Heaven and earth were vast, but nothing was greater than eating.
He Piaojian found a hot pot restaurant. In the very center of the entrance hall stood a decorative copper hot pot. The wooden doors and windows were carved with exquisite patterns, and modern lighting blended cleverly with the rustic wooden elements, casting a soft glow.
They chose a spot and sat down. A small water feature stood nearby, and bamboo screens divided the hall to provide private space.
"Order whatever you want. I just made a bundle, so it's my treat!" He Piaojian said generously.
"But doesn't that money still have to go through the process before it comes in?"
He Piaojian froze on the spot. He patted his pockets with both hands, then turned out trouser pockets cleaner than his face. Still unwilling to give up, he pulled out his phone. The balance displayed 0.00.
He gave an awkward laugh and headed outside with his phone. Afraid Fan Daoyi would think he was skipping out on the bill, he looked back and reassured him, "Go ahead and order. The money's no problem."
Fan Daoyi's gaze followed He Piaojian's busy figure as he watched him make a call.
"Boss, I'm broke..."
This time, before He Piaojian could say "I," Qian Heaven immediately hung up.
Unwilling to give up, He Piaojian called again. "Boss, I..."
This time, the call was cut off even faster than before.
Qian Heaven answered, but he simply wouldn't let He Piaojian finish.
Hey, he was just playing around~
On the next call, He Piaojian struck first. "Don't hang up yet! Boss, how am I supposed to live without you—"
Fan Daoyi tilted his ear to listen. The words sounded like a tearful plea, but why did they sound more like a funeral wail?
At last, the call wasn't cut off. He Piaojian briefed Qian Heaven on the mission before finally stating his purpose.
"This time it really isn't for personal use. I brought Fan Daoyi with me." He gave Qian Heaven repeated assurances.
With Fan Daoyi as corroboration, Qian Heaven relented.
He Piaojian listened to the voice on the other end and agreed. "I know, I know. I know his health is poor, so he should eat less spicy and irritating food."
"Great, then you hang up first." With the matter settled, He Piaojian couldn't hide the smile on his face.
When Qian Heaven hung up, he hummed a little tune and sat back down. "Life is like a phone call. Either he hangs up first or he hangs up first, hehe~"
The dishes arrived one after another and were set to the side.
After waiting for dozens of minutes, He Piaojian finally lost patience and asked, "Where's the pot?"
"The pot?" Fan Daoyi had never encountered hot pot before, but he hid his confusion so no one would notice anything amiss. He glanced sidelong at the other tables and, seeing their different soup bases, roughly guessed what was going on. "Oh, I didn't know what flavor you liked."
He Piaojian realized it too and added a soup base to the order. He was about to choose Spicy Hot Pot, but remembering Qian Heaven's reminder, he changed it to a divided pot.
The food went tumbling in. Fan Daoyi copied He Piaojian's movements, picking up food to taste at the appropriate time.
He didn't actually need to eat, but according to the common knowledge he had acquired, going without food indefinitely would kill him.
He chewed slowly. It tasted pretty good.
He Piaojian really could strike up a friendship with any stranger in no time. The people at the next table were chatting about gossip, and He Piaojian eagerly joined them with his bowl in hand.
Fan Daoyi, meanwhile, was ladling through the soup base, fishing out tiny balls that were transparent with a hint of cloudy white.
None of the side dishes they had ordered included anything like them. Perhaps they came with the soup base.
He tried some, and they burst with juice in his mouth. His eyes lit up, and he scooped through the soup again.
This time, besides the white pearls, there was also a long, plump, short white thing with a fleshy texture. It looked like a worm. Had this come with the soup base too?
Fan Daoyi was puzzled, but he figured eating it couldn't kill him, so he decided to try it.
The texture was excellent, rich but not greasy, and exceptionally delicious.
Suddenly, an enormous scream rang out from the kitchen, drawing the attention of the diners outside.
Their attention didn't stay there long, because someone found worms in their soup base. The huge commotion drew everyone's eyes.
"Fuck, what the hell is this? Where's the chef? There are worms in your soup base! That's disgusting!"
For reasons of their own, some people began searching through their own soup bases too. They would have been better off not looking. The moment they did, they wanted to throw up everything they had eaten.
"Damn it, I've got a few here too. Free protein, is that it?"
"Holy crap, we've got them too! This can't be a coincidence!" another customer shouted, and an uproar instantly swept through the hall.
"Good grief, how come there's a pile of unknown little pearls too? These aren't insect eggs, are they?"
Watching what was happening to them, Fan Daoyi lowered his head and glanced at his own bowl. The little white pearls lay quietly inside.
Huh, so these aren't edible?
Amid the clamor, a chef walked out of the kitchen. He held a cleaver, and his white double-breasted jacket was stained a glaring bright red. The red slowly slid downward as he walked.
The noise in the restaurant gradually died down. People were briefly stunned by the sight, their gazes drawn to the chef.
As everyone stared in shock, the chef's body began to undergo a chilling transformation. His body twisted as if under an invisible force, his bones creaking. Insect-like antennae and limbs burst through the skin all over his body, and black antennae waved through the air.
Strange mutterings issued from his mouth, accompanied by a rustling sound. Some of the diners' bodies instantly began to change as well.
The mutations followed three paths: flying, burrowing, and weaving webs. They surrounded the people who were still sane.
Then the chef opened his enormous mouth and shoved his fist inside. Next, he actually pulled long, still-wriggling worms out of his throat, one after another.
Fan Daoyi's brows knitted almost imperceptibly. Observing them closely, he saw that the worms looked different and probably came from different sources.
The chef seemed to be trying to stuff the adult insects into the mouths of those who were still sane. He Piaojian quietly backed away, picked up several chopsticks with a backward motion of his hand, and flicked them toward the chef's wrist.
The chopsticks flew out and pierced straight through the chef's wrist. The chef let go in pain, and the adult insects fell to the floor, wriggling and crawling.
The diners naturally had their own methods too. They were all ability users, so how could they let bugs push them around?
Hey, one of them had enhanced legs. Using the others, he broke open a route and ran outside.
Those preparing to fight to the death cursed at the sight.
The insect-transformed people filled the route back in. He Piaojian sent several chopsticks flying at once to restrict their movements, but did not strike to take their lives.
Fan Daoyi, meanwhile, arrived in the kitchen with a thought.
Several corpses lay sprawled across the floor. Raising his head slightly, he could see an enormous insect nest stretching down from above.
The nest's structure extended outward from within, with only half of it exposed.
With another thought, he entered the space behind the door concealed by the nest. The air suddenly grew colder.
It was a cold storage room.
A huge, soft-bodied white creature with a swollen lower abdomen was laying eggs nonstop.
The eggs weren't large when first laid, but the insects hatched extremely quickly. They needed little time to grow into Adult Insects and increase several times in size.
Fortunately, few of the insects could hatch. Otherwise, with security this lax, Azure Cloud City would have been overrun by an insect plague.
Fan Daoyi stepped a few paces closer. Suddenly, a series of noises came from outside the cold storage room.
The insect nest outside shook violently and retracted inward. Only then could he see clearly: this wasn't a nest at all, but the mother's body itself!
It was a creature he had never seen before. It did not come from Guixu.