Chapter 8: My word is the rule!

Feeling this powerful sense of control, Chen Mu felt somewhat intoxicated. Now he was the master of the Midnight Diner, and no one understood what that meant in this eerie, apocalyptic world better than he did.

Purchasing the Midnight Diner did not mean it would be removed from the list of eerie scenarios. In other words, others would continue to receive missions related to the Midnight Diner. Once those people entered, the decision on what rules they had to follow and whether they had violated them rested entirely with Chen Mu. In short, if Chen Mu wanted someone dead, they would never leave alive. If he chose to protect someone, they could wreak havoc in the diner without suffering any harm. Simply put, Chen Mu was the god of the Midnight Diner scenario.

This sense of power was something countless people craved. It was easy to imagine that as the apocalypse progressed, more and more people would receive missions for the Midnight Diner, and their lives would lie in Chen Mu's hands. In a trance, Chen Mu felt as if he were merging with this eerie world itself. If one day he could buy all the eerie scenarios and employ every entity within them, would he not become the sole master of the apocalypse?

Of course, that was a long way off. Chen Mu did not get ahead of himself; everything had to be taken one step at a time. With five years of experience in this apocalyptic world, he had no doubt he could quickly grow the Midnight Diner into a Midnight Hotel.

After the contract was signed, the Midnight Diner no longer had any connection to the Skeleton Boss and became Chen Mu's territory. The Skeleton Boss was sensible; after taking the 7.5 million underworld coins, he slipped away.

Inside the private room, only Chen Mu, Li Xiaoxiao, and the remaining female students remained. As for Zhao Mengmeng, she had already died earlier for violating the rules. The surviving girls looked at each other, only now realizing that Chen Mu had actually bought the diner. Did this not mean that Chen Mu, who had been a waiter an hour ago, was now the "Big Boss" of an eerie scenario? This heaven-defying reversal left them stunned, and in their eyes, Chen Mu became even more mysterious and powerful.

Chen Mu spoke up: "Regarding the Midnight Diner's missions, Rule Number 4:" He paused, glancing at his watch—it was 1:04 AM. "At 1:04 AM, all waiters are permitted to leave the Midnight Diner. Leaving the diner is considered the completion of the mission. If this rule conflicts with any others, this rule takes precedence!"

Chen Mu announced his first rule in a calm tone, asserting his authority with an imposing air. The girls were bewildered for a moment. A short while later, the class monitor, Ye Chuxue, asked cautiously, "Chen Mu, are we... allowed to leave now?"

Chen Mu nodded. He still had to deal with the diner's staff, and there was no use for these girls to stay; it was better to let them go. "Thank you, Chen Mu," the girls said gratefully. Having escaped death, they left the diner in a state of shock. Sure enough, they suffered no punishment upon leaving, proving that Chen Mu had truly mastered this scenario.

Meanwhile, the staff of the Midnight Diner gathered in the main hall as Chen Mu had requested. When he stepped out of the private room, over twenty entities were waiting. Their appearances were bizarre—some were rotting corpses, others were ghosts floating in the air, and some were humanoid with two heads. Seeing a human approach, they began to whisper, casting strange glances at him.

Li Xiaoxiao, acting as manager, told the staff: "This is our new master, Chen Mu! The master has said that our back pay will be settled. As long as everyone works hard for him, he will not treat you unfairly!"

Upon hearing this, the staff, who had been owed half a year’s wages by the previous owner, burst into cheers after a brief moment of astonishment. In their eyes, not only had Chen Mu not fired them, but he was also paying them—he was no ordinary benefactor. Compared to the harshness of their former boss, Chen Mu was a hundred times better.

"Do not call me boss; call me Master." Compared to the commercial term "boss," Chen Mu preferred the title "Master."

"Yes, Master," Li Xiaoxiao replied respectfully.

Chen Mu then began signing contracts with the staff one by one, holding underworld coins in his left hand and the contracts in his right. With each contract signed, he gained control over them; they were forbidden from disobeying his orders or harming him. At the same time, Chen Mu assessed their strength. In this apocalyptic world, eerie entities were generally divided into five levels: Ghost King, Ghost General, Ghost Commander, Ghost Soldier, and Ghost Citizen.

Clearly, since the Midnight Diner was still in its early stages, the staff's strength was generally low, mostly at the Ghost Citizen level. Among the entire staff, only Li Xiaoxiao and two other chefs had barely reached the level of Ghost Soldier.

"Still not enough. The strength is too low," Chen Mu muttered, shaking his head. He had originally planned to form a contract with one of them so he would have a personal bodyguard. Although he had signed many contracts, a "contract" and a "binding pact" were different. The employment contracts were limited to the Midnight Diner; the staff had to obey him and couldn't harm him while inside, but those rules ceased to apply once they left. To have an entity serve him permanently, a binding pact was required. However, a person could only form one such pact, and Chen Mu wanted to be extra careful.

After buying the diner, Chen Mu's own strength had increased due to the "buff" effect of the establishment. He now possessed the strength of a Ghost Citizen. The current staff were too weak to be worth a pact; he didn't want to waste his only opportunity on a low-level entity—he needed at least a Ghost General.

While Chen Mu was busy, Li Xiaoxiao stepped away for a moment and returned carrying an entity. Chen Mu took a closer look and realized it was the very guest who had tried to kill him earlier.

"Master, I've brought it back for you to deal with," Li Xiaoxiao said respectfully. The entity was terrified, having thought it was safe after fleeing the diner, only to be dragged back. Being merely a Ghost Citizen, it was easily subdued by Li Xiaoxiao. Only now did the entity truly regret its actions, finally realizing it had provoked someone it shouldn't have.