Even though the boss in the weird mascot costume moved quickly, the sheer number of people in line meant it took half an hour before it was Ye Shuang and his group's turn.
"That took a long time, but it seems everyone here is quite patient." Ye Shuang swept his gaze around and noticed that the people waiting in line ahead of them were chatting and laughing, seemingly unbothered by a half-hour wait.
It seemed they were very used to queuing. Ye Shuang, on the other hand, wasn't really the type to enjoy waiting in line. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he usually opted for places with immediate service over shops with long queues.
Finally, it was their turn.
The Pikachu boss looked at Ye Shuang's group with its plastic eyes, then simply said, "Pika."
"Uh..." Ye Shuang looked at the Pikachu who wasn't speaking human language at all. Just as he was about to ask for the price, Tang Keke reached out her hand from the side. "Thank you, boss! Please draw this for me!"
The Pikachu lowered its head to look.
It turned out Tang Keke was holding a group picture filled almost entirely with Naruto characters—dozens of them, in fact.
Pikachu: "..."
It wasn't just the Pikachu boss; even Ye Shuang was rendered speechless. Keke, did you come here just to make things difficult for the boss?
How could anyone draw dozens of characters using pancake batter?
"Tap, tap." To Ye Shuang's surprise, the boss simply patted a nearby board with its furry yellow paw. "Pi."
Written on it was: One hundred yuan.
"Here." Tang Keke immediately took out her phone to scan the QR code. She had just been complaining about having no money, but when it came to her turn, she pulled out her wallet with great generosity.
"WeChat Pay received: One hundred yuan."
"Phew—" The Pikachu took a deep breath, and Tang Keke swallowed hard beside it.
The next second, the boss clapped its paws together, and an identical person in a Pikachu costume popped out right next to it!
"Secret technique: Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Both Pikachus struck a muscle-flexing pose.
"The boss multiplied into two?!" Tang Keke exclaimed in surprise.
The customers waiting in line behind them all poked their heads out, letting out a collective "Oh?"
The two Pikachus worked together in perfect harmony, quickly sketching out what Tang Keke had requested. Of course, since it was made of batter, it couldn't be a perfect replica, but it was still incredibly impressive.
"Ohhhhh!" Tang Keke watched excitedly, snapping photos before carefully taking the boxed pancake into her hands.
"Thank you."
"Thank the sliced slime," one of the Pikachus said.
Tang Keke froze for a moment and scratched her head. "Boss, did you just speak?"
"Pi."
"Alright, my bad, I must have misheard." Tang Keke contentedly accepted her pancake. Now, it was Ye Shuang's turn.
Ye Shuang didn't have any particular favorite anime characters, but seeing how skilled the boss was, he pointed to himself and Bai Yuyou. "Could you draw a chibi version of us?"
Pikachu: "..."
The boss fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.
"Thank you."
It only cost fifty yuan. Ye Shuang stood together with Bai Yuyou, and the boss quickly drew the pancake. Accompanied by the faint aroma of batter, Ye Shuang's eyes fell upon the chibi figures.
They were quite cute. It showed him holding Bai Yuyou's little hand, and Yuyou was drawn looking especially adorkable.
"Alright, let's go." After packing up the pancake, Ye Shuang turned and left with the two girls.
The two Pikachus silently watched their retreating backs.
A few seconds later, with a swish, a "Closed" sign appeared on the stall, and the two Pikachus waddled away.
"Eh?!" The long line of customers behind them were dumbfounded.
Wait, what.
...
"Walking around is actually pretty fun, even though it's mostly just looking at exhibits." Ye Shuang continued strolling with the two girls. However, since there weren't any characters he particularly liked here, he wasn't nearly as fanatic as Keke.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to go grab something to eat first?" Ye Shuang asked, considering they had been out for a few hours already.
"I'm okay, I ate a lot of snacks just now so I'm not hungry," Tang Keke said while fiddling with the merchandise she had bought, before setting it down like a precious treasure.
Hearing that Tang Keke wasn't hungry, Ye Shuang looked over at Bai Yuyou. She still had a candied hawthorn stick in her mouth. In response to his inquiry, she merely blinked her beautiful eyes innocently. Not only that, but she was also carrying a large bag of snacks in her hand.
Hmm...
It seemed neither of them was hungry.
"There's quite a crowd gathered over there." Ye Shuang suddenly noticed two rings of photographers surrounding something outside the exhibition hall. This made him curious enough to peer inside.
When a flash of blonde hair caught his eye, Ye Shuang finally realized that the person being swarmed for photos was actually Alice.
Ye Shuang wasn't entirely surprised to see Alice here. As a model, it made sense that she would frequently attend events like this.
Today, Alice was still sporting her signature twin-tails, but she was dressed up as a little devil. Although she didn't have much of a figure, the outfit gave her an indescribably cute vibe.
If Alice was here...
Ye Shuang instinctively searched for Bobo. He quickly spotted Bobo and several other bodyguards standing not far from Alice. As a former child star and a major internet celebrity, Alice definitely had a lot of offline fans, so it was no wonder Bobo wasn't her only bodyguard.
However, Bobo had matched Alice by wearing a pink suit. Paired with his tower-like height, it created an indescribable sense of contrast.
"Lady Alice, could you insult us?" Just then, some photographers started jeering.
"Please scold us!" Voices echoed one after another.
"Hah? You actually want me to insult you? Do you all have some kind of masochistic fetish or something? Perverts." Alice wore a look of utter disgust and waved them off. "Get lost!"
"Yes, yes, that's exactly the expression!" A few photographers grew excited.
"Hah? What expression?"
Standing to the side, Ye Shuang thought: "..."
He really was getting old; he couldn't quite keep up with the world anymore.
Just as Ye Shuang was lamenting this, Alice spotted him in the crowd at a glance. She immediately flashed her little canine teeth. "Hmph, has a Mere Chair finally noticed my charm?"
But as it happened, Ye Shuang's gaze wasn't on Alice at that moment; he was looking over at Bobo's direction—
"Hah?!"
Alice's small face instantly puffed up. As if thinking of something, her eyes lit up, and she trotted over toward Ye Shuang.
"Hmm?"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
