After a two-second silence, Xia Yu slowly stood up and walked to her computer desk.
She plugged in the electric kettle to boil water, opened a bucket of instant noodles, and pulled out pre-stocked beef and sausages from the Gate of Babylon.
Once the water was boiled, she poured it in, secured the lid with a fork, and stared blankly at the dark computer screen.
It took a long while for her to snap back to reality. Looking at the instant noodles before her, she opened the lid and began to chew slowly.
Mmm, the taste doesn't even come close to Archer's cooking.
Damn Counter Force, I hadn't even finished my grilled ribs! I'm noting down this grudge!
Xia Yu finished the noodles bite by bite, cleaned up the trash, and cast Tergeo on her mouth.
She had to admit, this sorcery was incredibly useful.
After eating alone and resting for a long while, she finally turned on the computer.
On the screen, three rewards appeared before her.
[Divinely Gifted Cooking A++]
Cooking skills from Ryogi Shiki, passed down via duplication through the Root she is connected to, hence called "Divinely Gifted." With the empowerment of the Root, it possesses the ability to turn the mundane into the miraculous.
"Uh," Xia Yu was stunned.
Crap!
She should have checked her rewards before getting something to eat. Regret washed over her, especially after she reached out and accepted the skill.
Looking back, her casual preparation just now was eyesore... In the face of this Divinely Gifted Cooking, she was confident she could turn even a bowl of ordinary instant noodles into a rare delicacy using her stored ingredients!
Contrary to intuition, in the Type-Moon World, Ryogi Shiki's cooking skills are definitely top-tier.
The reason her culinary reputation isn't prominent is mainly that her eyes are too famous, combined with the fact that she is quite lazy and rarely cooks. Thus, most people have no idea her cooking is explosive.
If there were a Holy Grail War based on cooking, the only ones capable of rivaling her would be those hyper-specialized in the craft, like Beni-enma or Tamamo Cat.
While Archer's cooking is delicious, his ability leans more toward the "all-around housewife" type of domestic utility, which can't quite compete with specialized culinary expertise.
Thinking of this, Xia Yu sighed, stood up, and opened another bucket of instant noodles.
But this time, it was far from simple.
For the water, she used the purest mountain spring water—the water sources in this era of Japan hadn't been polluted yet. For heating, she used Shamash. With Xia Yu's control, boiling a pot of water was a breeze.
Then came the preparation. She chopped spring onions—the soul of the dish—followed by fresh chilies, while using ingredients from her warehouse to simmer a soup base on the side.
Next came the toppings: beef, shrimp, and various other garnishes. By the time she came to her senses, a super-luxurious bowl of instant noodles sat before her.
No, this thing... aside from the main ingredient being instant noodles... what else did it have to do with instant noodles?
The beef, shrimp, and other toppings combined were more than the actual noodles.
Whatever, call it instant noodles.
She took a bite.
Ah, the food I cooked in the past was simply desecrating groceries... I'm sorry, ingredients I wasted...
This is too delicious!
Did I really make this?
Well, for the sake of this super-practical skill, Xia Yu decided not to note down the Counter Force's grudge for now.
While slurping her noodles, she opened the second reward.
[Supreme Gourd]
From Black Myth: Wukong, a Mythical Grade treasure. It contains an internal void and automatically generates various fine wines daily, all of which heal injuries and recover mana. Effects vary depending on the wine and the soak-in ingredients.
Can freely switch between Jade Essence, Dry Essence, Bluebridge Wind, Pine Brew, Loong Balm, Worry-Free Brew, Nine Skies Deva Wine, Dragon Balm, and Thousand Days Drunk. Each has a daily quota and refills automatically at midnight.
Seeing this, Xia Yu was glad she was eating while reading. She immediately retrieved the Supreme Gourd from the light cluster and took a swig.
Hiss—
Jade Essence was truly a Mythical Grade liquid. It wasn't harsh on the palate; the mouthfeel was incredibly mellow. More importantly, she felt warm all over after it went down, as if filled with inexhaustible vitality.
Xia Yu didn't know much about wine; she usually didn't drink, mostly because she disliked the smell of alcohol. But the wine in this Supreme Gourd? This works!
With a swig of wine and a mouthful of noodles, she felt herself floating. However, she managed to suppress the urge to continue, putting down her chopsticks and the gourd. She rubbed her hands excitedly and looked at the third light cluster.
Let's see what other surprises there are.
[Instinct A]
From Artoria Pendragon. The ability to instantly identify the most suitable course of action during battle. It can even enter the realm of predicting the future, allowing one to predict trajectories through the sound of wind and intuition to evade attacks from firearms.
With this skill, Artoria could even evade the causal anchor of Cu Chulainn's certain-kill Magic Spear, though it requires a bit of luck.
Undoubtedly, this was an incredibly useful ability for combat. These skills could be applied to any body she occupied. If this continued, Xia Yu was confident she could forge Furina's body into a true Demon God-level entity.
Not to mention, the Gate of Babylon obtained through Usurper of the Celestial Wind was also universal.
With the power of the Gate of Babylon, clearing out small fries would no longer be an issue.
Develop quietly first! When I go back to Fontaine, I must give Furina a huge surprise!
Thinking of this, Xia Yu's mood for eating noodles became even more joyful.
She finished the remaining food in no time, took a pleasant sip of Loong Balm, cast Tergeo on the bowl and chopsticks, and put them back in the cabinet.
Next, she nestled into the large sofa she had scavenged from the Honkai world, turned on the game set she got from Type-Moon, and happily started playing King of Fighters.
But after only three hours, Xia Yu got a bit bored.
Mainly because with this body's reaction speed, she could basically crush the AI... and she couldn't find any opponents here for a thrilling duel.
Switching off the game, she turned on an old-school TV she had found, popped in a videotape, and started watching various TV shows and anime that felt vintage to her. Beside her were various snacks scavenged from Fuyuki City in 2004, and the Supreme Gourd hung at her waist, which she sipped from occasionally.
Ah, the life of an immortal. How great would it be if I could just stay depraved in a modern society forever?
Unfortunately, she didn't have the capability.
After idling for three days, she finally stood up and stretched.
During these three days, she ate when hungry and slept when tired. It was bliss.
Except...
She pulled back the curtains.
Outside was still a void of Nihility.
It would be nice if there was some sunlight.
Before she crossed over, her favorite thing was to lie on a lounge chair on the balcony on her days off, enjoying the afternoon sun while reading a novel on her phone.
Those were her rare moments of leisure.
Now, this house would never see sunlight again.
Xia Yu sighed.
Three days had passed.
The next world was coming.
She gathered her emotions, went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face, and tried her best to look spirited.
After all, who knew what the next world would look like?
Once prepared, she went to the door, reached out to grasp the handle, and gave it a gentle twist.
In an instant, white light swallowed her.
When Xia Yu opened her eyes again, she was in a narrow alley.
She looked up to see a pitch-black night... a few stars dotted the sky, appearing like a mockery of her expectations.
Tsk, she clicked her tongue, I knew I wouldn't have that kind of luck.
"Boss, there's a little girl here!!!"
Just then, a nervous voice came from in front of her.
Xia Yu looked up and saw a tall, fierce-looking man glaring at her.
The lackey beside him was still screaming.
"Where did this kid come from?!" That thug-dressed man stared intently at Xia Yu. "I clearly checked; the open space behind this alley was empty! I've been watching!"
"Useless! Can't even do something this simple!" Hearing this, the burly man slapped him on the head, knocking him flat.
"Boss, what should we do?" Seeing this, the other thugs crowded around, looking at their leader.
"What else can we do?" The man called Boss had a murderous look in his eyes. "Tonight's transaction is a secret of the Hall!"
He looked at the little girl in the shadows of the open space deep in the alley, a cruel grin on his face. "Do I even need to say what needs to be done?"
"Got it, Boss." Hearing this, a group of enforcers surrounded her. A dozen thugs suddenly crowded the narrow alley, all holding various homemade weapons.
"Leave it to me, Boss Jino," the thug who had just been slapped flat scrambled to the front. "I'll kill her with my own hands!"
He was giving his all to move up the ranks.
Hearing this, the man called Boss Jino froze.
Damn, these underage punks have no sense of restraint! Curse it, if I hadn't been sold out and spent five years in an LGD prison, only to find my influence gone when I got out, I wouldn't have to recruit these little punks as direct underlings!
Having suffered the beating of society and the LGD, Boss Jino had accepted reality. Can you fight? What's the point of being able to fight?
In this world, you rely on background, influence, and money!
Thugs... hmph, they're just destined to die in the streets. If you want to be a big shot, you have to follow the rules!
Follow the rules of the underworld, follow the rules of the Governor's Mansion!
Of course, you can choose not to, but it's best to break them in private. If you bring it into the light and embarrass those big shots, that's the end of you.
One could say that Boss Jino, who had "studied" in prison with many senpais, was no longer that boy who thought he could carve out a world with a pair of iron fists.
But these middle-school dropout punks before him hadn't understood that logic yet.
These lawless, delinquent youths were the most reckless; they didn't yet understand what kind of punishment their actions would bring. They thought that once they were on the streets, they were second only to God, and would start a fight just over an eye-glance.
Tonight's matter was called a secret, but in truth, it was just "so-so." He and the elders of the Hall had used their last bit of face to get some "good stuff," intending to expand the business.
Otherwise, he really couldn't afford to support these dozen punks. But at the end of the day, selling some suppressors privately would only result in a few days of detention.
But killing someone... especially a child...
Boss Jino shuddered. That wasn't just a matter of a few days.
After all, looking at the fabric of that kid's clothes, it wasn't cheap. She wasn't one of those helpless beggars in the Slums...
But as he watched the dozen delinquent youths laughing and pulling out weapons, he couldn't bring himself to stop them.
He knew that he had managed to gather these people by relying on his past record, making them think he was a big shot—ruthless and possessing an unlimited future on this path. Simply put, he had gathered them by bragging.
That's why that kid wanted to eliminate the witness immediately; they all thought this was "gang culture"...
Right now, especially since he hadn't found a source of income for them to truly believe in him, if he left them with an impression of being soft-hearted...
He couldn't explain the reasons to them, either. It was all his fault for bragging too much, making them believe he was an arch-enemy of the LGD.
If he told them he wouldn't kill the little girl because he feared the LGD investigation... the image he had cultivated would completely collapse.
He wouldn't necessarily die, but he had already sunk most of his savings into winning them over lately. Combined with the money for this batch of goods, he barely had a cent left.
So he absolutely could not stop them. Jino could not afford to raise another group.
He began to regret it. If he hadn't bragged so much before, would he be in this dilemma now?
There was no choice; he had no capital left for another comeback.
So he could only say coldly, "You'd better handle it well, Sasha, or else, hmph."
Sasha's body trembled. He knew his boss's methods—this was a top-tier criminal who had supposedly caused a bloodbath in the LGD and was held in a bottomless abyss-prison beneath a Mobile City. If he couldn't satisfy the boss...
"Little girl, blame your bad luck."
Sasha brandished the dagger in his hand, acting arrogant. "Why did you have to show up here at this time?"
"You brought this death on yourself!"
Hearing this, Xia Yu's mouth twitched.
Ah, the familiar delinquent mob spawn.
It's just, aren't these thugs a bit too brutal? They want to kill people at the drop of a hat.
She stepped out of the shadows and looked at the thugs in front of her.
Some had horns, some had tails, some had long ears...
Terra, huh...
She looked down at her hands.
Mmm, fair and tender. Combined with these short legs, in the past, she would have been the perfect object to be held in one's arms as a plushie to rub one's face against.
But now... she had become a little loli herself...
That wasn't ideal.
Xia Yu gently wagged her tail; a familiar wooden lock was fastened to it.
Oh, so she was the future Dragon Mascot of the Xianzhou.
Meanwhile, looking at the little girl with dragon horns and a dragon tail who had stepped out of the shadows, Boss Jino felt as if the sky had fallen.