Chapter 43: Qiangzi

「Heiyan City, suburbs.」

Inside a dilapidated old house, Mr. Diao of the Filth Earth Organization held his phone, repeatedly dialing the same number, his face a mask of anxiety and frustration.

His call log showed that he had already dialed the number dozens of times, but each time it just rang endlessly with no answer.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable, please..." As the familiar female voice came from the phone again, Mr. Diao immediately hung up. He pressed the button so hard that spiderweb cracks appeared across the screen.

Mr. Diao stared at the cracked phone screen. He wanted to just throw it away, but, refusing to give up, he dialed the number one more time.

Unexpectedly, it was answered after just two rings.

"Mr. Fen!" Mr. Diao’s voice was filled with excitement. "I finally reached you! Was your mission successful?"

"Mission complete. Target eliminated!" The voice on the other end was firm and resonant.

"Ah, that’s great. With you on the job..." Mr. Diao’s voice suddenly trailed off. "Wait, you killed the woman? Didn’t our superiors say to take her alive?"

"I, Feng Bqing, have never needed to explain my actions to anyone."

"That... yes, yes, of course. You’re absolutely right. Did you get the formula?"

"Half a jin of Solomon’s seal, half a jin of Astragalus Root, half a jin of apples, half a jin of oranges. Boil two bowls of water down to half a bucket. Don’t drink it, just pour it out."

"That’s the formula?" Mr. Diao scratched his head. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

Hearing this, Mr. Diao knew something was wrong. He lowered his voice and asked, "Mr. Fen, did something happen? You’re not usually like this."

But the man on the other end of the line started rapping, "I wasn’t this kind of person, but you turned me into someone strange. The first time, ah, that I became like this..."

Mr. Diao’s expression changed. He yelled, "You’re not Mr. Fen! Who the hell are you?"

"I was born a girl, not a boy."

Mr. Diao was about to ask more when a heart-wrenching scream came through the phone: "Qiangzi, don’t go, Qiangzi..."

The call didn’t disconnect, but no matter what else Mr. Diao said, he got no response. All he could hear from the other end was the name "Qiangzi," repeated over and over.

Furious, Mr. Diao clenched his fist, crushing the phone into a worthless piece of scrap metal.

’This matter is too important. I have to report it to my superiors.’

He immediately took a subordinate’s phone, dialed a number, and reported the entire incident from beginning to end.

"The person on the phone just now kept repeating the name ’Qiangzi.’ It might be related to this incident. We can start the investigation there."

"Also, the Hunters who escorted Liou Wenxin should be returning to Heiyan City one by one. I’ll question them individually."

...

"This should be the place. What do you think?" Liou Wenxin asked, looking at Su Ze beside her.

"It’s great. The neighborhood is quiet, it’s spacious enough, and it has a yard. Most importantly, it’s clean."

"Then it’s settled!"

Su Ze had been out house-hunting with Liou Wenxin all morning, and they had finally picked a decent one.

They immediately signed the lease agreement through an agent and paid six months’ rent.

They might not even stay for a full month, but they had no choice; the landlord required payment for six months at a time.

It was just a little wasted money. No big deal.

Afterward, they picked up Mrs. Yun from the hotel and brought her to the house.

The newly rented house still needed many things, like bedding, toiletries, and so on. Liou Wenxin dragged Su Ze out to the streets to go shopping.

As they passed a wet market, Liou Wenxin said, "Let’s go buy some groceries."

"You can cook, too?"

"I’ve had lessons."

"That’s fantastic."

Su Ze was thrilled. Food had been a major problem while living in Luofan Country; he simply couldn’t stomach their cuisine.

It was said that even powerful cultivators at the Cocoon Stage from other countries had eaten Luofan street food and ended up with diarrhea so bad they collapsed from exhaustion.

Even Evolved couldn’t handle Luofan cuisine, yet the ordinary people of Luofan ate it without any issue. One could only say that the digestive systems of the Luofan people were the most evolved in the world.

They bought some groceries and spices, then headed to the busiest nearby street to purchase daily necessities.

This street had heavy foot traffic. There were even a few shops specializing in Evolution Items, and many Hunters came here to buy and sell them.

As Su Ze and Liou Wenxin passed by, they overheard several Hunters talking loudly.

"Jabani and his crew got ridiculously lucky! On this trip into the mountains, they actually found two Tier-2 alien beast corpses!"

"It’s not just him! That compulsive gambler next door to me went into the mountains with a team yesterday and came back today. They just did a loop halfway up the mountain, and the loot they scavenged filled up their whole team’s bags!"

"What the hell has been going on these past two days? People keep finding alien beast corpses in the Black Rock Mountain Range, and they’re the kind with the Evolutionary Material perfectly preserved, the type you can make extracts from."

"I’m so jealous. I’m heading into the mountains tomorrow!"

Su Ze and Liou Wenxin exchanged a glance. They both found it a bit strange, but since it had nothing to do with them, they didn’t give it much thought and walked away.

After buying everything they needed, the two returned to the rental house, their arms full of bags big and small.

Liou Wenxin took charge of cooking, while Su Ze was responsible for putting things away and making the beds.

By the time Su Ze had finished unpacking, Liou Wenxin had also finished cooking.

Looking at the four dishes and one soup on the table, a feast for the eyes and nose, Su Ze’s appetite was whetted. He picked up a piece of braised fish with his chopsticks and tasted it. "Mm! Delicious!"

Su Ze gave her a thumbs-up and laid on the flattery, "How do you manage to be a master at the lectern *and* in the kitchen?"

"Actually, cooking is a lot like conducting an experiment. What to put in first, how much oil to use, how much water to add—it all has a fixed dosage. How to cook it, at what heat, and for how long—there are standards for those, too. Every dish is like a formula. You just plug in the variables. It’s very simple."

Su Ze was stunned. ’Is it really like that?’

But after hearing her explanation, Su Ze realized it was true. Every dish Liou Wenxin made looked exactly as it should, perfectly balanced in its saltiness, sweetness, and spiciness.

It was delicious, but it lacked a certain home-cooked warmth.

Sometimes, the taste buds need the stimulus of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy to achieve true satisfaction—just like life itself.

But Su Ze wasn’t a picky person. As long as it was tasty, that was enough. What more could he ask for?

"After we finish eating, send me your basic information. I’ll have the Dongli Kingdom household registration department create a file for you," Liou Wenxin said suddenly.

Su Ze paused, understanding that this meant Liou Wenxin, and by extension the Dongli Kingdom behind her, had investigated him and decided to accept him.

He nodded. "Okay. I don’t have much other information. My name is Su Ze. I’ll send you my date of birth in a bit."

Liou Wenxin put down her bowl and chopsticks. "Mm. What about your household registration? Why don’t we just register you under my family?"

"Done. We’re already family, anyway. But... we don’t have the same last name. What should we put down for our relationship?"

Liou Wenxin thought for a moment. "We’ll put down ’brother and sister.’ We can say you’re my father’s adopted son."

Su Ze said, "Actually, ’husband and wife’ would be more reasonable."