Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 572: Chapter 573: Self-Introduction

This was a man with shoulder-length hair, messy and seemingly unwashed for days, with split ends that had turned yellow. His face was covered in stubble, and he wore a pair of thin black-rimmed glasses, indicating that he was not very old. His facial features were not very distinct due to the scruffy beard.

What was even more baffling was that this guy had come to the western restaurant wearing a white lab coat! This lab coat did not resemble the ones doctors wear in hospitals, as it was covered in colorful stains, looking more like paint or dye. He resembled a mad scientist from some movie, completely unkempt.

The man was also wearing a pair of navy blue leather army boots. These boots, of excellent quality, were so worn out that they were full of scuff marks, and he didn't even bother tying the laces, just slipping them on as they were.

The appearance of this man caused many consumers on the second floor of the restaurant, who prided themselves on being high society or elite, to frown deeply because he looked too much like a beggar.

The head waiter was having a hard time. He knew how risky it was to bring this man upstairs. As a mere waiter, if he offended some customers, he couldn't bear the consequences. However, the manager, who had the final say in the restaurant, immediately stopped obstructing after the man showed a strange ID. The head waiter had no choice but to lead the guest upstairs as usual.

The man glanced around and pointed to a table near where Yang Chen and Jian were sitting, saying in a flat tone, "I'll sit there."

The head waiter quickly bowed his head in agreement. He didn't dare look at the other customers' expressions and planned to arrange the odd man and then call another waiter to take over.

Yang Chen and Jian exchanged glances, understanding from each other's eyes that neither of them knew this man, but it was obvious that he was here for them.

After the man sat at the table next to them, the head waiter immediately left and called a waiter to take the man's order.

Yang Chen noticed the man wasn't talking, so he ignored him and clinked glasses with Jian, continuing to eat.

Jian felt uncomfortable. Suddenly, having such a scruffy man at the next table, emitting a musty odor even from nearly two meters away, made her uneasy. From this smell, she could judge that this man must be involved in biochemical research, as she was very familiar with this type of scientific work.

The rare time alone with Yang Chen was being ruined by an uninvited guest.

Other customers in the restaurant, seeing that the man wasn't approaching them, decided to ignore him, and no further commotion arose.

A young waiter, "elected" to approach, came to the man's side and asked, "Sir, do you need any recommendations, or would you like to order directly?"

The man replied, "Two 18-ounce rib-eye steaks."

The waiter nodded and asked, "How would you like them cooked?"

"Rare," the man replied.

The waiter was stunned, doubting he heard correctly, "Did you say rare?"

"What's the matter, can't you make it? If not, just give me raw meat, but it must be fresh," the man replied in a calm tone.

The waiter swallowed hard, feeling a chill on his forehead, and forced a smile, "Sir, do you really want it rare?"

"At most rare. If it's more than rare, I won't eat it," the man glanced at the waiter sideways, a cold indifference in his eyes behind the glasses, making the waiter too scared to ask further.

With legs shaking and almost fleeing, the waiter asked one last time, "What would you like to drink, sir?"

The man waved his hand, "I brought my own. Just get me the raw steak."

"Huh?" The waiter was stunned again.

The man suddenly reached into a large pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a half-empty glass bottle of liquor. The bottle had no label and was about the size of a 500ml soda bottle.

Seeing the man place the bottle directly on the table, and that it was a bottle of white liquor, the waiter's face turned sour like a bitter gourd. He whispered, "Sir, we don't allow outside drinks here."

After saying this, the waiter lowered his head as if trying to bury it in his chest, fearing the odd man might suddenly eat him.

The man didn't say anything but instead took out a wad of hundred-yuan bills from his pocket. Even with a casual glance, there were over a dozen of them.

"Consider this money for buying the drink from you," the man said.

What else could the waiter say? The money was enough to buy the most expensive drink in the restaurant. After tremblingly taking the money, he quickly left to get the man his rare steak.

The man's strange behavior had already caught the attention of many in the restaurant, but they were just curious and didn't bother to ask further.

Jian, hearing the man order a rare steak, frowned slightly. Being a woman, the thought of eating bloody raw meat was quite repulsive to her.

Ignoring the looks from others, the man took the cap off the glass bottle and started gulping the liquor directly from it, despite the wine glasses on the table, showing no intention to use them.

This amused Yang Chen. He considered himself not fond of rules and conventions, but compared to this guy's recklessness, he was quite civilized.

The next moment, the liquid from the man's bottle emitted a pungent, spicy smell. The odor was more like a medicinal alcohol than a drink!

Jian, chewing her steak slowly, almost ungracefully spit it out when she smelled the odor!

Yang Chen also paused in his actions. He was familiar with this type of liquor but still couldn't believe someone would bring it to a western restaurant to eat steak!

"Jamaican rum?" Yang Chen asked doubtfully.

The man took another swig, swallowing with great enjoyment, and then turned to smile, "You know it?"

Yang Chen smiled wryly. It was indeed that liquor.

Jian, hearing that Yang Chen knew this kind of liquor, looked over curiously. She was knowledgeable about fine wines but had never heard of such an odd drink.

"80% alcohol content, a sip can knock some people out. One of the world's worst-tasting liquors. Calling it liquor is an insult; it's more like drinking sulfuric acid," Yang Chen explained to Jian.

Jian, shocked to hear the liquor was 80%, gaped slightly. She knew Yang Chen's body was special, and alcohol couldn't really harm him, but this strange man drinking such a high-proof liquor so casually indicated he wasn't ordinary either.

Moreover, the smell alone was so awful. How could this man carry it around and drink it?!

The man nonchalantly took another gulp and suddenly said, "It seems Princess Jian isn't as knowledgeable as rumored. At least in terms of liquor, she's not as knowledgeable as Mr. Yang Chen."

Hearing the man directly mention their names, neither Yang Chen nor Jian was too surprised, as they had already guessed that this strange guy was here for them. However, Jian felt slightly displeased at being teased, as her beautiful eyes showed a hint of annoyance.

At that moment, the waiter returned with a tray of steaks, and the speed of the service was astonishingly fast because the man had ordered them rare.

The two 18-ounce rare steaks were barely cooked, with just a hint of white on the outside. At a glance, they looked like two large, bloody pieces of meat!

After serving the dishes, the waiter quickly stepped aside, seemingly afraid to watch someone cut and eat raw meat right in front of him.

The man stacked the two pieces of raw steak together and then picked up his knife and fork, cutting through the two slabs simultaneously.

The red juices of the beef, like liquid, were squeezed out and flowed onto the plate, emitting a faint, fresh meaty smell.

Like a beast savoring its prey, the man opened his mouth wide and stuffed the fresh, raw steak into his mouth, chewing vigorously. His jaws moved up and down, making "gush gush" sounds as his teeth tore through the beef.

As he chewed, some of the meat's blood mixed with saliva dribbled down the corners of his mouth. The man didn't mind at all and continued to devour large mouthfuls of steak.

This display of eating raw meat made Jian feel nauseous, almost to the point of vomiting. She put down her knife and fork, unable to watch any longer, and completely lost her appetite.

Yang Chen, on the other hand, wasn't much affected. Having eaten corpses before, watching someone eat raw meat wasn't a challenge. Seeing that Jian had stopped eating, he took her remaining steak and happily started eating it himself.

The man, after finishing half of his meal, noticed Yang Chen also devouring his food and grinned, revealing his blood-stained teeth. "Sorry, I was too hungry to introduce myself earlier. My name is Yan Buwen. It's an honor to meet the second Lord of the Underworld."

"What? You're Yan Buwen?"

Before Yang Chen could respond, Jian turned her head in surprise.

Yang Chen was also taken aback that this was the person in front of him. He had previously beaten up Yan Buxue out of frustration with Christine, knowing that the Yan family wouldn't be easy to deal with, but he hadn't given it much thought.

However, he did remember hearing about Yan Buwen, as both Tang Wan and Yun Miao had mentioned him. Yan Buwen was the master of the Yan family, the one who crushed Yang Pojun's ambitions, and a key figure in modern scientific research. He was recognized as a genius in his field.

Compared to his well-groomed brother, Yan Buwen's appearance was indeed quite extraordinary.