"Give us a ride... Which way?"

Lian Yun smiled but said nothing.

Abe and the One-Winged Bird looked at each other and nodded knowingly: "We stay."

Lian Yun smiled even more happily, waved at the two of them, and motioned them to follow him as they walked towards the altar.

A conflict was finally resolved.

Lanna put down the holy sword and followed the crowd silently, still paying attention to the actions of the man and the bird.

"Cornelius, where are you from? I've only seen you in books." Lina quickly forgot the tension just now, came forward and asked excitedly.

The one-winged bird chirped a few words, and Abe helped translate: "When we were very young, we lived in a remote town. Back then, they didn't know we had special abilities."

"Until it grew larger and larger, releasing uncontrollable high temperatures. The town was inhabited by ordinary humans, and they were afraid of it, so they drove it away."

"When I was seven years old, my orc bloodline awakened and I turned into a giant bear."

Lina was very interested: "Giant bear? How big is it?"

Abe paused when he heard this, then walked away without saying anything.

He stood still and let out a deafening roar from within.

A violent gust of wind swirled around him, blowing up the sand on the ground to form a vortex.

Hidden in the yellow sand, the figure of the 1.8-meter-tall man continued to grow larger and larger until it became as big as the house next to him.

The wind and sand gradually subsided, and the figure shrouded in it had turned into a huge brown bear covered with long hair.

The brown bear blinked its shiny black eyes and said, "How is it?"

"What a big bear!" Lina clapped her hands in surprise.

The brown bear made a "chuckling" sound from its throat that was similar to laughter. As soon as it laughed, it realized the strangeness of the sound, coughed a few times, and turned back into a human.

"It's like a magic trick." Lian Yun also saw the orc's two forms transforming freely for the first time. He felt it was very magical. "Can you keep changing like this?"

Aibei brushed the dust off his clothes and shook his head sheepishly. "Not really, I feel tired after transforming. It's just... if you want to treat me to a meal, I'll get full easier like this."

Lian Yun understood, and her almond-shaped eyes curved slightly: "Don't worry, I will make sure you have enough to eat."

She knew that the man and the bird had been hungry for a long time, so she considerately quickened her pace.

The group soon arrived at the altar.

Lina was about to step forward when Lian Yun stopped her: "You don't have to go up."

Lina, who was stopped, looked up blankly, and seeing Lian Yun's serious expression, she left the altar somewhat unhappily.

Aibei walked up to the altar as Lianyun requested.

At the same time, a prompt popped up in front of Lian Yun:

【bite--】

[The intention of an Orc resident has been detected. Do you want to check? ]

[From the resident of "Aibei": They don't seem like bad people. Why would a bad person live in such a shabby town and be willing to give them two meat? Where else can we go if we don't stay? The desert is so vast, but there's no place for us...]

The residents' intentions from Aibei were particularly long, so Lian Yun chose to silently skip the sad self-narration in the middle and go directly to the degree of intentions at the end.

[Level: Six stars (from homelessness and hunger bonus). Do you accept this resident's offer?]

Lian Yun clicked "Accept".

A parchment scroll appeared in Abe's hand from out of thin air, and a feather pen flew to his side.

There is only one line of text on it:

[I voluntarily become a subject of Lian Yun, the Lord of Bubu Town, and will always be loyal to the town and become a part of it.]

Aibei read this line of words carefully several times.

There were no forced contracts or life-threatening payments.

It is better to say that they are the "citizens of the small town" rather than the subjects of "Lord Lianyun".

Working for the town was not something difficult for him to accept.

"Even if you don't want to know, I think you need to know—" Lian Yun pinched the quill that he was about to sign and reminded him, "Once it takes effect, there is no room for regret. We don't know what the consequences will be."

As she spoke, she glanced at the sullen Lina and her expression slowed down: “I hope that you understand what you want seriously and clearly.”

Lina at the altar was slightly stunned.

Aibei grinned, met Lianyun's sincere eyes, and returned the same sincere look: "Thank you for your reminder, Lord."

He took out the quill and signed his name in the lower right corner of the scroll.

[Congratulations, Lord! The resident has successfully moved in! You can see the resident's level, race, age, and other attributes. When the resident's loyalty drops to a dangerous level, the system will issue a warning.]

Lian Yun looked at the top of Aibei's head, and sure enough, the words [Lv.6] appeared above.

Abe nodded to the one-winged bird, which spread its wings, took off into the air, and landed on the altar railing.

【bite--】

[The intention of an Orc resident has been detected. Do you want to check? ]

Lian Yun was slightly surprised. She didn't know that this Cornelius was also an orc?

[Resident intention from "Chrisry Bergko": Abe wants to stay here, so I have no choice but to stay with him. After all, we are partners! :P.]

Lian Yun: ...Why does your description have expressions?

[Level: Five stars (a bonus from your companion becoming a resident). Do you accept this resident's offer?]

"accept."

It tilted its head, plucked a feather from its wing, and placed it on the parchment scroll.

The red feather flew into the scroll, carving a flat feather pattern.

This is a special contract.

"Okay, Abe and Chris...what?"

Lian Yun couldn't remember the complicated name of the one-winged bird. He glanced at Xiao Bai on his shoulder and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He smiled at the one-winged bird and said, "How about calling you Xiao Hong?"

Xiaobai: ...the scene is repeated.

The one-winged bird moved to Abe's side and chirped a few times. Abe hesitated and said, "Can it refuse?"

Lian Yun walked down the altar without looking back and said calmly, "Want some barbecue?"

Abe: “It says yes.”

Lian Yun turned around and introduced his companions to the two new members: "This is Lan Na, the boss of this town second only to me. Don't mess with him, he might beat you up."

Aibei and Xiaohong had seen this before, and nodded solemnly to Lanner: "Boss."

"This is Lina who is staying here temporarily. If you bully her, Lana will still beat you up."

Aibei and Xiaohong said seriously: "Lina."

Lian Yun led them to his own residence, where there was a bonfire outside which they could use for barbecuing.

The little gray-haired girl forgot her previous unhappiness and walked towards them with a smile. She held Aibei's hand and touched Xiaohong's warm and comfortable feathers: "Don't worry, we are very good to our own people!"

The bonfire in front of the houses was lit, and the red flames illuminated the surroundings, dispelling the darkness.

A circle of people quickly gathered around the campfire. Lian Yun sat between Lana and Lina, and Xiaohong rested behind Aibei.

Lian Yun gave each person a small plate, and the five sets of tableware they drew were just right.

After giving Xiaobai the meat for tonight, Lian Yun cut a piece of meat into several pieces and was about to sprinkle seasoning on it when he was stopped by Lina and Lana.

“?” Lian Yun was confused.

"Please... sir, let me do it." Lanna couldn't say anything to refute or refuse, so he could only express his thoughts in a tactful way.

"That won't do. You're exhausted today." Lian Yun glanced at the stamina bar above his head, which had already consumed a lot.

Lina grabbed the piece of meat: "Let me do it! I didn't do anything."

Lian Yun shook his head: "You can't do that either. He's unconscious today. How can you let the wounded barbecue?"

When the situation reached a stalemate, Aibei weakly leaned over and interrupted, "How about... I do it? After all, we were the ones who made the mistake today. And neither of us likes eating raw meat, so I always cook when we're together. He says the meat and vegetables I cook are delicious."

"Okay!" Lanna and Lina said firmly.

So the plate of meat was naturally pushed into Abe's hands.

Lian Yun spread his hands indifferently: "Okay."

Abe seemed to be really experienced in barbecue and knew about Lina's seasonings.

He skillfully flipped the meat over and grilled it, occasionally moving the distance between the meat and the fire. After the blood-red meat was drained and seasoned, a small dish was grilled in a short while.

The first plate of barbecue was handed to Lian Yun.

Lian Yun looked at everyone with a little surprise. He stared at the barbecue in front of him for a few moments, then smiled and reached out to take it.

Everyone waited with shining eyes for Lian Yun to taste the food.

The girl picked up a piece, put it in her mouth, and praised sincerely: "Delicious!"

The saltiness is just right and the taste is just right.

"Great!" Lina cheered and squatted aside to watch the next plate.

Everyone enjoyed the meal very much and even ate several pieces of meat.

Finally, there was a small plate of raw meat left. Lian Yun suddenly thought of something and walked into the house.

A moment later, she came out with a small bowl of minced garlic and handed it to Aibei: "Have you seen this?"

Abe shook his head, took it, put it under his nose and sniffed it, blinking in a trance.

"Ah! This thing!" Lina frowned and shrank back.

Although Aibei was stunned for a moment, he did not show any disgust. Instead, he thought: "This thing has a strong taste, but if it is properly mixed..."

He chopped half of the garlic, poured some seasoning into the bowl and stirred it.

"That's what I mean!" Lian Yun exclaimed, "You seem to have a real talent for cooking."

Aibei scratched his head with a smile, then dipped the meat slices in seasoning and continued grilling.

Lina watched his movements from a distance, her face full of disbelief.

When the meat is cooked, each person gets a piece.

Aibei tasted something different right away, a satisfied and happy smile appeared on his face. He turned his head and asked Lianyun, "What is this?"

"Garlic." Lian Yun chewed the meat and felt that he tasted the flavor of his hometown for the first time in another world.

She came up to Lanna and asked, "Don't you want to try?"

Lanna obediently put the meat into his mouth and praised its taste: "It tastes amazing."

Seeing how happy they were eating, Lina couldn't help but come over and ask, "Is it really that delicious?"

"You can try."

Lina looked suspicious, but finally couldn't resist the temptation of curiosity. She pinched her nose and stuffed a large piece of meat into her mouth.

"Hmm...eh?" Lina blinked.

Seems pretty good?

Several people couldn't help laughing.

By the time everyone had finished the last bit of meat, it was already very late.

Lian Yun looked up at the night sky. There was still no moon tonight.

"You can choose any room you want tomorrow," Lian Yun said. "Stay with us tonight. The other rooms haven't been cleaned yet."

Hearing this, Aibei and Xiaohong looked grateful.

Lian Yun asked Lina to sleep with him tonight, and the two of them temporarily slept in Lina's room.

Everything was arranged, Lian Yun took Lina back to the room, and just as they were about to lie down, a shout suddenly broke out from next door.

"ah!!!"

It was Abe's voice.