"Hiss~"

"Ha!"

Liu Zheng paddled with his tentacles, inhaling slowly and exhaling quickly.

"The Heart of the Ocean (enhanced) has taken effect."

"The Kun's Inhale and Peng's Exhale have taken effect."

The system notifications rang continuously, and his movement speed bonus in the water reached 150%.

With this astounding speed boost, Liu Zheng transformed into a speedboat, creating waves in the Spirit Treasure Lake.

Seeing his momentum, Sun Yang would tear up, and Phelps would exclaim that he was unbeatable.

As for doping checks, they were completely unnecessary; if any company could develop such a stimulant, it would be the defense department, not the sports department, investigating it.

In no time, Liu Zheng had swum a lap around the lake.

He was relieved yet disappointed that no fish were biting on his bait.

Perhaps his commotion was too much, and those "fish" in the Spirit Treasure Lake felt something was amiss.

"Boss, can I put on my clothes now?"

Liu Zheng jumped ashore and asked cautiously.

"Why hurry? You're wet, aren't you? Just dry by the fire. Put your clothes on after I've finished my midnight snack."

Si Xue smiled mischievously as she looked at his embarrassed expression.

"Uh... okay."

Liu Zheng helplessly accepted the command.

He walked back to the cart and picked up the Viewing Meat. The item description popped up.

"Name: Viewing Meat"

"Type: Tool"

"Quality: Perfect"

"Effect 1: Restores a large amount of stamina when consumed and temporarily enhances the player's recovery ability. The effect and duration correlate positively with the quantity consumed."

"Effect 2: Consuming the entire item permanently enhances the player's recovery ability, granting the player a 'Blood and Flesh Avatar' skill."

"Note: Meat of appearance, like ox liver, with two eyes. Endless when eaten, regenerating when sought again."

"Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes"

"Blood and Flesh Avatar: The player expends a huge amount of stamina to create an avatar, which is similar to the player in almost all aspects. Usable once per instance, and the avatar is automatically destroyed upon instance completion."

"Awesome."

After reading the item description, Liu Zheng couldn't help but exclaim.

All the other effects were secondary; obtaining the 'Blood and Flesh Avatar' skill was incredibly powerful.

Upon seeing the skill effects, multiple ways to use it popped into his mind.

But after his exclamation, Liu Zheng realized something wasn't right.

The effects of "Viewing Meat" seemed tailor-made for him, and Si Xue's conditions this time were too casual.

"Caught on?"

Si Xue's lips curled slightly.

"This is a reward for you. Now, are you going to eat it yourself or give it to your friend?"

She asked, intrigued.

"I don't know, but I will tell him I got this item first."

Liu Zheng honestly replied.

"If you tell him and he asks for it, but you are unwilling to give it, aren't you afraid he'll resent you?"

Si Xue pressed.

"I'm afraid, but I'll still do it because we're friends. I can hide things from enemies, but I must be honest with friends. Of course, if this causes resentment, then we won't be friends for long anyway."

He calmly stated.

Many people hope that relationships never change.

If we're friends now, we should be friends forever.

If we're lovers now, we should be lovers forever.

Liu Zheng didn't have such an obsession; he always focused on the here and now.

For example, now he's brothers with Niu Ma, and he'd risk everything for Niu Ma.

But if one day Niu Ma went crazy and wanted a fallout, Liu Zheng wouldn't hesitate to stab it twice, at most letting it die quickly for old time's sake.

Everything changes, only change itself is constant.

Liu Zheng wasn't some powerful being who could traverse the river of time; he could only grab onto the little he had now, so he cherished it greatly.

"Friends? Once you truly become an immortal species, you won't have friends."

Si Xue sneered slightly.

Every intelligent creature has personality flaws, and these flaws become more entrenched over long timelines.

So eventually, two immortals either become enemies or entangled acquaintances.

"Thanks for your wise words, boss."

Liu Zheng grinned.

Not having friends is bad, but if it's because he became an immortal, that's a good thing.

"Shameless. When will I get my midnight snack?"

Si Xue asked.

"My tentacles need more cooking time, but everything else is ready to eat."

He quickly replied.

With his current physique, even pressure cooking takes an hour, which isn't an exaggeration.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Si Xue shot him a glance.

"Ah, yes."

Liu Zheng sensibly prepared the utensils for Si Xue, picking one skewer of each ingredient from the pot.

"Please enjoy, boss."

He respectfully handed over the utensils.

Si Xue took a skewer of chicken wings, put it in her mouth, chewed a few times, then nodded slightly.

"It's quite flavorful. But next time, swap the chicken wings for peacock wings."

"That was my mistake; I'll remember next time."

Liu Zheng slapped himself.

He had forgotten about Si Xue's rivalry with the Peacock, a major blunder.

If he'd known, he wouldn't have had to go through the trouble and could simply have the White Feather Chicken make a pot of iron-cooked big peacock and stick some sweet potatoes and corn cakes around the pot; wouldn't that have made Si Xue wild with joy?

"Did you gather the fire?"

Si Xue asked while eating spicy hot pot.

"Yes, I've handed it over to the Tomb Guardian, and he seems satisfied."

Liu Zheng replied.

"Seems satisfied? Aren't you being modest? With your ability, he should be very satisfied."

"Getting it done for others is all that matters; I only care if you're satisfied, boss."

He said with a straight face.

"Sycophant. You'd better not hang around the cemetery too much; if it targets you, you won't escape even in death."

Perhaps satisfied with her midnight snack, Si Xue advised.

"Please enlighten me, boss."

He replied respectfully.

"The Tomb Guardian is not like us; whether willing or not, we're ultimately about moving forward or simply ending it all for release."

"But the Tomb Guardian and his predecessors are part of the cemetery from the start, destined never to separate, existing with the cemetery. In the terms of those bald monks, it's neither born nor extinguished, neither increases nor decreases, neither suffering nor extinction, without wisdom or hindrances, and without gain."

After speaking, Si Xue took another skewer of radish and popped it into her mouth.

"Then why is there a change in the cemetery's Tomb Guardian?"

Liu Zheng asked puzzled.

"How do you know there's a change?"

Si Xue retorted.

"Huh?"

"The same thing looks different through different lenses. The cemetery holds the souls of all of Metropolis, and bodies are no shortage; creating a 'man of many faces' is easy for it."

Si Xue said.

"What incredible power."

He marveled.

Even an existence like the Tomb Guardian is but a puppet fabricated by the cemetery, like a programmer writing a management AI for their computer.

"Yes, what incredible power."

Si Xue reached for a skewer of wood ear mushrooms but paused after picking it up.

A drop of black water seeped from her fingertip into the pot, turning the originally spicy red broth into a pot of "black oil."

"Haha, what timing."

Si Xue smirked and then stuffed the last surviving wood ear mushrooms into her mouth.

"I'll go to the kitchen to make another serving for you."

Liu Zheng offered.

"No need, lost my appetite."

Si Xue said blandly.

"Then... can I help you by sucking out the black water?"

Seeing her calm and inscrutable expression, he spoke up against his better judgment.

Getting a Perfect Quality item for free, he wouldn't be at ease without sucking up to her.

With Liu Zheng's current strength, just taking a lick shouldn't nearly result in his body collapsing like last time.

"You really want to suck? There's no reward this time."

Si Xue said.

"Making you happy is the greatest reward for me."

He said seriously.

"Happy doesn't describe it, since you can't suck it all up. It's a bit amusing, though, seeing you in difficulty is quite entertaining."

Si Xue said with interest.

"If that's the case, then go ahead and suck."

She extended her finger.

Liu Zheng respectfully placed it on his new tentacle and took a mouthful.