Chapter 14: Cooking a Few Hearty Dishes

"Come, let's split the loot!"

Ruan Mian excitedly transferred fifty thousand Interstellar Coins to Lu Yi; this money rightfully included his share.

If you want a horse to run, how can you not let the horse eat grass!

Giving away fifty thousand still meant she had made a profit; not only did she earn money, but she also got a freebie—not a loss!

Lu Yi looked at the amount received on his Light Brain, his expression unreadable, his eyes pitch black.

"Ruan Mian, do you know that man?"

Ruan Mian was browsing the products in the Light Brain mall, her fingers sliding continuously; she answered without even lifting her head as she looked at the items on the screen.

"Don't know him, just had a brief encounter before."

After saying that, she added an explanation, "There was a tiny bit of friction, so this should count as hush money!"

"That man is very dangerous!"

Lu Yi calmly sowed seeds of doubt, "His Mental Power is very strong, I can't tell his level, and there is a murderous aura about him; he could crush us to death with a flick of his finger if he wanted to."

Although Interstellar regulations forbid killing or harming people at will, and it is a crime, in such a remote place, killing one or two people—especially a little nobody like her—would just be that.

What else could be done.

"Stay away from him in the future."

Ruan Mian nodded like a pounding pestle, her eyes full of caution; Lu Yi knew she had taken it to heart.

Only then did he heave a sigh of relief and curl the corners of his lips.

"Mm-hmm, even if you didn't say it, I'd know; I cherish my little life very much!" She just knew that a man with that kind of face was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Seeing her so obedient, Lu Yi couldn't help but pat the top of her head.

Some soft, slightly yellowish hair strands wound around his fingertips.

Her head tilted, dodging his hand, her eyes showing some dissatisfaction, "What are you doing, you've messed up my hair!"

Lu Yi didn't tease her anymore and took out a basketball-sized metal sphere from his Light Brain.

It made Ruan Mian curious, "What is this thing?"

It was pitch black, interspersed with silver-blue light; at a glance, it looked like high-tech, sophisticated equipment.

"Take a guess?"

"I won't guess, tell me if you want to or not."

Lu Yi was helpless, "Alright, then come with me."

He carried the sphere out the door, and only after walking about five meters away did he place the sphere in his hand on the ground.

She watched him press a switch; the sphere opened, shooting a long beam of light upward that gradually spread out into a large semicircle.

Centered on the sphere, it was a semicircular Protective Shield with a diameter of ten meters and a height of three meters.

It not only covered her house but also a patch of open ground.

Science fiction movies coming to life!

"What is this?"

"A Protective Shield," Lu Yi explained, telling her about the buttons on it, "This is to turn it on, this is to turn it off."

"A Protective Shield?!" Ruan Mian had heard of them, but this was her first time seeing one.

"Then this, what can it defend against?"

"Many things: signals, scanners, attacks, concealment—it's an all-in-one multi-functional device, though this is the cheapest model."

It was also because the conditions weren't met, otherwise he could have hand-crafted a better one for her.

For now, it would just have to do.

But a look of surprise appeared on Ruan Mian's face, "Does that mean I can grow vegetables outside now?"

Heaven knows that tiny little space was truly too stifling; she had so many abilities, yet couldn't use them!

So many delicious plants!

"Yes."

Lu Yi thought that later he would place a few more Signal Jammers and Interference Devices outside, and add some camouflage to absolutely ensure her safety.

"Really! Lu Yi, you are truly amazing! You know everything..."

Halfway through her smile, Ruan Mian became suspicious, "Wait, where did you get this thing? You didn't just buy it, did you?"

"It's not expensive."

God damn it, not expensive; even a chair was that expensive, so this Protective Shield must be even pricier.

This cool guy didn't look like much on the outside, acting all wild and arrogant, but he was actually quite a decent person.

"No way, don't try to fool me; to thank you, let me treat you to something delicious!"

Lu Yi naturally nodded, looking at her with a smile, "Alright, then I shall look forward to it immensely."

"Looking forward to it isn't enough, go pull the water pipe over!"

She released a large pool of water, almost filling a patch of mud, and as her palms covered the soil, clusters of rice plants grew out, with large, plump ears of rice hanging from the stalks.

She kept channeling her ability until the rice ears turned a golden yellow.

Lu Yi was very surprised.

"What is this again? Is it also edible?"

These Interstellar people were truly pitiful; they hadn't even seen rice.

Then again, it was an extinct species, so naturally, it wasn't worth many people studying it.

At this, her eyes were filled with pity.

"Of course, just wait to eat something delicious!"

As for the machine to husk the rice, that was naturally left to Lu Yi; Ruan Mian only described it briefly, and he said he could make it.

It's almost becoming a treasure chest.

Since there's rice, I'll seriously make a few hearty dishes.

Candied sweet potatoes, Green Pepper Shredded Potatoes, stir-fried baby bok choy with peppercorns, and finally, a tomato mushroom soup.

They are all various kinds of vegetarian dishes, how could they not be hearty?

At this moment, Lu Yi was curious about a patch of oyster mushrooms that Ruan Mian had grown, when he felt footsteps approaching beside him.

"Do you like mushrooms that much?"

Seeing her speak, Lu Yi didn't mind saying what was on his mind, "Can this thing be eaten?"

This thing is very common on rotting corpses; on those battlefields where they fought the Zerg, those corpses would sprout these things in all sorts of colors and strange shapes.

It's just that this one with such a plain color is the first time I've seen one.

In their understanding, these cannot be eaten; one would surely die.

"Can this be eaten?"

Ruan Mian smiled confidently, "I don't know if the ones they make can be eaten, but you can rest assured eating what I make!"

The hulling machine Lu Yi made was very easy to use; every grain was hulled cleanly, and they were very complete, and the rice grains were also several times larger than those grown on Earth.

The crystal-clear rice looked very delicious at first glance.

The three dishes and one soup looked very simple to make, but in fact, the vegetables needed almost filled the large plot of land in front.

There was a wide variety of plants that had never been seen before, and it was impossible to take them all in.

What was even more heart-stirring than these was the wafts of food fragrance coming from the kitchen inside.

It made one drool.

"Lu Yi, come, carry the dishes!"

Ruan Mian's shout was like a key opening a certain door; having received the order, he rushed in quickly.

The garlic scent of the stir-fried baby bok choy hadn't faded yet, and the aroma of the Green Pepper Shredded Potatoes spread out.

She was still boiling sugar in her hand, and seeing his silly look made her want to laugh, "Carry them out; that soup is a bit hot, be careful, the candied sweet potatoes will be ready soon."

Oh, right, the rice is almost ready too, it's emitting white steam...