Two days later, after the last customer left, Westlake Restauran prepared to close for the night. Nemo was responsible for tidying up the kitchen while Tolya was cleaning the restroom.

Boss Liu went out back to dispose of the kitchen waste, and Sunny Jie poured out the tips from the evening shift, dividing them into four equal portions to give to Nemo and Tolya after they finished work. This was also an important source of pocket money for Boss Liu.

Normally, Sunny Jie would lock the main door first and then count the cash in the register. However, that night, she forgot.

A night without news of monsters causing major casualties is always pleasant, even a little too relaxing, causing one to let their guard down.

The chaos brought by the health check lingered in the middle-aged woman's mind.

Both her husband and Tolya needed surgery. Nemo’s checkup and treatment schedule was uncertain. Among the remaining staff, there were even some who had been diagnosed with mid-stage cancer and other serious illnesses. How should she coordinate the upcoming shifts? If the patients insisted on continuing to work, should she agree? If anyone planned to quit, she’d need to prepare some severance pay, or perhaps it would be better to close for a while so everyone could sort things out?

The people working in this restaurant were all doing so to survive, and many had families to support. They didn’t want to hear bad news that could prevent them from working and would cost them money to treat. Ignorance allowed them to pretend the problem didn’t exist, but was that really okay?

The unexpected free health checks brought the chance for timely changes, but many people panicked when they saw the bad results, regretting that they had been too eager for a freebie and destroyed their faith in their daily lives.

But the high-end health checks provided by the Grimm Group weren’t cheap.

Liu would help with advice and support in all aspects, but in the end, the decision was still Sunny Jie’s to make, especially since this time she had to stop her stubborn husband from being reckless.

The doorbell suddenly interrupted Sunny Jie’s thoughts. Thinking it was a customer who had missed the closing time, she raised her head and, without hesitation, said the greeting she had memorized: “Sorry! We’re closed…”

A cold, hard metal pipe poked at Sunny Jie’s temple, pressing forcefully. She widened her eyes in terror as two masked robbers stood at the counter, one of them pressing a gun to her head.

“Listen up, bitch. No screaming, no calling the cops. Now, put the cash in the bag,” the man ordered, glancing out the door. Sunny Jie instinctively looked outside and, in despair, saw another figure standing outside the door, clearly an accomplice.

The robber impatiently threw an open backpack onto the counter.

“Alright… no problem… I’ll do as you say… Please move the gun a little…”

Seeing her shaking so much she could barely open the cash register, the robber scoffed and growled, “Don’t try anything funny!”

He moved the gun back to his chest, still pointing it at the middle-aged woman.

Actually, using a toy gun to scare her would have been just as effective. The problem was, there were still other men in the restaurant.

“They live on the second floor. There must be money and valuables up there. Take this woman up to get them. Move fast!”

As Sunny Jie shakily handed over the cash, the gun barrel unwittingly shifted. The robbers didn’t consider the restaurant owner a threat—she was short and weak.

“Where’s that woman’s husband?”

“He was just in the kitchen, probably hiding because we have a gun. The waiters too—turns out they look good but are useless! Ha! Ha!” The robbers, now less tense since the troublesome men weren’t around, relaxed a little.

The chef’s feet were hidden behind a cardboard box by the curtain. He was silently lying in wait.

Nemo knew the purpose of the gun was mostly to intimidate. Someone who truly intends to shoot wouldn't press the gun's muzzle against their target's head. The robbers were likely trying to scare the tall Boss and Tolya. Even if he pulled the trigger, the first shot wouldn’t be aimed at a human, especially in a Chinese restaurant.

It was well-known that Chinese people were timid and feared trouble.

A little intimidation would usually make them obedient. After all, armed robbery and first-degree murder were very different crimes. These three robbers didn’t even know which gang controlled the street; only one of them had a gun, while the other two had knives.

What Nemo needed was this hesitation in the robbers' actions.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Sunny Jie! Get down!” Nemo shouted in Chinese.

The masked man holding the gun was stunned when he heard the unfamiliar language. The small woman immediately obeyed and crouched down. An egg hit him squarely between the eyes, splattering egg yolk all over his face, temporarily blinding him.

Nemo quickly grabbed the nearest bottle of chili powder and dumped it into the face of the robber holding a knife. Then, using a chopping board, he knocked the knife out of the robber’s hand. As the man bent over, groaning and rubbing his face, Nemo aimed a powerful knee to his face. He then threw the chopping board vertically at the gunman’s nose. The gunman, who had just wiped off the egg yolk and was trying to open his eyes, grunted in pain and gripped the gun tightly, his other hand grasping the counter to avoid falling.

Nemo then delivered an elbow strike to the neck of the man who had been attacked with chili powder, pushing him aside, before sprinting towards the third robber, who had been standing outside as a lookout and had just realized something was wrong and came in to assist.

Upon seeing Nemo, the robber raised his knife to strike.

The chef used his left hand to deflect the robber’s arm, creating an opening for him to move sideways and grab the robber’s wrist. With his right hand, he opened his palm and struck the man’s throat with a crescent-shaped blow.

The robber let out a “guh” sound. The chef’s hand remained clenched around his jaw, and his left hand pinned the robber’s arm in place as he lifted the man’s chin, causing him to lose his balance and fall heavily to the ground, his neck hitting the floor. The small knife was already twisted from his hand.

The entire process took less than ten seconds.

“Tolya! Hold him down and disarm him!” Nemo saw the robber who had taken the first hit, swearing and attempting to get up.

The waiters, who had heard the noise but were a step too slow, revealed a grin, exposing their white teeth. One of them aimed a side kick to the robber’s head, who had been covered in chili powder, sending him flying to the ground, unable to move. “I’m not that merciful.”

The Russian, filled with murderous intent, was about to search for his next target when he suddenly realized— it was over.

At this moment, Nemo had the gunman face down on the ground with both hands pulled behind his back, and the other robber, who had been hit in the throat and had fallen on his back, was groaning weakly, possibly suffering a concussion.

Nemo had used skillful moves to throw the lookout robber down, slightly lifting his center of gravity before pushing him down sharply, making it seem like he had just pushed the man with one hand. It was the most brutal move in the fight, but it looked subtle in the surveillance footage.

Boss Liu, who had been locked out of the kitchen, finally ran into the restaurant through the back alley, panting heavily. Seeing the three masked robbers lying on the ground, he was stunned.

“I… I’ve called the police,” Sunny Jie said, tears on her face.

“Why couldn’t you open the back door to the kitchen?” Boss Liu thought that even Nemo’s kitchen arsenal had been compromised.

“I locked it because I didn’t want you to become a target. If they panicked, they might really shoot someone. You’re bigger, so it’s a hassle. If you’re not here, I can focus on saving Sunny Jie. Go comfort your wife.” The last sentence successfully diverted the manager’s attention.

What about me? Tolya thought to himself, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Boss Liu tied up the robbers with cable ties, waiting for the police to arrive. During this time, Sunny Jie refused her husband’s suggestion to accompany her upstairs to rest, insisting that she wanted to personally witness the robbers being handcuffed and taken away by the police.

"I won’t be able to sleep otherwise!" Sunny Jie, sitting in a chair with the hot tea that Nemo had poured for her, expressed her agitation. "It’s my fault! I forgot to lock the door!"

"You’re not at fault, Sunny Jie. Even if you had locked the door, they had already scouted the place and planned to rob us right when we closed. They would’ve broken in anyway. Our restaurant's glass door wouldn’t have stopped them," Tolya said, crouching in front of the trembling woman.

The police from Lone Star City arrived, surprised at the sight of the robbers being disarmed and restrained, along with the weapons lying on the ground.

"We didn’t touch the weapons on the ground to avoid interfering with the evidence. You can check the security footage—it’s a short process, and it should be clearer than us explaining," Nemo pointed at the mess and said. However, after the police watched the brief footage, he still provided a summary of what happened.

"I know your restaurant. You’re the chef who saved Matthew Grimm, but I didn’t expect you to be a martial arts expert!" A detective in a suit, who arrived after the uniformed officers had secured the robbers, said in surprise.

Nemo did not want to hear this reaction.

"You're exaggerating. I don't even have a black belt. I just learned some self-defense techniques before, but Sunny Jie is an important family member, so we risked our lives to protect her. Also, the waiter knocked one of them down—I can’t take all the credit," Nemo laughed nervously, perfectly fitting the image of the honest, introverted chef as described in earlier reports.

"Still, your performance was impressive, Mr.Captain. I almost suspect you’re an undercover hero," the detective said, shaking Nemo’s hand, showing his respect. "Welcome to settle here in Lone Star City."

It seemed the detective knew their new immigrant status, which wasn’t surprising given how big the news about Matthew Grimm had been.

"Really, it’s not like that. It was mostly due to surprise and luck, but I’ll take it as excessive praise," Nemo awkwardly replied.

Tolya came over and slung an arm around Nemo’s shoulder. "We could form a superhero duo."

"No need for that," Nemo resisted the urge to kick him, giving Tolya a pass this time for his contribution.

"These three criminals are repeat offenders. They’ve robbed five Asian stores and Chinese restaurants in the East District. You’re the first restaurant in the West Suburb to be targeted. It might have been the news coverage that caught their attention. They were likely looking to move to a new area to avoid patrols," the detective explained.

After the robbers were taken away, the police reports were quickly wrapped up—there wasn’t much to write. The robbers came in, threatened the restaurant owner, the chef rushed out and beat them up, and the waiter joined in with some kicks.

The point was, there was no back-and-forth dodging or countering. The improvised weapons—a chopping board and chili powder—proved to be extremely useful.

Sunny Jie was finally coaxed upstairs by her husband to rest. After the forensic team took photos and collected evidence, Nemo and Tolya, who stayed behind to tidy up the restaurant, had to deal with some reporters running the social beat. Nemo repeated his story to the reporters several times, but they didn’t let up.

"Matthew Grimm, this is all your fault!" Nemo cursed the billionaire in his mind, hoping he’d go bald before hitting forty.

The curly-haired chef coughed lightly. "There’s something I didn’t explain clearly."

"Are you finally going to reveal your martial arts training?" one reporter eagerly guessed.

"Actually, I don’t know how to punch people. I had to get creative. Some of my moves were stolen from movies and online games, like the Paladin in World of Warcraft..."

His confession made the reporters laugh out loud, all reassuring him that he still looked very heroic in the security footage, just like a real hero.

Damn it, I’m in the clear!

After all the drama, it was well past midnight when the restaurant finally closed. Boss Liu said they would close for the day tomorrow, allowing Nemo and Tolya to get some rest. Once they were ready, they would meet at the restaurant to discuss things.

Boss Liu didn’t specify what they would discuss, but from his demeanor, it seemed there were several things on his mind. The main topics would likely be Sunny Jie and Nemo’s performance, but boss Liu kindly gave Nemo the night to gather his thoughts.

Nemo did feel something was off when the robbers appeared. From the start of the ambush to subduing the armed robber, the whole process was brief, but he felt unusually focused. It was as if he was meant to be that sharp and deadly.

When fighting brainless game monsters, it didn't count, but when facing a genuinely threatening enemy, Nemo had experienced that slight tremor in his consciousness every time he entered combat mode by clicking the mouse. This time, however, it was magnified several times over, as if he was operating in the perfect state. His mind was solely focused on debuffs, interrupts, stuns, and taking turns with big moves, continuing to deal damage until multiple enemies were on the ground with health bars empty.

Before the time travel, his body couldn’t keep up with his mind, making him lament how time wasn’t kind. Even if he were twenty years younger, he would still be a fan of Sengoku, never becoming Bruce Lee.

Now, his body and mind seemed to be perfectly in sync, allowing even simple movements to deliver maximum damage, as if he were controlling a game character with the power to destroy everything.

This isn’t a good sign, right?