"I feel frustrated."
Mei's eyelids twitched slightly and she sighed faintly.
"It's okay, it's okay. Being a cook is pretty good."
Tian Shi comforted her.
"Are the Seven Thunders of Retribution in blade form that important? You're not using them anyway."
Raven: "…"
"You don't treat me like a human being, do you?"
"Oh, Mr. Tian, that's fine."
"But then again, seeing the Seven Thunders of Retribution transformed into a kitchen knife... setting aside whether I'd have the courage to use it in the future, just the thought of the weapon smelling like cilantro when I use it in the future..."
"Rita, do you eat cilantro?"
"I'm not picky about food."
"I think so."
Raven nodded with an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
"Mr. Tian, do you want to eat some?"
"Cilantro? Why do you suddenly bring that up?"
"But I'm probably one of those who are used to cilantro, but I don't go out of my way to eat it. It's not that I like it or hate it; it's more like a habit."
Tian Shi couldn't really understand why there was a dispute over cilantro, because in his impression, cilantro wasn't something to be eaten alone.
Perhaps this was the regional difference?
"Your Excellency, your statement is quite honest... so it is used as a condiment?"
"Brother Tian, do you want some cilantro?"
"What's the point of asking me, a ghost?"
Tian Shi spread his hands.
Mei then turned her attention to Raven and the others.
Rita just said she's not picky about food.
Raven's words...
"I'm not used to it, but I can eat it."
Raven signaled to Mei not to worry about her.
So what's left is...
"It doesn't matter! I like to eat whatever you cook, Mei."
Kiana said impatiently.
"Wow."
"Why is your reaction so calm, Mei!?"
"Uh... because I actually know your tastes, Kiana?"
Mei said helplessly.
"Forget it, Kiana, you should go outside and help the monitor with the children; you can't help in the kitchen."
"Mmm..."
"Damn it! It's all this guy's fault..."
"Although I can rest easy thanks to Tian Shi, but! When it comes to Mei, one thing is another. This is repaying kindness with enmity! This is called distinguishing between gratitude and contempt!"
"I'm sorry, Brother Tian, it seems Kiana has caused you trouble."
Mei apologized to Tian Shi while cooking.
"No, I think it's good. In fact, I detest the changes generated by pressure, especially for young people—well, although I'd like to say I'm young too."
Tian Shi said indifferently.
Adding the simulation time, it would be over twenty or almost thirty years, right?
"Seeing them forced to bear burdens they shouldn't bear at their age always makes me feel that elders like me are incompetent, so actually, I'm very happy that Kiana has returned to her idiot state."
"You're also calling me incompetent."
MEI took off her glasses, wiped them, and sighed.
"But that's why you are my master, I left all these tricks so that the younger generations won't repeat the mistakes of an incompetent superior like me."
[Rita Compatibility +5%]
[Fu Hua Compatibility +5%]
[Kiana Compatibility +10%]
"Elders? Don't underestimate us."
Rita chuckled.
"We have things to do too."
(Master Tian hasn't changed at all...)
Fu Hua couldn't help but sigh.
(Master Tian told me something similar back then—alright, Kiana-san, stop eavesdropping.)
...
Twenty minutes later.
Boom--!
"How can you not even use a gas stove, damn it?"
Tian Shi roared, unable to bear it anymore, after a loud bang and a cloud of smoke.
"So your cooking skills have gotten worse over the years, huh?"
"Ahem... No, I never used a gas stove back then. I've studied wind power, hydropower, electricity, and Honkai energy, but I'd never touched something like gas."
MEI defended herself while coughing.
"When I started, I didn't know it was gas; I thought it was some weird electric appliance. Who knew it was so primitive here?"
"My new kitchen utensils... my pots..."
Then came Raven's heartbroken lament.
"You should save up, you just received 100 million and you're still crying for help."
Rita poked her head out of the smoke, her face covered in dust.
"Besides, the gas tank is not made of paper, Dr. Mei, how did you manage to detonate it? If we hadn't reacted fast, we'd be lost."
Obviously, Rita was too angry to bother using an elegant tone.
"I just did some research..."
"It's okay, it's my fault; I didn't kick you out with Kiana after seeing her leave."
Tian Shi was full of guilt.
"It's no use letting MEI enter the kitchen!"
The loud noise startled the children and naturally drew the attention of Kiana and Senti.
"This is..."
"It's obvious that MEI finally blew up the kitchen."
Senti shrugged, immediately got up, and ran toward the smoky kitchen.
"Master Tian! Master Tian, are you alright? I'll bring you a towel right away!"
(I can only say she's worthy of being called MEI.)
Fu Hua in Kiana's mind also felt very emotional seeing the scene in front of her.
"It's back, everything is back."
"Does that Dr. Mei not know how to cook?"
Kiana asked curiously.
(I want to say no... but she can actually do very little, but not on the same level as Mei-san, even though they have the same face.)
Then Fu Hua remembered that Kiana seemed not to know about MEI's god-killing culinary skills.
(For your safety, Kiana-san, I'm going to say this: no matter how normal something MEI hands you is, or how delicious it looks, do not taste it, even if it's packaged as a snack, understood?)
"Huh? Isn't this a bit exaggerated...?"
(If you, Kiana, want to train your courage to face death, you can try it.)
"..."
As Kiana fell silent, the discussion in the kitchen also came to an end.
"It's okay, it's okay, I got rid of the gas tank, but obviously, the kitchen is gone."
Mei, who was in a serious state, seemed to be in the best condition, and it was she who suppressed the fatal consequences such as the fire that followed the explosion.
"Is everyone okay?"
"With our physical condition, what can happen to us?"
Raven said sadly.
"Dr. MEI also protected her well, but she was choked by too much smoke."
"To be honest, I thought my immunity to death would be activated at this moment..."
Tian Shi patted his chest with a little fear.
In so many simulations, I've never used the life-saving ability I gave the host.
It would be quite funny if I had to use it today.
"It was my fault... But I think I've figured it out. Next time I won't blow up the kitchen again... cough, cough, cough!"
"Don't do it again! If you do it today, you'll stay with this house forever!"
Tian Shi said sadly.
Raven wasn't wearing her combat uniform today, and Rita wasn't wearing her Valkyrie armor either... it was terrifying to think what could happen thanks to "just" a gas explosion.
"Can you please stay thirty meters away from the kitchen, Dr. MEI?"
Rita wiped the dust from her face and kindly persuaded her despite still being covered in dust.
"Alright."
"MEI, you should stick to cooking in the weapons testing field in the future."
Senti ran over with a wet towel, not forgetting to laugh at MEI.
"Come, Master Tian, let me wipe your face... and your body too."
"Give me the towel and get out of the way."
Tian Shi glared at this damned girl who wanted to "take advantage of the situation."
After roughly wiping his face, Tian Shi handed her the towel.
"So lunch at home is impossible. Let's shower first and then take the children out to eat."
"Okay."
...
"Eh... So, my house has been blown up again."
Raven was the last one to finish her shower, coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a bathrobe.
Since there are many children at home, there is no need to worry about bathrobes.
"The only thing that exploded was a kitchen."
MEI, who was also wrapped in a bathrobe and holding Tian Shi, corrected.
"Doctor, please don't comment on this as if you weren't the real culprit."
Raven said sadly.
"It seems I've been unlucky lately."
"Someone who just received 100 million has no right to say that."
As Rita spoke, she reached out to grab Tian Shi from MEI's arms, but MEI nimbly dodged her move.
"Only at this moment is she so responsive..."
"Heh... Now that you put it that way, it seems I'm only lucky with my Lord and always unlucky with you all."
Raven approached MEI, and MEI reluctantly handed Tian Shi over.
"Hmm... My Lord weighs more than he looks."
Raven held Tian Shi and weighed him.
"After all, he's not hollow. He has a complete set of bionic organs inside."
MEI explained.
"Hey... Do you think I'm some kind of pet? Are you passing me around?"
Tian Shi felt that these guys seemed to be disrespecting him now.
"Mr. Tian, you look very happy, don't you?"
Rita looked at Tian Shi in Raven's arms.
"Held by a beautiful girl in a bathrobe."
"Well... that's undeniable."
After all, Tian Shi can float on his own, so if he doesn't float on his own, it means Tian Shi is also very happy.
"But then again, you three don't want to spend half an hour chatting in bathrobes like this, do you?"
"I just came out."
Raven corrected.
"This question should only be asked to those two."
"Who do you think we are waiting for...?"
"I see. I thought you were trying to seduce the Lord."
Raven scoffed and blocked MEI's words.
"Never mind, I'm going to change... Rita, here."
Raven said as she handed Tian Shi to Rita.
Although she normally disliked Rita, she disliked MEI even more now.
"They really don't treat me like a doll, do they?"
Tian Shi sighed and floated away on his own initiative.
"Since the kitchen is wrecked, how about we take the opportunity to move? How about we move to a livelier place?"
"Moving is nothing, but it's vital..."
Raven paused as she was about to take off her bathrobe.
"Isn't it too dangerous to move?"
"Raven, are you a little overprotective?"
Tian Shi sighed and said.
"Your eldest daughter is already 16, right?"
"She's... the eldest, Sora."
"The youngest is 14, right?"
"Ah, that's right... You worry about them."
"Then, Raven, don't you think you're being too strict with them?"
"With Sora's gentle personality, who would believe she's already 16 if she didn't say so herself?"
"Seele and Bronya are only seventeen this year. Besides Bronya's figure, what other similarities do they have?"
"Also, this group of fourteen or fifteen-year-old children can still enthusiastically play the handkerchief drop game with that silly kid Senti—no matter how you look at it, there must be something wrong with their education, right?"
"Strict... strict? I think this will protect them better."
In other words, it was Tian Shi who said this.
If it had been another person, Raven would have turned her back a long time ago.
"You're being overprotective."
Rita hadn't noticed before, but Tian Shi finally did.
"Although you've been teaching them survival, Ms. Ciora, I regret to tell you that this kind of teaching may not be as useful as you think."
"Tsk, what kind of explanation is that...?"
Although Raven was unhappy, she was a little shocked at the moment.
"By the way, Ciora, what were you doing when you were sixteen?"
Tian Shi asked.
"I was sixteen... I think I had just started working, and I went through quite a few difficulties."
Raven sighed softly.
"I didn't wear a hood in front of others before because it was considered bad manners, but then I found that, actually, wearing it made negotiations easier."
"MEI, what about you?"
"Aren't you clear about it? A normal high school student."
"Yes, a high school student who has entered the field of elite scientists."
Tian Shi looked at MEI with an eye roll and then at Rita.
"You were present at my seventeenth birthday."
Rita laughed.
"So, Miss Raven, something really is wrong with your education, isn't it?"
"Do you really think your... no, our life experiences serve as a reference?"
Raven still understood herself well.
"I think my experience as a high school student is still very valuable."
MEI said that what she experienced was indeed a normal high school life and there was nothing wrong with that.
"Alright, alright, I get it, I'll think about it."
Raven rolled her eyes, unbuttoned her robe, and slipped toward the changing room.
"Anyway, let me change my clothes."
"Is it really a problem with my own education?"
"I'm thinking of recommending Cocolia to Raven... Forget it, why don't you two go and change?"
"I don't need to."
Rita replied, and the Dark Rose Armor immediately possessed her.
The transmission technology of the Valkyrie armor is even more convenient than Tian Shi's transformer; with one click you change your clothes.
"Then I'll go see if Raven has any clothes that fit me."
MEI puffed out her chest.
"All the clothes I had before are no longer usable due to the gas explosion."
But honestly... isn't the size difference between her and Ciora too big?
"Does Raven really have clothes that fit me?"