Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Lu Cian quietly approached Nair Inan, daring only to whisper, "Brother Nan, that bug looks really formidable!"

Nair Inan shot him a sharp glance, making Lu Cian feel a sudden chill. "I'm stronger than him."

Lu Cian was surprised that Nair Inan actually responded.

Even more astonishing was the fact that he had answered with that particular line.

Lu Cian, playing along, exclaimed in admiration, "Wow, Brother Nan is amazing!"

Nair Inan's face remained impassive upon hearing the praise, but after spending so much time with him, Lu Cian could clearly sense his aura softening.

Lu Cian marveled inwardly—so Brother Nan liked being complimented too.

Next, Lu Cian followed Nair Inan on a tour of the entire ship. Previously, they had only seen the sleeping quarters and the control room. The ship also had storage areas, comms stations, armaments, shield generators, lifeboats, and other sections.

The kitchen and dining area were just a small part of it.

To Nair Inan and the other bugs, this was a rather shabby ship, but in Lu Cian's eyes, it was packed with cutting-edge technology straight out of sci-fi.

The other bugs also noticed the interaction between their Heir Apparent and his new friend, observing how Nair Inan was unusually accommodating toward Lu Cian.

This unusual rapport stunned several of them.

Wawen nudged the equally stunned Damon and grumbled jealously, "Damon, the Heir Apparent is actually giving another bug a guided tour of the ship. Seems he really likes this friend of his."

If the Heir Apparent favored Damon, that was understandable—Damon was steady and shared maybe 0.1% of the Heir Apparent's qualities. But this bug? What made him so special?

Damon didn’t even glance at Wawen, crossing his arms and replying coldly, "Stay out of the Heir's affairs."

Watching Damon walk away, Wawen stood dumbfounded for a moment before snapping out of it. Furious, he punched the wall.

"Hmph, Damon is as annoying as ever," Wawen seethed inwardly.

At noon, Nair Inan took Lu Cian back to the mess hall.

To Lu Cian, the ship was enormous. After a whole morning of exploring, they had only covered a small portion of it, and all the walking had made him hungry.

Entering the kitchen, though it was much smaller than the prison's, the tools and facilities were light-years ahead.

Lu Cian stared in amazement at a smart-cook system—this pot didn’t need him to toss it; it moved on its own, and its functions seemed even more sophisticated than he had imagined.

Lu Cian took out his treasured box of nutrient solutions, which contained seasonings given to him by the prison kitchen staff.

Fortunately, when Nair Inan had taken him away, he hadn’t thrown out the box in Lu Cian’s hands. Otherwise, Lu Cian would've been devastated.

The seasonings weren’t plentiful, but they were enough for Lu Cian to use for a while.

Before cooking, Lu Cian needed to familiarize himself with the kitchen equipment.

The prison’s facilities were antiquated hand-me-downs, while this ship, though run-down, had cooking tools that were generations more advanced than the prison’s.

So it wasn’t strange that Lu Cian was unfamiliar with these processors that could help process ingredients or the automated tools pre-programmed to prepare meals on their own.

Prison information was just too backward.

Once Lu Cian figured out how to use the equipment, he couldn’t help but sigh—the bugs had goldmines in their hands but didn’t know how to use them! What a waste!

"With such amazing cooking tools, and they still manage to make such disgusting slop!" It was simply unimaginable.

Lu Cian was dumbfounded. These tools were so advanced and intelligent that even a basic setup could produce decent meals. Yet, they still ended up with such inedible gruel. Just how terrible was the cooking skill of whoever made it?

If he had had tools like these back in prison, he would've thanked his lucky stars. Yet, these bugs didn’t even appreciate them.

If Lu Cian complained about this in front of Brother Nan and the others, they’d probably protest loudly.

Ordinary bugs could afford culinary tech like this—they could even custom-order more advanced versions from factories.

But having high-tech, smart cooking tools didn’t automatically mean they could make delicious food.

They had no recipes, no idea how to prepare tasty dishes. All they knew was tossing ingredients in water.

Boiled vegetables, no matter how bland, were still edible—just the plants' natural flavors.

But for pungent beast meat, if not handled properly, boiling it in water was absolute torture for any bug.

For female bugs with sensitive taste and smell, it was akin to chemical warfare.

Some female bugs with smaller appetites and strapped for credits found beast meat more cost-effective than nutrient solutions. But since the meat was inedible when poorly prepared, most still opted for nutrient solutions.

With recipes being monopolized, the prices at bug restaurants were exorbitant.

These unwanted beast meats, aside from being used in restaurants and nutrient solution factories, were distributed to prisons as food for inmates.

Since it was essentially recycled scraps, the meat was practically free. Even for big-eating female bugs, it was more economical than buying nutrient solutions.

Unaware of the truth, Lu Cian couldn’t grasp just how much worse prison food was than he had imagined.

This also explained why, with just some basic cooking skills, Lu Cian was a godsend to Nair Inan, who had suffered for so long under prison meals and nutrient solutions.

The system chirped repeatedly as Lu Cian quickly programmed the smart cooking tools.

Once set, the auto-chef systems didn’t even require Lu Cian to wash or prep the ingredients—the dishes would be ready with the press of a button.

Beyond basic frying, deep-frying, stir-frying, and boiling, this tool could execute over twenty Chinese cooking techniques he knew of, with additional small appliances for support.

Some dishes required simultaneous processing and precise timing, which machines could handle with pinpoint accuracy.

Though machine-made food was still tasty, it lacked variation—each batch tasted exactly the same, overly mechanical.

Lu Cian didn’t let the program figure out seasoning timing and measurements on its own. Instead, he set the timings himself and pre-measured portions.

This not only made cooking faster and more convenient but also ensured each dish had unique flavor profiles.

The kitchen had plenty of cryo-stored meat and a mass of dough in the fridge, made from some unidentifiable grain.

Unsure how many mouths to feed, Lu Cian stepped out and saw Nair Inan sitting in the dining area. He asked, "Brother Nan, besides me, how many more bugs are eating?"

Nair Inan held up five fingers.

Lu Cian took the instruction and went back to set the machine’s serving count to: five.

As for himself?

His appetite was laughably tiny compared to these alien species. A few bites saved from their portions would be enough to fill him up.

But then Lu Cian thought of something—lately, his metabolism seemed to be changing. After a quick calculation, he adjusted the serving count to: five-point-five.

Short on time, Lu Cian didn't prepare any complicated dishes.

After removing the unpleasant odor from the game meat, he simply made grilled steaks.

Then, he ground a portion of the cleaned game meat for filling. With no vegetables available, Lu Cian made all-meat filling and wrapped it in the dough.

The dough felt similar to the flour-based dough he used on Earth, but it didn’t taste as good—it had a slightly pungent, strange smell.

Lu Cian guessed that the unpleasant odor might be due to improper processing, which made the broth stink when cooked.

However, since the dough had already been kneaded from powder into a lump, Lu Cian couldn’t fix it. He could only add some spices to the meat filling and rub some on the outside of the dough to mask the pungent smell.

Even if the final product wasn’t particularly delicious, it was still better than that bowl of foul-smelling soup.

The grilled steaks and flatbreads were quickly prepared. Lu Cian brought out his own portion and let the robot insect serve Brother Nan’s share.

The Zerg world was filled with high-tech conveniences—even serving food didn’t require manual effort. Specialized robot insects could handle it automatically once the program was set.

Lu Cian only set the portion for Brother Nan. He didn’t know the other insects, nor did he care to serve them.

Brother Nan was the one he acknowledged as family—not only had he protected him for so long, but he also took him along after leaving prison. Even a blood brother couldn’t have done more. Not repaying such kindness would make him an interdimensional ingrate!

Lu Cian would never do something so heartless.

"Brother Nan, today’s meal is a bit simple, but don’t worry. I’ll think of other dishes in the afternoon and maybe jazz up these ingredients further."

"Next time, don’t buy that pre-made dough from the fridge. Just get unprocessed flour, and I’ll handle it myself. This flour already has a weird smell, and the merchants dared to sell it without proper treatment—total scam artists!"

Nair Inan just said, "Okay."

When it came to food, Nair Inan was very easygoing—he basically went with whatever Lu Cian suggested.

Lu Cian grumbled quietly, "God knows what kind of fruit was ground into this flour… How could it smell so bad?"

Nair Inan’s mood, which had been ruined by the bad food earlier, finally improved after tasting something delicious. He spoke up, "If you want to know, you can ask Damon."

"Damon?" Lu Cian was puzzled.

Nair Inan nodded and pointed at the figures of several insects entering behind him. "The second one."

Lu Cian looked toward the insects entering the dining area. Their builds were all similar—the first one had dark gray hair, hands in pockets, and a somewhat carefree demeanor.

The second one had a stern appearance and carried himself with a military air, appearing all business. Noticing Lu Cian’s gaze, he gave a friendly nod.

The third had a messy mop of fiery red hair cascading loosely, looking unruly and irritable, as if he looked like trouble.

The three insects sat at a table far from them.

Lu Cian wasn’t about to go chat them up just yet, figuring he'd get a chance to ask after finishing his meal.

"Brother Nan, we're still one short?"

Nair Inan said, "Control room."

Lu Cian understood—the last one was manning the controls in the control room.

Damon went to the kitchen and set the robot insect to haul out the rest of the meat steaks and flatbreads.