Chapter 516: Eating Hot Pot with A Meng

Leikdun glanced at A Meng, who was already pouring himself a drink on the side, helplessly sighed in his heart, then stopped bothering him: "It's fine, I really only threw some junk in there; otherwise it would have been stolen—no, it's already been stolen."

A Meng leaned against the sofa, a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, sipping Suniya blood wine while he said:

"Why did you appear in this city? For the legacy of that 'Secret Angel'?"

Leikdun's hand kept moving; he merely tilted his head slightly to glance at the leisurely A Meng beside him and asked: "By chance."

"What's special about this city? Who is that Secret Angel?"

A Meng habitually raised his hand to pinch the monocle at his eye socket, glanced into the distant darkness outside the window, then quickly withdrew his gaze and said:

"Are you using the synergistic effect between extraordinary traits? Or did that madman leak the information to you? It seems His condition is indeed improving."

"This city is called Saisiting; it was once also known as the Artisan's Country. Before the Great Cataclysm, this place was the origin of the entire Eastern Continent's mechanical field. Because they excelled at crafting miraculous items, they managed to survive in the cracks between many races."

"Until my father ended the era of the ancient gods, the leader here became my father's subordinate 'Secret Angel,' but that old fellow was somewhat unlucky; after following my father for thousands of years, he still couldn't digest the 'Civilization Initiator's' elixir on his person. Later, after finally finding some clues to digest the elixir, he was done in by the steam of the time."

"Indeed, somewhat unlucky," Leikdun muttered to himself, then spoke up:

"So, His so-called legacy is just a backup plan for His own resurrection? It seems unsuccessful; steam shouldn't have the energy to interfere with Him, right?"

A Meng let out a dismissive light laugh and said:

"He was just plain unlucky, like that little snake that held the Probability Die for thousands of years yet couldn't contain it, and in the end you picked it up."

Leikdun nodded expressionlessly and then asked:

"Why are you telling me this? My obtaining that Secret Angel's legacy brings you no benefit at all?"

A Meng tugged at the corner of his mouth, speaking in an indifferent tone:

"But it also causes me no harm, right?"

"After all, it's just giving someone else's stuff as a favor, and it can also win you over—quite fitting."

"Reasonable, very thief-like!" Leikdun calmly nodded and evaluated.

After dumping all the prepared base ingredients into the pot and giving them a casual stir twice, Leikdun suddenly turned his head toward A Meng, who was leisurely reclining on the sofa, and asked: "Can you steal time in small amounts repeatedly to achieve time acceleration? Stirring the base needs some time."

A Meng slightly raised his head, a flicker of emotion flashing in his eyes, then tugged at the corner of his mouth and said: "Yes."

He curiously glanced at the iron pot full of dark reddish substances, pinched his monocle with his right hand, a faint white light barely perceptible slipped across, and Leikdun instantly felt the aroma of the hot pot base in the air grow richer.

Although many ingredients were substitutes, they seemed adequate enough; as his thoughts turned, Leikdun repeatedly stirred the pot with his spoon.

A Meng from time to time stole bits of time, and in less than a minute he completed several hours' worth of work.

Leikdun raised his hand, stopping A Meng's continued time-stealing action:

"That's enough; the 'Thief' ability is really convenient."

Speaking, he produced clear water through his water-domain magical ability and poured it into the iron pot.

A Meng slightly lifted the tip of his nose; the spicy smell in the air made him somewhat unaccustomed, and he frowned:

"Are you sure this is food? Although it's indeed non‑toxic, it also looks completely unappetizing."

"Try it first before judging; although we lack many original ingredients, I've over the years gathered roughly comparable substitutes for the spices."

While speaking, Leikdun lightly rubbed his fingers together, producing specks of golden light that carried a scorching burning sensation into the iron pot; the previously calm hot pot instantly boiled over.

Leikdun then pulled his hand back and dumped the prepared beef and fish meat from the table into the pot.

Then he turned to greet A Meng: "All right, once the meat is cooked we can eat. Ingredients are a bit short, no dipping sauce; after we leave the Forsaken Land I'll treat you to a more complete hot pot."

A Meng took off the monocle at his right eye, pinched it, and pulled a playful smile at the corner of his mouth:

"I roughly know why you likened those three Medicis to a hot pot; next time we meet I'll share this good news with him—no, with them."

Leikdun followed A Meng's words: "Do I need to prepare a bottle of the Provocateur's elixir in advance?"

A Meng paused, then burst out laughing:

"Hahaha, you're really interesting; if you could have arrived in this world earlier, I wouldn't be so bored."

Leikdun gave a noncommittal nod: "It's a pity; even the Earth Mother Goddess cannot fully determine a life's birth."

A Meng inquired with interest:

"It seems you don't fully accept the Earth Mother Goddess's doctrine; what is your view?" Leikdun took a piece of scalded beef from the newly boiling soup pot, tasted it, confirmed there was no problem, then lightly nodded at A Meng and answered the earlier question: "The body is merely a shell; the soul is the essence."

"I rather approve of the Mosu Ascetic Society's longstanding pursuit: using knowledge to enrich oneself, seeking the freedom and liberation of the soul."

A Meng imitated Leikdun's motion, picking up a piece of meat to taste; his originally slightly furrowed brow relaxed a bit, and he quickly chewed and swallowed the meat in his mouth.

"Not bad." He remarked, then scooped out several more meat slices from the pot.

Only after he had tasted every kind of meat placed in the pot did he resume the earlier topic: "An interesting interpretation: the body is merely a shell, the soul is the essence."

After a one‑second pause, he shifted his tone and said:

"So saying, you've already changed bodies and returned as Leikdun·Sios?"

"Who were you before? A'er·Taines?"

Leikdun startled, A Meng's topic shifted abruptly.

After a pause, he gave a light laugh and said:

"Of course not; why would you think that? I'm not an 'Audience'."

A Meng spoke without raising his head:

"But you have an identity split off by relying on the high‑sequence 'Audience' ability, don't you?"

Leikdun, while focusing his mind to prevent A Meng from stealing too many thoughts and vital information, spoke in defense:

"Do I really look like such a decrepit old man?"

"That clone can exist only because of the special nature of the 'White Tower' pathway; it can let itself possess some traits of the 'Audience' pathway through 'simulation,' which is why it can persist."

A Meng stopped speaking, focused on eating the hot pot, and from time to time added some of his favorite vegetables to the pot.

Thereafter the two ate the hot pot in unusual silence; Leikdun's mind occasionally flashed evaluations of the various ingredients and ideas for improving the hot pot, continually diverting his attention to avoid unintentionally having his thoughts stolen by A Meng.

Until all the dishes on the table had been consumed by the two, they then set down their chopsticks; Leikdun leaned back, his back against the chair, reached forward with his right hand, and instantly starlight fell around him, one star after another appearing, dense and numerous, brilliant and dazzling.

These stars showered down beam after beam of clear radiance, enveloping the entire hall; under the starlight, the lingering hot‑pot aroma in the air vanished completely, and the remaining broth in the iron pot dissipated and vanished under the starlight.

As the starlight faded, the shadows in the unlit parts of the ground instantly came to life, continuously flowing, surging upward like a flood, instantly submerging the tables, chairs, and the iron pot in the middle.

Then, like something dissolved, it dripped onto the floor and dissipated into nothingness.

Just moments ago, A Meng's figure, who had been sitting on the wooden chair, suddenly vanished; the next moment he appeared directly on the nearby sofa, body leaning sideways, right leg raised, exuding the drowsiness after being full of food and drink.

Glancing at the leisurely A Meng, Lei Kedun walked straight to the sofa beside him and sat down, then suddenly spoke:

"Do you know what happened in this city?"

A Meng kept his posture unmoving, speaking in a flat tone: "You know, is this your payment for treating me to hot pot?"

After a moment of silence, Lei Kedun still nodded and said: "Yes."

A Meng organized his words and then spoke:

"After the great catastrophe, the Eastern Continent was shrouded in dangerous darkness, and the humans left here made many attempts to survive."

"Some tried to flee this continent, while others tried to alter themselves to adapt to the environment here."

"As a former nation of craftsmen, the people here have attained extraordinary skill in various techniques; they wished to discard their fleshly bodies, remaking themselves as mechanical puppets, and forge this city into a complex miraculous item, their 'Puppet City'."

"But unfortunately, the impact of that great catastrophe was all-encompassing, naturally including the materials they used to make the puppets; as expected, they all went mad, the puppets slaughtered all living beings in the city cleanly, then, without a second thought, returned to their posts, entering an eternal, repetitive daily life in the false world."

Lei Kedun listened calmly; A Meng's account did not differ greatly from his earlier speculation.

After A Meng finished his account, he asked again:

"The materials for making the puppets were contaminated—could they not have noticed? And what is this false world?"

"They certainly noticed, but what good did it do? The contamination affected the whole continent; their stored materials were far insufficient, so they could only use the tainted materials in small amounts repeatedly, gradually accumulating madness, striving to find a solution before the problem erupted."

"As for the false world, they used the legacy of that 'Secret Angel' to create a world made of pure information, uploading their consciousness into it and establishing a new Sai Xiting."

"Unfortunately, just as the puppets began to malfunction, that information world also ran into problems."

(End of chapter)