After solving a minor robbery, Gao Ming went on to perform a series of good deeds: saving a bratty kid who almost got hit by a car while running a red light, rushing to a fire scene to rescue trapped victims, and tripping up a purse-snatcher on 4th Street…
“Whew… No wonder the future little bug will be so busy he can’t be in two places at once. Not a single day is ever peaceful.”
After a few hours of his heroic activities, Gao Ming took a short break.
He went home, changed into casual clothes, and then headed back out to wander the streets, leisurely taking in the scenery of Great America.
He used to be too broke to travel abroad, but now that he was living in the US, he might as well enjoy it to the fullest.
With his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, Gao Ming casually looked around.
Whenever he spotted a hot, beautiful foreign woman, he’d whistle in interest.
Of course, he was only admiring them from afar.
That was as far as he dared to go.
So, when an incredibly open-minded woman—both in her dress and demeanor, and likely in her equally open profession—approached him, threw him a wink, and asked in a flirtatious tone, “Hey, little boy, want to come play with Big Sister?” Gao Ming immediately stumbled over his words, unable to utter a complete sentence.
In the end, he could only flee in utter disarray.
Hearing the foreign woman’s mocking laughter behind him, Gao Ming felt a surge of humiliation.
*Damn, is teasing a virgin that amusing?
I’m just worried you wouldn’t be able to handle my high-level combat prowess…*
He thought this, but he didn’t have the courage to stop and turn back to show that foreign woman what he was made of.
As an inexperienced virgin, he could talk a big game, but when it came to actually going into battle, he felt a bit weak in the knees…
After being teased by the foreign woman, Gao Ming fully realized how open-minded foreign girls were.
He also recognized that he lacked the confidence to tease them back, so he decided to just walk around and enjoy the scenery.
New York City wasn’t actually all that different.
It was just as crowded with traffic, surrounded by endless concrete and steel, with countless residents filling every corner.
The biggest difference from China was that the people passing by weren’t black-haired, yellow-skinned Asians, but rather white people with different hair colors and Black people with snowy white teeth.
It felt novel at first, but after a while, Gao Ming didn’t find it any more surprising.
Although Asians weren’t common in the US, they weren’t rare either.
After all, there were always people from China wanting to immigrate.
As a Chinese person, Gao Ming wouldn’t attract much attention walking down the street.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, Gao Ming grew bored.
He decided to shift his focus to finding some good food.
*What famous food does America have?* Well, Gao Ming could only think of Golden Arches and KFC…
Realizing he’d been ordering burgers and fries for the past few days, he was sick of them.
*I’d better go check out Chinatown.*
Chinatowns exist in many countries.
They are home to many Chinese people and Chinese Americans, offering a chance to taste a variety of Chinese snacks.
His Second Self had previously sold snacks in a Chinatown with his grandfather, though the flavors here would surely be less authentic.
Chinatown was also located in Manhattan.
It took Gao Ming less than ten minutes to arrive.
As he stepped into Chinatown and saw the crowds of people with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
*Ah, fellow countrymen…*
In Gao Ming’s imagination, Chinatown was supposed to be a food street teeming with Chinese delicacies.
The reality, however, was quite different.
It was no different from the commercial districts back home, lined with all sorts of shops.
If there was any difference at all, it was that there were far more foreigners with different hair and eye colors than in China.
The streets of Chinatown were wide and spacious.
Many street food stalls and open-air eateries, run by familiar yellow-skinned compatriots, could be seen pushing carts along.
However, their fluent English was enough to make any high school student back home, who was still struggling to review the language, bow down in awe.
“Sigh… After all, they’re not native-born Chinese.” Hearing the stall owners speak English fluently while their Chinese was a bit awkward, Gao Ming couldn’t help but feel a wave of mixed emotions.
Then…
Gao Ming walked to a food stall with a look of pleasant surprise, staring at the familiar sign on the cart—
*Shaxian County Snacks!*
Ah, that’s the English translation.
Its Chinese name is the world-famous—
Shaxian Snacks.
“Holy crap, Shaxian Snacks has actually gone international? My great China is truly magnificent!”
Without a second thought, he blurted out, “Boss, give me one serving of steamed dumplings, two servings of wontons, and one serving of fried noodles!”
“Alright, young man, just a moment.” Seeing that it was a Chinese youth, the boss of Shaxian Snacks felt a sense of familiarity and warmth from the clear and standard Mandarin.
Humming a little tune, he happily prepared the snacks Gao Ming had ordered one by one.
“Here you go.” Gao Ming pulled a few bills from his pocket and handed them over, taking the packed snacks from the owner.
The owner handed back the change.
“Come back and see us again, young man.”
“Will do, will do. I’ll definitely be back,” Gao Ming replied quickly, his mind already drifting to the Shaxian Snacks in his hand.
He’d been here for nearly half a month, surviving on nothing but burgers and fries.
Now, seeing the familiar Shaxian Snacks, he missed them terribly.
Though they were cheap and not even that good, the sight of them now made him swallow hard…
Finding a public bench, Gao Ming sat down and couldn’t wait to lift the lid.
The steamed dumplings were small and delicate, with just enough filling to be tender and juicy…
The clear soup was dotted with chopped green onions, and a few wontons peeked out from beneath the surface, making his mouth water…
The golden-yellow noodles were tossed with orange-red shredded carrots, bright green wild greens, and golden-brown scrambled eggs, filling the air with a delicious aroma…
*Alright, I must have gone too long without them,* he thought.
The simple Shaxian Snacks now looked like a gourmet feast in his eyes.
Needless to say, he spread his chopsticks wide and thought only one word: *Eat!*
With lightning speed, Gao Ming snatched up a fried dumpling with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a hearty bite!
*Ah!
This is the taste!
The same old filling…*
Gao Ming marveled inwardly, his hands never stopping for a moment.
One by one, the fried dumplings vanished, landing straight in his stomach.
After finishing the fried dumplings, Gao Ming picked up a bowl of wontons and took a direct sip of the broth.
*Oh~ This bland, tasteless soup…
I’ve missed it so much…*
The wontons slid into his mouth with the broth, swallowed whole in a single gulp.
A warm sensation spread through his body.
He grabbed a mouthful of fried noodles and slurped them in.
*This chewiness, this springiness…
I’m so moved…*
Gao Ming devoured the Shaxian Snacks as if he hadn’t eaten for days.
Before long, the table was completely cleared.
“Burp~ A little full.” Gao Ming hadn’t even been hungry to begin with.
After the fried dumplings, two portions of wontons, and a plate of fried noodles, he was feeling quite stuffed.
But the moment he saw the dizzying array of other snacks he hadn’t tried yet, his enthusiasm surged.
He placed a hand on his stomach and activated the Power of Recovery.
He hadn’t been slacking off these past few days, either.
He’d still found time to study the power of talismans and develop new skills.
Through his tireless research (which was actually just a lucky accident), Gao Ming discovered that the Power of Recovery could accelerate the human body’s physiological reactions, thereby achieving effects like self-healing and detoxification.
Similarly, accelerating the digestive system was a piece of cake.
However, the drawback was also glaringly obvious…
*Gurgle—*
His stomach began to churn.
Gao Ming had to find a restroom to take care of some urgent business.
With everyone watching, it would be awkward to turn invisible.
He could only hunch over slightly, walking with difficulty to an empty corner before turning invisible… and then flying toward the nearest public restroom.
What?
You think he was going to relieve himself right there?
Don’t think so poorly of people; one must maintain public decency and hygiene.
You’re asking why Gao Ming didn’t just run?
Heh, do you want death to come faster?
***
Arriving at the public restroom, Gao Ming rushed to an empty stall, closed the door, locked it, dropped his pants, and squatted down—all in one fluid motion. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
When squatting on the toilet without a phone or newspaper in hand, if the process isn’t too difficult, the brain tends to go blank and thoughts start to wander.
*Hmm…
This process could be called “The Thinking Man.”*
Gao Ming involuntarily thought of a question he had been avoiding all this time: *Am I still human?*
Ageless and immortal, possessing countless abilities, he might not even die if Earth were destroyed.
What was he, really—a human, or a monster?
Although he still ate and slept like an ordinary person, he knew deep down that he did so partly to cling to his human identity.
*Hmm…
Done?
The “Thinking Man” (daydreaming) session is over.*
Gao Ming calmly completed the subsequent steps, wiped clean, and then flushed Comrade A Xiang away.
Walking out of the public restroom, Gao Ming regained his spirited demeanor.
“Oh ho ho! Back to the fight!”
*Thinking too much is useless.
Better to satisfy my stomach first.*
Gao Ming excitedly ran toward Chinatown, leaving behind a few bewildered foreigners near the restroom.
*Does taking a dump need to be this exciting?*
***
*Slurp—*
Gao Ming took a big, urgent gulp of the soy milk in his hand, washing down the Gobuli baozi that had been stuck in his throat.
He patted his chest.
“Whew… I was eating too fast.”
Though he wasn’t going to choke to death, the sensation of food getting stuck was still miserable.
He took a few more sips of soy milk before finishing the half-eaten bun in two quick bites.
Now that his stomach was empty again, Gao Ming unleashed his full “foodie” strength.
Upon returning to Chinatown, he set his sights on the roadside carts.
He ordered one or two portions of every single snack, sweeping through all the stalls in his path.
Before he knew it, he had drawn the attention of many passersby.
Some people assumed it must be a variety show or a challenge event, like a competitive eating contest.
Consequently, a crowd of curious onlookers gradually gathered behind Gao Ming, all waiting to see how long this young Asian man would keep eating.
When Gao Ming finally finished the last snack in Chinatown, some of the bystanders broke into applause, as if celebrating a champion’s victory in a competition.
Having switched out of “foodie mode,” Gao Ming accepted the inexplicable applause with a bewildered expression.
*What’s there to cheer for?* he wondered.
*Ugh…
I’m stuffed…*
Though his stomach was painfully full, Gao Ming maintained his composure under the public gaze.
Without a flinch, he tossed the remaining takeout boxes into a trash can and slowly walked out of Chinatown.
Only after walking a long distance and ensuring he was out of sight of the crowd did his expression change, his stride becoming labored.
*I need to digest this quickly.
I’m way too full…*
After finding a public restroom, Gao Ming repeated his earlier ritual.
A short while later, he emerged feeling refreshed.
“A trip well spent,” Gao Ming said with satisfaction.
“Time to go home.”
But he wasn’t in a hurry to fly back just yet.
Instead, he strolled leisurely along the street, deciding to walk for a while.
“Gao Ming?”
A familiar voice called his name from behind.
Gao Ming turned, curious.
*It couldn’t be someone else with the same name, could it?*
Standing there was a person Gao Ming never expected to see, gazing at him with utter surprise and delight.
Sophia!