After seeing the comments, Xie Sen subconsciously glanced at the time; it was only a little past 3 PM. To get a slice of boiled fish, they were now waiting until 10 AM the next morning, and even had to spend the night.
What kind of foodie spirit was this?
He felt once again that the Brant aliens were too pitiful; when it came to food, they were simply too miserable.
He put his arm around Maine's shoulder: "You two have never eaten anything good since you were little, have you?"
Maine: "We're used to it."
Xie Sen thought of how they drank the nutrient solution without batting an eye, and thought, indeed, they were used to it; otherwise, how could they be so calm when drinking something so awful!
After the two finished their preparations for tomorrow, they went to see their contracted beasts. The Flying Eagle Beast still couldn't fly, but it walked very fast, often lying in the accommodation area, chatting with the other beasts.
The other beasts were recovering well; perhaps because they had many companions around, their periods of frenzy had greatly shortened, but they still maintained a high level of wariness towards humans.
Besides Xie Sen, and Gu Luo, Bai Jiao, and Bai's father, who had undergone multiple examinations with Xie Sen's assistance, as well as the frequently seen Mei Yin and Long Teng, all still became agitated upon encountering strangers.
When Xie Sen and Long Teng entered, Bai's father and Bai Jiao were already there. After exchanging greetings, Bai's father glanced outside and said, "Let's go outside and talk."
Xie Sen immediately understood his meaning; what he said was inconvenient for the beasts to hear. This also meant that not all the contracted beasts could hear, as the speed at which news spread among contracted beasts was such that if one knew, all of them would know.
The four went to the apartment, and after sitting down on the sofa, Bai's father said, "I knew before that contracted beasts were quite intelligent, but after coming here to treat the beasts, I realized I had underestimated their intelligence."
Xie Sen smiled, "After all, the Brant aliens were originally in beast form."
"You're right," Bai's father said, "Actually, I've studied human history. Even if those contracted beasts you raised really transformed into humans, I wouldn't be surprised."
Wow!
Xie Sen was startled. He had never considered this before. Just as he knew modern humans evolved from apes, he never imagined that intelligent apes would suddenly turn into humans.
He asked, "Really?"
Father Bai replied cautiously, "The possibility is very high, but it's related to both physiology and environment. If they accept and are accustomed to their animal form, and perceive themselves as contracted beasts, then it's unlikely."
Xie Sen thought to himself, "Does this mean that if someone has the thought of becoming human, is it possible?"
Mr. Bai didn't continue the topic, but instead changed to the main point: "The main point is that I know they are very intelligent, so I deliberately avoided talking about them from here on out."
Xie Sen suppressed his other thoughts and asked with some worry: "Is it about treatment?"
Mr. Bai nodded: "Yes, the contracted beasts in the lab are all recovering very well. I discussed it with several experts, and Dean Mu also participated in the meeting. We all agree that now is the best time for treatment. If we wait any longer, the organs forcibly placed on them will be too deeply integrated, and the surgery will be very complicated. Their current condition is just right to withstand the surgery."
He sighed as he spoke: "However, the surgery is very invasive, requiring many people and a long time. To ensure the surgery is completed smoothly, they must be under general anesthesia."
Xie Sen understood: "You're worried that they will have emotional fluctuations if they hear about general anesthesia."
"Yes," Mr. Bai said, "this is an expected reaction, so we can only talk to them away from them. But after the surgery, they will definitely realize what happened, and the pain from their wounds will be at its strongest then; they might go berserk."
Mr. Bai's expression was serious: "If we can't control them, their condition will be worse than when they were first brought back."
Xie Sen asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
Mr. Bai: "Of course. The reason I told you is because I need your help. Your kindness is the best tranquilizer for them, and it has no side effects."
"I hope you can stay with them until the anesthesia wears off after the surgery. We can't be sure what will happen, but we will arrange for someone to ensure your safety."
Xie Sen didn't hesitate: "I agree. These surgeries can only be done one at a time, right?"
Mr. Bai: "Yes, two days later, we plan to operate on the giant bear beasts first. The anesthesia should wear off around the afternoon."
Xie Sen glanced at the calendar: "The 28th. Tell me the address, and I'll go that afternoon."
"Alright." Father Bai smiled. "Then I'll make the arrangements first."
Bai Jiao glanced at the message: "Father, I'll be back later."
Father Bai nodded: "Good, you young people should chat and play together more, don't always be researching medicinal herbs."
Bai Jiao responded. After Father Bai left, Bai Jiao said: "A-Teng said he's coming over."
As soon as she finished speaking, a dragon's roar came from outside. The next moment, the huge head of the flying dragon beast was placed on the door: "A-Sen, I've come to see you!"
Xie Sen greeted it with a smile. Long Teng laughed and stepped from the dragon's back to its head, leaping into the living room. The flying dragon beast turned and flew to the dormitory area to play with its companions.
Long Teng ran to Xie Sen's side, its eyes sparkling. As it sat down, it reached out to pat Xie Sen's shoulder, but before it could, it was stopped by Mei Yin.
Long Teng was taken aback, but quickly realized, "Haha, I almost forgot that Asen is pregnant. I'll just pat her gently, no force."
Mei Yin withdrew her hand, and Long Teng put his arm around Xie Sen's shoulder, "Asen, I saw the live broadcast announcement. You're making boiled fish at the mall tomorrow?"
Xie Sen nodded, and Long Teng looked on with a greedy expression, "Can I cut in line? Can I?"
Xie Sen chuckled, "Cutting in line only gets you one slice. If you want some, let's have dinner together. I can make it first and practice."
"Really?" Long Teng jumped up. "That's amazing! I really want to eat it!"
Bai Jiao asked curiously, "The mall is serving boiled fish?"
Before Xie Sen could speak, Long Teng quickly recounted Xie Sen's announcement: "I saw a lot of audience members saying they're going to sleep on the floor! Hahaha, how lucky! If I didn't know Asen, I would have slept on the floor too!" Xie Sen
: "...Sleeping on the floor is serious, not a joke?"
Long Teng said, "Of course not. If you don't sleep on the floor, you won't get to the front of the line and won't get any food!"
Xie Sen said helplessly, "I should have announced it tomorrow morning, or limited the entry time."
Bai Jiao laughed, "Limiting the entry time won't work. People who want to go will definitely be waiting near the mall."
Xie Sen shrugged, "Looks like I'll have to announce it later in the future."
The four of them sat on the sofa chatting. At dinner, Xie Sen personally cooked boiled fish, and the four of them ate together. After dinner, everyone looked like they were about to have heatstroke, their faces and lips were red, and they sat on the sofa drinking cold water.
Long Teng smacked his lips, "Hiss...so refreshing!"
Xie Sen gulped down apple juice, thoroughly enjoying his dinner. The only downside was the lack of alcohol. In the past, when friends ate together, it was always lively, and besides delicious food, alcohol was indispensable; it made the atmosphere even more exciting.
Unfortunately, his energy needs were high now. Although he had a considerable amount of energy left, he didn't dare use it carelessly. Otherwise, he really wanted to exchange it for the plants needed to brew some wine.
The next morning, after breakfast, Xie Sen went to see his contracted beasts. He stroked each of their paws to soothe them, then sat down on a recliner and browsed the news.
The news headline "Star City Mall is Packed" floated at the top, reporting the real-time situation at the mall and including several aerial photos showing a sea of heads with different hair colors.
The report explained the situation, directly copying the announcement from his live stream, and concluded with a safety reminder.
Xie Sen returned to the homepage and found a post reporting the queue area in real-time. He selected to only view the original poster's post and quickly glanced at it. Around 5 AM, the area Maine had reserved was already packed with people, and entry to the queue area was prohibited.
The last photo, posted half a minute earlier, showed the queue area completely filled with people; the mall buildings on both sides had windows that were rarely opened, all of them occupied.
This was unbelievable! Xie Sen was shocked. He was just cooking, not performing a concert!
Looking at the dense crowd, he felt inexplicably nervous, rubbing his hand on the small spot lying beside him, which eased his anxiety somewhat.
Xie Sen stayed in the accommodation area until 9:30 AM before heading to Star City Mall with Maine. The two used the VIP entrance, their shuttle landing in the VIP parking lot and leading directly to the booth preparation area from underground.
There were three tall men in the preparation area; one was slicing fish, with several fresh fish in a large bucket next to him, and a portion of sliced fish on the table. The other two were carrying mobile kitchen equipment out. Upon seeing Maine, the two men paused: "Mr. Maine."
Maine inspected the equipment: "Move it out."
The man slicing the fish greeted them: "The second portion will be ready soon."
Xie Sen said: "No rush, two portions are enough; leaving them too long will affect the taste."
The staff quickly set up the equipment. Hearing the excited shouts outside, Xie Sen inexplicably wanted to laugh; he almost had the illusion that he was at a concert, even though he was just cooking a dish!
"Knock knock..." The sound of two people tapping their microphones came through, and soon, a staff member came in and said, "Mr. Xie, Mr. Maine, everything is ready."
Maine looked at the surveillance cameras on the wall outside, carefully checking the security around the stage. Seeing that everything was fine, he put his arm around Xie Sen's shoulder: "Don't be afraid, let's go out together."
Xie Sen took a deep breath and smiled: "I'm not afraid." Maine let go of his hand, picked up the fish slices, and the two walked out together.
As soon as Xie Sen appeared in the audience's sight, they immediately shouted excitedly. Xie Sen paused for a moment, then calmly continued walking forward, with Maine close behind him.
When they reached the middle of the stage, Xie Sen looked down at the audience. All he could see were people. The tall buildings on both sides were also filled with people in the windows. Their position was much higher, which made Xie Sen feel pressured.
Maine picked up the wireless microphone on the table, bent down and put it on his ear. The two were now very close, with Maine blocking half of his body. He breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart suddenly relaxed.
"Okay, this button is the switch." Maine grabbed his wrist and made him touch the power button on the headset.
Xie Sen hummed in response. Maine lowered his head, his gaze falling on Xie Sen's lips. After a slight pause, he lightly kissed Xie Sen's forehead. "I'm here, don't be afraid." He then stepped aside, handing the space over to Xie Sen.
Without Maine's cover, the crowd was once again fully visible to Xie Sen. He wasn't nervous or afraid, but his face flushed slightly as he thought about what he had just done.
He touched the power button on his headset. "Hello everyone, I'm Xie Sen," he smiled. "I didn't expect so many people today, I'm a little overwhelmed."
He didn't want to say too much, but for the sake of energy and to maximize the effectiveness of today's event, it was better to say something than to remain silent.
He spoke sincerely, "When I watched the replay of the chili pepper launch event, I saw the comments section. Many people wanted to try the chili peppers. I was incredibly surprised and delighted when I first ate them, so when I had chili peppers, I wanted more people to experience their flavor."
"Of course, there were too many people present, and very few actually got to taste them. I did consider a pre-event raffle and indoor tastings. But the allure of food isn't just about tasting, it's also about smelling. So, we ultimately chose this location, so that even if the audience hadn't tried them, they could smell the chili peppers. I hope to give more people a new experience. I'll continue to hold events like this in the future."
The audience cheered. Xie Sen smiled, checked the utensils and ingredients, and began cooking.
Soon, the aroma of chili peppers wafted from the stage. Almost everyone in the front row was smelling this spiciness for the first time. A few coughed from the spiciness, while most swallowed hard.
They couldn't help but think: This aroma is strange; why does it make my mouth water uncontrollably?
Xie Sen wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat, but his reaction to the spicy aroma was the same as the audience's.
The aroma grew stronger, and the audience craned their necks forward, as if they could taste it just by looking. A video on the wall in front of the stage showed the scene in the pot; tender white fish slices were half-hidden under the fiery red broth, looking incredibly delicious.
"Oh my god, it smells so good!"
"So tempting, I'm drooling!"
"This smell makes even the worst jerky taste good." A young man, eyes fixed on the front, held a palm-sized piece of jerky, chewing it greedily.
"Young man, give me some, I'm so hungry." The uncle behind him patted his shoulder.
The audience members queuing on either side also chimed in, "Give me some too! You're so silly, you should have brought some food; even if you're not hungry, the smell makes you hungry."
"It's worth it, even if we didn't get a front seat, just smelling this is worth it!"
"Yeah, I've never smelled anything so good before, the streamer is such a good person!"
Xie Sen watched the energy bar steadily increase, his lips curving into a wider smile; delicious food really is a good thing.
The boiled fish was quickly prepared, and Mei Yin went to help, gesturing for the staff to let the audience members come up on stage. The first audience member was a young boy who took the fish slice Mei Yin handed him. After eating it, his face flushed, and he fanned his mouth with his hand, breathing out, "So refreshing!" He asked expectantly, "Can I have another slice?"
Mei Yin refused outright, "No."
The boy was very disappointed. The staff reminded him to leave the stage from the other side. He reluctantly left the stage, saying to Xie Sen before leaving, "Answerer, the live broadcast time is too short now, please extend the broadcast time!"
The mall's security was excellent, and the audience members lined up in order, making the entire tasting process very smooth.
After the first batch was finished, the audience member at the very front of the line almost burst into tears: "Just one more! Why am I so unlucky!"
The person behind him deeply sympathized: "Waaah, I really want to eat some!"
Xie Sen stood aside waiting for the staff to clear the table. He was very close to the audience in the first row and couldn't help but laugh when he heard their words. Was it really that exaggerated?
He smiled over there: "There's one more pot, just wait a moment."
"Really!" The first audience member jumped up, raising his hands and shaking them excitedly from side to side, "Ahhh, that's amazing, Xie Shen, I love you, you're so great!"
Maine reached out and put his arm around Xie Sen's waist, looking over coldly.
The audience member landed and froze, then quickly pulled his hands back to his front and waved them wildly: "Don't misunderstand, I absolutely have no ulterior motives towards the streamer!"
Laughter came from all around. Xie Sen was slightly embarrassed, patted Maine's hand, and whispered, "You're too serious, they're just expressing their emotions."
Maine looked down at him: "I wanted to lock you up so only I could see."
Xie Sen suddenly had some inappropriate images flash through his mind. He poked
Xie Sen's cheek and said, "Don't think like that." He tilted his head and gestured to the audience, "Don't be jealous. Lots of people are calling your name. You're dressed so handsomely, are you doing it on purpose?" Maine was dressed all in black today, with matching Martin boots. He looked cool and handsome, and with his face, he made people want to scream.
"I didn't hear it," Maine glanced at his clothes, "It's convenient for fighting."
Xie Sen: "...I'm here to cook."
"I'm worried someone might cause trouble," Maine said.
At this moment, the staff said they were ready. Maine let go of Xie Sen, and Xie Sen walked to the center of the stage. The staff placed the fish slices on the table. Xie Sen checked the ingredients and started making boiled fish again.
Halfway through the second batch of tasting, a drone suddenly flew towards Xie Sen at an extremely fast speed.
Before anyone could react, the sunflower on Xie Sen's left shoulder instantly enlarged, and a sunflower seed the size of an arm slammed into it. The seed's trajectory drew a black line in the air, and in the blink of an eye, a huge impact resounded.
Immediately afterward, another 'bang' followed as the drone exploded in mid-air, golden sparks flashing past, and fragments rained down.
Xie Sen was startled. Although the explosion wasn't loud, if it had hit him, he would have been seriously injured.
Even though it hadn't hit him, he couldn't help but worry. Below were the audience, and the debris was incredibly hot; if it landed on anyone, it would surely burn them.
He reacted instantly, summoning a giant cabbage and ordering it to expand to its maximum size and then unfold. The enormous cabbage unfurled its petals like a blooming flower, forming a flat circle.
The debris fell onto the leaves, scalding what was originally the innermost, now the outermost layer, causing it to fall to the next layer. With each layer of leaves scalded, the temperature of the debris decreased significantly; by the third layer, it was caught by the leaves.
All of this happened incredibly fast. The audience only saw the out-of-control drone, the enlarged sunflower, the impact and explosion, and then everything went dark. A white-centered, green-edged round object blocked the sky, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared, everything returned to calm, without a trace, even the exploded drone was gone, as if everyone had just experienced a hallucination.
When Xie Sen recalled the cabbage, it was already being held by Maine.
Maine asked anxiously, "Are you alright?"
Xie Sen shook his head, rubbing the now-shrunken sunflower petals: "I'm fine, Little Sunflower is very fast."
Little Sunflower twisted its stem, looking quite pleased with itself.
Maine breathed a sigh of relief and contacted the mall manager, his voice cold: "The attacker is in the building on the right, on the fifth floor near the window. Have someone catch him!"
He hung up and pulled Xie Sen towards the backstage: "Let's go back first
." Xie Sen glanced at the murmuring audience and then at the buildings on both sides: "I think it's fine now. If there were accomplices, that was the best opportunity to attack. Let's finish these samples before going back."
Maine: "You stand against the wall, I'll do it."
Xie Sen: Standing against the wall, is it punishment? He and Maine were very close, Maine's body tense, already in alert mode, ready to fight at any moment.
Seeing Maine's tension, he didn't say anything, stood behind Maine away from the audience, and smiled at the audience: "Now, let's continue."
Maine noticeably sped up, not giving the audience a chance to speak, and after finishing the fish slices, he signaled the staff to ask them to leave.
Soon, the second batch of samples was also finished. Xie Sen said his thanks, announced the end of the event, took off his headset, and left with Maine.
The two went directly to the mall manager's office. Inside, besides the manager, were two security guards and a tall, fat man lying on the floor.
The manager kicked the fat man: "The drone is his."
Maine stepped forward and stomped on the fat man's shinbone. A cracking sound came the moment his foot touched the ground. The next moment, the fat man threw his head back and howled, his voice particularly shrill. Just from the sound, you could tell he was in great pain.
The person in charge said, "I've asked around. The people who escaped from the contracted beast trafficking gang are the same group whose hometown was raided by the military before."
Maine stared coldly at the fat man, who was panting as if he was about to suffocate. He asked coldly, "Where are the accomplices?"
The fat man shook his head in fright, "No, none."
The person in charge said, "I've checked the surveillance footage. He came alone and didn't contact anyone along the way. He shouldn't have any accomplices. The specifics need to be investigated by the police. I've already notified the police."
Maine looked at him expressionlessly, "I heard this is the most secure booth?"
The person in charge said, "I'm sorry, this was our oversight. The mall has many scanners. Dangerous goods cannot be brought in. The bomb in the drone was homemade. He brought the materials in in batches to avoid the scanning inspection."
Xie Sen thought to himself, no wonder the power wasn't great. Luckily!
The person in charge looked at Xie Sen: "Thank you. If you hadn't intervened, many people would have been injured. With so many people, injuries could cause chaos, and the consequences would be unimaginable."
Xie Sen shook his head: "You're welcome. After all, you're my audience."
The person in charge said: "To make up for our oversight, the venue will be rented to you for free this time."
After the conversation, the person in charge had the bodyguards take them to the parking lot. On the shuttle, Xie Sen received a call from Bai Jiao and Long Teng. He smiled: "We're both fine. We'll be back at the apartment soon."
After hanging up, Xie Sen checked his energy level: over 9,500. He had gained over 1,000 today!
When he returned to the apartment, Bai Jiao and Long Teng were both at the door. As soon as Long Teng saw him, he asked curiously: "Ah Sen, what kind of flower is that? It's so big and cool!"
Bai Jiao was staring at the screen. Hearing Long Teng's question, she looked at Xie Sen and hesitated: "Is it a cabbage?"
Xie Sen leaned closer to Bai Jiao's screen. The screen showed a video of the drone going out of control and disappearing. He glanced at the duration: one minute, slowed down six times.
Bai Jiao said, "The original video doesn't show the details clearly."
Xie Sen couldn't help but be surprised: "The video came out so quickly?"
Long Teng said, "Of course! The part that A-Jiao saw, and the part where Xiao Kui grows bigger, are going viral online. Everyone's talking about what happened. It's so cool!"