Chapter 31 - 30 - The Last Fried Rice in the Underworld

"Everyone, this is Boulder Town. Please forgive my humble hospitality, but I have already found you rooms in the finest hotel in all of Boulder Town. Please, follow me." After entering Boulder Town, Sampo acted like a true tour guide, pointing out the town's famous landmarks and explaining its history to the group. They walked and stopped along the way, under the astonished gazes of the Underworld residents and amidst Bronya's somber contemplation, finally arriving at the "luxury grand hotel" Sampo had spoken of. "This is... the 'luxury grand hotel'?" March 7th stared at the dilapidated hotel, whose very sign seemed to be teetering on the verge of collapse, then looked quizzically at Sampo. "Of course! This is the best hotel in our Underworld!" Sampo nodded with absolute certainty and led the group inside. Under the enthusiastic welcome of the hotel owner, the Trailblazing team finally saw the so-called "luxury suite" Sampo had mentioned. "Er..." March 7th looked at the placid faces of Wende and Dan Heng, then at the guilt-ridden Bronya. In the end, she could only tug on Stelle's arm and look at her pleadingly. "Can I sleep with you?" "Sure." And so, amidst the cheerful laughter of the owner, the Trailblazing team successfully found lodging in the Underworld and could finally get some proper rest. As for Sampo, after "voluntarily" paying for a week's stay for the team, he was let go by Wende. Surely that small amount of money wouldn't cause him to hemorrhage cash, right? Wende tossed the Winter City Credits in his hand, thinking of the smile on Sampo's face as he left—a smile that looked worse than crying. "Everyone, let's get some rest first," Wende said to the group, his gaze then falling upon Bronya. She had been sullen ever since they entered the Underworld. He figured that seeing the state of this place had plunged her into self-reproach... Wende did not go to comfort her. Some things were best figured out on one's own. The situation in the Underworld was the same as the Overworld, if not far worse. There were no Silvermane Guards here to protect them. The residents relied entirely on "Wildfire," a self-organized group, to fight against the Fragmentum creatures. But a self-organized resistance... Sigh... This town was one of only two safe zones left underground. The other was Svarog's robot settlement. He had no idea if anything would happen to Svarog's settlement during these seven days. Wende shook his head, pushing aside those pointless thoughts. It was good to be prepared, but overthinking would only tie his hands. That evening, the enthusiastic owner specially delivered the Underworld's local delicacies to Wende's group. This included black bread as hard as a rock, dark beer that tasted like swill, grilled meat that seemed to be made from sewer lizards, and an underground hermit crab that looked nothing like a crab. March 7th and the others, who had been looking forward to a grand feast, were dumbfounded when they saw this "extremely lavish" meal. "Can... can this really be eaten?" Bronya, who had been called out by March 7th and Stelle, gently poked the black bread on her plate with a dinner knife. She felt as if she were poking a scale weight. If she used a little more force... Clang! A metallic sound rang out, and a spark flew from the point of impact between the black bread and the knife. "Er..." Bronya decisively put down her knife and looked at Stelle, who was chewing on some unknown meat nearby. "Blergh!!!" "What is this? It's fishy and stinks!" March 7th, having tasted the underground hermit crab, immediately spat it out. She then stared in amazement as Stelle continued to wolf down her food. "Er... I think I'll pass." Dan Heng put down his knife and fork and got up to head back to his room. "Sigh, is this what life is like for the residents of the Underworld?" Bronya was already lost in self-reflection. "Wende..." March 7th tugged on Wende's sleeve, looking at him with pitiful eyes. Creak... Dan Heng had already pushed open his room door. Chew, chew, chew. Stelle was still chowing down. Smack! Wende slapped a palm to his own forehead. He couldn't watch this anymore! "Alright, stop eating." Seeing Stelle's face already turning a sickly pale, Wende gently sent a lightning needle into her, then kindly helped induce vomiting. "BLERGH!" Watching Stelle sprint to the hotel bathroom to throw up, Wende suddenly had a thought. Would this family fall apart without me? And so, he went to borrow the kitchen from the hotel owner. Thankfully, he had anticipated this scenario and had packed some Xianzhou rice and ham in his backpack beforehand. Considering that eggs were easily damaged during transport and he had to save space, he had only brought these two items. Otherwise, he could have made ham and egg fried rice. He just needed to cook the rice, stir-fry it with the ham, and adjust the seasoning slightly. A simple ham fried rice was complete. Wende looked at the pan of fried rice before him. This was likely their first and last proper meal in the Underworld. After all, his backpack wasn't some kind of dimensional pocket. The space was very limited. He wasn't some Doraem*n! Finding a large serving bowl, he poured the entire pan of ham fried rice into it and carried it back to their room. Seeing that Dan Heng had somehow returned to his seat, the corner of Wende's eye twitched. "You little....jpg" "Wende! The God of Cooking! Hooray!" March 7th cheered upon seeing the pan of fragrant, golden ham fried rice. "Hey, hey, hey! There's plenty of food! Don't fight over it!" Thump! "The person who just threw up needs to go brush their teeth before they can eat!" Stelle held her head, looking wronged, before turning around to go back to her room to brush her teeth. That's weird, why does it feel like Wende is becoming more and more like my parent? Stelle wondered to herself as she brushed. "Mm! It's still Wende's cooking! My taste buds are getting so spoiled!" March 7th said with great satisfaction as she savored the fried rice. "Mm, so delicious..." Bronya didn't say much, only "demurely" spooning rice into her mouth, one bite after another. In comparison, Dan Heng's eating was even more slow and methodical, though his gaze frequently drifted towards the window. Wende saw Dan Heng's glances and instantly understood, but he didn't pay it any mind. He just served himself a bowl and began to eat slowly. Outside the window at that moment. A certain member of "Wildfire" was frowning and clutching her stomach, a look of struggle on her face. "Smells so good... These people from the Overworld are so extravagant..." The Wildfire member took out the black bread from her pocket and began to gnaw on it while inhaling the fragrant aroma, continuously hypnotizing herself, "You're eating fried rice, you're eating fried rice!" She wanted to eat it so badly... No! She didn't want to eat! She was here to monitor these people!