The three of them chatted and laughed as they arrived at the depths of the valley, where a wooden pavilion stood.
At the same time, Chen Shu observed that besides the entire valley, the green mountains on both sides also seemed to have been hollowed out, housing survivors from the seven northern states.
The three entered the pavilion.
"Please wait a moment, I'll have someone serve the dishes right away."
"No need, let Dali do it. He has plenty of ingredients on him."
Chen Shu shook his head. He wasn't sure about the population of this survival point, but food was bound to be a scarce resource.
Fu Ning hesitated for a moment before giving up his insistence.
Although they could hunt in the异空间 (yì kōngjiān -异 space), they dared not be too conspicuous, lest they attract the attention of fierce beasts from the outside.
Two hours later,
The three clinked glasses and joyfully savored a sumptuous lunch.
"This is truly comfortable..."
Fu Ning lay back, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, and sighed,
"Being with you two makes me feel like I've returned to an era of peace."
Dali raised an eyebrow. "Senior, are you sure it's not the nuclear era?"
"..."
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. "My era, is it?"
"Um... a little..."
Fu Ning grinned and said, "The two of you are different from everyone else."
"How so?"
"You don't have that despair..."
Fu Ning's gaze was distant, as if he were murmuring to himself, "Although everyone here has survived, there's no light of hope in their eyes."
"They have accepted their fate..."
"..."
The two remained silent, momentarily speechless.
After a while, Chen Shu changed the subject and said,
"By the way, Minister Fu, you seemed to have something you needed my help with? Did you perhaps predict that I would come to the Southern Pure Kingdom in advance?"
"Of course not."
Fu Ning shook his head and said, "I just believe that apart from you, there's probably no one else who can do this."
Chen Shu remained silent, signaling him to continue.
"Because the evacuation was too hasty, a batch of emergency reserve supplies from the seven northern states was left behind..."
Fu Ning sighed and said,
"I originally intended to retrieve it myself, but a king-level lord is lurking nearby..."
"If a fight breaks out, I wouldn't be afraid, but I wouldn't be able to kill it. Moreover, the aftermath of the battle might destroy the supplies..."
"You want me to help retrieve it?"
Chen Shu's eyebrows slightly rose as he instantly understood what the other party meant.
Fu Ning nodded. "If you succeed, you can have half of those supplies!"
"Half?!"
A hint of surprise flickered in Chen Shu's eyes. He had expected some reward, but not this much...
"Minister Fu Ning, is there anything else you want me to help with?"
A hint of wariness appeared in his eyes.
"..."
Fu Ning chuckled and said, "No, is there anything you, the Southern Jiang bandit, wouldn't dare to take?"
"I dare! What is there that I wouldn't dare to take!"
Chen Shu shrugged and said, "Since you're being so polite, I won't refuse!"
"..."
Fu Ning smiled and said, "Actually, there is one thing..."
"What is it? I don't necessarily have to agree."
"If... the seven northern states face a crisis of extinction in the future, I hope you can help save them!"
"Hmm?"
Chen Shu was slightly taken aback, not expecting it to be this.
"Of course, I will try to notify you, and you can come when you are able to detach yourself."
Fu Ning said. He actually just wanted an insurance policy to feel more at ease.
Despite the Southern Jiang bandit's greed, he did trust his professional integrity.
"This..."
Chen Shu stroked his chin and said, "Alright! I promise!"
"But there's one prerequisite: I will only come if my life is not in danger."
"Naturally!"
The two hit it off, reaching an agreement.
Half an hour later,
Chen Shu inquired further, most of it concerning sea beasts.
While not particularly important to him, China might face it in the future, allowing the authorities to prepare in advance.
"Minister Fu Ning, I'm leaving now."
Chen Shu stood up, no longer intending to linger.
"In such a hurry? Aren't you going to rest a bit longer?"
"No need, my time is urgent!"
Chen Shu patted his spatial rabbit, preparing to teleport away with Dali.
But at that moment, Fu Ning quickly said,
"Why don't Dali stay here?"
"Hmm?"
Dali was slightly taken aback, his eyes showing confusion.
"Don't you want to know about the ruins of the Spiritual Chef Association back then?"
Fu Ning explained, "We searched, but nothing was left there. If you want to go further, perhaps someone can help you."
"Who?"
"The genius spiritual chef, Xin Qing!"
"Xin Qing?!"
Dali's expression shook, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "He's here?!"
"Who is it?"
Chen Shu said with curiosity, "Could he be more formidable than the big shots of the Spiritual Chef Association?"
"He is also a king-level spiritual chef, but a rather special one."
Dali explained, "He once earned the title of God of Cuisine with his self-created recipes. However, due to his inability to progress further for a long time, he began to explore an alternative path, wanting to use contract spirits as ingredients to forge a different way!"
"But the status of Beast Tamers is lofty, naturally, they wouldn't allow contract spirits fighting for humanity to be served on the dining table..."
At this point, Fu Ning's expression turned peculiar as he glanced at Chen Shu and Dali,
"You two haven't eaten much yourselves, have you?"
"Uh... just trying the flavor..."
"Yeah, just eating for fun..."
"..."
Fu Ning's eyes twitched. "Are you two speaking human language..."
"Back then, Xin Qing was criticized by various spiritual chefs and eventually withdrew from the spiritual chef world. I didn't expect him to have been living in seclusion here all along."
Dali quickly changed the subject, as he was, in fact, also considered an anomaly now.
Fu Ning nodded and said,
"We only discovered that he had been living in seclusion here and researching special recipes after we evacuated to this place. Due to the chaotic times, we invited him to join the survival point."
Dali quickly said, "Can I meet him?"
"Of course. I was thinking you could stay and exchange ideas with him."
Fu Ning smiled and said, "Your minds are both quite unique, perhaps you can spark some ideas."
"If that's the case, I'll stay for now."
Dali looked at Chen Shu and said, "Chen Pi, come pick me up after you bring back the resources."
"Mm..."
Chen Shu thought for a moment and said, "Alright, no problem!"
He wasn't worried about Dali's safety, as Fu Ning had no reason to harm him.
Moreover, Fu Ning understood that if anything happened to Dali, everyone in the survival point would pay the price...