The Alien at the Gathering

Nowadays, as humanity has reclaimed its lost territories and technology has entered a phase of explosive development, the term "Base City" has become a relic of a bygone era.

It is currently the height of summer, and the city park in the center of Jiang City is lush with greenery and shaded by trees, making it an excellent spot for a summer picnic.

On a secluded patch of grass, Jia Yi has set aside his heavy responsibilities, sitting like an ordinary old man as he plays chess with Xue Xi across from him.

Xue Xi stares solemnly at the endgame on the table. Her eyes blink, and she suddenly sneezes, causing the chessboard in front of her to fall into complete disarray: "Oh my, this sneeze came at the worst possible time! Let's restart, let's restart!"

With a dark expression, Jia Yi slams his cannon onto Xue Xi's general: "You brat, that's the third time you've cheated! Is taking back a move something a person of honor would do?"

Xue Xi sheepishly resets the board: "Who took back a move? This was clearly an act of force majeure, right, Sister Xin?" After saying this, she winks at Xu Xin, who is watching the game from the side.

Xu Xin's eyes suddenly go blank, and she stands up with a confused look: "Oh, my eyes have suddenly gone blind! Xiao Ping, Xiao Hua, Mommy is coming to play with you!" She then turns and walks away, heading toward the two little ones surrounded by the temporary chef, Luo Feng.

Thor, while playing a virtual game, stretches his neck to chime in: "Fourth Sister, I'm not trying to lecture you, but look at how angry you've made Elder Jia. You've ruined his guaranteed checkmate three times now."

Jia Yi flicks his sleeve and huffs as he strokes his beard: "I'm done playing! You foul chess player, always pestering me for a game—it's meaningless, truly meaningless!"

Xue Xi pouts, then spots Hong, who is sitting calmly with his eyes fixed on his nose: "Brother Hong, why don't you play a few rounds?"

Hong shakes his head and turns away: "Fourth Sister, although my heart is infinitely vast, I'm afraid it cannot accommodate your dishonorable way of playing chess. I might end up cursing, and being that irritable is not good, not good at all."

Seeing that no one will play with her, Xue Xi flares up in anger! She gets angry for a moment, muttering, "I'm not a 'person of honor' anyway, I'm a woman, okay!" She then casually sweeps the chessboard into her spatial storage and goes off with a grin to play with the two little ones alongside Xu Xin.

Seeing Xue Xi pack up the board and leave, Jia Yi sits back in his original position, shakes his head, and looks with deep, thoughtful eyes at Hong, who is resting with his eyes closed: "Are you all truly decided? Isn't it still too early to make contact with the universe? Although we have developed in recent years, we are still too far behind to integrate with the universe. It feels too risky."

Upon hearing this, Hong opens his eyes. Recalling the horrifying consequences of the planets reduced to slavery that he saw in Xue Xi's data, he shakes his head firmly at the worried Jia Yi: "It is not too early; it is actually a bit late. The disparity in information is terrifying for us. Entering the universe early to find a path forward for Earth is of paramount importance. After we leave, I will have to trouble you to look after the affairs on Earth."

Jia Yi sighs softly: "Sigh, perhaps you are right. I am old, and my desire to venture out has faded. Now, I just seek stability. Go ahead with peace of mind. Although this old man cannot help you much, I can still manage these trivial matters on Earth."

At this moment, Luo Feng walks over to the central table with a platter of barbecue and claps his hands: "Alright, everyone stop playing and chatting. Come and taste the handiwork of Chef Luo!"

To show off at this gathering, Luo Feng had looked up barbecue tutorials online in advance, just waiting for this moment to impress his friends and family.

Luo Hongguo and his wife are the first to support their son, each grabbing a skewer of grilled chicken tenders and taking a bite. They both pause noticeably after one mouthful, then finish the rest with expressionless faces, praising Luo Feng, who is full of anticipation: "Hmm, not bad! It's almost as good as Chef Xue Xi's cooking."

Xu Xin eyes the old couple suspiciously. Is it really that good? Ah Feng usually puts salt mines into his egg-fried rice; is this even edible?

But it looks decent enough. Should she try it?

Soon, as she puts a skewer of deep-fried enoki mushrooms into her mouth, before she can even chew, a spicy flavor—an extreme, piercing spice—rushes straight to her crown. Xu Xin's composure instantly crumbles, and she frantically searches for water. The expressions of the others who ate it also turn strange.

Xue Xi uses Myriad Manifestation Water to condense a cup of spring water and hands it to the steaming Xu Xin, then, refusing to believe it, picks up a grilled sausage and tastes it.

The next second, with her God's Tongue fully activated, she is assaulted by a mix of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and greasy flavors, and she collapses straight to the ground: "The food... is poisonous!"

Luo Feng looks awkwardly at the people he has taken down and quickly pulls out the food Xue Xi had prepared beforehand from a box behind him: "Alright, alright, I know my skills are bad, stop acting! Eat some real food to settle your stomachs. If I ever touch the kitchen again, I'm a dog!"

As soon as he says this, the expressions of the people in pain recover. They offer a few perfunctory words of comfort to Luo Feng and immediately sit down to eat. (Luo Feng: They acted just to get better food out of me. Who's the dog? I'm not saying.)

Of course, the others were acting, but Xue Xi was not. Her God's Tongue could no longer tolerate such ordinary, low-quality food. She quickly grabbed a Tianfu Cola and gulped down several mouthfuls, finally recovering. She stared at Luo Feng's barbecue with fear, deciding then and there that she would never eat anyone else's food again. It was too terrifying!