The Great Worm Lich

Although Zhang Lisheng saw many malicious posts about Atlantis on the internet, after carefully analyzing and reading the comments, he found that most of them were empty slanders. When he heard that Guo Caiying was mentioning the unscrupulous act of the aliens during the ‘winter riots,’ he became interested and asked in a whisper, “Is that true, Senior Sister? Did those redheads really act so scrupulously?”

“There are a lot of things that have been concealed,” the girl nodded. “All in all, don’t underestimate the slyness and the viciousness of Atlantis. The things that are important in a high civilization are technology and strength, and not morality.”

“Oh Senior Sister, your last sentence can be recorded as a golden saying,” The young man agreed and smiled. “But don’t worry, I have always been very cautious.”

“Cautious? Ha! I’ve never seen this virtue in you before, but I’ve seen a lot of coldness, cunning, and craziness instead,” Upon hearing Zhang Lisheng’s evaluation of himself, Guo Caiying curled her lips and said in a whisper, “It’s a good thing that all of these would only show up against the enemies…”

The young man was stunned. He recalled how he had killed a group of robbers in the rainy night in front of the girl in the outskirts of Stanford City, and how he had let her witness himself casting the Gu Sea Method in the Oasis World’s jungle to kill the ape king. At once, he became speechless, so he automatically ignored Guo Caiying’s words and touched his stomach before saying, “Senior Sister, it was almost noon now. I was going to treat you to dinner yesterday, but the plan was disrupted by the alien sergeants, so is it okay if I make it up to you today? Shall we continue to go to the Ogawa Kyoto Restaurant?”

“Sure! Let’s go now! I didn’t eat much from last night until now.” Guo Caiying said in delight. “Oh that’s right, Junior Brother, why did those Atlanteans look for you?”

Zhang Lisheng walked to the restaurant together with the girl while replying, “Oh, I was tempted by several Atlantean soldiers and the federal intelligence officers last year to join a damn’ exploration group’ and has been going around in the Shrimp World No. 2. During the winter riots, the federal government and the Atlantis fleet issued an order for us to withdraw, but because we know nothing about the situation on Earth, I chose to stay in the foreign world. As a result, only I alone just so happened to come across the resurrection of a god…”

“The resurrection of a god?” the girl exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, Senior Sister, the god who ruled the foreign world’s natives during ancient times has resurrected. He has even created a weapon similar to biochemical warships to annihilate Atlantis’ fleet. This bizarre scene that has a touch of magical plus sci-fi elements did not happen in the cinema but right in front of my own eyes.”

“T-This is too absurd, Junior Brother! Oh, you’re like the hero of an adventurous comic. You’re entirely born as a ‘troublemaking machine,’ to think that you can encounter all sorts of strange things!” Guo Caiying said in bewilderment. “Ancient god versus the aliens? I’m really curious about what kind of scene that was. Can you tell me?”

“I know that diplomats are actually half a ‘spy’ and that you guys would usually carry out intelligence gathering when you heard such sensitive news,” The young man shrugged, “But the incident is a federal secret. Just last night, General Joss, the commander of the New York military base, has even hinted me to never leak disclose this news…”

“I’m not the kind of diplomat that you said. Ah, forget it, I know that a man like you must have a very high principle when it comes to trust, so I won’t force you anymore,” The girl very disappointed, but she interrupted Zhang Lisheng’s words understandingly; it was clear that she did not want to make things difficult for him.

To his surprise, the young man who had already walked to the front door of the old restaurant laughed out loud suddenly, “Senior Sister, I’m just kidding. I’m not as pedantic as you think. The promise that one is forced to make under circumstances is not counted as a real promise. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you when we eat later.”

Then, he proceeded to push open the partitioned door.

The Ogawa Kyoto Restaurant was decorated entirely in ancient Japanese style. The ground was covered with unpainted log planks that were carelessly sanded that showed off its original rough texture and rough surface with some slight uneven surface on it. Each of the partitions was also made of wood that has not been processed too much. The ceilings were lined with red lanterns drawn with vivid carps and sturgeons.

The fast-paced life in New York affected the people’s eating habits there and caused them to place more emphasis on dinner. Adding on to the fact that the food in the restaurant was quite expensive, no waiter was stationed in the door of the restaurant.

However, upon seeing customers entering the restaurant, several young women wearing plain kimonos who were wiping the tables that were already shining bright enough immediately walked up to them in small steps, before bowing and walking at the same time while greeting them with “Irrashaimashe, Irrashaimase…”

“Good afternoon, ladies. I need a quiet room, please, thank you,” Zhang Lisheng smiled politely and replied. When his words left his mouth, a woman whose kimono was dotted with the falling pink cherry blossoms which had just walked up to him immediately replied softly, “Please come with me.”

Then, she turned around to walk into the depth of the restaurant.

Walking along the corridor through the front door and passing through the hall, they came to a room with a paper door that the woman pushed open gently as she asked with a deep bow, “Is this room okay, sir?”

The room was not too big and was entirely decorated in a Japanese style. The wall was adorned with splash-inked landscape paintings while the floor was a four tatami mats that were connected together, with a short table made from logs placed on the tatami. The simple decorations and furnishings appeared to be very elegant.

“Not bad, this room it is then,” After glancing around, Zhang Lisheng nodded with satisfaction, and suddenly asked strangely. “I only want to order two dishes today, sushi and steak, but I want to spend 10,000 dollars. Is that okay?”

The woman was stunned. She raised her head a little and secretly studied the young man from top to bottom before seeing that he was not pulling her legs. Immediately, she said apologetically, “I’m very sorry, Master Ringo Jun has returned to Japan, and the chef that we have now is his disciple, Master Kyuutaro. Although the food that he makes tastes good, it’s…”

“It’s alright, please ask Mr. Kyuutaro to prepare the food solemnly. I’m willing to pay this price.” The young man kicked off his shoes and sat cross-legged in front of the table. Taking out a black credit card, he put it on the table and waved his hand without an ounce of concern.

After confirming that this was a big, generous customer, the woman gracefully walked up to Zhang Lisheng respectfully and kneeled down to pick up the card with both hands, before asking with a bow, “Yes, then Master Kyuutaro will dedicate himself to serving you today. Would you like him to come to the room to prepare the food?”

“No, I don’t like to be disturbed when I eat.”

“Alright,” The woman no longer said anything and stood up respectfully to retire.

Upon seeing Zhang Lisheng ended the movie-like conversation with the restaurant’s server, Guo Caiying who was not too spendthrift but was not thirty either took off his shoes and awkwardly kneeled in front of the young man and said, “They opened this restaurant in the US but makes it so authentic instead. If I knew earlier that it would have tatami, then I wouldn’t have come in the first place. It’s so uncomfortable kneeling like this.”

“Senior Sister, you’re not wearing a skirt anyway, so you can just sit cross-legged,” Zhang Lisheng shrugged and said.

“It’s too rude to sit cross-legged. I’m not a ‘female savage.’” Guo Caiying threw a dirty look at the young man and then curiously asked, “Junior Brother, you’re actually willing to spend 10,000 dollars on a meal for two? Don’t you think this is too lavish? No matter how delicious it is, it’s just sushi and steak, isn’t it? Is it worth it?”

If it was another person who did so, then the girl would have most likely thought that this fellow was trying to show off his demeanor and imposing manner to attract her. However, with the experience she had from the past, she believed that Zhang Lisheng would never do so.

“Of course it is worth it,” The young man replied, and then asked. “Senior Sister, nigiri sushi is a skill that is even harder than painting and calligraphy. I remember that you like Picasso’s sketches the most and that you feel that it’s worth it to pay several hundreds of thousands of dollars for one small drawing, so why do you think it’s not worth it to pay 10,000 dollars for several hours of service from a world-renowned top chef?”

The girl opened her mouth, “World-renowned? Oh, I think only a glutton like you would know his name.”

Zhang Lisheng smiled noncommittally and no longer said anything. At this moment, somebody pushed open the paper door and four women saying in unison, “Excuse me.”

Then, they entered in a single line and kneeled at both sides of the table, placing the shallow celadon wares, that was filled with a small amount but very beautiful looking enchanting dishes, placed on trays on the table.

After placing sake and non-alcoholic ‘wild berry brew’ in front of Zhang Lisheng and Guo Caiying in black porcelain bowls, the women in kimono said, “Please enjoy your meal,” before leaving the room bowed.

“Have a try, Senior Sister, see what is different with this expensive sushi than other ordinary sushi.” After watching the servers leaving, the young man used a pair of black wooden chopsticks to pick up a nigiri sushi wrapped with several layers as thin as cicada wings and rice grains tightly bonded together but were clearly evident, that had just the right size for a woman to swallow in a whole and placed it on the plate in front of Guo Caiying.

“Looks like its appearance is indeed different,” The girl smiled and picked up the sushi to take a look before placing it into her mouth. After chewing it, a look full of shock suddenly appeared on her face as she praised, “It’s really delicious. The taste is different, but I can’t tell how different it was from other ordinary sushi.”

“The temperature to cook the rice, the choice of the sashimi, excellent knife skills, and most importantly, the unique way to ‘form’ sushi… In short, everything is different,” As Zhang Lisheng spoke, he picked up a piece of sushi and placed it into his mouth too. With a satisfied look on his face, he chewed on it, “Now you feel that this meal is worth it already, right, Senior Sister?”

“Of course not, sushi is great, but it’s still not proportional to the price. A single lunch already needs 5,000 dollars, and if this isn’t paired with a top wine, then I won’t be able to accept it. Sigh, looks like the small bureaucrats from socialist countries don’t know how to enjoy life as much as the big industrialists in the capitalist countries do.” Guo Caiying replied jokingly.

“You said that I know how to enjoy life? I should really let you see what I usually eat when I collect materials in the pristine jungle,” Zhang Lisheng shrugged and said. “Alright, Senior Sister, don’t you want to listen to the story of the foreign world’s ancient god battling the alien fleet? The story goes something like this…”