I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Chapter 452: Chapter 314 The Lively Dining Table

Chen Lun squinted his eyes when he saw the image of the three-headed serpent disappear.

‘A supernatural creature from ancient history… To such a degree of borrowing the past, this is the power of a high-ranking member of the History and Ritual Association.’

He stood in place, silent for several seconds before turning around.

Chen Lun walked up to the assassins of the Murder Club, and from the dark cross-shaped holes of his face armor, came his deliberately deepened voice:

“You have all worked hard; this operation ends here.”

The seventeen assassins, after a bout of fighting, had no casualties and were only slightly weary. They smiled, bowed respectfully to Chen Lun, and said:

...

“You’re too kind, sir, it was but a small effort…”

“Should you need us again, you can call upon us anytime, and we will definitely come.”

Chen Lun nodded his head.

At that moment, a leading assassin presented the spoils of war they had collected in advance, in a wooden box to Chen Lun.

“Mr. Qiaoke, these are relics from the antiquarians team, and the mysterious substance from their leader.”

Chen Lun did not take it but lifted the lid of the box to take a look inside.

There lay seven Class C Mysterious Objects and nine portions of Mid Sequence Earth Faction mysterious substance.

The remains of Luo Noli were shattered to pieces, and while they could not be separated into complete Mysterious Objects, there were also nine portions of mysterious substance; this was the foundation of a Sequence Five Transcendent.

Chen Lun saw the information of the seven Mysterious Objects with ease through the panel’s description, but he felt somewhat disappointed because six of them were of chicken ribs quality, with only one that could catch his eye.

[Class C Mysterious Object—Proficient Flask]

Item Description: An item containing the power of the Earth, shaped like an ordinary, antiqued transparent flask with very precise markings on it. It seems to be a vessel used for alchemy or pharmaceutical preparation.

The traces of time make it seem to be quite experienced in this aspect, perhaps this is already a proficient flask capable of working on its own.

Item Effect: Significantly increases the success rate of alchemy rituals or pharmaceutical preparation. After successfully completing a ritual or concoction, it will remember the entire process, and repeated use will greatly enhance efficiency.

Item Cost: Every so often, it will swallow materials and fall into a lazy slumber.

‘This Mysterious Object could be useful for Maggie…’ Chen Lun thought.

So he took the flask and the nine portions of mysterious substance from the box, then said to the assassins:

“The remaining relics will be your extra rewards.”

The assassins were somewhat surprised, then quickly showed joy, and promptly said:

“Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Qiaoke.”

Although the remaining six Mysterious Objects were not enough to go around, as Class C items, the money they would yield from selling them could net each person nearly two hundred Gold Pounds.

Chen Lun did not speak further, but hefted his great sword and took a step forward, vanishing from the spot with Cloud Leap.

*

*

*

After returning to the vineyard.

Chen Lun shed the Balag Armor and returned to his original attire.

He looked somewhat weary, the main reason not being combat, but rather the aftereffects of wearing the armor, as well as a mental burden caused by glimpsing the mythological frescoes in Luo Noli’s mind while corrupting him with mental transmission.

Though all these were underpinned by the abundant Sanity Value in the Maggie Statue, as the carrier, he was inevitably affected.

Chen Lun lay back on the couch, resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a teacup tapping down on the coffee table, followed by the feel of a pair of cool hands gently caressing his forehead, then slowly moving to his temples to begin massaging.

“I’ve made you some tea.”

A familiar and ethereal voice came from behind him.

Inhaling the fragrant scent at the tip of his nose and enjoying the comfort of the massage on his temples, Chen Lun smiled.

“Thank you.”

Then, the living room fell silent.

He and Floey didn’t need words to understand each other.

After a while.

Chen Lun felt much better, he raised his hand to grasp Floey’s hand and signaled her to stop.

He then opened his eyes and sat up.

“Come sit over here.”

He said, turning his head back.

“Okay.”

Floey obediently walked around the couch and sat next to Chen Lun.

“Sorry, I encountered some unexpected issues outside these past two days, but they’re resolved now.”

Chen Lun said, taking a sip from the tea Floey made.

Floey showed a slight smile and silently nodded her head.

She softly leaned her head on Chen Lun’s shoulder, saying nothing. Yet her expression showed a trace of reassurance. Seeing this, Chen Lun couldn’t help but slow his breathing, as if worried that the rise and fall of his chest would disturb Floey’s comfort.

The two sat on the couch together, quietly enjoying the afternoon.

And listening to each other’s breathing and heartbeat.

*

*

*

Dinner was quite sumptuous today.

It was evident that Floey was in good spirits.

Noah, Maggie, Golov, and Connie were all present.

Everyone savored the delicious food, chatting and laughing. Noah shared some amusing stories from his last excursion doing commissions, with Golov providing the perfect audience with exaggerated expressions that fueled Noah’s enthusiasm to speak.

Barton and Morey fell into the strong and silent type, listening intently but seldom speaking.

Maggie, being a lady, was not gentlewomanly at all, especially evident from her uninhibited dining and hearty laughter at Noah’s funny stories.

Connie was more conventional, her voice just not very loud. During this period, Chen Lun noticed aside from self-studying mechanical knowledge, she also read books like ‘Housekeeping Codex,’ ‘How to be a Proper Lady,’ and ‘A Good Day Starts with Dressing Well.’

She was a diligent ordinary girl.

And very pure-hearted.

At this moment, Golov exchanged glances with Barton and Morey, then stood up and bowed toward Chen Lun:

“Leader, I’m sorry, but we still haven’t been able to find any clues about the farmer ‘Dolim’ during this time.”

“It’s all right, sit down and have a meal first.”

Chen Lun stuffed a piece of fried chicken into his mouth and waved his hand dismissively.

Golov looked embarrassed, but still sat down.

“Don’t put pressure on yourself; you’ve already done very well… If we really run out of leads, I’ll take it upon myself to investigate.”

Chen Lun offered a word of comfort.

Golov exhaled, silently nodded, and then picked up his knife and fork again.

Chen Lun then took out a [Proficient Flask], handing it to Connie on his left to pass it on to Maggie.

“Maggie, this is a [C-grade Mysterious Object], it will aid you in concocting potions…”

He went on to explain the specific effects and the cost involved.

Maggie took the flask from Connie and gave Chen Lun an excited smile, exclaiming loudly,

“Thank you so much, Leader! I’ve been working on a new potion recently, and I love this gift!”

“You’re welcome.”

Chen Lun chuckled lightly.

The group continued with their meal.

Connie also took the opportunity to report her recent work to Chen Lun. She mentioned that with the help of the black crystal crafts, combining the principles of the flintlock gun and some of her own ideas, she had successfully developed a new weapon, which she named “Connie Number Two.”

It was a type of long barrel flintlock rifle that allowed for bolt-action repeated firing. Although it currently only had a capacity for five shots, it boasted an effective range of two hundred meters, with respectable accuracy and power. It also supported the use of Black Crystal Bullets.

Most uniquely, the firearm had a flame thrower attached below the barrel, capable of incinerating enemies at close range over a wide area, consuming fuel much like the mechanical glove but using more energy.

“That’s a very nice concept, let me test out a sample when we have the time… If you’re short on research funds, just let me know,” Chen Lun said with a smile.

“Yes, Mr. Jack,” replied Connie, pleased with the praise.

At that moment, Floey seemed restless and announced that she too had developed a new recipe, turning to head into the kitchen.

The people around the table smiled at this, but their smiles were filled with anticipation.

“Is Miss Floey cooking up something delicious again?”

Noah and Maggie’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, even reaching to wipe the drool from the corners of their mouths.

“I don’t know, I hope it’s beef… slurp!”

A moment later.

Floey brought a large bowl of boiled beef to the table, and the mouthwatering aroma hit them instantly.

“Wow!”

“What is this?”

“Beef! It’s really beef!”

The Circus members got excited at the sight.

Chen Lun was a bit surprised to see the dish; he glanced at Floey who seemed to catch his look and smiled back at him faintly.

Normally, Chen Lun often talked to Floey about recipes from his “hometown,” but mostly he knew only what they looked like and what taste they had; the exact methods of preparation were mostly unknown to him.

Unexpectedly, Floey had roughly recreated the dish based on these few clues.

But just then.

As Floey was about to ladle out servings of the dish for everyone, a red blur dashed across the table and dove into the bowl with a splash.

Splash!

“?!”

Everyone’s expressions became somewhat blank.

“What jumped in there?”

“It’s the prickle-backed Dingding…”

In just a few breaths, a round hedgehog resembling a large ball emerged slowly from the bowl, steaming hot and glistening with oil.

Its eyes were brimming with tears; it wasn’t clear if it was because of fullness or the spice.

The group was both annoyed and amused.

However, Chen Lun’s brow furrowed slightly.

The effect of [Cautious Gardener] was to automatically search for harmful substances within a certain range and consume them. The description was rather abstract, not specifying what “harmful substances” actually were… It generally just caught vineyard pests like rats, snakes, and insects.

“Connie, is this beef fresh?” Chen Lun asked casually.

When the others heard Mr. Jack ask this, they instantly thought that Dingding wasn’t really a hedgehog but a living form of a Mysterious Object. Perhaps it had rushed over to eat the beef because it had gone bad.

“Ah… it’s fresh, Mr. Jack!” Connie quickly stood up, thinking Mr. Jack was blaming her for negligence, and spoke with some anxiety.

“I personally went to the market to buy it this morning, and it’s the best meat from the Montelro slaughterhouse…”

“Montelro slaughterhouse…” Chen Lun suddenly recalled something.

‘Isn’t that the family business of Miss Trill, rebuilt after Harrington’s toy factory was sold…’ he thought to himself.

He set aside his conjecture and reassured Connie with a smile,

“Don’t be nervous; I’m not blaming you, just asking.”

“I understand, Mr. Jack.”

Connie let out a breath of relief and slowly sat back down.

Meow! At that moment, Biebu, a huge white cat comparable to a wildcat in size, suddenly leaped onto the table and slapped Dingding several meters away, knocking it to the floor where it bounced twice with a couple of thuds.

Biebu seemed irritated that it had spoiled the fun at dinner and chased after it, smacking it around fiercely until it was driven away.

The group burst into laughter at this, dispelling their frustration over the missed meal.

Only Chen Lun kept this seemingly trivial incident in mind, and advised Connie not to buy meat from Montelro slaughterhouse for the next few days.

His spiritual intuition had experienced a slight fluctuation at that moment, seemingly because of that bowl of beef.

‘There’s something wrong with this meat…’ Chen Lun thought.