Looking at the dishes being served.
Even Su Lan was greatly surprised.
Every single one was a dish made from natural ingredients.
There was the two hundred Star Coin portion of Black Egg with Six-Legged Pork, the three hundred Star Coin portion of Vinegar-Glazed Three-Legged Duck, the five hundred Star Coin portion of Flame Star System specialty Flame Fish Soup, and the one thousand Star Coin fruit platter.
And the five thousand Star Coin Augut Star System specialty three-piece set.
...
These were secondary; looking at the bottle of wine being brought out.
Han Tianwang felt his heart ache just seeing it.
It was a certain famous fruit wine, valued at a staggering thirteen thousand Star Coins!
Almost as much as the entire table of food.
Before he could get a good look, Zhao Chen had already poured the wine for himself and the three beauties beside him.
"Oops, it's all gone. Senior Han, if you want to drink, you'll have to order a few more bottles yourself," Zhao Chen said with a smile, looking at Han Tianwang.
"N-no... no need... I don't drink," Han Tianwang replied, his lips twitching. This restaurant only had this one bottle of that wine! Even if he wanted to order more, he wouldn't have the chance.
"Hey, you ordered so much. Are you really okay?" Zhao Wan'er leaned close to Zhao Chen's ear and whispered.
"Eat without worry. Such good food is much tastier than that artificial stuff. Opportunities like this don't come often, so we might as well enjoy it," Zhao Chen said, already beginning to devour the food like a whirlwind.
Yes! That's exactly the word to describe it.
Originally, Su Lan and the others were somewhat mindful of table manners, but seeing how quickly Zhao Chen was clearing the plates, they couldn't care less and sped up their eating, though their manners were still a hundred thousand times better than Zhao Chen's.
Even Su Lan and the others had never eaten such lavish and extravagant food before, having only tried a few of the dishes at most.
After all, a meal like this could easily cost the lifetime savings of a hundred families.
An ordinary person's annual salary is only about forty Star Coins; yet, with just forty Star Coins, a family of three could barely get by, though they would only be eating artificial food.
Having eaten nothing but artificial food for over a month, Zhao Chen finally felt like his tongue still had a sense of taste.
Han Tianwang watched Zhao Chen eat like a wild beast, wanting to speak several times but never getting the chance.
In the end, he gave up and joined the eating frenzy.
Because if he didn't start eating soon, the entire table of food might be gone.
Even someone like Senior Han rarely had the chance to eat such a lavish meal.
The most pitiful one was Zhang Haoran, who was still kneeling. Not only did he have to endure the shame of kneeling, but he also had to suffer the torment of smell, taste, and hearing.
And his heart was bleeding.
Because, in name, he was the one paying for this meal.
After an hour of whirlwind eating.
Zhao Chen patted his stomach, which had expanded several sizes. If not for his clothes being able to stretch according to his body size, the buttons would probably have popped off.
Zhao Wan'er and Su Lan weren't much better, looking completely satisfied and unable to eat another bite.
"Are you all done? If so, let's go," Zhao Chen said, standing up to leave after finishing his meal.
Han Tianwang quickly stopped him. "Junior Zhao Chen, now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, shouldn't we settle the agreed-upon matter?
Please apply to the Academy to cancel the punishment for Junior Haoran."
"Oh right, I almost forgot. We haven't discussed the main matter yet!" Zhao Chen sat back down, smiling. "Sorry, someone like me hasn't eaten such delicious food before, don't laugh at me, don't laugh."
Seeing Zhao Chen's cheeky expression, Senior Su Lan couldn't help but laugh.
Zhao Wan'er stared at her older brother, wondering how she hadn't noticed before just how cunning he could be.
"Go ahead, tell me what conditions you're prepared to offer for me to let Zhang Haoran off," Zhao Chen asked seriously.
Han Tianwang was taken aback, looking at Zhao Chen in surprise. "Conditions? Just now, you ate..."
"Senior Han, you didn't think a single meal would settle this matter, did you?" Zhao Chen feigned astonishment.
Han Tianwang's mouth twitched; at this moment, he himself felt the urge to punch Zhao Chen.
Suppressing his anger, he forced a smile. "Then Junior Zhao Chen, just state your conditions directly."
"Straightforward, I like that." Zhao Chen raised his hand, holding up five fingers. "My starship worked hard and fought a battle. The combat losses, personnel losses, and the cost of returning to port for repairs—all of that requires money."
Zhao Wan'er rolled her eyes.
Please, that five-minute battle probably didn't even consume one percent of your starship's energy.
What combat losses? Zhang Haoran's T2 White Eagle never once hit your starship from start to finish, let alone returning to port for repairs—repairing what, thin air?
Everyone could see that Zhao Chen was extorting them.
"Fifty thousand Star Coins, right? I think..." Han Tianwang looked at the five fingers Zhao Chen had raised.
Zhao Chen immediately interrupted, grinning. "Not fifty thousand Star Coins—five hundred thousand Star Coins!"
Five hundred thousand Star Coins!
This outrageous demand made Senior Su Lan widen her eyes in shock.
"Five hundred thousand! This is extortion!" Zhang Haoran couldn't help but jump up. Perhaps because he had been kneeling for too long, he stumbled and fell face-first onto the dining table, the leftover dishes from earlier splattering all over his face.
Fortunately, the round table was fixed in place, or the situation would have been even more humiliating.
"Extortion? If that's how you see it, then it seems we have nothing more to discuss.
I can forgo these five hundred thousand Star Coins, and you can choose to get out of North Star." Zhao Chen spread his hands and stood up, preparing to leave.
Zhang Haoran felt both furious and desperate. He shouted, "I can compensate you, but I really don't have five hundred thousand Star Coins!"
"You do," Zhao Chen said.
Zhang Haoran looked at Zhao Chen in surprise.
"Your T2 White Eagle-class Light Interstellar Cruiser is quite badly damaged, but if you sell it off quickly now, you could still get five or six hundred thousand Star Coins for it." Zhao Chen smiled as he looked at Zhang Haoran.
A demon!
This guy is a demon.
He had planned everything out before coming here.
Everyone present had their impression of Zhao Chen completely overturned.
"Oh, and I have one more condition. I think I heard your friend say earlier that if you won, you could generously let me kneel before you, kowtow, and call you 'grandfather'? And that might spare me from being expelled."
At this moment, Zhao Chen's smile seemed like the devil himself in Zhang Haoran's eyes.
"My time is valuable. I'll give you ten seconds." Zhao Chen tapped his fingers on the table.
In that moment, everyone present turned their gaze to Zhang Haoran, as if they had all silently begun counting down.
In the end, Zhang Haoran knelt on the ground.
That single kneel already told everyone the answer.
"Grandfather Zhao Chen... I was wrong." Zhang Haoran's head touched the ground.