Chapter 382 - Money Doesn't Buy Omnipotence

Panda Novel

“Braised chicken and rice, Mamy Restaurant, number 29!”

“La zhi roujiamo, Mamy Restaurant, number 35!”

“Savory tofu pudding, Mamy Restaurant, number 67!”

“Sweet tofu pudding, Mamy Restaurant, number 68!”

“Yangzhou fried rice, Mamy Restaurant, number 88!”

One voice after another erupted, and the atmosphere suddenly became very joyful. Many Mamy Restaurant customers had come to see the final rankings, and they didn’t have much hope in their hearts, but who would have thought that Mamy Restaurant would be reinstated?

“B-Boss, where’s our rotisserie?” The employee was a little flustered. He looked at all of the magic screens, but was unable to find their rotisserie.

“T-t-this is impossible! We paid so much money, and the Chamber of Commerce promised us the 29th spot. How could this be?!” Ricky had also flown into a complete panic, and he desperately searched for Ricky’s Rotisserie on the magic screens, but his efforts proved to be fruitless.

The 29th spot that belonged to Ricky’s Rotisserie had been taken by Mamy Restaurant, and he felt as if that was the worst insult that anyone could deliver.

“That restaurant appeared again? That’s impossible! It was removed from the rankings already! It was supposed to never appear on the rankings again! This is all fake, it must be… You, your Catering Association needs to give me an explanation! Why is this happening? Where is my Ricky’s Rotisserie?!” Ricky rushed over to the Catering Association employees like a madman, and grabbed one of them by the collar.

All of his dreams and expectations had been dashed in a split second, and the blow was too heavy for him to endure. He needed an explanation. Why had that restaurant appeared again, and why had it taken the 29th spot that belonged to him? Where was his rotisserie? It wasn’t even occupying the 30th spot!

“Sir, these rankings were provided by the association, and do not have anything to do with me. If you have any queries, you may state them, but can you please let go of me first?” The employee that had been grabbed by the collar was also a little flustered.

“Exactly! Why is my restaurant gone as well? Do you know how much money I spent for the ranking? How could you remove my restaurant without any explanation?”

“How dare you Catering Association do something like this? We’re all members of the Chamber of Commerce; the Chamber of Commerce will stand up for us!”

Aside from Ricky, there were some other restaurant owners who had suddenly had their restaurants removed from the rankings, and they also began to interrogate the Catering Association employees.

Right at that moment, Robert arrived on the scene, and he looked at Ricky with a stern expression as he warned, “Sir, I am the new president of the Catering Association, Robert. Please let go of my employee, or you will be arrested for threatening an employee of the city lord’s castle.”

“New president? Isn’t the president of the Catering Association that fat guy? Why is it suddenly him?”

“This is really strange. Not only has the president changed, the rankings board has also changed significantly.”

Everyone looked at Robert with surprise in their eyes.

“Heh, employee of the city lord’s castle? You people from the Catering Association aren’t employees of the city lord’s castle.” Ricky let go of the employee, but he still refused to back down as he waved his fist, and said, “If you’re the new president of the Catering Association, then why don’t you tell me why my Ricky’s Rotisserie was ranked 29th yesterday, but it’s suddenly disappeared from the rankings board? What kind of shady dealings has your Catering Association engaged in?”

“My restaurant is gone as well! I put in so much effort during the past few days, and all of it has gone to waste. Your Catering Association must give us a reasonable explanation!”

The other restaurant owners were also very worked up, but none of them were as vehement as Ricky. After all, Robert was the new president of the Catering Association, and it was best not to offend him.

“Ricky’s Rotisserie has been removed due to its fraudulent actions in purchasing rankings, as well as for its sub-par service, hygiene, and food. Our Catering Association has already verified all of this before removing the restaurant from the rankings, and it will be unable to participate in the Aden Square food competition for the next three months.” Robert’s voice was extremely calm and stern as he provided an explanation, and he was looking at Ricky as if he were examining a parasite.

Everyone instantly fell silent upon hearing that. All of the foodies gathered there turned to Ricky with resentment in their eyes. They finally understood why the food recommended on the rankings board was becoming more and more atrocious. It was because these restaurants hadn’t made it onto the rankings board based on actual merit. It was no wonder that their food was so horrible.

All of the other protesting restaurant owners shuddered in unison. Not only had a new president suddenly been assigned, he had made such drastic changes on his first day, wiping away all of the fraudulent restaurants, and delivering a punishment of not being able to participate in the food competition for the next three months. That was an absolute disaster for all of the restaurants that had bought their way onto the rankings board.

Ricky took an instinctive step backward, and his face instantly became flushed as he sensed all of the disdainful looks aimed toward him. His blood rushed into his head, and he let loose an enraged roar. “Bullsh*t! This is slander! I’m going to report you to the city lord’s castle! You must have taken bribes from Mamy Restaurant! Otherwise, you wouldn’t have removed my rotisserie from the 29th spot!”

Two Catering Association employees immediately rushed forward to prevent Ricky from attacking Robert.

“You can state any doubts you like about the rankings; I’ll be happy to clear those doubts up by releasing official documents and statistics, including some of the account books kept by the Chamber of Commerce. You can report me to the city lord’s castle if you like, but I have more than enough evidence to rebuke you.” Robert looked at Ricky with an expression that looked as if it had been carved from stone.

Ricky’s expression changed drastically, and he felt as if he had been plunged into a glacial pit. If what Robert said was true, then even the account books of the Chamber of Commerce were in their grasp, so there was no way that he would be able to do anything. Even the Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t be able to stand up for them, which meant that all of the money he had spent on purchasing rankings had been flushed down the drain. Furthermore, the reputation of his Ricky’s Rotisserie would be completely ruined as well.

“No! You’re lying! I won’t allow you to slander me like this!” Ricky roared as he threw a punch at one of the employees standing in front of him, knocking him straight to the ground. He then rushed toward Robert, but was soon detained by other employees.

“The Catering Association is a subsidiary organization of the city lord’s castle. As such, all of the Catering Association’s employees are also employees of the city lord’s castle. You have physically assaulted an employee of the city lord’s castle, and intentionally tried to cause a disturbance. According to Chaos City’s laws number 29 and 38, those two crimes will earn you at least a one-year-long sentence in the Bastie Prison.” Robert looked expressionlessly down at Ricky, who had been pinned to the ground. He then looked at all of the other restaurant owners who were considering following Ricky’s example, and all of them immediately discarded those thoughts.

“How could this be…” Ricky stared up at Robert with despair on his face. All of the restaurant owners shuffled back a few steps in unison, and deathly silence ensued.

“Money doesn’t buy omnipotence here in Chaos City,” Robert announced in a loud voice.

A smattering of applause suddenly broke the silence in the Aden Square. Soon, more and more people began to join in…