Chef Hua - Chapter 192 - 120th episode: Beef Pinched Biscuits

'Why' does one strive to attain power?For what reason does one endure various rigorous trainings, endure the bruises and the batterings, and go ahead to drill their soul and body into perfect shape just to become stronger?Those ridiculously overpowered, god-like monsters that walked the Earth knew, because they never stopped training.But I didn't know the reason.Why, one might ask?The answer was quite simple, really.I had no desire to 'know' the reason, and I had no drive to discover the 'why.'It was because my circumstances gave me no reason to become stronger. And stupidly enough, I greatly believed that I was strong enough to fend for myself.But boy was I wrong.Fate punched me in the guts, and proceeded to give me very, very good reasons to abandon my narrowed mentality and strive to become stronger than I thought I was.And those reasons multiplied by the day.As I ventured out of the dreary slum-like backlands that I grew up in — diving head first into the wider world overrun by monstrous aliens, insanely advanced technology, and humans with supernatural powers — the initial 'why' had grown to become quite... numerous.So come. Come read my story.And see how I crawled out of the depths of the dejected Island called the backlands as a nameless underachiever, and grew to become a.. tether to the entire universe.Come read how I came to be called...The Twilight of the Vast Expanses.

Lin Nianhe, the leading lady of the apocalypse, came equipped with a top-tier space, furiously hoarded tens of billions of resources, and then — she traveled through time!The first day, a fierce squabble unfolded;The second day, the production team's competition for overachievement was fiery hot;The third day…Lin Nianhe: “Comrades, be inspiring!”The crowd, struggling: “Hardworking guy, stop brewing motivational speeches.”Lin Nianhe: “All the aunties are so adorable!”The production team's aunties, hearts shattered: “Xiao Lin has hogged all the brains in her family.”Lin Nianhe relished in dramas, smashing feet with excitement, as she performed her new script brilliantly.The swap of resources made her little treasure chest increasingly rich;Tailored teaching, students acing their exams with full marks!Lin Nianhe, with education in her left hand and economy in her right, ignited the darkness with sparks of light.The first time Su Yuncheng was asked when he would tie the knot with Lin Nianhe, he said, “Let me first win over her parents.”The second time Su Yuncheng was asked when they could taste the wedding candy, he answered, “Wait until I've conquered her dozen or so siblings.”The third time Su Yuncheng was questioned about his relationship progress with Lin Nianhe, he replied, “Our relationship is stable, but the entire village of three hundred, young and old, are all trying to snatch her from me.”He then turned around, pitifully searching for his delicate childhood sweetheart: “Hehe, when will you make it formal with me?”Lin Nianhe responded offhandedly: “Wait till I finish building this batch of schools.”The next day, Lin Nianhe discovered that the sites she'd chosen for the schools had already started construction overnight![Cool community leader · Unknowingly charming · Little drama queen × Cunning · Self-challenger · Big friendly dog]

Amidst the eerie silence of an unfamiliar hall, a cacophony of confused voices rose, mingling in a chorus of bewilderment. “Where are we?” “What happened?” “I thought I died!” Each utterance hung in the air, a testament to the collective disbelief gripping the room.As the haze of confusion lifted, disjointed memories surfaced, fragments of lives cut short by tragedy. “I remember... I was stabbed...” ventured one voice, echoed by another's affirmation of a similar fate. “I... I died in a plane crash,” muttered a third, only to be met with a stunned agreement from a fellow survivor.Amidst the chaos of bewildered voices, one man stood apart, his expression a mask of contemplation amidst the turmoil. As his companions recounted their brushes with death, his mind churned with questions, each more confounding than the last.“I got shot... I remember it vividly,” he murmured to himself, his voice barely audible above the din. “So how am I still here?” The enigma of their shared resurrection gnawed at him, compelling him to seek answers in the depths of his memories.With each revelation of a paired demise—a male and female, bound by the same tragic fate—a flicker of recognition ignited within him. “This... this seems familiar,” he mused, the pieces of a puzzle slowly coalescing in his mind. But the picture remained incomplete, obscured by the fog of uncertainty that shrouded their surroundings.As the words “pairs, pairs, pairs” echoed in his mind like a cryptic mantra, a sudden realization struck him with the force of a revelation. “It can't be... don't tell me...” he whispered, his voice trembling with disbelief. With a sense of urgency, he began to scan his surroundings, searching for any sign or clue that could confirm his suspicions.Then, as if guided by an unseen force, his gaze shifted upwards, and there, bathed in an ethereal light, stood an angelic figure with golden apparel, its gaze fixed upon him with a warm smile. The sight took his breath away, filling him with a mixture of awe and trepidation.The man's heart raced as faced a real angel, his mind struggling to comprehend the surreal encounter unfolding before him. The angel's words, spoken with an air of amusement, only deepened the enigma shrouding their meeting.“I never expected anyone to notice me,” the angel remarked, a hint of playfulness in its voice. “I was concealing my presence to let everyone fully calm down, but to think someone noticed me. Just who are you?”Ethan's disbelief and confusion intensified at the angel's question. “Eh... Ethan Rivers,” he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.As Aurelia, the angel, finally revealed himself to the bewildered assembly, a hush fell over the room, each soul drawn in by his radiant presence and commanding aura. Ethan's gaze lingered on Aurelia.“Greetings, lost souls,” Aurelia declared, his voice resonating with a majestic power that seemed to fill the very air around them. “I am Aurelia, and I shall be your guide to your new life.”As Aurelia extended his arms in a gesture of welcome, Ethan felt a surge of rage and hesitation, “This it bad, really bad.”

When the man in front of her tried to touch her hand, she instinctively took a step back from him—as she didn’t want him to get hurt. “Please don’t touch me for your sake,” she said to him. The man smiled a little and replied,” Don’t worry about me, Celestia! Nothing will happen to me.”She was startled as he had called her by her actual name. She had kept her identity a secret—as no one is supposed to know who she really is. “How do you know my…. real name?” she asked him nervously. “I know everything about you, Celestia,” he said and moved near her. “I know you better than you know yourself—”Her heart throbbed when his hand got near her skin. She thought that he would be thrown away from her and get severely injured—just like all the other men did.But surprisingly, nothing happened to him when his sturdy hand clasped her pearly white fingers. With his other hand, he held her chin and fixed his alluring gaze on her. “How... How are you even able to touch me?” Celestia asked him. “Because you are mine—” he answered in a deep tone. “Others weren’t able to touch you—as you only belong to me—”She winced slightly when he suddenly grabbed her tiny waist and pulled her closer to him. Then he leaned down and kissed her pale cheek. “Only I get to touch and kiss and make love to you! Because you are forever destined to live with me,” he whispered in her ear and made her shudder. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~He is feared by everyone else in her kingdom. His powers are infinite, and he can do things beyond other’s imagination. Even though everyone considers him dangerous, Celestia sees a different version of him. He is ruthless and cold to others—but whenever he sees her, he surrenders himself to her.Despite the warnings of others, she finds herself slowly falling for him. Even after she becomes his lover, she is unable to predict his true nature.What are his true motives? And what circumstances are forcing him to join hands with the dark side?And why does he desire Celestia so much that he is willing to kill any man who even thinks of touching her?!