Chapter 99
Laurentina picked it up, squinted at it for a while, and then noticed the impatient look on the front desk.
Then, pretending to search, she twisted the flesh in her palm, mimicking a paper-like structure.
At the same time, a copy of his own photo was printed on it, and the identification number was simply made up.
However, when this forged document was handed over, the other party only glanced at the format, then touched the surface of the paper and confirmed that it did indeed have the embossed seal of Londinium's issuance.
They simply opened the explosion-proof cabinet next to them.
"How much do you want...?"
"Approximately equivalent to 20 solid Pure Originium."
[It's amazing that you actually managed to find a real estate agent who's still working, and even a rental apartment with a kitchen.]
Zuo Jian was somewhat surprised as he processed the various ingredients he had bought in the kitchen.
He's really starting to like this pose more and more.
Four arms extend behind the back, each holding a spatula, knife, plate, or similar object.
At this moment, his efficiency alone is almost equivalent to that of an entire kitchen in a small restaurant, if only there were enough spaces for the pots.
You can cook?
Skadi walked into the kitchen, staring curiously at Zuo Jian, who was freely controlling multiple tentacles.
[I know a few simple home-style dishes, and they're just edible, so please don't mind. Many restaurants are closed today, so I'll have to cook for the welcome party myself.]
[Where is Laurentina?]
She said she was preparing drinks.
[Drinks?]
After hearing Zuo Jian, Zuojian immediately grew eyeballs on his tentacles, peered out of the room, and looked into the living room. He then tore open an alloy tube containing some unknown substance and poured the shimmering black-gold liquid inside into a wine bottle.
"What are you doing, Laurentina?"
He opened his mouth, and in an instant, the latter was so startled that he immediately blocked his view.
"No, no, no! It's nothing!"
"?"
"Real?"
"Real!"
She looked flustered, as if she was afraid that her guilty conscience would be written all over her face.
However, Zuo Jian, realizing this, shook his head helplessly.
[Never mind, let her be.]
He retracted his limbs and continued to focus his attention on the kitchen in front of him.
"Skadi, don't cut the fish... Scale Beast into such small pieces."
"Oh."
The Orca glanced at the Scale Beast chopped into pieces on the chopping board, then looked towards the Zuo Jian with some confusion.
"... Don't use the same methods you used on Seaborn on this one, oh my—the bile hasn't broken... Alright, that works too."
Soon, after Skadi offered to help, Zuo Jian successfully served a decent home-cooked meal just before nightfall.
It would be faster without Skadi.
[Phew... all done. This is dinner tonight. Laurentina? What's that in your hand?]
Zuo Jian looked up, staring curiously at the bottle of wine Laurentina was holding on the dining table.
His intuition told him that this thing didn't contain any alcohol at all.
"Haha, this is... a drink, prepared for you."
[For me?]
He raised an eyebrow, then watched as Laurentina poured the black-gold liquid into her own glass.
[Originium Solution? Where did you get that? How much did it cost? The purity of this stuff... it must be expensive, right?]
"Didn't you say that you only taste this stuff when you drink it, unless you're specifically mimicking your tongue's sense of taste?... You also said in the consciousness space before that absorbing this stuff would make it taste good... So..."
[... You actually wrote it down...]
"You've always been the one helping me, so... I'm thinking I should find a way to reward you... After all... you said our relationship is special..."
Laurentina turned her head away, avoiding looking at Zuo Jian's face.
The latter paused for a moment, thinking that the other person might have turned away because they were embarrassed by what they had said.
However, in reality, Laurentina's face was filled with tension, and she was spouting nonsense.
"Yes, our relationship now... we even share the same blood... it's almost like... like... family! Yes, family! So it's perfectly reasonable to treat your family, right!"
[Family...]
Zuo Jian was taken aback and looked at Laurenti.
Na didn't want to turn her head and look at herself.
A slight smile unconsciously appeared on his lips at that moment.
[Really... family... thank you, Laurentina.]
"Oh? Well... no need to thank me..."
Zuo Jian smiled, then stopped asking questions and simply looked at the black-gold liquid flowing in the cup in his hand.
Laurentina's words just now seemed to touch some deep-seated feelings within me...
Family... is that what she thinks...?
[I understand. Well then, please take care of me in the new year as well, Laurentina.]
Zuo Jian looked up, a smile of joy he had never shown before, raised his glass, and then drank the liquid in one gulp.
At that moment, he felt a genuine joy in his heart, and at the same time, because of Laurentina's words, even his tense mind instantly relaxed.
Watching Zuo Jian drink the Originium Solution, Laurentina also beamed with joy, and the two chatted about various topics at the table from time to time.
So much so that... they completely forgot there was someone else at the table.
Skadi sat to the side, silently poking at the various dishes on her plate with her fork.
Zuo Jian's skills... are better than the captain's!
However... it seems like the things that make Shark happy and the things that make Zuo Jian happy don't quite match up?
Oh well, they both seem pretty happy anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Mmm! This scaled Scale Beast tastes really good!
Skadi lowered her head, ignoring the two's back-and-forth conversation, and focused solely on showing off her dishes.
Chapter 55, A Sleepless Night and the New Year (Part 2)
"Zuo Jian? Zuo Jian?! Are you alright?"
What's going on...? I feel a little dizzy... I'm so sleepy...
He half-opened his eyes and saw Laurentina's worried expression as she walked up to him.
[Sorry... I thought... absorbing just a little Originium Solution wouldn't cause this kind of dazed feeling... It seems... I was too confident in myself.]
Zuo Jian glanced at the completely empty wine bottle, the black and gold liquid inside of which he had already drunk completely.
The new nutrients began to be rapidly absorbed by the body, as if the whole body was being covered by a warm current.
So much so that, under this gentle state of nutrient absorption, Zuo Jian, having relaxed his Zuo Jian, unconsciously slumped onto the table, feeling drowsy as if he had a hangover.
He had no idea that the glass contained Liquid Pure Originium, which directly affected the heart of all industrial machinery in Terra, making it essentially high-purity industrial blood.
Its concentration is no lower than the high-purity Originium Solution injected into Laurentina's body in the Church of the Deep laboratory.
In fact, Laurentina's exposure of these liquids to the air was enough to turn this area of the room into a high-risk Originium infection zone.
Fortunately, she had locked the doors and windows beforehand, and she had also absorbed all the remaining liquid Originium. In a few more hours, the high level of pollution here would be completely absorbed by Zuo Jian.
Regarding the risk of infection...
Laurentina and Zuo Jian have already said goodbye to Oripathy.
And the only life form capable of being infected...
She glanced at Skadi was engrossed in preparing the various dishes on her plate.
Just kidding, Laurentina herself would have to be injected with a high concentration of Originium Solution directly into her spine to get infected.
Skadi? She probably wouldn't be hurt even if she just took a couple of sips... but it's best not to do that.
"You're tired, Zuo Jian. Let me take you back to your room to rest."
Laurentina stood up, a smile unconsciously playing on her lips, and then took Zuo Jian's arm as she rose.
[No... I've rested long enough... I can't sleep in this unfamiliar environment...]
Zuo Jian was in a daze, and even his walking was unsteady.
"Don't worry, this isn't the wilderness, we don't need anyone to keep watch at night. Besides, there are people in the living room who will keep an eye on things for us."
After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Skadi was still engrossed in cooking.
Seemingly noticing the former's gaze, Skadi looked up, her cheeks bulging like a hamster's.
"Mmm--Mmm--"
"Swallow before you speak, Orca."
"Mmm--"
Skadi nodded, then swallowed the food she hadn't chewed properly. In fact, the Abyssal Hunters's physique didn't require meticulous chewing; it was mainly just a matter of the tongue passing through.
After all... when I was with Ulpian, all we had were dry rations and hunter's individual fast food...
Occasionally, Ulpian would try to take care of Skadi, cooking her a meal himself... which would probably make Skadi suddenly realize that eating dry rations wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"Shark, aren't you going to eat? Zuo Jian made so much food, and none of you seem to have touched it."
Skadi keenly realized that, from the very beginning, she seemed to be the only one at the dinner table preparing the food.
"Phew— Zuo Jian is too tired, I'll take him to rest."
"Oh, are you still going to eat?"
Looking at Laurentina, who was being supported by the Zuo Jian, Skadi's fork, aimed at the last fried shrimp on the plate, hovered in mid-air.
Should I leave one for the Shark?
... After all, it was Zuo Jian who made it.
"No need, I have something important to do later, so I'll trouble Orca to finish all the food."
Skadi looked at Laurentina with some confusion; she seemed to have never seen the latter show such an expression before...
She was a little excited, a little shy, and... many other emotions she couldn't understand.
In short, if we only look at the concrete image, it's like... her face is very red...
Could it be that...?
She was startled; a guess suddenly popped into her mind.
Could it be that Laurentina was drunk too?!
Skadi remembered that Laurentina drank the beverage that Zuo Jian, and it did seem to contain some alcohol...
However, Zuo Jian experiences a hangover after replenishing his Originium Solution...
So that's how it is! They were both actually drunk! But Shark was stubborn, so he was just pretending!