have the capability to swindle others first and not get beaten up for it. 

After entering the Horology Restaurant, Shi Tian was greeted by a woman wearing a dress similar to a qipao design. It looked similar, but not quite at the same time since there were some alterations to the traditional kind. 

"Welcome sir, are you here to dine in or did you make some reservation?" The woman greeted Shi Tian kindly and asked. 

"Oh, I'm just here to order some takeout because a companion of mine is currently ill and couldn't come out to dine in." Shi Tian replied back, giving an excuse on the spot. Even he was impressed with himself for coming up with a lie so quickly. 

"Oh, for takeout. You can walk over to that counter and look for the food that you wish to order. Afterward, you can talk to the man over there Jason who will jot down your order." The woman quickly instructed and redirected Shi Tian to another worker responsible for it.

Shi Tian nodded his head, gave his thanks, and walked over to the counter. 

While at the counter, Shi Tian scanned the Quick Response (QR) code with his Cellos device, and the menu soon appeared, allowing him to choose what type of food he wanted.

There were multiple options, but none of the meat is what he used to know. It was the meat of mutated monsters, with one of them being called Higarous, a type of miniature dinosaur look-alike, known for its tenderized meat.

Higarous was a Grade-D monster and was known to have a great reproductive system, meaning it had a large population which become quite the staple food for Gearits City's citizens. 

Not only was their meat delicious and savory, but there was a chance of increasing their resistance to pollution and possibly mutation. 

'I guessed it wouldn't hurt to try this meat dish then.' Shi Tian thought to himself. The information he had just read from the dish listed where and how the Horology Restaurant obtained Higarous meat. 

Shi Tian wanted to eat something with meat and chose a dish that contained the most Higarous meat. As for Vanessa, he decided to get her some comfort food since she was still injured. 

Although he was still wary of her and had his guard against her, it would be impolite to buy her something heavy to eat with her current condition. He still had a bit of honor in him regardless of his conduct and behavior. 

And with that thought, Shi Tian quickly placed the order and went to the counter where Jason was accepting payment.

"Hello, this is for order number 153," Shi Tian said and handed him some Eons. 

Jason did some clicking on the monitor and accepted the payment a few seconds later. "Thank you. Your order should be ready in about 10-15 minutes, so feel free to take a seat there to wait." 

Everything was merely a procedure, so Shi Tian didn't bother to be extra polite and found a chair to sit down on. At the same time, he used this as an opportunity to inspect the interior of Horology Restaurant.

It was certainly a loud restaurant with many different kinds of customers gathering at each set of tables, chattering and clamoring as if they were the only people around. 

Shi Tian found it quite amusing to see these people were still able to act so carefreely despite the situation outside the walls of Gearits City.

And looking back at the entrance, Shi Tian noticed it was adorned with polished marble floors, glistening crystal chandeliers, and opulent floral arrangements that permeated the air with a delicate fragrance. 

The atmosphere exuded a refined elegance, with tastefully curated artworks adorning the walls, creating a harmonious blend of modernity and timeless beauty.

In addition to that, the lighting within the interior was soft and ambient, casting a warm glow that enhanced the dining experience. Concealed spotlights artfully illuminated each culinary creation as they arrived at the table, allowing customers to appreciate the visual artistry of the dishes.

With such attention to detail in the decoration and design, Shi Tian could subtly understand why this restaurant was popular to attract so many customers. 

After all, the people that ordered takeout weren't just him alone and there were many more that were still placing orders, leaving Jason extremely busy.

'Maybe this could be my go-to place for food if its quality matched up to the interior design.' Shi Tian exclaimed inwardly. The food pricing was reasonable and the workers weren't arrogant or haughty. 

Since he was going to wait for his food to arrive, Shi Tian planned on playing with his Cellos device for a while until he heard something interesting at a large round table.

At the large round table, the people were discussing a table that intrigued him.

"I'm sure everyone here has read the news of the military's recruitment, right? My brother is a part of the military so he told me that the reason why the New Region was discovered was because the miasma that was covering up the area had dissolved quite a bit." 

"Oh Brother Edwin, just get to the main point already. You didn't tell all of us to gather here just for that kind of talk, right?" 

"Haha, well this is what my brother told me about. The miasma didn't dissolve by itself, but it was done by the military purposely. It was said that the higher-ups received a tip from an informant that the New Region was hiding an ancient technology left by the fissure crack in the sky 132 years ago. 

'Ancient Technology?' Shi Tian was astonished when he eavesdropped on that kind of news.