Hotpot

"Hope you haven't been neglecting your ambitions for play, Mr. Klein."

"Of course not. In fact, I've almost finished digesting my potion." Klein's hands kept moving with rapid clatters.

"I've also more or less mastered those little elemental power tricks."

On the television screen, a character rolled aside, dodging a sword-wielding Dragon's sweeping slash.

"Those guys have come out of seclusion. Everyone's planning to get together. What about you?"

"Of course."

Klein manipulated the controller, hit pause, and selected save from the game menu.

"You could've just messaged me privately in the chat group, or called me. Why make a special trip just to notify me?"

Klein stretched lazily, smiling.

"I'm honored."

Su Lin fell silent for several seconds.

"Maybe you should check the chat logs and the missed calls on your phone."

"..."

Su Lin pushed open a door in Klein's room. The wind outside made the room's curtains rustle.

With everyone's help, the battered sect core had been repaired somewhat further. Su Lin had connected one of the doors in Klein's room to Water Mirror Peak's portal, allowing him to travel directly from his rental apartment to Water Mirror Peak.

"I think you need some exercise after this gathering."

Klein nodded at that. He really had been indulging himself a little too much these past few days.

When Klein tidied himself up a little and arrived at Water Mirror Peak, the air was filled with a pungent, spicy aroma.

"Hotpot?"

There seemed to be something else added to the scent. Just smelling it made one feel wonderfully at ease.

"Isn't hotpot exactly what you should eat in winter?" Su Lin said from the side. "Demonic beast and ferocious beast meat, once properly prepared, is extremely nourishing."

"Add Yao Lao's hotpot base to that, and in Sichuan dialect, it tastes absolutely fantastic."

"It's just a pity that Ye Fan and Xiao Yan don't have much stock, while Han Li usually only collects materials."

"If you dawdle any longer, all you'll get is the hotpot base." Su Lin spoke unhurriedly.

"Why aren't you in a hurry?" Klein's spirituality surged, and he came to a guess. "Could it be that you—"

Before he could finish, Su Lin's figure blurred and vanished into the air, leaving behind only one sentence.

"The beef tripe is almost gone."

Not caring about appearances, Klein took off running. Along the way, he even used Flaming Jump.

Only when he arrived did he realize he had been tricked.

Not everyone had arrived yet. Five huge pots sat on the table, and Straw Hat Kid Luffy was coming through the portal carrying an enormous member of the Sea Kings.

Su Lin emerged from behind a tree with a cheerful smile.

At the banquet,

Now that they had grown familiar with one another, everyone chatted about the interesting tales and legends of their respective worlds.

Hearing about the source of the Dark Turmoil in Ye Fan's world, everyone could not help but sigh.

A group of people who had once been peerless prodigies of their eras, former Great Emperors, had sought an opportunity to become immortals. Unable to endure the passage of time, they chose to launch the Dark Turmoil, harvesting life to prolong their own existence.

The many strange tales of the Dou Qi Continent were equally astonishing: Heaven-and-Earth Flames with bizarre effects and unmatched power, and medicinal pills that could develop intelligence and become like people.

The world that most conveyed the weight of the ages and suffocating pressure was Klein's. The Apocalypse was approaching, Outer Deities watched that tiny planet, and The Seven raised their divine kingdoms to patch the tears in the planet's membrane. Humanity was like lambs living in a pen, struggling to survive. For power, they had no choice but to embark upon inhuman paths.

In the Type-Moon World, factors capable of destroying the world appeared at every turn. From the lore this brother and sister had dug up online over the past few days, the humans of that world had it hard too.

Teyvat was somewhat better. No one knew what the future would bring, but at least for now, the situation was relatively peaceful. Technological development was uneven, but people could at least get by.

On the Earth of the Dragon Raja world, the world was foretold to suffer destruction, and it also seemed to possess the power to restart. Other than that, it was not too bad. At the very least, many matters had nothing to do with ordinary people.

"Speaking of which," Ye Fan changed the subject, "even Han Li's world hides the law of the strong devouring the weak. Looking at it now, only Su Lin's world can be considered relatively peaceful."

"Even those disturbances were caused by him himself." Xiao Yan picked up a slice of boiled lamb, dipped it in sesame paste, and stuffed it into his mouth. "I really thought this world had an Armor Hero before."

"What, you want to get yourself a set of Flame Dragon Armor?" Ye Fan teased. "But Old Su, you really are young at heart. You even made Li Xiaoyao. Is this some kind of xianxia dream?"

Heh heh.

Su Lin calmly took a sip of his nerdy happy water.

Those two thick-browed, big-eyed fellows had finally lost patience and wanted to probe his background.

"I imagine Brother Su merely wished to add a touch of fun to this ordinary world." Han Li smiled as he raised his cup and took a sip of the spirit wine he had brewed and stored at Water Mirror Peak for quite some time.

"I heard from Brother Zhou that Brother Su often goes to hospitals in various cities to treat patients and strengthen ordinary people's constitutions. Now, the hospitals in several cities are usually quite empty. For an ordinary world without supernatural powers, Brother Su's actions..."

Even you, a man who looked so honest and straightforward, were in league with them?

Then again, even with the chat group's restrictions in place and no need to worry about group members harming one another, the current situation was that Su Lin understood nearly everything about all of them.

Meanwhile, their information about Su Lin was limited to the progress of gradually exploring things through ordinary interactions.

After confirming that this was an ordinary world, everyone had basically put their minds at ease regarding Su Lin himself. But it would be a lie to say they were not curious or did not want to pry some information out of him.

It was not convenient to ask directly under normal circumstances, and asking would not have achieved much anyway.

Today's occasion and atmosphere were the perfect opportunity.

One more push is needed.

It can't be me! Ye Fan, Han Li, and Xiao Yan thought simultaneously.

Klein—Zhou Mingrui—glanced at them, picked up a spirit fruit from the table, and took a bite. During this period, he had discovered that although his cultivation faced obstacles, eating these things could increase the upper limit of his spirituality.

In gaming terms, it increased his mana bar.

Feeling his spirituality grow, Klein inwardly exclaimed:

Brilliant!

"Gulp, an ordinary world?" Lu Mingfei swallowed the food in his mouth whole and asked in confusion, "Isn't this sect Big Brother Su Lin's? How could an ordinary world have something like this?"

He appeared! ×3

Beautiful, Lu Mingfei!

Little brother, we've been waiting for you!

I'll teach you the Nine-Character Secret later. Since you know how to talk, talk more!

Su Lin set down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth, and gave Lu Mingfei a kindly smile.

Thanks to "Everything I Miss Is You" for the 100-point donation!

(End of Chapter)