Chapter 128: Eat Hot Pot in Cold Weather
In hindsight, the massive earthquake that shook the entire city was actually quite brief. Thanks to the Shadow Knights' timely intervention to reinforce the city with Earth Chains, the initial impact was far less severe than anticipated. The subsequent dust explosion was stopped by Sethron, while the Stone Demons were largely focused on battling Chu Hengkong. The Stone Demon's appearance could have resulted in significant casualties, but it survived for mere seconds before being slain by a single strike of the Blood Holy Lance, sparing the town.
However, just clearing out the secondary effects of the Stone Demon consumed half a day. Purifying the Glow Corpses, slaying the Slaughter Ghosts, restoring infrastructure, rebuilding the collapsed buildings... This series of daunting tasks nearly overwhelmed the city staff. Fortunately, with the assistance of the Shadow Knights and the contributions of several Ascended Ones, the problems were finally resolved one by one.
At sunset, the knights, having finished their work, dispersed, transforming into a gray mist and returning to the underground. This memory will soon be forgotten, and the citizens gazed at the sunset with mixed feelings.
The long day is finally over.
For the Transformers, whose energy and stamina far surpass those of ordinary people, the nightlife had just begun. Inside the Nanfeng hot spring hotel in southern Jinye City, the shadows of people toasting to their cups were reflected on a folding screen.
"Thank you all for your hard work this afternoon in disaster relief. Cheers!"
"Cheers!" x4
"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"
Wine poured, glasses clinked, and everyone, save for one unfortunate individual, exhaled a breath of hot air. A large pot of soup in the center of the round table was about to boil, and the chili peppers were swirling a fiery red. To the side, a plate overflowed with slices of various seafood and meats. Vandemore rubbed his hands, waiting for the first one to be added to the pot.
Except for Shax, all the people, animals, and trees who participated in the battle with the stone monster were here. Chu Hengkong poured another glass of hot wine and stood up to raise his glass.
"Although we all come from all corners of the world and this is just our first meeting, we still have a mountain of things to worry about. But at least we successfully defeated a natural disaster and saved many lives." He raised his glass to the crowd, "At least for this moment, we have the right to celebrate."
"Big brother Tentacle is right! Cheers, cheers!" Gulibo jumped around holding a small teacup.
Ji Huaisu clinked glasses with the little animal while chuckling, "Although the real hero was actually that sniper... hehe..."
"Hey! You little girl only sees one side of the story and not the other. You only look at the surface of the problem." Fander pointed and said with an air of seniority, "His strange blade is powerful, but it is impossible to crush the stone monster directly. Jin Ye has been jumping around for so long, what do you think he has been doing? Waiting for an opportunity!
The Calamity Seeds have countless incarnations, endless and boundless. If Chu Hengkong hadn't been so resolute in forcing out the bulk of the Stone Monster's power, the sniper would still be busy clearing out the miscellaneous soldiers one by one, leaving him no chance to brag.
Miss Qingye, who specializes in natural disasters, gave a very professional opinion: "Hehehehehehe."
"This isn't a reward based on merit, so why bother saying all this?" Chu Hengkong picked up his chopsticks. "Let's have hot pot."
"Put the beef in first!" "Stupid! Of course the duck blood should go first in the spicy hot pot." "Shrimp paste is delicious..." "Cluck, cluck, cluck!"
"Why is there no clear soup for the promised double-flavor hotpot?!" "It's in the middle." "I can't reach it!" [Gulibo, give me a bowl of soup, thank you.]
Everyone chatted and started eating, filling the freshly boiled pot to the brim. The inn had no stock, so the hot pot had all the ingredients they'd prepared: not far from the Sethron outbreak was a market, and while cleaning up the battlefield, they'd found a pile of frozen live fish, chicken, and duck. This stuff was so rich in elemental energy that ordinary citizens wouldn't dare touch it, so the Upgraders had a perfect spot for their hot pot.
But after waiting for a long time, the ingredients still stubbornly refused to change color. Fander stared at them for a long time and became anxious: "Why are they still red after being taken off the table for so long?"
"I'm freezing, the temperature isn't high enough." The hungry Gulbo was equally anxious, "The temperature in the pot is getting too low! Heat it up quickly!"
"Hehe, wait a moment, hehe, I'll use the light shield to warm up..."
"Be careful, this pot can hardly withstand it."
Captain Huaisu took the lead, shivering as he used his light shield as a table, using a quasi-clean fire to thaw the frozen food. Sethron, sitting at the table, already felt guilty, and his expression darkened when he saw the frozen meat. "I'm so sorry..."
"Don't talk nonsense while eating hot pot." Chu Hengkong waved his hand.
"I just want to say..." Sai Silun mustered up his courage. He fainted until the evening and was still a little confused. "It seems like there are still many things to say... Can we really have dinner?"
"Okay, you're a stubborn guy, right? Then let me ask you, can you solve the many difficult and complicated problems in this city within the time it takes to have a meal?" Vander glared at him.
"cannot……"
“Will skipping this meal help our work and life?”
The Iceman hesitated: "No..."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Fander raised his chopsticks bravely, "The beef is cooked!"
Ji Huaisu suddenly appeared and took the first piece of beef: "The short ribs are mine!"
Fander was horrified: "Asshole, you're actually competing with your pet for food!"
"Damn you, you're willing to degrade yourself to a pet just to eat meat! Hahahaha... What an ugly face you have, but I won't lose!"
"Clack, clack, clack!" (I want lamb!!) Miss Qingye rushed to the hot pot, reaching out her chopsticks at a speed of five centimeters per second! The chopsticks, frozen like popsicles, struggled forward in mid-air!
Chu Hengkong quickly scooped up two shrimp balls, securing his place in the chaotic scramble. The first wave of ingredients was gone in the blink of an eye, and Gulibo, short and short, hadn't caught anything. He was sweating profusely, "I'm the pet Bo! Leave some for me!"
Ji Huaisu put down his chopsticks tremblingly, his face pale and serious: "According to the special rules of Huilong City, pets have the right to personally dig into the pot and scoop out food when eating hot pot."
"What kind of power is that? It's just stewed!"
"Hey, why are you lifting me up, you little bastard? What are you thinking?"
Chu Hengkong pulled the Eye Demon and thought deeply: "How many seconds will this thing take..."
[Squid should be boiled for more than one minute, I read in a book that this is what it says]
"Who is the squid? Be careful or I will splash you with raw duck blood, you bastard!"
At the same time, Qingye was still trying to stretch out the frozen chopsticks. The chopsticks were about to reach the edge of the pot!
Watching the hot pot table that looked like a Shura field, Saislun understood two facts in his heart.
——It’s stupid to talk common sense to these people.
——If he doesn’t take action now, he will only be able to gnaw on the plate.
The iceman resolutely picked up the bean curd sheets and cabbage and put them into the pot while no one was paying attention: "Let's eat some vegetables first."
"You've taken up so much space that there's no room left for meat!"
“Fish can also be eaten as sashimi…”
"It's frozen like that, it's like a fish popsicle! Look, Miss Qingye, the genius who caught the fish popsicle, is crying!"
"Well, anything she picks up will turn into a popsicle..."
“Chuckle…”
With Qingye's tireless efforts, the chopsticks finally reached the edge of the pot and snatched up a piece of fish that had slipped in during the chaos. The moment the chopsticks touched the fish, the finally thawed and cooked slice was covered in a thin layer of ice, becoming even more robust than it had been in its prime! Its hardness could practically serve as a fish shuriken!
“Chuckle…”
Miss Qingye turned her head stiffly, her beautiful green eyes filled with a glittering light. Those who still had a conscience turned their heads away from her. The heartless Vander pinched his throat and said, "Miss Qingye looked at me with eyes that looked like she was really hungry for meat!"
"Clack, clack!" Qing Ye, who had always wanted to speak, once again made the sound of his upper and lower teeth chattering.
The young Zanxinzhe was naturally beautiful, and after the battle, she took on a completely different demeanor. Her beauty was striking, her figure as icy as ice, and her aura as cold and stern as ten thousand years of solid ice. Anyone who saw her would be amazed by her beauty, a beauty who defied the frost and snow.
In other words, she is a beautiful girl who is as cold as ice.
The consequence of inhaling an excessive amount of extremely cold water elements in one breath was a severe chill both inside and out. Wherever she stood, snow fell and everything she touched turned to ice. Qingye's body was now covered in a thin layer of ice, and she was so frozen she couldn't even speak. Her seat was closest to the light shield, and without any heat, the surrounding area would freeze.
It was a bit of a stretch to want to eat hot pot under such conditions where they couldn't even talk. Ji Huaisu couldn't help but look away: "Xiaoye, there's nothing you can do about it... Just bear with it for now. We'll make chicken soup for you after you thaw..."
“Giggle, giggle, giggle!!!”
Fander slammed the table and said, "This girl put her chopsticks in the pot! The hot pot is freezing, you bastard!"
"Xiaoye, stop it! If you really want to freeze something, just go get some white soup!"
"Did Bai Tang provoke you?!"
"Sadness, sadness flows in my stomach, and the red soup begins to freeze..."
[Kid, control your strength! If you keep going like this, the hot pot will be ruined!]
Chu Hengkong quickly swallowed the shrimp paste and took out the fire of ambition: "Sit down first and I will temporarily thaw you."
Tentacles burning with green flames stretched across the table, and the frozen fish fillet finally turned from frozen to cooked. Qing Ye devoured the fish fillet in one bite, tears welling up in his eyes: "Wuwuwu..."
"What's with that little animal-like sound? This girl looks like she's easy to kidnap."
"She is the kind of girl who, after being abducted, helped count money, do accounts and take care of housework for half a year before suddenly coming to her senses, slaying the trafficker with a knife and embarking on a journey of wandering." Chu Hengkong said.
“It feels so real!”
Ji Huaisu used the fire to pick up some food for Qingye: "Come on, Xiaoye, eat some while it's hot. This fried bean curd skin is a special feature of our hot pot. It smells really good."
Qingye nodded gratefully. She'd mostly dined at home before, rarely even trying the local hot pot on Shura Island. This red, spicy, and oily beef hot pot was her first experience. While the food was still warm, she quickly devoured two large pieces of tofu skin in one gulp.
Gulibo's eyes widened: "That, that bean curd skin is boiled in red soup..."
Fander, who was slurping beef slices, looked up and asked, "What's wrong with the red soup?"
"The bean curd skin is juicy..."
"ah."
After swallowing two large pieces of bean curd skin, Miss Qingye's complexion turned into a very healthy red.
“So spicy—!”
"Wow, Qingye is breathing fire! And it's a beautiful blue!"
Chu Hengkong was amazed: "You actually did it? You controlled the fire element with your own strength."
"What the hell is fire? That's freezing wind! The pot is going to freeze!"
Miss Qingye, who had finally suppressed the spicy sauce, responded with Ming Wang's angry gaze. Ji Huaisu hid behind Chu Hengkong and laughed secretly.
Fander took the spoon and filled her bowl with two large spoonfuls. "You dare to listen to that woman? You've learned your lesson. Come, Xiaoye, have some of this. These are local sesame balls that clear away heat and relieve internal heat. Remember to chew them well before eating to avoid choking."
"Hehehe." Qingye nodded gratefully and ate a large spoonful of small sesame balls.
Gulibo's eyes became sharp again: "Too, too evil, Bo."
"It's really strange. I've never eaten hot pot sesame balls before..." Saislun agreed.
"No, that's not the problem, Bo." Gulibo said in a low voice, looking at the "sesame balls" at the bottom of his bowl.
"That's Sichuan pepper..."
"ah."
After chewing two tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorns, Miss Qingye's complexion turned into a very healthy yellow.
“—Wa ...
"Ooooh it's electric sparks this time!"
"You learned 100,000 volts on your own. That's amazing, Zanshin."
"You...!" Qingye's fingertips trembled, "What a... giggle!"
Fander responded with a disdainful laugh: "It seems that you, the naive one, have finally understood. The so-called hot pot is a real sword fight where food is at stake. Only by seeing through the tricks of your table mates can you win this duel!"
It dipped the beef slices in it's leisurely manner and ate with relish: "Foodies without wisdom are only fit to eat hot pot base. Engraved this in my mind! Damn, who replaced my oil sauce with mustard?!"
Fan De covered his eyes and rolled over on the table. Qing Ye's expression changed and she showed a sinister smile. She held a tube of mustard between her fingers! This is a decisive assessment of the situation!
Ji Huaisu covered his eyes with his hands: "How is it possible... What a strong hot pot power! I saw a diner growing at the speed of light!"
"This, this has reached the level of the hotpot overlord!" Gulibo looked solemn.
So, can anyone give me some white soup?
Chu Hengkong poured two spoonfuls of white soup into Shi Zhong's basin. Shi Zhong was silent for a while and wrote in a distorted handwriting: [Spicy...]
Sai Silun took a look and said, "The white soup has turned red..."
"How did my shabu-shabu pot become like this?!"
"The fate of a yukan hotpot is to become a red pot."
Chu Hengkong couldn't bear it, so he secretly threw a few pieces of mutton into Qingye's bowl, earning the other animal's grateful eyes as if repaying a favor. It was undoubtedly true that only the tentacle brother still had a conscience in this cruel killing field, while the others had already become beasts of prey.
As the highlight, the duck blood, is added to the pot, diners quietly pick up their chopsticks, ready to embark on the second round of the battle. Oh, this is the bloodless and tearless hot pot battle! Only the most courageous diners can persevere to the end and claim the honor of being the first to hold an empty plate!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
