Cave Refuge

That’s why other people in the restaurant are now looking at Dong Tianyu and his group eating meat with such envy in their eyes.

Unless one has cultivated to the Body Tempering Realm, it’s very difficult for the body to digest a large amount of food in a short time. So even if ordinary people are let loose to eat, how many of them could eat as much as the big stomach kings in the short videos before the disaster?

After Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun sat down, the other people around them put down their food, smiled, and nodded at the two as a form of greeting. Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun also smiled and nodded back in response.

This wasn’t considered a formal greeting, but it was a kind of tacit understanding between adults. A smile and nod from someone is a signal that they’d like to get to know you.

It’s like when strangers in a bar raise their glasses to you. If you respond in kind, they might come over to formally introduce themselves after a while or when you are finished eating.

But if you coldly ignore them, they’ll know you’re not interested in making their acquaintance and won’t come over to bother you later.

Although Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun weren’t social butterflies, they weren’t socially anxious either. Since others were showing goodwill, they didn’t outright reject them.

Dong Tianyu particularly selected a variety of dishes for his plate, but once he sat down and began to eat, he realized that despite the different types of meat, they all tasted quite similar because they were all roasted.

To put it bluntly, it was like eating barbecue before the disaster. Despite differences like beef, lamb, and pork, after seasoning and sauce were applied, it was hard for the average person to distinguish what kind of meat was being cooked on the grill.

Dong Tianyu didn’t care whether others could tell the difference or not. Without reading the introduction on the menu next to the dishes, he couldn’t tell there were so many different kinds of roast meat on his plate.

Since the taste was just average, Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun rushed through their meal and had no intention of sitting down to savor it.

When the two had finished eating, the group that wanted to get acquainted with Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun was already waiting for them at the entrance of the restaurant.

As soon as they saw the two coming out, one of them immediately pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and, without a word, handed one out to each before speaking.

As the saying goes, "Cigarettes open the way and liquor builds the bridge." If neither party has a natural aversion to the other, this gesture usually warms things up, and the barrier between strangers lessens significantly.

"Hello, my last name is Yara, and my first name is just ’Ye.’ It’s a pleasure to meet you," he said.

Upon hearing the self-introduction, Ye Liuyun instinctively blurted out, "A mandarin?"

Hearing Ye Liuyun’s offhand comment, Yara was somewhat resigned, "I knew you’d say that. The ’Yara’ in my name is like in the novelist Shi Nai’an’s name and ’Ye’ like the leaf. But you can just call me ’mandarin’ if it’s easier to remember." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Seeing that Yara wasn’t offended, Ye Liuyun familiarly joked, "If I call you ’mandarin,’ wouldn’t I be at a disadvantage? How about ’Old Shi?’"

Before Yara could respond, Ye Liuyun quickly changed his mind and said, "No, calling you ’Old Shi’ won’t do. How about ’Old Ye?’"

This time, before anyone could react, Ye Liuyun spoke again, "Never mind, the person who named you is truly talented. No matter what we call you, it seems we’ll be giving you an advantage."

Instead of getting annoyed by Ye Liuyun’s successive comments, Yara laughed and said to Ye Liuyun, "Alternatively, you can call me ’Lion’ or ’Leaf,’ as my close friends do."

"Alright, ’Lion’ it is then! We sure are fated; both our names have the character ’Ye.’ My full name is Ye Liuyun, with ’Ye’ like the wind that is bold and daring, and ’Liuyun’ like the drifting clouds. This guy next to me is my good buddy Dong Tianyu. Don’t let his tall and sturdy look fool you—he’s indeed very skilled."

Listening to Ye Liuyun’s roundabout introduction, Dong Tianyu felt somewhat helpless and had to introduce himself, "Hello, I’m Dong Tianyu. Don’t listen to his nonsense; I’m not much of a master, only someone who practices martial arts with some ability to defend myself."

Seeing Dong Tianyu’s humility, Yara laughed and introduced the companions who came with him, "This is Gordon from the black soil region, and this is Franklin from Magic City. I forgot to mention earlier; I’m from Magic City as well."

Seeing the other three reveal their origins, Ye Liuyun straightforwardly added, "Both of us are from Pengcheng."

Gordon was quick to get familiar with people. After hearing Ye Liuyun’s introduction, he jokingly said, "I’ve heard about the Jiangsu people being unbranded, and it turns out to be true from your introduction. If I hadn’t been to Jiangsu often before the disaster, I wouldn’t necessarily have known what you meant by just the city’s name.">

"But you two are really something, to have gotten seats on a transport plane. It seems the friends of a genius are also geniuses."

Hearing Gordon’s words, Franklin rolled his eyes in annoyance and retorted, "If you want to brag about being a genius, just say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush, we’re not idiots."

"Look at you guys, I didn’t even mention I’m a genius, and here you are, Franklin, being jealous. Forget it, a true genius wouldn’t stoop to arguing with mere mortals like you," Gordon quipped back.