Walking to the dining table, Cipher saw two figures sitting in their chairs, looking rather dazed. As for Xiong Lei, he was faring much better than Luo Lin and Lin Wei.
Kung Pao chicken, braised lion's head meatballs, sliced pork in chili oil, and twice-cooked pork, accompanied by five bowls of rice. Looking at the spread of home-cooked dishes on the table, Cipher was genuinely surprised.
She hadn't expected to see such a variety of dishes in an environment like this. This was even more sumptuous than what she had eaten in her past life.
She had no idea where Lu Zhaoran had sourced the ingredients, but judging by the quality, it must have cost a fair amount of credits.
Cipher pulled out a chair and sat down. Luo Lin, sitting next to her, looked up.
"Sister Cipher, what happened just now? I felt a terrifying aura suddenly rush toward me, and then... then I lost consciousness."
Hearing Luo Lin's question, Cipher scratched her cheek awkwardly. Her gaze drifted aimlessly for a moment before landing precisely on Lu Zhaoran.
"Um... didn't Lu Zhaoran tell you?"
Luo Lin shook her head, indicating she hadn't.
At that moment, Lu Zhaoran, who was being stared at by Cipher, returned a pointed look. Though no words were spoken, Cipher could clearly read the meaning behind that gaze:
'Great One, you caused this mess, so you should be the one to explain it. Besides, it didn't cause any real harm, right?'
Cipher helplessly withdrew her gaze and placed the [Wisp of Aura] on the table. Before Luo Lin could ask what it was, Cipher explained directly.
"This is a wisp of aura from a friend of mine. It's composed of a type of instant-death curse she carries. If this aura entangles anything with a soul, that thing will die immediately."
"Because the curse is too powerful, even a mere wisp radiates a suffocating sensation of death that people below a certain strength level cannot withstand."
"They simply get scared unconscious by the pressure."
"This bottle prevents that sensation from leaking out. However, I forgot that I am immune to all instant-death type abilities, so I opened the bottle directly back then and caught you in the crossfire."
"Don't worry, you were at a distance. That sensation couldn't actually hurt you."
"I see..." Luo Lin looked at the bottle on the table, lost in thought.
"Immune to all instant-death abilities... Sister Cipher is so strong! And your friend is amazing too. To knock us out with just a wisp of aura, she must be at least S or S+ rank!"
As she spoke, Luo Lin's eyes grew wider and wider. She had finally realized the weight of her own words.
"No, no, how could it be S+? That's too terrifying!" She quickly shook her head to deny her own deduction.
S+ rank! That was a strategic power capable of easily leveling a city. Even within the IMA, which was a cluster of ability users, Luo Lin had only ever heard of a single S+ existence.
"I'm not sure," Cipher said with a shake of her head. "My memory is still fragmented, so I don't know my friend's exact strength or where she is now."
With that, Cipher stashed the [Wisp of Aura] back into her inventory.
"Let's eat first. We can talk about everything else later."
Lu Zhaoran interrupted the conversation, bringing a plate of braised fish from the kitchen. After casually placing the fish in front of Cipher, she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Cipher's eyes immediately lit up. She hadn't expected to eat any fish at the Bottom of the Pit other than the dried snacks from her system space. Her nose confirmed that this fish had been fresh before being cooked, not frozen.
"Right, this would be even better with something to drink."
With a thought, Cipher produced five bottles of SoulGlad from her system inventory—which had been chilled at some point—and placed them on the table.
"Sister Cipher, what's this?" Luo Lin asked curiously, looking at the five bottles of sparkling liquid.
"It's a carbonated drink. It's very delicious."
After saying that, Cipher dug in, popping a piece of fish into her mouth. The moment the meat hit her tongue, she felt a wave of pure bliss.
"Delicious!"
After giving that brief review, Cipher began to rapidly enjoy the meal. Seeing Cipher and Lu Zhaoran starting, the three members of the Spark Team shared a look and began to eat as well.
Lunch passed quickly. Before long, everyone had finished and went about their business.
★ ★ ★
Outside the house, next to Lu Zhaoran's car.
Cipher looked at the two men still unconscious in the trunk and asked Lu Zhaoran, "Zhaoran, what do you plan to do with them?"
"Sell them."
"Sell them?!"
Cipher was genuinely shocked. The moment Lu Zhaoran said those words, her mind flashed back to the loathsome organ-trafficking organizations of her past life.
"It's not what you're thinking!" Seeing her shock, Lu Zhaoran immediately realized where Cipher's mind had gone. After all, trafficking human "parts" was a crime everyone loathed, even at the Bottom of the Pit.
"I have ways to contact the Countercurrent Coalition. These two are core members of their force. There's no way the Coalition won't pay to get them back."
Lu Zhaoran pointed at Chu Ke. "Especially this one. He's the son of an A-rank combatant in the Coalition. That person will definitely pay a high price to secure his son."
Cipher frowned as she listened to the explanation. Honestly, she didn't want these two to go back alive. Although they had been one-shotted and likely didn't understand her Chrono Surge ability, they were still a potential threat. Once they knew her strength, they would come back better prepared.
Besides, Cipher looked at her "little vault" in the system (Quantum Storage). She still had 290,590 credits. She didn't feel particularly desperate for money.
"How much... can these two sell for?" Cipher decided not to voice her concerns just yet, wanting to hear the rest of Lu Zhaoran's plan.
"This Tan Rui has a B- rank 'Rapid Recovery' trait. It's rare. He can act as a front-line tank and reduce their casualties. He's worth about 700,000 credits."
"As for Chu Ke, B- rank 'Ice Element Control.' Not as rare as Tan Rui, but since he's an A-rank's son, we can definitely hike the price. A million credits won't be an issue."
"And since you're the one who caught them, I'll only take a 5% cut of the final sale."
Lu Zhaoran looked up after calculating the figures, only to find that Cipher was no longer standing next to her. She looked around blankly, only to see that Cipher had already climbed into the passenger seat of her car.
"?"
"What are you standing there for? Let's hurry up and sell them so we can get those credits, nya!"
Cipher leaned her head out of the window, shouting excitedly at Lu Zhaoran.