Fishing for "Fish"

Xie Xie wanted to argue further, but Xu Xiaoyan grabbed him, saying, "Alright, alright, are you really going to get full from smelling the seafood here?"

She glanced towards the door, then turned to the others and said, "Jing Heng is coming out of seclusion today, so let's skip the cafeteria. Shall we make ourselves something to eat? I know there's half a lamb rib hidden in the kitchen; Aruheng brought it back from the south a few days ago."

"Can you do it?" Xie Xie asked.

"No," Xu Xiaoyan confidently.

Tang Wulin had already stood up. "I'll do it. My mom taught me a few moves during my time in the Star Luo Empire."

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and looked at Yuanen Yehui: "Yuan En, go to the kitchen and pretend to go get the big pot. Xie Xie, go to the cellar and get the potatoes and onions."

Xie Xie opened his mouth, but Yuanen Yehui pulled him up from the chair. "Don't sit there. Move if you want to eat."

The two went out the door one after the other.

Xu Xiaoyan chased after her with a smile, "I'm going to get some firewood! I'll also ask Long Yuxue for some spices; she said she had a small packet last time."

The room suddenly felt mostly empty.

Yun Jingheng was still leaning back in his chair, smiling warmly.

He turned his head to look at Ye Xinglan: "What shall we do?"

Ye Xinglan stood up. "I'll clear the table away. There's been so much stuff piled up here these past few months, there's barely any room to sit."

As she spoke, she began to gather the scattered drawings, shell casings, and old gloves on the table to one side.

Yun Jingheng also got up and helped move several wooden crates.

Between their busy moments, Ye Xinglan even hugged Yun Jingheng and gave him a kiss, which made her chase after him for a while.

When Tang Wulin returned, he was carrying a black iron pot in his arms.

Yuanen Yehui was carrying a basket of potatoes and onions.

Xie Xie, carrying firewood, stumbled as he entered, calling out, "Where's Xu Xiaoyan? Wasn't she going to get the spices?"

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Xiaoyan had already slipped in, carefully holding a tiny cloth bag in her hands as if it were some priceless treasure. "It's here, it's here. Long Yuxue gave me a small pinch, saying it's a local herb from the Far North. I smelled it, and it's quite strange, but she said adding a little to stewed meat makes it especially fragrant."

"Can grass from the Far North be used to stew meat?"

Xie Xie leaned closer suspiciously, but the smell made him take a step back. "Can this even taste good?"

Xu Xiaoyan ignored him and shoved the cloth bag into Tang Wulin's hands. "Wulin, it's yours now."

Tang Wulin smiled and took it, then walked to the makeshift stove and placed the pot on it.

He chopped potatoes and onions; his movements weren't extremely fast, but they were very steady.

Xie Xie squatted down beside him, handing him firewood.

The fire grew bigger and bigger, and oil slowly started to sizzle from the bottom of the pot.

Tang Wulin put the lamb ribs into the pot and sautéed them until they were fragrant.

A corner of the packet of Far North herbs was torn open, and only a little bit was thrown in.

Before long, the whole house was filled with the aroma of meat, mixed with the warmth that is most lacking in the Far North winter.

Xie Xie couldn't hold back any longer, leaning close to the pot and swallowing hard. "Wulin, when can we eat this? I don't think the Far North is so bitter anymore."

Tang Wulin gently pushed the meat in the pot with the back of a spoon and said, "What's the rush? The potatoes aren't mushy yet. We need to wait for them to absorb the oil."

Xu Xiaoyan circled around, exclaiming, "It smells so good!"

Yuanen Yehui leaned against the wall, not saying a word, but also not leaving.

Yun Jingheng stood behind Ye Xinglan, holding him in his arms. With each breath, the fragrant breeze kept wafting into Ye Xinglan's nose.

It's so warm and cozy inside that I feel lazy.

Xie Xie was putting a piece of potato into his mouth, and the soup was dripping down his chin, but he hadn't bothered to wipe it away yet.

Suddenly, the alarm went off.

The bugle call in the Far North is unlike any other place.

The sound was like an extremely blunt iron ruler scraping against the ground and walls, sharp and heavy, giving no time to react.

Everyone paused for a moment.

Xie Xie was still biting into his potato when his eyes turned toward the doorway.

Xu Xiaoyan's bowl wobbled slightly, and Tang Wulin stood up almost simultaneously.

Yun Jingheng also released Ye Xinglan.

He didn't say anything, but walked to the door first and pushed it open.

Chaos has broken out outside.

Someone is running, rushing towards the south, west, and valley entrance.

Iron boots shattered the solid ice, and whistles sounded one after another.

On the tower facing the main business, several red Soul Guidance Lamp were all lit up.

"Half-Sweet Coffee? What's going on?" Yun Jingheng in a low voice.

"I'm here." Half-Sweet Coffee's voice came through both his and Ye Xinglan's earpieces at the same time.

This time, its speech was extremely fast, all its gentleness gone. "The Abyssal Passage is expanding violently. The main rift opened outwards by seventeen meters in three seconds, and a large number of Abyss creatures are pouring out, and their numbers are still increasing."

"More importantly, I detected a large amount of Titled Douluo -level energy inside the passage. It was numerous, densely layered, and moving upwards. Based on the energy characteristics, they were all Emperor below the tenth level."

"Synchronize the detection information with the command center."

"OK."

Yun Jingheng nodded to the group, "Let's go, there are plenty."

Yun Jingheng stood on the gentle slope behind the Blue Light Tower Array, all alone.

His gaze pierced through the chaotic battlefield and landed on the far-off, ever-writhing chasm of the Abyss.

A hundred feet in front of him, his companions had already rushed out.

Tang Wulin did not hold back.

His left punch dealt high damage, and his right punch dealt high damage as well. Each strike carried an extremely heavy and righteous force, smashing the charging Abyss monsters into flying swarms.

Aruheng and Sima Jinchi stood on either side of him, their short spears flashing like lightning and their long swords like the moon.

The three men managed to tear a clearing in front of the main valley entrance.

Ye Xinglan was on the right flank, and the Abyss creatures that approached her were often cut in two before they could even see the sword clearly.

The fallen corpses of the Abyss behind her formed a straight line, but the energy did not immediately return to the Abyss; instead, it remained in place.

Xu Xiaoyan followed not far behind.

Dozens of Star Lines unfurled from her hands, connecting Ye Xinglan with several smaller teams further ahead.

She kept reporting the location and energy anomalies.

The voice of "Half-Sweet Coffee" transmitted every change to everyone's ears through the headphones.

Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui acted like an old married couple.

When the taxi driver on the position saw them, his legs, which had been a little weak, steadied again.

The blue-white plasma jets began to sweep forward again, row by row.

The entire battlefield was sliced into several layers by these beams of light.

At the forefront was the Blood God Legion's line of fire, further ahead was Tang Wulin and his group's breakthrough line, and further still, the black tide of Abyss creatures surged forth.

Only Yun Jingheng did not move forward.

He kept his hands at his sides, not looking at his companion, but staring at the passageway.

Those things that crawled out of the tunnel weren't good enough for him to go down.

He was waiting, waiting for the Emperor hidden deeper in the Abyss.

Having not made a move for four months, his senses had become extremely sharp.

He could sense that a layer of energy was slowly rising from below the passage.

Those Emperor below the tenth level are still hidden.

They are observing the human formation.

Zhang Huanyun walked to his side from the main camp direction.

He also looked towards the passage and said, "If you don't move, they won't all come out."

Yun Jingheng hummed in agreement. "I'll move after they're halfway out. If we go down now, we'll scare them back."

Zhang Huanyun nodded, then shook his head. "Only you could treat the Abyss Monarch like a rabbit to catch fish."

Yun Jingheng did not respond.