Chance Encounter at a Restaurant

Ross sat in his room, watching Gu Ding's latest battle videos and learning about the divine position while listening to his subordinates' reports.

"You mean, you've been watching them for two days, and none of the members of their entire team showed any signs of illness, and they spent those two days eating, drinking, and having fun?" Ross frowned slightly after hearing his subordinate's report.

"He has that divine position in his hands, and the news of the auction has already been released. The auction conditions are also very clear: any demigod who makes a bid will be disqualified from bidding. Without any demigods making a bid, with Bigge's strength, his team really doesn't have any opponents to fear." Lucia to the side, didn't find anything strange about it.

"Bigge's team is indeed very strong, but that shouldn't be a reason for them not to prepare for battle." Ross shook his head. "Gu Ding isn't stupid. He should be able to easily find out that we have more than twenty Thirteenth-Order Gene Body experts and hundreds of Twelfth Order and above. He also knows very well that no matter how strong Bigge is, he can't possibly take care of all of them in a chaotic battle."

"You mean, they have Trump Card? And this Trump Card gives them absolute confidence in winning this matter?" The more Lucia thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

"Before they came, they had no idea that Maso would provoke them, let alone that they would obtain that divine position. But they still chose to come, which means they were fully prepared. From the sky, it's not hard to tell that our family has a demigod guarding it, and they certainly wouldn't underestimate the Combat Strength of that demigod in this operation. In other words, they should have a way to deal with demigods. That divine position is just making things easier for them. It's also clear from the video that Gu Ding is not afraid of demigods at all." Ross said, freezing the video projection on the scene of Gu Ding's conversation with Meyer. There was not a trace of awe in Gu Ding's eyes.

"How many demigods did Gu Ding's Auction House attract?" Ross stared at the frozen video projection for a moment in silence before asking again.

"Young Master, excluding the Old Ancestor, there are already eleven people here. It's only noon now, and we expect more people to arrive before the Auction House begins."

"Alright, keep an eye on Gu Ding. Let me know immediately if he makes any moves." Ross nodded, then looked at Lucia. "Let's go get something to eat. These kinds of dinners usually don't leave you feeling full. If you eat a lot at lunch, you won't be hungry at night."

"I know a new restaurant that recently opened, it's incredibly popular and has amazing reviews. A friend of mine went there yesterday and said it was fantastic, let's go there today." Lucia wasn't exactly a foodie, but she loved trying new things. Whenever a new restaurant, clothing store, or jewelry shop opened, she was always interested in trying it. "It's on me, consider it compensation for being locked up these past few days. After all, I was the one who snitched on you."

"Don't feel sorry. I've been thinking quietly by myself these past few days and have figured out a lot of things." Ross didn't seem too concerned about being put in solitary confinement. "However, since you're willing to treat me, I naturally won't refuse."

The Gu Ding Team is currently gathered in a snack shop, sitting in a circle and enjoying their meal.

The reason for not going to upscale restaurants is simple. The most authentic local snacks are usually found in small streets and alleys. The food in upscale restaurants is usually exquisite, but it is not necessarily delicious.

Moreover, searching for local food ratings is something the Sea Emperor can do in the blink of an eye. As for highly-rated local specialties, the Sea Emperor can find them without much effort. Therefore, on every planet Gu Ding and his group visit, the food and activities they encounter are basically all highly rated.

But for the past two days, the Sea Emperor had been somewhat uneasy, with a vague feeling that something was about to happen. Therefore, he ran his detection system over and over again, but found nothing. Since Gu Ding advanced to Seventh Order Gene Body, in addition to the intermediate-level access to his gene bank, his detection radius had expanded to one thousand kilometers.

The detection radius of one thousand kilometers actually encompassed everything in the Child Family, but Sea Emperor still couldn't find the reason for his unease, because nothing unusual was found in the Child Family.

He even suspected that the Child Family might be hiding a deity guarding them, because only a deity could shield him from detection and prevent him from noticing anything amiss. But given the Child Family's long history, this possibility was almost zero.

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, a black Predator pulled up outside the restaurant.

The Predator is a high-end sports car brand under the Child Family; even the lowest configuration costs tens of millions of Universe Coin. The car parked outside is the latest model, launched just two weeks ago, entirely silver-white, called the Platinum Beauty, with a market price of 800 million Universe Coin. Only those granted a title by the Federal Government are eligible to purchase it, and only one can be bought.

This small restaurant wasn't very big, and it was newly opened, so the prices were quite reasonable. Most of its customers were ordinary working-class people; almost no one could afford a Predator. Therefore, the car quickly attracted a lot of attention.

But what's even more noteworthy is that the other two black Giant Armor also stopped.

The Giant Armor vehicle is basically designed for bodyguards. Sure enough, six people, including the drivers, emerged from the two vehicles; they were all imposing Big Guy.

Two teenagers emerged from the Predator vehicle. The boy was dressed in a suit and tie, his hair neatly combed, giving him a capable appearance. His face was extremely handsome, but it was clear at a glance that he was young, probably around sixteen years old. As for the girl, she wore a long purple dress, which gave her a slightly elegant look, but her doll-like face easily betrayed her age; she was at most sixteen or seventeen.

The appearance of this young boy and girl attracted the attention of many people, and Gu Ding and his group also looked in that direction.

"It's Ross!" Gu Ding recognized him at a glance. Sea Emperor had shown him Ross's information before, which included Ross's photo.

"Is he Ross Child?" Liliath examined him closely and then came to a conclusion. "He's more handsome in person than in photos."

Elsa chimed in, "He really is quite handsome."

"Should we make a move?" Since regaining his Combat Strength, Bigge seems to be open to any type of battle.

"No rush, wait for the dinner." Gu Ding looked away from Ross and continued eating, seemingly unconcerned about Ross's presence.

Seeing that Gu Ding had no intention of making a move, Lily and the others all turned their attention away and continued eating their own food.

"Why wait until night? He doesn't have many bodyguards right now, wouldn't it be better to take him out?" Elsa asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I said I would attend his Coming-of-age ceremony. If I make a move before the Coming-of-age ceremony, his Coming-of-age ceremony will be ruined, and I will be seen as breaking my word." Gu Ding's reasoning was simple: he had said he would attend the other person's coming-of- Coming-of-age ceremony, so he would definitely be there.

After hearing this explanation, no one else asked any further questions.

Meanwhile, Ross and Lucia, surrounded by several bodyguards, entered the small restaurant.

Ross spotted Gu Ding and his group as soon as he entered, because Bigge and Robert's physiques were so conspicuous. He was visibly taken aback when he saw Gu Ding Team; he hadn't expected to run into them in a place like this. Ross recalled a Near Ancient Era saying, "enemies meet on a narrow road," which perfectly described their current situation.

Noticing Ross's unusual behavior, Lucia looked in the direction he was looking and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the entire Gu Ding Team. She gently nudged Ross, who was walking ahead, Way of Sound, "Go to the private room upstairs, hurry up, don't let them see us."

At that moment, Gu Ding glanced at the two of them seemingly casually, a slight smile playing on his lips. Lucia felt a sense of foreboding; Gu Ding's smile clearly indicated that he had noticed their presence. But strangely, he didn't react in any other way, instead watching them go upstairs to their private room.

After entering the private room, Lucia a slight sigh of relief. "Have the family send more people over. Six bodyguards are far too few."

"Don't be nervous, Gu Ding won't make a move," Ross said with great certainty.

"Don't be so sure. We only have six bodyguards right now, and two of them are only Twelfth-Order Gene Body. Now is the best time to make a move. If it were me, I would definitely choose to make a move now," Lucia anxiously.

"Gu Ding said before that he would attend my Coming-of-age ceremony. Since the Coming-of-age ceremony hasn't started yet, he won't make a move," Ross stated with certainty. "Besides, if they were going to make a move, they would have done so the moment we walked in. Don't be so tense, let's order something, let's get something to eat."

About ten minutes later, the Gu Ding Team finally finished their meal.

"Let's go, let's go say hello to the young master of the Child Family." After paying the bill at the front desk, Gu Ding waved to the group.

A large group of people headed towards the second floor. The Child Family's bodyguards, of course, knew who Gu Ding and his entourage were, and they braced themselves to block Gu Ding's way.

"No need to be so nervous, I just have something to discuss with your young master." Gu Ding did not force his way in.

"Let them in!" Ross's voice came from inside the private room.

The bodyguard in the lead reluctantly pushed open the door to the private room, and Gu Ding and his group filed in, followed by the six bodyguards.

The private room, which could originally seat twelve people, now felt rather crowded.

Ross remained seated, his gaze fixed on Gu Ding. "Just say what you want to say."

"Tonight is your Coming-of-age ceremony. If you apologize to Lily in front of everyone at the Coming-of-age ceremony, I can let the matter drop. Of course, you can choose to refuse, and then you will have to bear the consequences yourself." Gu Ding said this, "You have one afternoon to consider my proposal."

Ross listened to Gu Ding's suggestion, a slight smile playing on his lips, then shook his head. "I'll give you an answer now, not in the afternoon. I won't apologize. If you have nothing else to do, I haven't finished my lunch yet..."

"Very well, see you tonight!" Gu Ding said, then turned and walked out of the private room. (To be continued.)