Chapter 527: Why are these young people so strange?

Grandma always says: Does that seem to be a Heavenly Human?

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Amitabha, that person, this little monk recognizes him; he is also in the group, but he has never spoken a word.

Gate of All Wonders: I fear it's more than just never speaking; I suspect he has never even inserted a Crystal Card into a Mobile Phone, and he rarely uses a Mobile Phone at all.

Qingcai Keke: He joined a group video call before.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: That is so.

Gate of All Wonders: That space character?

Grandma always says: What group video call? When? Could it be that time Chen Shu was beaten by Qingqing?

Grandma always says: /Am I stupid?

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: Space character? At the time, I thought it was a system display error and that an extra punctuation mark had been added.

Just Call Me Luo Huaian: Speaking of which, since you are all sitting at the same table, why are you using Mobile Phones to chat?

Suddenly Silent Standing: I think so too. You guys notice, we are sitting together, yet we are all holding Mobile Phones and typing frantically; the scene seems a bit eerie.

Grandma always says: Then what should we do? Otherwise, what if he hears us?

Just Call Me Luo Huaian: Stupid.

Grandma always says: /Black man questioning face

Grandma always says: Say that again, you motherfucker!

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Amitabha, Donor Luo is right. A Ninth Stage Heavenly Human—I fear that from the looks we cast toward him, and our current expressions and actions, he can already guess that we are secretly discussing him.

Gate of All Wonders: Besides, a Heavenly Human wouldn't care at all that we are discussing him; it wouldn't matter even if we said it directly.

Grandma always says: /Aba aba

"His Majesty arrives..."

With a loud and majestic shout, the great hall suddenly fell silent.

Chen Shu inexplicably felt a sense of time travel.

It was a pity it wasn't shouted by a eunuch.

Immediately, one saw the Yi Emperor, wearing a black-bottomed gold-threaded dragon robe, walk into the great hall from another direction, accompanied by King Jin, who already showed clear signs of Spirit Decay.

Once the Yi Emperor arrived, there was naturally a speech.

There was nothing worth listening to...

Whether for the people who had come here or for the upcoming war, there was no need for any words to inspire, embellish, or decorate. This was a battle of life and death between two Planes, it was just that simple, and there was nothing else to be said.

Chen Shu only cast his gaze toward the table.

Some dishes had already been placed in front of him; they were all cold appetizers, each one made very exquisitely, and both the ingredients and the craftsmanship were of the highest order.

It is said that this time, it was not the Imperial Chef from the palace who was the head chef, but rather several of the most famous chefs in the country who were invited to create this banquet together; the standard was already at the absolute peak.

Chen Shu looked at them one by one, already calculating in his heart which one to taste first in a moment.

Then he glanced to the side.

The little girl was listening quite attentively.

And the more she listened, the heavier her heart became, her mood gradually sinking.

The little girl had participated in an important part of the preparations for this war and served as a main researcher. It was fine in the beginning, but toward the later stages, especially during the testing phase and the process of communicating with the big shots, she gradually learned of this matter.

Now that she heard it, she felt even more uncomfortable.

But she was relatively selfish, and her world was too small; she couldn't understand so many selfless and respectable principles. She only felt from the bottom of her heart that if this world had neither her brother-in-law nor her sister, then what difference would it make if it were destroyed?

Just at this moment, someone nudged her arm.

The little girl turned her head.

Her brother-in-law cast a look at her, then shifted his gaze to a plate of food in front of him. It was a crispy ball made of mashed potatoes and shrimp, decorated very beautifully. Each person had a serving in front of them, one piece per serving.

The little girl followed his gaze and looked. When she withdrew her gaze, her brother-in-law looked at the servings in front of her sister and Zhang Suannai, as if hinting at something.

"..."

The little girl couldn't help but blink her eyes.

Then her brother-in-law glanced at the other two cold appetizers in front of her: one was sugar-coated crispy purple pigeon, and the other was a plate of appetizing pickles made with Dragon Horn Vegetable.

The little girl fell into thought.

The Yi Emperor was still speaking, his voice flat and his wording calm, yet full of power. But Chen Shu and the little girl were no longer listening; in such an environment, the two were secretly communicating with their eyes. Even though it attracted the attention of many people at the table, very few could understand what they were saying.

"May this battle end in victory; I toast everyone."

The Yi Emperor picked up a wine cup from a maid's tray and held it high above his head.

Everyone picked up their wine cups and stood up as well.

Dayi loves yellow wine, and the cups were filled with yellow wine. Chen Shu tasted a sip; the flavor was lighter than ordinary yellow wine, as if it had been diluted with water, but the sweet and sour taste was stronger. Because of the cup, the wine remained warm, and it was smooth going down.

Still not really able to drink it...

When he put down the cup and sat back down, the servers dressed as palace maids, carrying trays, walked in from the entrance of the great hall like a long dragon.

"Please dine."

A protocol officer reminded them.

The little girl met her brother-in-law's gaze, received encouragement, and immediately took action.

"Swish!"

She gave the pickled Dragon Horn Vegetable to her sister, gave the sugar-coated crispy purple pigeon to Sister Suannai, moved the potato crispy balls in front of them all to her own side, and swiftly picked up her chopsticks to grab one and stuff it into her mouth.

The movements were fluid and smooth, done in one go.

Oh right, and her brother-in-law's...

The little girl turned her head to look, only to see that there was only an empty bowl in front of her brother-in-law; he had already stuffed his own portion of potato crispy balls into his mouth and was chewing with a crunch.

The two locked eyes, both of their mouths chewing.

Then it slowly came to a stop.

The little girl:?

Chen Shu: What are you looking at? I never said I was giving it to you! There's only one for each person, and I've never eaten it before, so of course I have to taste it!

The little girl silently withdrew her gaze.

Only then did they notice that although the ceremonial official had already announced the meal, for the moment, apart from Zhang Suannai, they were the only ones who had actually picked up their chopsticks.

The elder sister cast her gaze toward them.

"!"

The little girl immediately shut her mouth, pretending there was nothing in it, and rolled her eyes to glance at her brother-in-law.

"Crunch..."

Seeing that her brother-in-law was still eating as if nothing had happened, she pondered for a moment, then her mouth immediately began to move as well, and she turned her head to bravely meet her sister's gaze.

"..."

A few seconds later, the waiters placed the main courses in front of them; this seemed to be the signal to start eating, as the seniors at the next table began to use their chopsticks, and others followed suit, starting to eat and converse.

The atmosphere quickly turned relaxed and casual.

The little girl, however, was surprised to find that crispy potato balls were being passed over from different people at the table and placed in front of her.

When she turned her head to look, all she saw were smiling faces.

"..."

The little girl scratched her head.

Kong Tiao was the most talented member of this generation of Heavenly Humans, and also the only High-Tier Heavenly Human who had not gone to the Withered Plane to illuminate the darkness; the Secret Sect Practitioner who controlled everything clearly had another purpose in keeping him behind.

And he also knew what he had to do—

A deputy for the Command Center;

Doing some tedious and simple work.

A backup, low-spec Command Center;

To avoid accidents involving the Command Center.

A signal relay for the Command Center;

When the Command Center was at one end of the planet, he had to go to the other end to receive and amplify the Command Center's signal, avoiding interference due to long distances.

And some other miscellaneous small uses.

As for the Command Center, and the main force of this war, they were all sitting at the long table next to him, and were all in the group chat established by that Imperial Family heir—he had also received that Crystal Card ten years ago, but had never opened that group.

In his view, such things were a waste of time.

It wasn't until the war drew near, and he wanted to see the people he would be working with, that he inserted the Crystal Card and entered the group.

He did indeed see those people.

How to describe it...

Noisy? Boring? Vulgar?

For a moment, he couldn't find the right word.

In any case, after just a few seconds, he exited the video and the software, and was no longer interested in this group of people.

Until seeing them again tonight.

Kong Tiao quietly observed this group of people.

As boring as ever.

In fact, he felt somewhat puzzled.

These people were all the top geniuses of this generation, the protagonists of the era created by the gods, the favored children of this world; everyone's talent could be said to be unprecedented, and in reality, they were already the top combat power in this world, so why were their personalities all so strange?

On the contrary, the woman who was said to have the Celestial Bloodline, possessed the strongest Secret Sect talent in history, was also the planner and controller of everything, and was the Command Center he needed to assist and cooperate with in the future war, made him perceive a hint of his own kind.

But soon he felt puzzled again.

The Command Center had a calm expression and natural movements, but there was a faint, strange feeling in her demeanor.

Kong Tiao thought for a few seconds before he figured it out; this was perhaps the word the Wise Humans called "elegance," which brought a charm that Wise Humans could perceive.

And he did not think that a human with a Celestial Bloodline would be like this.

The Celestial Bloodline was very powerful; even if the content was not high, it would make a person's personality approach that of a Heavenly Human. And so-called elegance, at its core, stripping away the embellishments, was nothing more than a series of fawning mechanisms explored by other races to make themselves more attractive and competitive to their own kind.

Heavenly Humans would not be like this.

Heavenly Humans would not use such means to fawn over anyone, regardless of gender.

Therefore, he felt it was a bit strange.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with this strangeness, but he subconsciously wanted to find the reason behind it; why did it lead to such a result?

And there was the other little girl beside the Command Center.

It seemed to be her younger sister.

She should also have the Heavenly Human Bloodline, so why were her expressions and behavior also so strange?

And it seemed to be a different kind of strangeness.

Was this the Heavenly Human Bloodline?

It could be explained by the fact that she also had the Night Person Bloodline, and was relatively more inclined toward the Night Person. But since her sister had embarked on the path of the Secret Sect, she must be more inclined toward the Heavenly Human Bloodline, so what reason should be used to explain this?

Kong Tiao was somewhat puzzled, but his heart was calm, and he continued to observe silently.

Suddenly, he frowned slightly—

He saw the Wise Human sitting next to the Command Center actually reach out with his chopsticks into the dish in front of the Command Center, and the Command Center only lowered her head to glance at it, acting very calmly as if nothing had happened, as if she were already used to it.

After a few seconds, something even more confusing to him happened.

The Command Center even reached out with chopsticks into the plate in front of that male Wise Human, picking up a large helping of pickled Dragon Horn Vegetable, and upon seeing this, the male Wise Human pushed his own plate of pickles toward the Command Center.

The two even exchanged a glance.

"?"

Kong Tiao lowered his head, looking at the dish in front of him.

Isn't this dish provided for everyone?

Why eat someone else's?

"Everyone, there is no need for this," Meng Chunqiu shook his head. "If you like any particular dish, you only need to tell the service staff. Generally, the portions we prepare are far greater than the number of people; if it is truly not enough, we can make more, and we support custom orders according to your preferences. You are all honored guests, and the chefs in the kitchen will unconditionally satisfy any of your requests."

"Hiccup..."

Chen Shu let out a hiccup, his right hand holding his chopsticks, his left hand resting naturally on Ning Qing's shoulder: "I've eaten just about enough."

"Brother Chen, eat slowly."

"I want to have another Snowflake Chicken Paste."

"I'll call for one for you in a moment."

"Can I pack some to go? I haven't fed my cat yet."

"Does that even need asking? Of course you can."

"Look at those big shots, they're already discussing serious matters." Yan Keling stretched her neck to peer into the distance.

"Amitabha, we are young people, and young people should have the appearance of young people," Dharma Master Tongdeng said calmly. "March has the scenery of March; when August, September, or October arrive, the fruits will naturally ripen, and the plants and trees will wither and turn yellow. Just be yourself."

"The Master speaks well!" Zhang Suannai stopped her chopsticks and clapped. "Someone, bring the Master a serving of Snowflake Chicken Paste as well! And add an Eastern Continent Lamb Chop!"

"Amitabha, this poor monk was not speaking to you..."

"By the way—"

The Group Leader suddenly said: "Speaking of this, among the master chefs invited today, there is one who specializes in using purely vegan ingredients to create the taste of meat. I have eaten it; it has the taste of beef, lamb, pork, and fish, almost indistinguishable from the real thing. It's all because I was too busy these past few days that I forgot about this..."

After speaking, the Group Leader called over a service staff member and asked her to go to the Imperial Kitchen to request that master chef to arrange a few dishes on the spot and bring them up for Tongdeng Bodhisattva to taste the flavor of meat.

"Amitabha."

Tongdeng Bodhisattva pressed his palms together, lowering his head and closing his eyes.

In truth, there was a bit of anticipation in his heart.

A great battle is imminent, the future is hard to predict; if he could fulfill this wish, his Buddha-heart would be clear and bright, which would also be a beautiful thing.

At this moment, Zhang Suannai's voice came from the side:

"That's made of meat, right?"

"!!"

Dharma Master Tongdeng calmed his heart and focused his spirit, reciting scriptures.

The Buddha says not to argue with fools...

"That Heavenly Human over there seems to have been looking at us covertly," Yan Keling said weakly.

"Yes," Jiang Lai said.

"And the look in his eyes is so strange," an unnamed person added.

"It's getting stranger and stranger," Wu Eiwei added further. "Especially when you were urging the Master to eat meat."

"Swish!"

Everyone looked over there in unison.

That Heavenly Human had snow-white skin, a cold face, and body proportions so perfect they didn't seem real, even triggering a reaction similar to the uncanny valley effect, making people feel that his appearance was uncomfortably perfect, and he did not avoid everyone's gaze, instead meeting everyone's eyes quite calmly and indifferently.

A few people greeted him, led by the Group Leader, but he only nodded in cold response.

Everyone withdrew their gazes one after another and continued to chat and laugh.

Until this banquet dispersed.