Ryuzanbo lowered his head, looking at a box of fresh salted edama, a box of soy-sauce-braised pig's feet, and a pot of cold-brewed tea before him, his expression growing unusually serious.
After wiping his hands, he pressed his palms together and solemnly said, "I will now partake."
Taking the chopsticks offered by Caogene, he first reached for a succulent piece of pig's foot. Skin and bone included, juices dribbled down, reflecting a mouthwatering sheen.
He took large bites and chewed thoroughly.
Pausing in surprise, he picked up two more edama pods and savored them carefully.
Finally, he put down the chopsticks, picked up the tea, and tilted his head back. This ti, it wasn't a tentative sip but an enormous gulp, as if he were a whale ravenously consuming an ocean of tea in one go.
He drank until it was empty, then, as if still wanting more, shook the bottle to catch the very last drop.
Holding the empty bottle, he fell into a lengthy silence.
Only after a while did he return to his senses, letting out an involuntary sigh.
"How beautiful, Huai Shi-kun... Even I, who has unhesitatingly walked the Demon Road in pursuit of the ultimate taste, can feel the wonderful Intention behind it."
He paused, then said, "You truly are an enviable person."
"You flatter ."
Although he said this, Huai Shi, for once, didn't show any modesty but accepted all his praises with a smile.
"Then, I shall gratefully accept," Ryuzanbo said. He bowed, solemnly picked up the food container, rose from the tatami, and stepped back twice. "You two chat at your leisure. Caogene, serve so tea."
Soon, the paper door slid shut, and the room fell silent.
Yuan Zhao, picking his teeth with a toothpick nearby, rolled his eyes. "Are you two finally done with your mutual ego-stroking?"
"That's called sharing a fine al, you don't know anything!"
Huai Shi rolled his eyes. "Unlike you, stuffing yourself like a pig. It's a wonder you don't stuff yourself to death..."
"Hey, it was barely satisfying."
Yuan Zhao grinned. "I've been growing lately, what would you know?"
"A second growth spurt?" Huai Shi was astonished, sensing the Power of Money. "Your family is really willing to spend a fortune."
"These are blessings from the Dragon Pond Secret Ritual, all earned through my own hard work. Why would I need to rely on others?" Yuan Zhao said. "I'm about to advance soon, so you better not get left behind."
"Isn't that too quick?"
Huai Shi shook his head. "Shouldn't you accumulate more Source Substance?"
"Thanks to you holding back last ti, I have completely achieved the qualitative transformation of my Source Substance. At this stage, it's quality over quantity; the amount of Source Substance has no impact on advancent."
Yuan Zhao raised an eyebrow, boasting with pride, "Once I've advanced, I'll be about ready to go 'play' with my cousin."
"Oh, send her my regards then," Huai Shi said earnestly, seemingly not catching his drift. "If possible, could you also ask her if there's anything I can help with? I owe her a big favor."
"..."
Not seeing the anticipated impotent rage and jealousy, Yuan Zhao was particularly disappointed but still nodded reluctantly. "I'll ask her... but don't get your hopes up. My cousin lacks nothing, and even if she did, you wouldn't be able to help."
"You never know, right?" Huai Shi smiled. "I'd go through fire and water for her."
"Tch, you scumbag, really going all out, huh!"
"I'm just repaying a debt. How does that make a scumbag? Do you have so misunderstanding about my character?"
"...Forget it, let's not talk about this."
Yuan Zhao shook his head, sighing. "I was lucky to run into you this ti. I really courted death last ti, and my family was watching like a hawk. I could hardly leave the house. When I finally got to go out, I had to keep company with that waste of space who only knew how to chase won all day. It was driving crazy."
"Are you all here on a trip?"
"Yeah, my older female cousin recently finished her studies at Ji Xia. Before she moves on to higher education, a few of her classmates persuaded her to go out and have so fun... That idiot Wang Xu can barely take his eyes off her, and Feng Chu too, tch. One after another, they're clueless about the danger. If they knew her true nature, they'd have no idea how badly she'd ss them up."
Yuan Zhao shivered as he spoke; apparently, his cousin had left him with considerable psychological trauma. He imdiately shook his head frantically. "Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about this... So, are you here for fun too?"
"Trying my luck, looking for advancent materials," Huai Shi shrugged. "I'm all alone, just a gofer for the Astronomical Society. How can I compare to the cushy treatnt in the Dongxia Genealogy? I have to work hard on my own."
"Heh."
Yuan Zhao sneered, reflexively rolling his eyes.
Does he really not know how successful Huai Shi is now?
He was practically the most promising prodigy in the vast expanse of the Dongxia Branch, the foremost newcor of the new generation. It was said that even the Central Headquarters of the Jurisdiction Bureau had taken notice, treasuring him imnsely.
If Huai Shi so much as asked for advancent materials, would the Jurisdiction Bureau really refuse him? They'd probably package up double portions and send them over. Besides, wasn't there still the prize Money from the newcor competition sponsored by Giant Goose?
Yeah, right. As if I'd believe him.
Huai Shi continued his habitual act of crying poor. "When I travel, I buy standing-room-only tickets. How could I enjoy luxurious private compartnts like you guys? I ca all the way from Stone City on a folding stool; my butt's nearly raw..."
"Wait, where did you say you ca from?"
Yuan Zhao paused, his eyes widening as he leaned closer. "Stone City?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"...Then you really are lucky."
Yuan Zhao's expression turned strange. He picked up his phone, scrolled a bit, and then handed it directly to Huai Shi.
It was Tomorrow News's Asia Region headline.
—"Ergency Rescue · Stone City Mass Evacuation"!
"What the hell?" Huai Shi was dumbfounded. "Evacuation?"
"Yeah, judging by the ti... Hmm, it probably started right after you boarded your transport, right?"
Yuan Zhao stroked his chin. "Rumor has it there's been an irreversible deterioration of conditions. Currently, 410,000 people are in ergency evacuation. In about sixteen hours, Stone City will begin to sink and be subrged by the Endless Sea..."
What in the world?!
It's really going to sink!
Countless question marks seed to pop up over Huai Shi's head. He snatched Yuan Zhao's smartphone and scrutinized the article, still in disbelief.
The free content in the news summary wasn't extensive; more details required paynt.
It simply stated that Stone City's central frawork had sustained damage. During an update, regulations set by the forr Creator had clashed with the new version, leading to a critical bug that triggered a gravity overflow.
They had hit the worst-case scenario, a one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance.
Before anyone could react, the problem had spread throughout the entire system, causing the internally locked frawork to enter an overload state. The silver lining in this misfortune was that it was discovered early during a routine inspection; otherwise, who knows how many would have died.
Four hundred and ten thousand people... An entire four hundred and ten thousand people had narrowly escaped annihilation.
Huai Shi felt goosebumps rise as he read on.
Rembering what he had said before, he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
This Stone City... It couldn't have been jinxed by my own ill-oned words, could it?
"That might be a possibility, you know?" Raven said. "Look at this Group Star, it's on the Sea too. What if..."
"Don't even say it!"
Just the thought of an explosion, an attack, or so other catastrophe befalling the Group Star triggered Huai Shi's vehicle-related PTSD.
He narrowly stopped Raven from jinxing them at the last mont, took a deep breath, and said to a clueless Yuan Zhao, "Do you realize I might have just saved the entire Group Star?"
"..."
Yuan Zhao rolled his eyes. "I believe you, I believe you, okay? You saved 120,000 passengers! The Astronomical Society is amazing! Huai Shi is amazing!"
Huai Shi decided not to stoop to this silly kid's level.
Maybe I'll contact Little Cat later and enroll this kid in a redial course on how not to jinx things... He's so earnest when he's working, but the mont he gets so free ti, he starts looking for trouble. He's becoming unbearable.
"Speaking of which, are you staying at the concert hall tonight?"
"Ah, I just checked. It seems lodging is free for Disastrous Musicians at all branches. Plus, they just ssaged ; my cello will be repaired in two days and delivered directly here, saving another trip."
Huai Shi opened his smartphone, scrolled through the ssage from the Piano Tuner, confird the ti, and then made the final paynt.
Over four million US Dollars.
His hand trembled as he tapped to make the paynt.
It was as if the entire body of the cello had been encrusted with crushed diamonds.
Although this price for sentintality was rather steep, thinking of his teacher's past care, Huai Shi didn't say anything more. Apart from Ai Qing, this cello she had gifted him was likely her most treasured possession.
No matter what, Huai Shi had to take good care of it.
After settling this matter, Huai Shi began to look forward to the rest of his journey.
It was his first ti traveling long-distance. After shaking off that bizarre sense of crisis, everything seed fresh and new.
Unfortunately, this was no sanctuary for recuperation or a holiday paradise.
The Group Star, which sailed the Endless Sea once a year, wasn't particularly outstanding in terms of scenery. Naturally, there were no majestic mountains to be seen inside it. Moreover, it wouldn't dock at any stations along the way. It would only stop at sea to pick up passengers, so there was no opportunity to disembark and admire local scenery.
Beyond the train's own unique charm, it possessed one irreplaceable advantage.
—Tax-free.
That's right, completely tax-free. Neither various genealogies nor other powers could levy any taxes on the goods traded within.
Even the train operators themselves, aside from a fixed booth fee, wouldn't charge an extra cent.
Thanks to the operators' firm stance and adept managent, any goods, whether treasures from Hell or items from elsewhere, could be openly sold here as long as they were brought aboard.
The entire Group Star functioned as East Asia's massive annual black market.
The sheer volu of Money changing hands here every mont was enough to make him feel a little breathless.
It wasn't just contraband and illicit goods. Major workshops and corporations also held sales promotions at this ti each year. Freed from Border customs duties—which could sotis exceed three hundred percent—and the hidden exploitation by various genealogies, so products sold here weren't rely good value; they were practically a steal, describable as rock-bottom prices.
Although the market was a mixed bag of genuine and fake items, and massive scams occurred annually, one could still find plenty of good things with a bit of caution.
No wonder so many travelers flocked here. After understanding the situation, even Huai Shi felt tempted to try and snag a deal.
Besides, this is a great chance to offload those sets of folding knives...
Thinking of the beckoning cash, Huai Shi's mood instantly brightened.
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