49: Chapter 49 My Eyes Are a Ruler

On the phone screen, Fahd's message was still lit up.

Li Li turned off the screen and pocketed his phone.

The blue text on his left wrist scrolled a new line.

[System Prompt: Given that the main quest [Abu Dhabi Royal Banquet] has been successfully advanced by the host, a quest auxiliary item has been issued—40 blocks of Chongqing Old Brand Beef Tallow Hotpot base. It has been placed in the No. 3 cabinet of the hotel kitchen cold storage.]

[System Comment: War is war, but the food can't be bad.]

Li Li rotated his wrist.

Aside from having a snarky mouth, this broken system could occasionally do something useful.

He turned and took the elevator straight down to the kitchen.

The executive chef of the Burj Al Arab was a Frenchman with a handlebar mustache, and standing next to him was the Chinese sous-chef, Old Wang, wearing a white coat.

Li Li dragged four red-and-white woven bags out of the No. 3 cold storage cabinet and slammed them onto the stainless steel prep table with a "bang."

He unzipped them.

Dozens of brick-sized blocks of beef tallow Hotpot base were stacked neatly inside.

Old Wang stared at the bags for three seconds.

"Brother Li, this..."

"For the Abu Dhabi Royal Banquet tomorrow night, the main course will be this." Li Li patted the bags. "The banquet scale has expanded fivefold. Calculate the headcount and stir-fry all the base. For tripe, omasum, and fatty beef, go directly to the manager to requisition the stock."

The French head chef didn't understand Chinese; he gestured with his hands in front of his chest and blurted out a string of French.

Old Wang stammered a translation: "The head chef is asking, what kind of mysterious oriental spice is this, and what vintage of red wine should it be paired with?"

"Pair it with iced cola." Li Li put his hands in his pockets. "I'll leave the stir-frying to you. Don't embarrass the chefs of the East. Make sure the base is fragrant, and don't burn it."

Old Wang stood up straight, grabbed a large pair of scissors, and snipped open the plastic film.

The dark red beef tallow blocks landed with a "thud" into the large iron pot that stood half a person high.

An Arab sous-chef nearby leaned in to sniff it, got choked by the spicy scent, sneezed three times in a row, and retreated two meters away.

After finalizing the Hotpot matter, Li Li grabbed a wooden tray in the kitchen.

It had a bowl of thick congee, a dish of shredded kelp, and a dish of smashed cucumber.

He went up to the 20th floor.

To the door of Room 2005.

He knocked twice.

No response.

Li Li held the tray with one hand and pressed down on the door handle with the other. It wasn't locked.

Click.

He pushed the door open and entered.

"Jiang Rumu, get up—"

His voice cut off.

In front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the center of the room, Jiang Rumu was standing with her back to the door.

She had rolled up the white T-shirt stained with dried blood from the hem, and was halfway through taking it off—it was stuck between her elbows and the back of her head, her arms raised and unable to move.

A large expanse of her back skin was exposed to the air. The line of her spine went all the way down, disappearing into the edge of her gray athletic shorts. A black strappy bra sat below her shoulder blades. A brand-new white gauze bandage was stuck to her right shoulder.

Li Li's feet were nailed to the floor.

Jiang Rumu heard the movement and froze.

Wearing the T-shirt stuck on her head, she struggled to turn her body halfway around.

Their gazes collided in mid-air.

One second.

Two seconds.

Li Li stepped back with his right foot, exited the door frame, and grabbed the handle with his left hand.

"Bang."

The door closed. It was shut tight.

He stood in the hallway. The tray in his hands didn't move at all; the surface of the congee didn't even ripple.

A very short scream came from the other side of the door, followed by the muffled sound of a heavy object hitting the bed.

Li Li cleared his throat.

"Breakfast is on the coffee table. Come out and eat after you're changed."

He placed the tray on the glass table in the public lounge area of the hallway and turned to leave.

His pace was extremely fast.

He returned to Room 2001.

Inside Room 2005, Jiang Rumu buried her face in the pillow, muffled for a full ten seconds before lifting it.

Her ears were hot enough to fry an egg.

She slowly recalled those two seconds.

The door opened.

Their eyes met.

His expression didn't have any exaggerated changes from beginning to end; no silly smile, no lingering gaze—he just cleanly backed out and closed the door.

He didn't even spill the congee.

Jiang Rumu buried her face back into the pillow.

"Pervert."

Her voice was muffled, the end of the sentence curling upward.

She couldn't even say who she was scolding.

2001 Room balcony.

Li Li pulled out his livestreaming equipment from his backpack, set up the tripod, and pointed the camera at himself.

The afternoon sun of the Persian Gulf beat down directly, and the sea breeze carried a salty, fishy scent.

He pulled over a rattan chair, sat down, and pressed the start button for the broadcast.

The livestream room, which had been black for a whole day, instantly lit up.

The speed at which the number of online viewers jumped was terrifying.

One hundred thousand. Five hundred thousand. Three million. Six million.

It was still skyrocketing.

The live comments were so dense that the words were illegible.

Li Li raised his hand and waved.

"Alive, no missing arms or legs."

[Holy crap!! Brother Li is live!!]

[Finally there's a picture! I didn't sleep all night yesterday!]

[Where's Jiang Rumu?! What about the others?!]

[Brother Li, that combo you used underwater yesterday is trending all over the internet!!]

"The others are resting in their rooms. Jiang Rumu got a few stitches on her shoulder; it's nothing serious."

He rotated his left wrist.

"The weather is nice today; I'll take you out to soak up some sun."

The camera panned over, aiming at the Persian Gulf.

The comments flooded with rows of "Glad you're safe."

After a while, a premium comment with a colored border floated by—

[Wait! What about that type 055 destroyer from yesterday? Why is there nothing on the sea surface?]

As soon as this appeared, the atmosphere changed.

[Yeah! What about that Type 055 that was raining fire with its close-in weapon system?]

[It's empty! There's not even a shadow left!]

[It didn't withdraw, did it?? Is Israel going to attack again??]

Panic spread through the comments.

Li Li turned the camera back.

"What are you panicking about?"

He pointed in the direction of Abu Dhabi.

"The Abu Dhabi Royal Banquet tomorrow night will proceed as planned, with the scale expanded fivefold. The type 055 destroyer most likely went over for a stroll to hold down the fort."

[?? What does the Royal Banquet have to do with the Type 055?]

[Brother Li, were you blasted into a stupor yesterday?]

Li Li leaned forward, moving closer to the camera.

"Because tomorrow night, the entire Production Team is going to Abu Dhabi for the feast."

The livestream room lagged for a second.

[Feast?? A Dating Reality Show going to eat a royal state banquet??]

[You're taking too big a step, brother!!]

Li Li leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands behind his head.

"Prince Fahd issued the invitation personally. Not only are we eating, but I also changed the main course of the banquet."

He paused for a beat.

"Tomorrow night's royal state banquet—we're having Hotpot. Authentic Chongqing old beef tallow base."

[You're feeding the Arab royal family beef tallow Hotpot base???]

[Brother Li, what kind of script are you actually holding!!]

[Who among the civil and military officials dares to speak? Brother Li carries the pot into the royal palace!!]

[Can you livestream tomorrow? I want to see the King get spicy-cried!!]

The number of online viewers exceeded eight million.

Li Li watched the comments.

"I'll ask Fahd tomorrow if I can livestream. If I can, I'll take you all to broaden your horizons."

Just as he finished speaking.

His movements stopped.

He sat up abruptly.

He pressed his hands against the railing, staring fixedly at the sea in front of him.

The comments got anxious.

[What's wrong?]

[Brother Li, don't scare us; is another missile coming?]

Li Li didn't look at the comments.

He noticed something wrong—on the beach below the balcony, a dozen seagulls all took flight within three seconds.

It wasn't the chaotic way they fly when startled by people; they rose up in unison, heading in the same direction.

He pointed toward the water about two nautical miles to the front left.

"In that sea—is there something?"

[What something? I only see water.]

[It's very calm; there's nothing there.]

Li Li grabbed the phone from the tripod.

"My eyes are the ruler."

His fingers swiped frantically on the screen, zooming the focus to the maximum.

The image magnified, the pixels a bit blurry.

But it was clear enough.

On the azure surface of the Persian Gulf, there was a huge, long, dark shadow.

The color of the water suddenly deepened there, and there was a clear dividing line between it and the surrounding light blue.

That shadow was less than a meter below the surface of the sea.

And—

It was moving.

It was slowly, silently approaching in the direction of the coastline.