Chapter 148: The French Fry Thief
"Today marks the fourth day of my covert investigation into Sensei. However, as time passes, I am still without any leads regarding the secret of his strength. I've only gained some perhaps useful, perhaps useless insights into physical and mental well-being by observing some of his behaviors."
Genos stared intently at Saitama, who was walking ahead at a leisurely pace. "Could it be that Sensei is constantly on guard to prevent the secret of his power from being exposed? That must be it. Sensei is so powerful, yet he still lives like a penniless loser... oh, no, that's not it. He still chooses a life of ascetic purity, living the life of an ordinary person. His every action is filled with a unique, approachable charisma." He looked down at his nearly full first "Sensei's Notebook" and frowned slightly. "I wish I could get some inspiration on how to get stronger soon!"
As he was lost in thought, Saitama up ahead suddenly whipped his head around again. Startled, Genos flinched and ducked behind a roadside tree, his expression grim. "Sensei is indeed on guard. I must speed up."
"Hm? Still nobody there."
Saitama looked away and continued walking, arriving at Kenggeji a short while later.
"Huh, Kenggeji?"
Not far behind Saitama, Genos stared at the fast-food restaurant's sign. His electronic eyes whirred, zooming in like a telescope to lock onto and clearly read the name on the sign. He was slightly stunned. "If I recall correctly, this is the first time Sensei has gone out to eat in four days. Oh, so that's how it is. Perhaps the secret to Sensei's strength lies in his food."
He took out his notebook and quickly jotted this down.
Inside the Kenggeji store.
A pretty waitress handed Saitama a menu. After Saitama opened it, the waitress revealed a sweet smile and pointed to the steak occupying the largest promotional space on the menu, saying, "Sir, this is the steak our Kenggeji fast-food restaurant has recently launched as a special. It's absolutely delicious, and many people love it. I recommend you give it a try."
Saitama looked at the prices on the menu for the steak: over two hundred for three hundred grams, over one hundred ninety for two hundred grams, and over one hundred twenty for one hundred grams. He thought about it with a pained expression, then took out his wallet and opened it. Hmm, ten yuan, twenty yuan, thirty yuan, forty yuan... fifty-five yuan and twenty cents...
He smacked his lips. "Uhh... well... anyway, just give me a serving of the cheapest kind."
The waitress smiled sweetly. "Sir, would you like the one-hundred-and-fifty-gram steak?" Among the steaks, the one-hundred-and-fifty-gram portion was the cheapest.
"Huh?"
Saitama looked at the one-hundred-and-fifty-gram steak, which cost more than one hundred and twenty yuan, then thought about how he only had a little over fifty. He pointed to the cheapest item on the menu, the french fries, which only cost a little over twenty yuan, and said in a small voice, "Give me an order of french fries."
"Alright, one order of french fries." The waitress still smiled sweetly. "Sir, would you like anything else?"
Saitama shook his head. "Oh, that's all." Any more and he wouldn't have enough money.
"Eh?"
The waitress stared blankly at Saitama for a moment before taking the menu to the back kitchen to place the order.
"Phew~"
Saitama let out a soft breath, put his withered wallet away, and sighed, "If I don't get a part-time job soon, I'll have to survive on just water. What a pain!"
"Please enjoy."
Saitama's french fries arrived quickly. A small plate of fries was accompanied by a small dish of ketchup and mayonnaise.
Saitama stared at the number of fries, which he could practically count on his fingers, in disbelief. "Are you serious? Isn't this too little? I haven't eaten these in only a year, and the number of fries has been drastically reduced to this? Did a Mysterious Being eat the Kenggeji boss's conscience? They dare charge me over twenty yuan for this quantity of fries? And... and..." He stared at the only slightly longer fry among them, finding it hard to accept. "There's only one fry that has the perfect softness and length that I like... The others are either too short or too hard. Seriously, what rotten luck today!"
The frequent appearance of Mysterious Beings had led to social chaos, and food prices were also rapidly inflating.
At another table behind Saitama, Genos sipped his milk tea while silently observing Saitama's behavior. His electronic eyes were fixed on the french fries on Saitama's table. "French fries, huh? I must obtain one of those fries as a sample to give to Dr. Kuseno for chemical analysis..."
Whoosh!
Saitama suddenly stood up.
Genos's heart tightened, and he quickly used the act of drinking milk tea to hide his face with the cup.
Saitama leisurely went to the restroom.
"My chance."
While Saitama was in the restroom, Genos sprang into action. He rushed to Saitama's table, reached out, grabbed the longest fry, and then quickly vanished from the Kenggeji fast-food restaurant.
Click-clack, click-clack!
What Genos didn't know was that at another table sat a man wearing a duckbill cap and a white hoodie. The man was holding a camera, concealed by his backpack, and had secretly filmed the entire scene of Genos stealing the french fry.
"Haha, Genos, didn't expect this, did you? The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. Wait, that's not right. Saying it like that makes me sound too despicable. Let me try a more artistic phrasing... Genos, you stand on the bridge enjoying the scenery, while the one enjoying the scenery is upstairs watching you..."
King grinned as he put his camera away. Just now, he had been following the directions on his radar to track Saitama and had unexpectedly seen Genos tailing him as well. An idea struck him, and he decided to hold back and observe quietly, which led to the scene of him covertly filming Genos stealing the french fry.
Saitama came out of the restroom and sat back down in his seat. He rolled up his sleeves, preparing to savor his lunch. But who would have known that when his gaze fell upon the fries on the small plate, he would discover in horror that his favorite long fry had vanished. Vanished. Gone. Lost...
"My long fry... is gone?"
His face a mixture of bewilderment and rage, he turned and asked a waitress who was just passing by, "Waitress, I wanted to ask..."
"Hello sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
Saitama pointed at the fries on the small plate and said, "I'm missing a fry from this dish..."
"Eh?" The waitress didn't quite understand.
Saitama explained, "I'm saying... my french fries... the longest one... Hmm, I remember I originally had one that was a bit longer, but it was gone after I went to the restroom." He looked at the confused waitress and asked, "Hey, you didn't secretly eat it, did you?"
"Eh?" The waitress looked at Saitama, utterly baffled, and thought to herself, *Isn't this guy a psycho?*
Saitama realized he had misspoken and quickly clarified, "Oh, oh, I mean, did you see anyone secretly eat my fry?"
The waitress looked fearfully at the imposing Saitama and said in a small voice, "Do you... need me to get the manager?"
"Uh, that's... never mind."
Saitama sighed softly. "I'm fine now, sorry to bother you."
"Hmm, I think... it's best not to go over there for now."
King had originally planned to go up and greet Saitama after seeing him return, but he was stopped short when he saw Saitama getting angry over a single french fry. He instantly dismissed the idea of meeting him now. If he appeared in front of Saitama at this moment, he would surely become the prime suspect in the fry theft and get a taste of a Serious Punch for his troubles.
He was not taking the fall for this stolen fry.
Meanwhile, the real fry thief—Genos—was wearing sterile gloves and pinching the long, soft french fry he had stolen from Saitama's plate. His electronic eyes carefully scrutinized the fry. "To come all the way to a Kenggeji fast-food restaurant just to order a cheap portion of french fries... it's hard to imagine an ordinary person doing this. In that case, perhaps these fries are the key to Sensei's strength. It's highly likely this is a specially prepared recipe."
He examined the fry from top to bottom, his brow slightly furrowed. "The appearance is completely ordinary. Could the secret be in the seasoning or the ingredients? But... no matter how I look at it, it just seems like a normal french fry."
He thought hard for a moment, then muttered to himself in confusion, "Could it be that the secret to Sensei's strength isn't related to his diet?"
Unable to figure it out, he shook his head. "I'll stop thinking about it for the time being. It's probably best to send the data from this fry to Dr. Kuseno for analysis first."
He took out his phone and summoned one of Dr. Kuseno's drones. A moment later, he handed the fry to the drone to be transported back to Dr. Kuseno's laboratory, while he himself continued to follow Saitama.
Thank you to student Wang Wan for the donation~
(end of chapter)