The Deadly Assassin Robin by Tristan Storm

Chapter 236 Hot Pot Haven At six in the evening, Vera and Robin arrived at the newly opened Hot Pot Haven on the outskirts of Harmonfield.

The restaurant was bustling with people, and every table was filled.

"This newly opened hot pot restaurant is doing quite well," Robin said, smiling as he glanced around at the bustling scene, where nearly every table was occupied.

At that moment, he noticed several pairs of eyes filled with murderous intent fixed on him. It seemed that the assassins from the dark world had indeed arrived in Harmonfield.

Taking in the enticing aroma, Vera hooked her arm through Robin's, proud. "Of course! Only the best for my recommendations!" A few days ago, the company executives raved about this place the food was fresh, affordable, and top-notch service. "So, I thought I had to bring you here to try it," she said excitedly. "Con, let's go in! It's ontoday you can order whatever you want!" Before long, a staff member from the hot pot restaurant approached them, leading them to the front desk to register. They received a table card for Table 9.

Savoring the rich smells wafting through the air, Vera closed her eyes in delight. "Just the aroma's makinghungry!" "Waiter," she called, "we'll start with a mixed pot, and then bring us a selection of your best dishes!" The server hesitated momentarily and cautiously asked, "Miss, we have hundreds of dishes on our menu. Won't it be too much to order one of each?" Robin nodded in agreement. "It would be a bit excessive. Let's start with twenty dishes-ten meat and ten vegetables. And make sure the hot pot base has a strong flavor. Also, grab a few bottles of drinks for us." Vera pouted. "With such good food, why no alcohol? "You can drink a little if you want," Robin replied, "but keep it limited! I don't want to end up carrying a drunk home." As the waiter left, Vera grinned mischievously. "So, no drinking because you want a clear head for something, hmm?" Snap! A plastic toy bullet suddenly flew toward Vera's eye. Robin's hand darted up, catching it mid-air.

He looked over to see a ten-year-old boy holding a toy gun, ready to shoot again, while his parents praised him non-stop.

Vera stood up and addressed them politely. "Hi, excuse me. You're his parents, right? With so many people here, a toy gun like that could hurt someone." Vera's words were interrupted as the boy's mother immediately reacted defensively.

"What do you mean by that? It's just a toy gun, and the bullets are only made of plastic pellets. What's the big deal? You're being overly sensitive!" Vera froze, not expecting such a reaction. "I was just giving you a heads-up for your own good. You don't need to be rude." The boy's father frowned and jabbed a finger at her, "What are you gonna do about it? You'll regret it if you say another word about my kid." Robin glanced at the family, then calmly pulled Vera back to their table.

"Don't pull me! They're so ... " Vera was frustrated, shocked that the parents were so unreasonable, and Robin just pulled her away.

"Forget it," Robin said, motioning for her to relax. "We're here to eat. It's not worth getting upset over people like that. Our food's almost here." Vera rolled her eyes at Robin and reluctantly sat down, muttering, "I was just trying to give them sfriendly advice about their child. What if he ends up hurting someone with a bad temper? The kid could be in real trouble." Robin chuckled, "His parents don't seem to mind. Why should you?" After a moment, she took a deep breath and conceded he was probably right. Around them, other diners shook their heads at Robin.

"This guy has no backbone. Letting his girlfriend get treated like that?" "Yeah, what a pushover!" "Not really. You saw how unreasonable that family was. He's probably just avoiding a scene." Meanwhile, seeing Robin and Vera back down, the boy's parents continued praising their son. "Our baby is amazing!" Clap! Clap! Clap! Under his parents' encouragement, the boy kept running around the restaurant with a toy gun in hand, creating chaos.

The security guard at the hot pot restaurant saw the boy running around and hurried over to his parents, advising, "Please keep an eye on your child. The hot pot broth is very hot; it could cause serious burns if he runs into it." Immediately, the boy's mother becfurious. "Isn't this hot pot restaurant supposed to be a combination of leisure and dining? My little angel is so well-behaved; what could possibly happen? If you keep talking nonsense, I will file a complaint against you!" The boy's father quickly joined in, defending his wife and berating the security guard as well.

The guard, reluctant to argue further, backed down to avoid losing his job.

Just as he finished speaking, a server carrying a steaming pot of broth walked by.

The boy was having a blast, dashing around the crowded aisles of the hot pot restaurant.

He ended up crashing right into the server, who was balancing the hot broth.

The server was taken aback.

Given the angle and position, that scalding pot of broth would surely drench the boy from head to toe.

With such hot broth, the child would either end up with severe burns or worse.

In a panic, the server quickly turned, spilling the pot of boiling broth onto her foot.

Thankfully, it only scalded half of her foot.

She ended up sitting on the floor in shock.

Seeing this, the boy deliberately started to cry loudly.

His mother rushed over, drawn by the sound of her child's wails.

Completely ignoring the injured server, she immediately checked if her son was hurt.

Once satisfied he wasn't hurt, she pointed at the waitress furiously. "How could someone as incompetent as you be working here? You scared my poor baby! Can't even carry a pot without spilling it-useless! If he'd been burned, you'd be paying for it!" The server was a college student working part-tto pay for her tuition.

She never expected the boy's mother to refuse to apologize for her child's unruly behavior and lash out at her.

Feeling wronged, she started to tear up, mumbling, "Your kid is running all over the hot pot restaurant; he bumped into me, and now my foot is burned." Hearing her words, the boy's father immediately grabbed her by the collar. "You better watch your mouth about my son! Do you wantto knock you out? People like you looking so pathetic and lacking any manners, shouldn't even be working here! Did you get burned on your foot? It's your own fault!" At that moment, the restaurant manager rushed over and helped the waitress up. "Vivian, go to the back; I'll arrange for someone to take you to the hospital." Apologizing to the boy's parents, the manager managed to calm the situation. However, the parents continued muttering insults as they returned to their table. "This place is awful! Next time, we're eating somewhere else! Can you believe the low standards of their staff?" The boy's father and mother grumbled. Watching all this, Vera was speechless. "Robin, did you see that? How could they act like this? Don't they realize they're only harming their own child in the long run?" Robin, unfazed, took a bite of food. "They'll get what's coming sooner than later. People like this have never faced the consequences." "Sooner than later?" Vera glanced around, puzzled by Robin's comment, then noticed three familiar faces at the entrance.

Bowing her head slightly, she whispered, "Robin, those three from the office this morning-they're here." The three, two men and a woman, were none other than Talia Cross, Tobias Marsh, and Dustin Pierce from Draconia Security Bureau Seven's Investigation Division. Robin nodded. "Right on time." "What do you mean?" Vera asked, watching him closely. "Are you okay? You're acting strange today." Robin ignored her.

He understood that Talia had tracked him here, likely in connection with the assassin from the dark world.

At that moment, a man at table 13 caught Robin's attention.

The man was of average build, with a thin face, and wearing wide-rimmed glasses.

Sitting across from him was a girl, around 17 or 18, who looked pure and quiet.

Every now and then, the man would glance at the young girl, his eyes shimmering with a strange light.

It wasn't sleazy or perverse but a mix of longing and sadness.

The girl noticed his gaze and smiled back at him.

A warm smile spread across the man's cold, handsface.

This harmonious and warm scene was abruptly shattered by a ball of dirty tissues.

Behind the girl sat the family of that boy with the toy gun.

After eating for a bit, the boy started causing trouble.

He spit on the napkins from their table, smeared them with chili oil, and vel deliberately threw them at the girl. Each tthe tissues landed on her pristine white dress, leaving red oil stains, he burst into delighted laughter. The girl was quite uncomfortable, but knowing the family was unreasonable, she chose not to confront them. She shifted her position slightly.

But the boy continued to wrap leftover bones and them dishes in the napkins, from their tossing them ather. One of those bundles even ended up in the girl's hot pot. Fuming, she glanced back at the boy, who was excitedly dancing around.

With a sigh, she shook her head in resignation, deciding to eat from the other half of the pot instead.

The man sitting across from her furrowed his brow slightly.

Seeing that the girl wasn't saying anything, he let it go.

She thought the little boy would stop after a while.

However, to her surprise, the boy grew even bolder.

He stuffed more trash-cigarette butts, bones, and toothpicks-into the napkins and dumped them into her pot with a loud laugh.

The girl was trembling with anger but dared not speak up.

The man at table 13 suddenly exuded a menacing aura.

But when he saw the boy was under ten, he took a deep breath, stood up, and addressed his parents"Excuse me, could you please keep an eye on Sed his your child? He's being too naughty and throwing trash into that girl's pot." Then, gesturing to the waiter, he added, "Please bring the child a plate of snacks. I'll treat him." As he said this, the boy's father glanced at the thin man wearing glasses and said, "What's the big deal? It's just a dirty pot! I'll pay for My kid's still just a child; you're all adults, so why are you being so petty?" it! "Waiter, replace her pot; it's on me! What's wrong with people these days? Can't even tolerate a child? Such poor manners!"