Forge a path to success.

Chapter 128 Cold weather calls for hot pot

In hindsight, the massive earthquake that affected the entire city actually didn't last long. Thanks to the Shadow Knights' timely intervention with the Earth Lock to reinforce the city, the consequences of the first wave of impact were far less than anticipated. The subsequent dust explosion was stopped by Sethrun, and the Stone Giant was preoccupied with its battle with Chu Hengkong. The appearance of the Stone Giant could have caused massive casualties, but it was killed by the Blood Holy Lance in a single strike after only a few seconds, saving the small city from destruction.

However, it took half a day just to clear away the secondary effects caused by the stone golems. Purifying the glowing corpses, slaying the demons, restoring infrastructure, rebuilding collapsed houses... this series of life-threatening tasks nearly drove the municipal staff to the brink of collapse. Fortunately, with the help of the Shadow Knights and the contributions of several ascendants, the problems were finally resolved one by one.

As the sun set, the knights, having finished their work, dispersed, turning into gray mist and returning to the earth. This memory would soon be forgotten, and the citizens, gazing at the sunset, were filled with mixed emotions.

The long day is finally over.

For those who have risen to power and whose energy and physical strength far surpass those of ordinary people, the nightlife is just beginning. Inside the "South Wind" hot spring inn in the southern part of Kinyo City, the shadows of people raising their glasses are reflected on the screen.

"Thank you all for your hard work this afternoon with disaster relief efforts, cheers!"

"Cheers!" X4
"Grrrrrr!"

Wine was poured, glasses clinked, and everyone except one unlucky soul exhaled a puff of hot air. In the center of the round table, a large pot of broth was about to boil, the chilies bubbling and turning a fiery red. Beside it, a plate piled high with slices of various seafood and meats, Van der Moe rubbed his hands, waiting to be the first to go into the pot.

Apart from Shax, everyone involved in the Stone Demon battle, along with the small animals and trees, were here. Chu Hengkong poured himself another cup of hot wine, stood up, and raised his glass.

"Although we come from all over the country and this is only the first time we've met, there are still many things to worry about in the future. But at least we've successfully defeated a natural disaster species and saved many lives." He raised his glass to everyone, "At least for this moment, we have the right to celebrate."

"Brother Tentacles said it well! Cheers! Cheers!" Gulibo jumped around holding up his small teacup.

Ji Huaisu chuckled and clinked glasses with the small animal: "Although the real hero was that sniper... hehehe..."

"Hey! You little brat, you only know one side of the story, you only see the surface of things." Vande pointed and said, sounding all old-fashioned. "His strange blade is powerful, but it's absolutely impossible for him to crush the stone demon directly. Jin Ye has been out there causing trouble for so long, what do you think he was doing all this time? Waiting for an opportunity!"

The calamity-inducing species multiplied into countless forms, seemingly endless. If Chu Hengkong hadn't been tough enough to force out the majority of the stone demon's power, that sniper would still be busy clearing out the minions one by one, and wouldn't have had a chance to gloat.

Miss Qingye, a specialist in dealing with natural disasters, offered her highly professional advice: "Hehehehehehe."

"It's not like we're rewarding someone for their contributions, so why bother saying all this?" Chu Hengkong picked up his chopsticks. "The pot's boiling, let's eat hot pot."

"Add the beef first!" "Duh, in a spicy hot pot, you eat the duck blood first." "The shrimp paste is delicious..." "Hehehe!"

"Where's the clear broth from the promised yin-yang hot pot?!" "It's in the center." "I can't reach it!" [Hey, give me a bowl of broth, thanks.]

Everyone chimed in, adding ingredients at once, filling the boiling pot to the brim. The small inn had no stock; the hot pot was made entirely from their own supplies: a market not far from the Sethron eruption site, where they found a batch of frozen live fish, chicken, and duck while cleaning up the battlefield. These things were so rich in elemental energy that ordinary citizens wouldn't dare touch them, so the Ascended ones conveniently took them to add to the hot pot.

After waiting for quite a while, the ingredients stubbornly refused to change color. Van der stared at them for a long time and became anxious: "Why are they still red after being taken off the table for so long?!"

"It's frozen solid, the temperature isn't high enough." Guli Bo, equally anxious and ravenous, exclaimed, "The temperature in the pot is dropping! Heat it up quickly!"

"Hehe, wait a minute, hehe, I'll use a light shield to raise the temperature..."

"Be careful, this pot might not hold up."

Captain Huaisu, shivering, stepped up, using his light shield as a table and employing quasi-purifying fire to thaw the food. Sethlen, already feeling guilty, looked even more dejected upon seeing the frozen meat: "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't talk nonsense while eating hot pot," Chu Hengkong waved his hand.

“I just wanted to say…” Sethlen mustered his courage; he hadn’t woken up until evening and was still a little confused, “It seems like there are still so many things to do… Is it really okay for us to eat…”

"Fine, you're being stubborn, aren't you? Then let me ask you, can you solve all the difficult problems in this city in the time it takes to eat a meal?" Vande glared at him.

"cannot……"

Will skipping this meal help our work and life?

Iceman hesitated: "No..."

"Then what are you waiting for if you're not going to eat?" Van der Bravely raised his chopsticks. "The beef is cooked!"

Ji Huaisu suddenly appeared and grabbed the first piece of beef: "The short rib is mine!"

Van Der was horrified: "You scoundrel, you're stealing food from your pet!"

"Damn it, you'd lower yourself to the level of a pet just to eat meat! Hehehe... What an ugly face you have, but I won't lose!"

"Hehehe!" (I want mutton!!) Miss Qingye rushed to the hot pot and stretched out her chopsticks at a speed of five centimeters per second! The chopsticks, frozen into icicles, struggled to move forward in mid-air!

Chu Hengkong swiftly grabbed two pieces of shrimp paste, securing his place in the chaotic scramble. The first wave of food was gone in the blink of an eye, and Gulibo, short and clumsy, hadn't gotten anything, sweating profusely as he cried out, "I'm the pet Bobo! Leave some for me!!"

Ji Huaisu trembled as she put down her chopsticks, her pale face serious: "According to the special rules of Huilong City, pets have the right to personally go into the pot and scoop out food when eating hot pot."

"What power? It's been stewed!"

"Hey, why are you lifting me up, you little brat? What are you thinking?"

Chu Hengkong, holding the Eye Demon, pondered deeply: "How many seconds does this thing need to be rinsed..."

[The squid should be cooked for at least one minute; that's what I read in the book.]

"Who's the squid? Watch out, or I'll throw raw duck blood at you, you bastard!"

Meanwhile, Qingye was still struggling to reach the frozen chopsticks. The chopsticks were almost at the edge of the pot!
As Sethlen observed the chaotic scene at the hot pot table, he understood two things from the bottom of his heart.

It's idiotic to try to reason with these people using common sense.

—If we don't act soon, he'll be left eating the plate.

Ice Man resolutely picked up the dried bean curd sticks and cabbage, and put them into the pot when no one was paying attention: "Let's eat some vegetables first."

"You've taken up so much space, there's no room left for the meat!"

"Fish can also be eaten as sashimi..."

"It's frozen solid, it's practically a fish popsicle! Look, the genius crippled Qingye, who picked up the fish popsicle, is crying!"

"Well, whatever she picks up will turn into a popsicle, right..."

"Giggle..."

Through tireless efforts, the chopsticks finally reached the edge of the pot, picking up a piece of fish that had slipped in amidst the chaos. The moment the chopsticks touched the fish, the piece of meat, which had finally thawed and cooked, was covered by a thin layer of ice, becoming even more robust than when it was at its most vibrant! Its hardness was practically that of a fish shuriken!

"Giggle cluck..."

Miss Qingye turned her head stiffly, her beautiful green eyes sparkling. Those with a conscience all turned away from her, while the heartless Vande said in a high-pitched voice, "Miss Qingye is looking at me with eyes that look like she wants to eat meat!" "Hehehe!" Qingye, who had been wanting to speak all along, once again made a sound of her teeth chattering.

The young girl with a broken heart was naturally beautiful, and after the battle, she displayed a different demeanor than before. Her outstanding appearance, with her fair skin and jade-like bones, and her cold and stern temperament like eternal ice, would make anyone who saw her praise her as a beautiful iceberg who defies frost and snow.

In layman's terms, she's a beautiful but icy girl.

The consequence of inhaling an excessive amount of extremely cold water elements in one breath is that one suffers from extreme cold both inside and outside the body; wherever one stands, it snows, and whatever one touches freezes. Now, Qingye's body is covered with a thin layer of ice, and she is so frozen that she cannot even speak. Her seat is closest to the light shield, and if there is no heat, the area around it will freeze over.

With someone who can't even speak properly, wanting to eat hot pot is really a stretch. Ji Huaisu couldn't help but look away: "Xiao Ye, there's nothing we can do about this... Just bear with it for now, and we'll make you chicken soup once you've thawed..."

"Giggle giggle!!!"

Van der slammed his fist on the table: "This girl stuck her chopsticks into the pot! The hot pot is freezing, you bastard!"

"Stop it, Xiaoye! If you really want to freeze something, go freeze some white soup!"

"What did Bai Tang do to you?!"

"Sadness, sadness flows through my stomach, the soup is starting to freeze..."

[Child, control your strength! If you keep going like this, the hot pot will be ruined!]

Chu Hengkong quickly swallowed the shrimp paste and unleashed his ambition: "Sit down first, I'll temporarily thaw you out."

Tentacles burning with blue flames stretched across the table, finally turning the frozen fish slices cooked. Qingye ate the fish slice in one bite, tears welling up in her eyes: "Waaah..."

"What's with that animal-like voice? This girl looks like she's easy to kidnap."

"She's the kind of girl who, after being trafficked, helped count money, do accounting, and manage household chores for half a year before suddenly waking up, stabbing the trafficker to death, and embarking on a journey of wandering," Chu Hengkong said.

"It feels so real!"

Ji Huaisu used the fire to serve food to Qingye: "Come on, Xiaoye, eat some while it's hot. This fried tofu skin is a specialty of our hot pot. It's incredibly fragrant when cooked in it."

Qingye nodded gratefully. Having mostly eaten at home in the past, she rarely even ate the local hot pot on Shura Island. This was the first time she had ever tried this bright red, spicy, and oily beef tallow hot pot. While the food was still warm, she quickly ate two large pieces of tofu skin in one bite.

Gulibo's eyes widened: "That, that tofu skin was cooked in spicy broth, Bo..."

Van der, slurping up slices of beef, looked up: "What's wrong with the red soup?"

"The tofu skin soaks up the juice..."

"what."

After swallowing the two large pieces of rotten skin, Miss Qingye's complexion turned into a very healthy red.

"So spicy—!"

"Wow, Nightfall is breathing fire! And it's a beautiful blue!"

Chu Hengkong clicked his tongue in amazement: "You actually did it? You controlled the fire element with your own power."

"Fire my foot! That's freezing wind! The pot's going to freeze!"

Miss Qingye, who had finally managed to suppress the spiciness, returned Ming Wang's angry glare, while Ji Huaisu hid behind Chu Hengkong and chuckled.

Vande took the spoon and ladled two large spoonfuls into her bowl: "You still dare to listen to that woman? You've learned your lesson, haven't you? Come on, Xiaoye, have some of these. They're local sesame balls that are good for clearing heat and relieving internal fire. Remember to chew them thoroughly so you don't choke."

"Hehehe." Qingye nodded gratefully and ate a large spoonful of small sesame balls.

Gulibo's eyes sharpened once again: "Too, too evil, Bo."

“It’s strange, I’ve never eaten hot pot sesame balls before…” Sethlen chimed in.

"No, that's not the problem, Bo." Gulibo looked at the "sesame balls" at the bottom of his bowl and said very quietly.

"That's Sichuan peppercorns..."

"what."

After chewing two large spoonfuls of Sichuan peppercorns, Miss Qingye's complexion turned a healthy yellow.

"—Waaaaaaaah!!"

"Oh, this time it's an electric spark!"

"You learned 100,000 volts on your own, that's amazing, Zanshin-ja."

"You...!" Qingye's fingertips trembled. "How... hehehe!"

Vande responded with a disdainful laugh: "It seems that you, in your naivety, have finally realized that the so-called hot pot is a real battle where the outcome is decided by the food. Only by seeing through the tricks of your fellow tablemates can you win this duel!"

It leisurely dipped the beef slices in its sauce and ate with relish: "Fools without wisdom only deserve to eat hot pot broth. Remember this well! Who changed my dipping sauce to wasabi?! Aaaaaah!!"

Vande rolled around on the table, covering his eyes. Qingye's expression changed, revealing a sinister smile, a tube of wasabi between her fingers! This was a decisive assessment of the situation!
Ji Huaisu covered his eyes with his hands: "How is this possible... such a powerful hot pot effect! I saw a diner grow at the speed of light!"

"This, this has already reached the level of the hot pot king!" Guli Bo's expression was solemn.

So, can someone get me some plain soup?

Chu Heng ladled two spoonfuls of broth into Shi Zhong's bowl. The latter remained silent for a moment, then wrote in distorted handwriting: 【Spicy…】

Sethlen glanced at it: "White soup, turned red..."

"How did my hot pot turn out like this?!"

"The destiny of a yin-yang hot pot is to have a spicy broth."

Chu Hengkong couldn't bear it, so he secretly tossed a few pieces of mutton into Qingye's bowl, earning a grateful look from the other, like a small animal repaying a debt of gratitude. Undoubtedly, in this cruel battlefield, only the tentacle-wielding leader still had a conscience; the rest had long since become ravenous beasts.

As the main ingredient—duck blood—was added to the pot, diners quietly picked up their chopsticks, the second round of the battle about to begin. Ah, this is truly a bloodless and tearless hot pot battlefield! Only the most valiant diners can persevere to the end and claim the glory of being the first to empty their plate!

(End of this chapter)