Chapter 598: Ning Long

At this moment, Li Hao finally received the number he had been waiting for: Kashika's.

"Kuta, can you invite one more friend? A very interesting member of the Mechanical Race," Li Hao asked.

"Sure thing, the more the merrier. I've actually never dined with the Mechanical Race before. Li Ge, you really have broad interests." Kuta loved things relaxed and lively; regardless of the method Li Hao used to defeat Daochai, his status was rising rapidly.

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"What do the Mechanical Race eat?"

Li Hao dialed Kashika on his Star Swift. "Kashika, a few of us friends are getting together for drinks. Would you like to come? There's also a Dragon Race woman joining."

If Ning Long knew she was being used as a prop, she wouldn't know what to think.

Kashika clearly hadn't reacted yet and remained silent for a moment. "Would that be inconvenient?"

"What could be inconvenient about it? If you're off duty, just come."

"I'm off work."

"Then what are you waiting for!"

Li Hao sent the address over. He was already planning to lure a few Mechanical Race members to Kepler in the future; the great construction of Kepler could not do without the efforts of people from all races. Having come all the way to Ruling Anthem, he had also discovered that the management of almost every department was handled by the Mechanical Race. Even if Kashika wasn't willing to go, introducing a few others in the future would be fine. Infiltrating the interior was never a mistake.

Kepler had a pile of problems. Currently, Kepler's signal station was also under construction; once completed, the Star Swift could directly connect to Kepler. For now, it was still a bit troublesome. Li Hao would use Giant Insect Possession to contact Kevin, but his power was now a tier higher, and the duration he could contain the Giant Insect was very short. In a place like Ruling Anthem, he had to be careful when using Soul Tunneling. After all, he hadn't yet witnessed the top-tier power of the Celestial race. Once, while using Soul Tunneling, someone had actually tried to track him. Moreover, there was now Xilian to consider; this wasn't the same one from six years ago. Regardless of the relationship, it was better to be careful.

Because of Ning Long's appearance, Kuta specifically chose the best Sea Race restaurant in Ruling Anthem. The entire building was a giant golden seashell, and at the entrance stood a clover sculpture, the iconic symbol of the Parani family, crafted from pure gold.

"Your family's taste is quite interstellar." Li Hao was very curious if it was pure gold. Gold was a universal metal in the universe and a very important basic material; Celestial Armament also used it. Gold—a brilliant color—was liked by everyone, except for some special tribes of the Ghost Race.

"Although it's a bit tacky, the key is that it's eye-catching," Kuta laughed. "Let's get rowdy, brothers."

Without a doubt, this was also a golden-gilded industry. The Sea People were famous for liking to invest across the entire Star River, and they never held biases when investing. As long as it could make money, it didn't matter if it was a high, medium, or low civilization. Furthermore, if the profits were sufficient, they would be the first among high-level civilizations to set aside their arrogance. It was precisely because of this that they had become the wealthiest race in the Star River.

The Celestial attendant had long since prepared the most prestigious Sea God Suite. "Young Master Kuta, according to your preferences and the guests' situations, the freshest ingredients have been prepared. Please have a look."

Kuta's influence was truly immense. Once he arrived, his affiliated industries would immediately make arrangements. The ones cooking for them this morning weren't the local chefs, but ones specifically transferred from Helavis, and the ingredients were naturally provided by the Sea Race industries within the Anthem. Such unhuman-like extravagance refreshed everyone's perception; Gaia hadn't boasted about being an aristocrat for a long time.

Not long after the four sat down, Ning Long arrived. In an instant, the four people in the room were stunned. Ning Long had already been radiant at the banquet, and the Star-Casting Dragon Race, regardless of gender, had personalities that were relatively "low-key." Yet, when they appeared, they naturally became the center of attention. At the banquet, the distance was greater, and intimidated by the chaotic environment, one couldn't appreciate her properly. But at this moment, in the quiet room, four pairs of eyes of varying sizes naturally focused on Ning Long. Standing over 1.7 meters tall, her emerald-green long hair carried a luster of starlight, her skin was fair and radiated a kind of energy glow, and her more specific figure was shrouded in the robes of the Ruling. In high-level civilizations, the biological instincts of the strong became very intense, and the attraction and charm of the opposite sex were part of that; this was a commonality that existed in all intelligent life. The temptation to conquer a Dragon woman was extremely intense.

Ning Long was also a bit surprised. She had thought she would be communicating with Li Hao alone and hadn't expected others to be there, but there was no particular change on her face. She also knew Kuta, to an extent.

Ning Long nodded. "It was presumptuous of me to disturb you. Li Hao is the second person from Human civilization to be promoted to Sergeant; it is indeed worth celebrating!"

Li Hao was the key to the victory of Human civilization. Such people were often called a Civilization Apocalypse; they did not represent the average level of humanity but were individual cases that could not be underestimated.

Li Hao introduced Gaia and Gasimi. Gaia wanted to show off his moves, but couldn't quite pull it off, so he performed an Aozier aristocratic salute with a straight face. Gasimi didn't have much interest; he was just curious about exactly how strong the Dragon Race could be.

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At this moment, a knock on the door sounded, and a Mechanical Race member walked in. Seeing Kashika, Li Hao immediately stood up and went to the door. "Let me introduce

everyone. This is the first Mechanical Race friend I made in the Anthem, Kashika. He takes good care of me."

Ning Long couldn't help but chuckle. She had been introduced in all sorts of ways, but "big thigh" (a backer) was a first.

Li Hao pulled the somewhat reserved Kashika along. "No need to be so humble. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to successfully promote to Sergeant yesterday. Can you drink alcohol? The robots where we humans come from can't touch water; if you crash later, don't blame me."

Kashika couldn't help but laugh. "I am of the Mechanical Race, not a robot!"

"Haha, come on, brothers! Kuta, bring out your good stuff!"

Kuta immediately slapped his fine liquor onto the table one by one. "For the Ring Chief, we won't stop until we're drunk today. Let's start with whiskey, then move to white liquor, and finish with beer. Does that rhythm work?"

Li Hao gave a thumbs up. Kuta was truly an ambassador for Earth culture; the endorsement of the Sea People was much more effective than humans promoting it themselves.

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Actually, Ning Long hadn't expected to be sitting here, and the same went for Kashika, but there was nothing that couldn't be solved with three cups. "I'll propose a toast first. As a human from a new civilization, being a newcomer here, I appreciate you brothers not shunning me, and I thank all my friends for your care."

Kuta and Gasimi immediately followed suit. Ning Long and Kashika both hesitated for a moment; this was a novel thing for them, and they had only heard of it slightly.

The four humans watched Ning Long and Kashika. Under the gaze of everyone, it was hard to refuse such hospitality. The four curious babies were also seeing a Dragon woman and a Mechanical Race member drink for the first time. What would their reaction be? Curiosity was at its peak.

Ning Long looked at the pale yellow liquid, which had a strange aroma. She tasted a little; it was a bit strange, spicy and peculiar, then she mimicked Kuta and downed it in one gulp, followed by a fit of coughing.

Instantly, a moving flush appeared on Ning Long's face. Dragon women, Celestial women, Ghost women, and Sea women were hailed as the benchmarks of beauty in the Star River civilization, with Dragon women being the rarest of all.

Seeing Ning Long be so straightforward, Kashika steadied himself and also

downed it in one gulp, suddenly coughing even more violently than Ning Long. "What a strange taste. I feel a warm current entering my body."

"Haha, you both understand now! Human alcohol culture is long-standing and has accompanied the growth of our civilization. If you savor it, you'll feel it more and more."

It wasn't a matter of personality or culture; the Star-Casting Dragon Race were born as top-tier existences, and this was a very normal thing for them.

After Gaia finished his bit, Kuta couldn't hold back and jumped out. "Senior Sister is a straightforward person. Whatever you need from our Ring Chief, we brothers will not shirk our duty. I'll finish this first..."

As they drank, they opened up. The Sea People's constitution was very sensitive to alcohol, and they were the most hyped. Kuta started going all out; he was attacking indiscriminately.

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Without Aoliweina's suppression, plus the alcohol, he started challenging Ning Long to drinks. Ning Long felt this was a form of etiquette and didn't refuse anyone. Li Hao, meanwhile, drank several cups with Kashika. Kashika also began to get used to the taste, but it felt like Kashika's tolerance wasn't very good; the Mechanical Race were a bit weak in this regard.