A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 258: Chapter 207: Invitation_1

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Helmet Man stared at him with a puzzled look.

“You’re not trying to trick me into giving you my shrimp to eat, are you?”

“If I wanted to, I would just take it.”

Duanmu Huai focused his gaze on the pot of shrimp before him.

“I used my secret recipe in there. You think you can do better?”

“Absolutely.”

Duanmu Huai nodded in agreement.

“I guarantee it’ll be delicious. Want to give it a shot?”

“Hmm………”

Hearing this, Helmet Man contemplated for a moment.

“Fine, I’d like to see how you do it, but let me get this straight; if you ruin my shrimp, we’ll have a problem! I may be a small-time thug, but I’m not easily dismissed!”

“Leave it to me! Can you handle spicy food?”

“Of course.”

“Then there’s no problem.”

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai pulled a bag of red stuff from his pocket, tore it open, and dumped it directly into the pot. He then began to stir with a large spoon nearby. With Duanmu Huai’s actions, a numbingly spicy and fragrant aroma wafted out, and upon smelling this aroma, Helmet Man’s eyes instantly changed.

“Hey, what did you put in there? Why does it smell so good?”

“Hotpot base. It’s perfect for eating crayfish.” @@novelbin@@

At this moment, Duanmu Huai’s mouth was also watering. What he had put into the pot was indeed a base for spicy hotpot. This was something that Duanmu Huai had gotten from the planet where he first advanced to a Destroyer Warrior. Fortunately, the base had a long shelf life and was not easily ruined, so Duanmu Huai made bold to use it. Although he wasn’t very picky about food, he found the preparation of food in both Novice’s Village and Manaria to be too rough. Eating jerky every day also became boring, and since that was the case, why not use some hotpot base and have hotpot when he had nothing else to do?

The only downside was the potential for a sore posterior afterward.

“Sss slurp……..”

The fragrance of the numbing spiciness grew stronger, and Helmet Man couldn’t help but drool.

“Hey, it should be done now.”

“Perhaps, but it’ll probably taste better if it soaks a bit more.”

Duanmu Huai couldn’t resist any longer. He removed his gauntlet, then sat on the other side of the pot. The two of them locked eyes.

There were no words necessary. The silence spoke volumes. The red, spicy shrimp in front of them couldn’t wait.

“Well, let’s begin.”

As Duanmu Huai spoke, he picked up a prawn, and Helmet Man on the other side couldn’t wait to grab one and start peeling it.

The succulent shrimp meat, combined with the slightly strong spicy and numbing taste, made Duanmu Huai feel like he was back to his days of eating spicy crayfish at night markets. Except…

This was much better than spicy crayfish!

Satisfied, Duanmu Huai nodded at the shrimp in his hand. Crayfish may be delicious and fresh, but its size is too small. This might not be a problem for most people, but for Duanmu Huai, the size of a crayfish is about the same as a worm. His robust fingers could hardly peel and devein them. Every time, he had to pay extra for someone to peel the shells and deliver the crayfish to him, otherwise, he could only gnaw on them directly.

But the shrimp cooked by Helmet Man were larger – not as big as the prawns that Duanmu Huai had previously had, but decently sized, just right for his hands. Finally, Duanmu Huai had the pleasure of shelling and deveining crayfish. The crayfish in his mouth was tender and juicy, with no trace of fishiness. The numbing spicy taste made it even more savory, whetting his appetite.

If only there were drinks or beer, it would have been perfect.

“Huff………”

The pot wasn’t small, but the prawns were huge, so it didn’t take long for the prawns in the pot to be all eaten. Helmet Man, now satiated, leaned against the wall, belched contentedly.

“That was really good. I didn’t expect you to be capable of this. You won’t be taking back the soup, will you?”

“Of course not.”

“Well, then I suppose I made a good deal.”

Saying this, Helmet Man fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a necklace, tossing it to Duanmu Huai.

“Here you go, this should be the thing. That woman is really naive, but at least she wasn’t conned to death.”

“Thank you.”

After receiving the pendant, Duanmu Huai tidied up, stood up, turned around, and left.

“Hey, let’s eat together again next time!”

Hearing Helmet Man’s shout from behind, Duanmu Huai also waved goodbye.

“Definitely next time.”

After this, Duanmu Huai went back to the pavilion where the woman was indeed waiting for him anxiously.

“This is the item you wanted.”

Duanmu Huai handed over the necklace he’d gotten from Helmet Man, and seeing the necklace, the woman broke into a beaming smile.

“Yes, this is indeed my stolen necklace, thank you, you are indeed my benefactor……”

“Don’t exaggerate, I just got your necklace back.”

And also had a delicious meal.

“Ah, right, I think I forgot to introduce myself.”

The woman said, casting a shy gaze at Duanmu Huai.

“I am Layas, a servant to the master of Volcano Manor, Lord Tannis. It is my duty as a recruiter to invite those with Heroic Qualification to the manor.”

While speaking, Layas pulled out a letter from her bosom.

“Please accept this.”

“What is this?”

Duanmu Huai glanced at the letter in his hand and asked.

“This is an invitation from Volcano Manor, oh owner of Heroic Qualification. Please proceed to the Yatan Plateau in the Golden Tree Land. As soon as your strength is confirmed, Volcano Manor will certainly send you a formal invitation, asking you to become a warrior and comrade.”

“Hmm…”

Looking at the invitation, Duanmu Huai was somewhat indifferent. However, at that moment, he suddenly remembered something – Audrey had said she was transported to a mansion on a volcano once when contacting him. Could it be the Volcano Manor she mentioned?

“Let me ask you something.”

With that thought, Duanmu Huai turned to Layas and inquired.

“Have you seen a young girl with jet black hair, all dressed up and pretty?”

“Ah, are you referring to Miss Audrey?”

Layas was somewhat surprised by Duanmu Huai’s question.

“She suddenly appeared in Volcano Manor, and is currently under Lord Tannis’s care… Ah, you must be the master she was speaking of……”

“Yes, so if I go to Volcano Manor, I can see her?”

“Of course.”

Layas nodded.

“Please rest assured, Miss Audrey is now well and without any major problems.”

“Alright, I understand. Thank you.”

Hearing Audrey’s whereabouts, Duanmu Huai felt a sigh of relief. At least he now knew where one of his companions was. Layas told him how to get to the Yatan Plateau, where Volcano Manor was located. She said that the large elevator there hadn’t been used in a long time. She recommended Duanmu Huai take the mine route, but for Duanmu Huai, climbing cliffs was easier than squeezing himself into a narrow mine tunnel.

Duanmu Huai chatted with Layas for a while more before excusing himself to leave. After all, he had many things left to do. Knowing Audrey’s location gave him some peace of mind.

Still, it was a pity that he didn’t know where the rest of his companions were.

Ogis mentioned being in a “cave full of a starry sky.” Duanmu Huai was clueless about this. Lorena only reported being in a white snowfield, with giant figures roaming around. It wasn’t the least bit helpful.

Bambi was the worst off, trembling in a temple. She sent out a bat to scout and knew that the temple was on a piece of red land. There was a bridge in front of it, and a dragon on the bridge… Well, that was all Bambi could tell him.

“Master, come save me, the weird tall guy is so scary, and goes crazy all the time…”

Bambi was almost on the verge of tears.

However, Duanmu Huai still didn’t know where she was.

But as long as he found a piece of red land, he should be able to locate her.

After saying goodbye to Layas, Duanmu Huai continued on his journey to the Magic Academy.

All along the way, he could see buildings that had been flooded and collapsed. He didn’t know what had happened here exactly, but it looked like there had been a flood. Apart from the Magic Academy, located at a high point, all the other buildings were affected. The broken and damaged remnants of the buildings told the tale.

For some reason, the layout reminded Duanmu Huai oddly of Manaria Magic Academy. The setting was similar—the Magic Academy was located in the highest part of the region, connected to the outside world by a long bridge, and lower areas were for towns and living quarters.

Could all Magic Academies in the universe be like this?

At this time, it was already late. Under the cover of the dim night sky, only the brilliance of the Golden Tree still sparkled. If you think about it, the existence of four seasons and the cycle of day and night under the ground is quite odd. All of this seemed to be the doing of the Golden Tree. In the daytime, its glow would be brighter, similar to the sun. During the night, its glow would dull down, looking more like city lights.

“……”

At this moment, Duanmu Huai shifted his gaze. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the front.

“Tap… Tap… Tap…”

The sound of horse hooves echoed.

Under the shine of a moon-like glow, a giant figure slowly emerged in front of Duanmu Huai. It was an armored cavalryman in pitch-black armor, atop a tall horse draped in black fabric. Like a ghost, he gazed at Duanmu Huai, a murderous intent gleaming in his eyes.

The visitor was ill-intended.

Duanmu Huai gave a slight chuckle, gripping the War Hammer in his hand and staring back at his foe.

“Good. I ate too much just now. Time for some post-dinner exercise.”