Neil and Ding Changhuan did not leave; instead, they found a spot by the lake to prepare for the night. Not to mention Ding Changhuan, Neil had a competitive spirit with Fang Yang, but unfortunately, Fang Yang didn’t give him a glance. He had already made all the necessary reminders, so if Neil didn’t take them to heart, he couldn’t blame anyone else.
On the other hand, it wasn’t easy for Ding Changhuan to push Neil out of the way, especially since Neil was a big guy who transformed into a bear-like beast when in battle. Given Ding Changhuan’s small stature, how could he possibly manage that?
Luo Xingzhou and the others built a fire, using most of the cleaned fish to make grilled fish while boiling the remaining ones for fish soup. They added wild mushrooms and other edible plants they had collected on the way, and tore up some leftover dried meat, releasing a mouthwatering aroma.
Fang Yang and the others were fine, as it wasn’t their first time tasting Luo Xingzhou’s cooking, but Neil and Ding Changhuan could hardly stand it. They hadn’t had a proper meal in over twenty days, and now the delicious scent made their stomachs rumble.
Ding Changhuan covered his stomach and cast a resentful look toward Fang Yang and Luo Xingzhou. He couldn’t believe Fang Yang could be so cold-hearted toward him. Although he admitted that he was in the wrong that night, Fang Yang had gotten over it, hadn’t he? At that moment, he was simply too frightened to think clearly. Why couldn’t Fang Yang forgive him?
Neil figured that most of the fish were probably caught by Fang Yang, an ability user of B-level. As another B-level, he couldn’t fall behind. Seeing that they were about to eat, he stood up and said, “You stay here; I’ll go catch a few fish from the lake too. I’ll make you some grilled fish!”
It was just grilled fish. Although he preferred star beast meat over fish, he couldn’t let Fang Yang outdo him. Besides, it was just grilled fish. Looking at how they were cooking it, it didn’t seem difficult at all. The smell was even more enticing than grilled meat, so he decided to improve their meals.
Neil stripped off his shirt and jumped into the lake to catch fish. His muscles were somewhat popular with a portion of the audience, but even those who liked him didn’t want to support a fool. After all, he wasn’t the only big guy around.
Catching fish wasn’t difficult, especially since Neil was a beastman. Before long, he tossed a dozen fish onto the shore. Ding Changhuan eagerly took the fish to wash by the water, and when Neil returned, they would roast them together.
At this time, Milo and Lina noticed their actions from the corner of their eyes and nearly choked. They quickly set down their bowls of fish soup and patted their chests.
Milo suppressed his laughter and whispered, “They made the same mistake we did at the beginning. Fortunately, Luo Ge is here; otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to cook fish in the wild, scrape the scales, or remove the contents of the fish’s stomach.”
Lina nodded in deep agreement. “Fortunately, we have Luo Ge here; otherwise, we wouldn’t get to enjoy such delicious fish, and the soup is so tasty too.”
The creamy fish soup is incredibly delicious; she can drink several big bowls of it. Although the conditions here are dreadful, she feels like she’s gained weight from all the good food they’ve been eating. *Sigh.*
The others looked over as well, including Fang Yang and Luo Xingzhou. Fang Yang only figured out how to handle the fish after joining the group for the meal. When he was with Ding Changhuan, he never thought about eating fish, so he hadn’t known how to prepare it for grilling and cooking.
Luo Xingzhou wasn’t surprised by Neil and Ding Changhuan’s actions. Before his own transmigration, he had been one of them. In the interstellar age, household chores, including cooking, were usually handled by robots, so there was rarely a need to do things by hand. It was no wonder they didn’t know how to deal with fish; they would only realize how terrible it was when they tried to eat later.
Having a very poor impression of Ding Changhuan, they waited to see a good show while eating. The viewers in the live stream felt the same way. They were following Luo Xingzhou’s broadcast and only learned how to prepare fish through his detailed explanations. Now, seeing Neil and Ding Changhuan wash the fish in water and throw them directly onto the grill, another wave of intense comments flooded the chat.
[Do you think the fish these two guys are grilling will be edible? I really want to hear them describe how it tastes in the end.]
[Haha, two fools! They need to scrape the scales off the fish, or they’ll end up chewing on fish scales!]
[And the contents of the fish’s stomach need to be removed; otherwise, it will taste fishy and bitter. Haha, I can’t wait to see them eat the fish.]
[Hey, don’t get too smug! If you hadn’t watched Luo Xingzhou’s live stream, you wouldn’t even know how to prepare fish. Haha, I bet when it comes to doing it yourself, you wouldn’t do much better.]
[They’re starting to eat! Quick, watch the fun.]
The chat room was filled with excitement, waiting for the two of them to make fools of themselves. Some were ready to take screenshots for memes. Outside the Hong-ai Star, Second Young Master Huo watched the live stream and laughed so hard it hurt his stomach. Initially expressionless, Feng Zhan couldn’t help but smirk when he saw Luo Xingzhou throw a sidelong glance, eagerly waiting for a bit of fun.
The butler knocked and came in to ask what he wanted for dinner. Feng Zhan didn’t hesitate and said, “I want grilled fish.”
“Okay, I’ll arrange it right away,” the butler replied happily as he left. Recently, Feng Zhan has become more demanding, which is a good sign.
Unfortunately, the butler didn’t follow the live stream; otherwise, he would have noticed that Feng Zhan’s recent meal requests were almost entirely based on what Luo Xingzhou cooked in the broadcast.
Feng Zhan felt that the meals the butler carefully prepared were nowhere near as good as the food Luo Xingzhou made with simple outdoor utensils. For some reason, he thought Luo Xingzhou’s dishes must be exceptionally delicious, as if he had eaten them before.
Neil and Ding Changhuan quickly burnt the fish on the grill, hurriedly took them down, and started eating. The first bite was into the fish scales, and it was charred. They quickly spat it out, doubting how the nearby group could enjoy such grilled fish so happily.
After tearing off the burnt outer layer, the fish meat underneath looked much more appealing and should taste good. The two took another bite, chewed twice… Ding Changhuan suddenly turned around and spat out all the fish meat in his mouth with a “Wow!”
Neil didn’t spit it out immediately, but his expression changed. After spitting it out, he looked doubtfully at the nearby group, who were still enjoying their grilled fish. They were all learning from Luo Xingzhou, flipping fish on the fire while chatting and laughing, surrounded by a pile of fish bones that didn’t look like they were from something inedible at all.
Ding Changhuan couldn’t bear to look at the grilled fish in his hands anymore. He lifted his head and coincidentally saw Fang Yang tearing a piece of fish meat and putting it into his mouth. His expression immediately turned resentful. When he was with Fang Yang, he never had to worry about going hungry; Fang Yang always found a way to get him food. Although it didn’t taste great, he never had to lift a finger.
Now, not only did he have to do it himself, but he also had several cuts on his hands. Thinking about this made Ding Changhuan feel even more aggrieved, and tears streamed down his face. But Fang Yang didn’t even spare him a glance, laughing as he watched Milo and Lina compete for the fish Luo Xingzhou had just grilled.
Now that he was crying, no one noticed. Ding Changhuan wiped away his tears and said to Neil, whose expression was equally grim, “Neil Gege [1] It’s a more colloquial and relaxed way jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3567772_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3567772_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, why don’t I go ask them how they grilled the fish?”
Ding Changhuan thought that speaking with such an expression would make Fang Yang reluctant to let him struggle even a little. But Neil was not as attentive as Fang Yang; plus, Ding Changhuan had black soot on his hands, and now, with tears in his eyes, his dark circles looked even worse.
Neil irritatedly tossed the fish aside and said, “No need for that. I still have star beast meat on me. Let’s eat grilled star beast meat; what’s so good about fish?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll listen to Neil Gege.”
[Oh my, just hearing that gives me goosebumps. I think Lina and Huo Zhijun are both more straightforward than Ding Changhuan. A grown man is acting so overly delicate.]
[I’m satisfied, though. I’ve already captured screenshots of their funny fish-eating faces. Hahaha, it’s so hilarious.]
[Everyone, I actually tried making grilled fish at home too. Although it wasn’t as delicious as Luo Xingzhou’s, I thought it was great! Luo Xingzhou definitely knows we’re watching, so he explained the steps in detail while cooking, even mentioning alternative seasonings.]
[Right, I did it too! The robot helped me clean the fish, and I grilled it myself. It tasted really good.]
[I think Luo Xingzhou should do a food live stream when he comes back. He clearly knows how to cook, and people like that are rare nowadays.]
This suggestion received many nods of agreement, but Luo Xingzhou was unaware of their chatter. After eating his fill with everyone, he dug a hole to bury the fish bones and other remains before arranging the night watch, completely disregarding the two people beside him, leaving them unattended.
Ding Changhuan was truly on the verge of tears, but feeling guilty, he didn’t dare to approach those people, including Fang Yang. Now, Neil was the only one he could rely on, and he couldn’t let Fang Yang and the others ruin that.
Even though they grilled star beast meat again, it was tasteless, and Neil’s appetite significantly decreased. Even Ding Changhuan, who was sitting next to him, started to look less appealing. As for his abilities, they were quite lacking. The most he could do was create a bit of water to wash his hands and face, and when faced with a star beast, he could only hide behind Neil. Just the sight of a wild beast made him scream. As for cooking and cleaning? He wasn’t capable of that either.
Comparing himself to the group beside them, Neil felt increasingly displeased. After shoving a few bites into his mouth to fill his stomach, he turned to Ding Changhuan and said, “You’ll take the night watch tonight.”
“Ah…”
Ding Changhuan wanted to say something, but Neil had already turned around, pulled out his sleeping bag, and crawled inside, not caring whether Ding Changhuan could handle the responsibility of keeping watch. Besides, there was still that group nearby; if anything happened at night, they would surely react.
Ding Changhuan felt even more wronged. Fang Yang had also laid down, but there were three people taking the night watch on that side, while he was left all alone.
As the night deepened, Luo Xingzhou, who was on watch, suddenly turned his head to look at the pitch-black surface of the lake.
Lina and Huo Zhijun, who were keeping watch with him, noticed and quietly asked, “Did you hear something?”
Luo Xingzhou frowned slightly and said, “It seems like there’s some unusual movement deep in the lake. Regardless of whether there’s anything going on, stay alert.”
Lina and the others nodded repeatedly. After hearing Luo Xingzhou’s words, any drowsiness they had was instantly gone.
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