America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Chapter 278 India Tour

Inside the alley was another large, complex, and chaotic area. The crisscrossing dirt roads cut the shops, which were either brick houses or wooden houses, into scattered, fragmented pieces. From the outside, it still looked like a dusty, yellow-brown expanse.

The muddy road was crowded with people and vehicles, with no clear routes or rules. Many tricycles and bicycles were stuck in traffic, and the noisy horns were blaring, making people's ears hurt.

At least on the faces of passersby, there was no sign of anything amiss; they went about their business as if nothing had happened.

Having already taken out a mask from the [Containment Space] and put it on, Li Xiaoen raised one hand to hug Amelia's arm, which was pressed against his side. He walked past, avoiding many possible collisions, but he still couldn't avoid everyone staring at him, some even with a creepy look.

Once inside these alleys, their gazes became even more brazen.

"Sean..."

Amelia's body remained tense, her hand gripping Lee Shawn's coat tightly.

"It's okay, I will protect you."

Li Xiaoen nodded and answered in a deep voice, subconsciously listing all the methods he had used.

Putting aside his already well-honed skills and physical abilities, his [Income Space] also contains two pistols and a stun gun, and even a bulletproof vest. Not to mention his [Eye of Insight], which he always keeps active, allowing him to know all of his opponent's trump cards and anticipate risks in advance.

"Um……"

Nodding her head slightly, Amelia pressed her body even closer, as if this gave her more security, and her body gradually relaxed a lot.

“Amelia…”

Li Xiaoen suddenly called out, gesturing with the girl's hand, and led her towards another direction at the fork in the road ahead, "Let's go this way."

"Did something happen up ahead just now?"

"No, it just has some Indian characteristics..."

Li Xiaoen sighed and shook his head.

What are its special features?

"It's like urinating and defecating anywhere, an open-air toilet."

"..."

"Ha ha……"

Amelia's silence made Sean Lee laugh twice. His [Eye of Insight] showed that there was a police patrol ahead, so it was relatively safe. He lifted his hand from Amelia's arm and put it on her shoulder, patting her with amusement. "Do you regret asking me now?"

The only answer they received was a single impact from Amelia.

Compared to the scattered shops and stalls selling various things just now, this place clearly has the feel of a Chinese vegetable market. Along the way, Li Xiaoen saw many shops selling various snacks, food, and even raw vegetables, fruits and meats.

On a small cart, a large pot was filled with green liquid, with a few bits of onion and scallion floating on top. A dark-skinned, unshaven man reached into a large plastic bag and took out three small, golden-brown, crispy balls.

He held a pre-cut newspaper in one hand and used his thumb to poke the small ball with the other, then dipped it directly into the pot of green water to scoop some out, placed it on the newspaper, and repeated this several times.

The man's movements were swift and efficient; in just a few breaths, he placed five newspapers on the table and handed them to a young girl who looked like a student who was waiting nearby.

"Amelia, would you like to try this Indian specialty?"

Seeing that the girl was eating with relish, Lee Shawn raised an eyebrow at Amelia.

"No, I'd rather die than..."

Amelia's gaze drifted from the various places the man touched before returning to the pot of green water that revealed nothing. She quickly shook her head. "The hygiene is so poor, you're not allowed to eat it!"

"Don't worry, I was just asking you. I wasn't planning on eating it in the first place."

This sentence made Li Xiaoen subconsciously think of Suffer. If the other party had said this, he would definitely have suspected that it was Suffer's way of provoking him or something, but Amelia was obviously serious.

As he explained, Li Xiaoen was bumped in the stomach again.

His gaze swept over the various stalls around him, and after declining several offers of food from the stalls, Li Xiaoen, holding Amelia's hand, finally walked straight in one direction.

"Sean, where are you going?"

Suddenly quickening her pace, Amelia asked in confusion.

"I saw a place with slightly better hygiene conditions, let's go check it out."

"I have to try some local Indian cuisine, otherwise the trip won't be worthwhile," Li Xiaoen chuckled. Even though he was supposed to be eating a snack that ordinary Indians eat every day, he felt a thrilling sense of adventure at that moment.

"Eat this food?!"

Amelia asked incredulously, her gaze sweeping over the various cooking methods around her that made her frown, and then over a number of snacks that were so disgusting that both the process and the final product looked like a pile of shit. Her face turned pale with fright.

"Don't don't..."

She shook her head vigorously, "If you're curious and want to try it, we can go downtown. Those buildings definitely have them, and they're much cleaner, okay?"

Towards the end, her voice even carried a hint of coaxing and pleading.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand to reassure Amelia, and led her to a shop in front of a young woman with slightly fair skin, stylishly permed and dyed hair, and wearing a fashionable black skirt.

"Hello, what would you like to order?"

Noticing the two approaching, the woman smiled and greeted them in slightly accented English.

"Um……"

Looking down at the Hindi menu posted in front of the counter, Li Xiaoen smiled and gestured with his chin towards the woman, "We can't read Hindi, could you tell us something in English? What's good to eat?"

"Of course, of course."

The woman smiled and nodded, looking at the handsome, tall young man in front of her, her eyes filled with delight. "We have flower petal milk tea and cheese toast..."

She was introducing him with a smile when she noticed the young man's face suddenly twitch, and he looked uncomfortable with a wink. She stopped talking.

Is there something wrong with these foods?

"No, don't worry."

Li Xiaoen forced a smile, put one hand around Amelia's slender waist, and vigorously stroked and caressed it. "Two cups of flower petal milk tea, please."

"..."

Why did you pinch me?

After taking two cups of milk tea from the woman and giving her 1,000 rupees, Li Xiaoen continued walking down the street, taking a deep breath in exasperation.

"Isn't it because the female boss is pretty?"

Amelia rolled her eyes. "You scumbag, you really can't stop thinking about flirting with women..."

"Then look around, is there any other place on that street that's cleaner than hers?"

Li Xiaoen laughed angrily, "Buying a cup of milk tea and saying a few words is considered flirting? Then why didn't you say anything when I was hugging you just now?" Amelia opened her mouth upon hearing this, but couldn't make a sound. She turned her head away and looked back at the road ahead in a huff.

"You're so worried about me, do you like me? Are you jealous?"

With a mix of unspoken thoughts, Li Xiaoen leaned forward, chuckled, and just as Amelia turned to glare at him angrily, shoved a cup of milk tea into her hand. Then, he put his arm around her shoulder and led her forward, saying, "Let's go, let's go..."

Taking a deep breath, Amelia pursed her lips, looked down at the slightly warm milk tea in her hand, and tentatively brought it to her nose to smell it.

The smell was quite nice, even a bit milky. Amelia felt a little relieved and tentatively brought it to her lips. However, the young man snatched it away as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Don't drink it."

Thinking that Li Xiaoen was playing a trick on her, Amelia angrily bumped into him, only to hear the young man's helpless words.

"Is there something wrong?"

"It's a bit unclean."

Shrugging, Li Xiaoen held the milk tea in both hands and looked around for any available trash cans.

Only in India, at this time, could his previously acquired superhuman sense of smell be put to its maximum effect. He had only taken a tentative sniff when he sensed something was wrong.

"The production process looks fine to me, and it smells good too."

"I told you from the beginning, leave it to me with confidence."

Li Xiaoen smiled calmly, "My standards are very strict. There's nothing wrong with the milk tea making process, so who knows if there's something wrong with the ingredients?"

"There's something wrong with the ingredients, and you can tell that?"

"My glass has oil droplets floating on top."

Li Xiaoen was about to say something when his face suddenly darkened.

"Sean, what happened?"

Having finally relaxed, Amelia noticed the change in the young man's expression and suddenly tensed up again.

"follow me."

After putting the two cups of milk tea into the bag he had put in, Li Xiaoen reached out and put his arm around Amelia's arm to look at her. He then quickly turned around and walked towards a darker alley to the side.

After quickly navigating several narrow alleys and turning a few corners, Li Xiaoen led Amelia back towards the main road, and only then did he feel a little relieved.

"Sean, what happened?"

Clearly sensing the young man's emotional change, Amelia, who had just called Professor Phyllis and Dia, instinctively took a deep breath in the obvious urgency of the situation and finally found an opportunity to ask questions.

"We were just being followed."

As they spoke, the two could already see the main road ahead, but unexpectedly, two street thugs in front of them answered a phone call and came towards them.

"Sean..."

Amelia's breath caught in her throat, her neck hunched, and her body tensed.

"rest assured."

Li Xiaoen comforted them in a low voice, her steps unwavering. Just as she was about to meet the two men, she hurled the milk tea at them as they reached out to grab her. Then, in the blink of an eye, she kicked them both to the ground.

"Walk."

With a greeting, Sean Lee led Amelia out quickly to the main road, their steps never faltering.

"We're safe!"

Just as she looked at Li Xiaoen with delight, she saw the two men struggling to get up and running towards them. Amelia was so frightened that she trembled again.

"Sean, we have to run..."

Amelia quickly grabbed the young man's arm and, while shouting, pulled him toward a crowded place.

“You’re right, Amelia.”

Despite the girl's efforts, Li Xiaoen remained motionless. Just as the two men were about to reach him, two Mercedes SUVs sped down the road and stopped by the side of the road. Several tall, muscular middle-aged men in suits stepped out.

“Sean, Amelia…”

A slender figure stepped out of another car. Dia raised her hand and called out, then quickly walked over.

"There were also three people who were following us earlier; they must have been their accomplices."

Li Xiaoen nodded in greeting, then gestured with his chin towards the two men who had been pinned to the ground by the bodyguards, saying, "Wouldn't it be more effective for you to call the police? Don't let the other accomplices get away with it."

"Don't worry, we will give you a satisfactory answer."

With a slightly somber expression, Dia glanced over there, then composed herself with a smile. "I'm sorry to have caused your guests, who have come from afar, to encounter this situation."

"It's nothing, we're the ones causing you trouble."

Li Xiaoen smiled and said nothing more.

Dia paused for a moment, a helpless look on her face, but under Amelia's watchful gaze, she stepped forward to Lee Shawn, grabbed the young man's arm just like Amelia, and pulled him toward the car.

"I already said yesterday that I'd take you around New Delhi, and there will definitely be bodyguards..."

"I was on my way to that company to discuss a collaboration, and I just stopped by here. I didn't have time to call you."

Li Xiaoen explained helplessly, and was pulled a few steps by Dia, but unexpectedly Amelia grabbed his other arm, forcing him to stop.

The two turned around blankly and met Amelia's slightly furrowed brows.

"..."

Why does it feel like a chaotic battlefield?
Clearly, he has no relationship with either of the girls.

Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange, and he hurriedly struggled to pull his arms out. What he didn't notice was that Amelia's eyes showed a hint of grievance.

“Let’s go. We were just about to have a local show us around the sights in New Delhi.”

The Mughal Empire's Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Qutb Tower, and other religious sites were all visited beforehand. Li Xiaoen and his companion were taken to tour the historical sites in New Delhi. The experience wasn't great, but it was still better than wandering through alleyways. Two bodyguards wearing sunglasses followed them closely, and although the three of them were frequently followed by people, they were still able to move around without any hindrance.

In particular, Li Xiaoen suggested going to see the Ganges. Before they even saw it, they smelled a strange stench. After taking a few steps, the scene that unfolded as expected made them all frown uncomfortably.

After wandering around for a while, they finally found a place in the city center, a high-end restaurant recommended by Dia, where the three of them successfully solved their dining problem.

It was already dark, and with her mother's constant phone calls urging them to leave, Dia reluctantly said goodbye. Li Xiaoen and Amelia went back to their hotel to rest, preparing for their return journey the next day.

It was still early in the night, and Li Xiaoen was replying to messages in his room when his phone suddenly received a message from Amelia.

Sean, could you come to my room?
(End of this chapter)