Wilderness BBQ and the Uninvited Philosopher

The two arrived at a room where only half a wall remained.

Sing Sing strolled around the ruins, finally choosing a depression surrounded by stones on three sides. He skillfully swept away the rubble and weeds.

"We'll just make do here tonight. You can voice your opinions if you want, but it won't change anything anyway."

A row of question marks appeared above Christina's head:

(°Д°)

"No... Dude, are you running away? You're having a picnic here?!"

"Young people's lives are just too hectic. When you're out and about, you can't let your stomach suffer. Come on, give Wenxi's new invention a look."

Christina crouched three meters away, hugging her knees, staring at him curiously.

She wanted to see what kind of trouble this strange man was up to.

Sing Sing squatted down on the ground, opened the Mini Dimensional Box, and took things out one by one.

A folding grill rack, a stainless steel plate, a handful of iron skewers, half a bottle of secret-recipe sea salt, and a jar of cumin.

Finally, there was a lump of marbled beef wrapped in oil paper.

It's a perfect mix of lean and fat, with such beautiful patterns that it could be hung on a wall as a painting from back then.

Christina stared in disbelief. The box looked smaller than her schoolbag, yet it seemed like a bottomless pit.

"Why... why are you taking all this with you when you go out?"

"Those of us in this line of work believe in always providing a hot meal wherever we go."

Finally, what was pulled out was a black cube, about the size of a palm, with a note stuck to its side.

[Da Vinci's patented smokeless charcoal, ignites with just two taps, perfect for barbecues and camping]

Old Zhou tapped the black cube twice with his fingers.

Puff!

Several cracks appeared on the surface of the block, and the pale blue flames burned steadily and brightly without producing a trace of smoke.

Silently give Wenxi a thumbs up. Sing Sing sets up a grill, lays thick slices of beef on it, and the fat sizzles when it gets hot.

Sprinkle salt, shake off cumin, and the aroma of meat mixed with the spices wafts for miles on the night breeze.

A clap of thunder came from three meters away.

Guh...

Christina buried her face in her knees, wishing she could dig a hole and bury herself right there.

Haven't eaten for days?

Continuing with his work, Sing Sing casually asked a question, the knife tip turning over the slices of meat.

"Two days... and a half." She stared at the plate, swallowing hard. "I can endure it. The will of Mutants is made of iron..."

"Alright, stop pushing yourself. Even the strongest iron can't withstand rusting."

The first slice of meat was grilled until the edges curled up and the fat marbling turned golden brown.

With a flick of his wrist, Sing Sing flicked the knife tip, scooped up a slice of meat, and tossed it into a stainless steel plate. He then went to Christina and handed it over.

"Eat up, you'll have the energy to run."

Christina stared at the plate of meat for a moment, then decisively grabbed a slice and stuffed it into her mouth.

Even though it was so hot that I was panting for breath, I couldn't bear to spit it out and swallowed it whole in two mouthfuls.

"Why are you crying? Is it salty?"

"It's so delicious, waaaaaah! (T ^ T)"

Christina sniffed indistinctly, "In Morlocks, we even had to win a lottery for moldy black bread..."

She shook her head vigorously, her mouth stuffed with meat, and spoke indistinctly.

"Is the food in the Morlock Settlement really that bad?"

"What good food can you get from the sewers?"

Christina slurped the oil off her fingers.

"The surface dwellers call us sewer rats. We take turns cooking, but I'm a terrible cook; I can boil potatoes into cement mortar. Eventually, everyone petitioned to strip me of my cooking rights."

"With my skills, hundreds of years ago, they would have erected a tablet for me as the God of Food at the entrance of a temple."

After finishing the second plate of meat, Christina became more talkative.

Talking about potatoes with a ruthless, suit-clad thug who kills without hesitation is somewhat surreal.

"Which mental hospital did you escape from?!"

"Deputy Division-Level, watch your wording, it's a formally established position!"

Snap!

A piece of charcoal flew out.

Out of the corner of Sing Sing's eye, he saw a huge rock, about two people tall, standing in the night about ten steps to his right.

Someone was watching him from the shadows at the base of the rock.

Sing Sing arranged the grilled meat skewers on a plate, picked up a skewer, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed with relish.

"Friend, since you're already here..."

"Come and warm yourself by the fire. There's plenty of meat, but bring your own tea."

The shadows of the rocks swayed, and a short, stocky figure emerged from the darkness.

His dark combat uniform accentuated his muscular physique, his red hair plastered to his scalp, and a row of gleaming harpoons crisscrossed his back.

This man, without any airs, walked straight to the fire, moved a rock to sit on, and reached out to grab a skewer of meat.

Clang!

Christina slammed the iron plate in her hand to the ground, scrambling backward as she scrambled to her feet, her face drained of all color.

"Stinger... it's Stinger!"

"The Morlocks Carnage... it was him! The executioner! He was the executioner!"

She frantically grabbed the back of Sing Sing's suit jacket. "Run! He's the Marauders's Cleaners! He kills without blinking an eye!!"

"Hey! Points deducted, young man. What happened to the agreed three-meter safe distance? This is considered crossing the line without cause, and our unit will issue a public reprimand."

Without flinching, Sing Sing pulled his sleeve back and handed Christina a skewer of grilled meat.

"Don't be afraid, you need to eat first before you run away!"

Even as Christina made a fuss, the short, stocky man known as the Stinger remained unmoved.

He chewed the meat slowly and deliberately, and even smacked his lips after finishing.

"The meat is good meat... but unfortunately, it has a rotten Mutants sour taste."

Sing Sing:...

Arriving at someone's house for a free meal and bringing your own eulogy?

The Stinger threw the skewer into the fire, then turned its gaze back to Christina.

That look in his eyes was no different from when he was examining a specimen.

"Defective products from the sewers, inferior genes barely surviving. Hundreds of garbage piled together for warmth, yet they think it's civilization."

"You killed the elder! You killed the pregnant woman and the child!"

"That's the law of natural selection. It's cruel to the entire species for inferior genes to cling to their habitat and refuse to move."

"Silver Peak gave me a platform to reveal the truth. By sending them to their deaths, I am cleaning up for the Creator and accumulating merit."

Christina was trembling with anger, but dared not argue back.

Sing Sing started cleaning his ears after listening to the beginning. He cleaned his left ear, then his right, and even blew on his fingers after he finished.

"Hey you... are you done? If not, please turn off your microphone."

"Are you the reincarnation of Tang Monk? Huh? You need to recite the Great Compassion Mantra several times to cleanse your stomach acid before eating a late-night snack?"

"Vulgar!"

The Stinger stared at Sing Sing, its tone calm.

"This is a judgment of inferior genes by superior genes. Silver Peak understands this principle, and they have given me a platform to demonstrate the truth."

"Trial? Platform?"

Sing Sing lit a cigarette, pointed it at the Stinger's nose, and started spraying.

"I hate it when you working-class guys pretend to be big bosses!"

"Killing is killing, earning a bounty is earning a bounty, it's a simple exchange of money for goods, what's the big deal?"

"Don't you get tired of having to put on a philosopher's facade?"

"According to your logic, slaughterhouse workers who kill pigs every day should be awarded the title of 'Species Optimization Master,' right?"

Even the Beggar's Sect members who go out begging don't have as many phrases as you!

"Sharp-tongued!"

Stinger stood up and pulled out a long-handled harpoon from behind his back, its three prongs gleaming coldly.

A purplish-red aura emanated from the hand gripping the harpoon handle, quickly spreading throughout the entire harpoon.

"Originally, I only wanted to take this girl with me..."

The Stinger's voice was chilling. "I've changed my mind now; your mouth must be shut forever!"

"Tonight... you two will both die here."

As soon as he finished speaking, the purplish-red energy on the harpoon surged, and the blue flames of the campfire were forced to lie flat on the ground.

A streak of purplish-red light shone directly at Sing Sing, who was standing very close.

The Stinger; Uncanny X-Men #211 (first full appearance in November 1986)