novelraw Chapter 36 Delicious Village Celebration
Chapter 36 Delicious Village Celebration
[Divine Tower - Mask Maker (Purple Item)]
[Description: This device can extract the victim's facial skin and create a flawless human skin mask that can deceive most investigative methods.]
Lin Chi held the device, his gaze falling on the still-warm human skin mask belonging to the unfamiliar boy.
Some long-forgotten fragments of memory flashed uncontrollably through his mind. He closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing these emotions, and put the device and mask box into his storage ring.
He walked towards the demon boy.
Silently, he crouched down and took off the backpack, which was covered in mud and blood.
Open it; there's not much inside.
Several magic theory exercise books filled with notes and calculations, a neatly written physical training plan, and some loose change.
And a hard card.
Lin Chi pulled out the card.
[Divine Tower Academy]
[Admission Qualification Certificate]
Name: Lin Chi
[Department: Qinglong]
The card design is simple, containing only the college emblem, basic information, and a magic anti-counterfeiting mark.
There is no further background, no story details, only a name, and a department that can never be reached.
"A qualification certificate?" Zhou Yanyu floated over as well, looking at the card.
"Looks like we can use it to sneak into the academy, which saves us a lot of trouble."
He noticed the slight ripples in Lin Chi's emotions and his tone became a little more serious.
"The law of the jungle is the naked rule of this world. But... someone has to try to break it, or at least protect those who shouldn't be swallowed up by it. Windrunner, perhaps, is that kind of being."
Lin Chi did not respond immediately.
He took one last look at the boy.
Then, he stood up, put away his certificate, and the gloom and sadness on his face were quickly replaced by calm, like a thin mist blown away by the wind.
"Hmm," he responded briefly, his gaze drifting towards the direction the forest path led. "Let's find out where the nearby villages are. We need to gather information and learn about the fifty-eighth floor, especially the situation at the academy."
After saying that, he didn't linger.
To facilitate gathering information, Lin Chi transformed into his Windwalker Armor form, covering most of his body with a cloak and his face with a mask.
This is like a mysterious adult, dressed in armor, like a tower climber.
Then he started walking along the forest path towards the village.
After walking for a while, Lin Chi came to a wooden signboard standing by the roadside.
The sign was printed in cheerful lettering—Delicious Village! Next to it was a picture of a grinning rice spoon.
"Oh! We've finally arrived. Hmm? It smells so good!" Zhou Yanyu floated out of his storage ring, the air filled with the enticing aroma of various foods, making him sway up and down a few times.
"So this is Delicious Village? It lives up to its name!"
Lin Chi smelled the delicious aroma of the food, and his stomach rumbled softly.
He hasn't eaten anything properly in the past year.
"Let's go find a restaurant and ask around," Lin Chi said, then followed the increasingly strong aroma into the village.
In the center of the village, there is a wide open space.
More than twenty large round tables were set up there, and the tables were already filled with a dazzling array of dishes.
Whole roasted poultry, golden brown and glistening with oil; a mountain of braised dishes; brightly colored seasonal vegetables; steaming hot soup...
People sat around the table, laughing and enjoying their meal.
Nearby, several makeshift open-air stoves were burning at full power, and the villagers were busy sweating profusely, constantly bringing freshly cooked fish and meat, which were emitting an even richer aroma, to each table.
The entire open space was filled with a festive and contented atmosphere, as if the whole village was here to celebrate some special day.
The table in the very center was mostly occupied by children, among whom two boys stood out.
A chubby little boy was gnawing on a chicken leg while looking around and asked indistinctly, "Hey, where's Lin Chi? I can't see him."
The tall, muscular boy next to him, clearly someone who exercises regularly, didn't even look up, focusing intently on a piece of rib. He said nonchalantly, "He's probably already left. Never mind him. He always does things by himself, never shares his notes, like the whole world owes him something. I don't even know what he looks like; he's always wearing a mask."
The tall boy's tone clearly showed his displeasure.
The chubby boy thought for a moment, swallowed the chicken, and nodded: "That's true. Let's just ignore him then."
Clearly, in their minds, the classmate named "Lin Chi" was an unapproachable eccentric.
At this moment, an elderly village chief with gray hair, leaning on a cane, climbed onto the small wooden platform that had been temporarily erected in the center of the open space.
He cleared his throat and clapped his hands vigorously: "Bravo! Good afternoon, fellow villagers!"
The lively scene gradually quieted down, and everyone smiled as they looked at the old village chief.
"Today is a very important and special day!" The old village chief's voice was loud and clear, full of emotion. "It's the day our Delicious Village children go to school! It's also the day they're about to leave the village and begin a new life!"
"On such a special day, we've prepared this culinary feast!" He waved his arms, pointing to the table full of delicious dishes.
"This is both a way to promote the delicious culinary skills passed down through generations in our village and a farewell to the children! We hope that in the future, the children will continue to enjoy delicious food, have a bright future, study hard, and strive to find a good career!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping kindly over the children in the audience, some excited, some nervous, his tone becoming even gentler.
"But children, you don't need to put too much pressure on yourselves. Life is long, and there are no fixed right answers in life. Even if you don't awaken a particularly good combat class, our Delicious Village will always be your haven! So, I hope everyone, not just the children but also us adults, can live happily!"
"Come on!" The old village chief finally raised a glass of fruit wine, which someone had handed him, and shouted at the top of his lungs, almost cracking, "Let's raise a glass and celebrate!"
"Celebrate!!"
"For the children!"
"Delicious Village!"
With each joyful clink of glasses and toasts, the atmosphere of the culinary feast reached a new climax.
Some mothers secretly wiped away their tears, while some fathers forced themselves to remain calm and patted their sons on the shoulder.
The children, on the other hand, were mostly still immersed in the delicious food and the novelty of their upcoming journey, especially those who were only focused on eating.
Because it's absolutely delicious!
Lin Chi was standing at the edge of the crowd, observing, when a friendly aunt saw him, this unfamiliar "tower climber," and assumed he was just passing by to make a living. Without saying a word, she pulled him to a table with an empty seat and handed him a clean bowl and chopsticks.
"Young man, come, come, don't be shy! It's fate that we've met, let's eat together! We can't promise anything else in our village, but we'll provide plenty of food!"
Unable to refuse the hospitality, Lin Chi sat down and began to eat in silence. Meanwhile, since no one in the entire village could see souls, Zhou Yanyu also floated out to gather fragmented information from the surroundings.