binnovel Chapter 454 Appreciation Banquet
Chapter 454 Appreciation Banquet
The next morning, after washing up, Li Chenglong went downstairs and found that breakfast was ready, but only Han Li was at the table; Han Xing was nowhere to be seen. Seeing Li Chenglong come downstairs, Han Li said somewhat awkwardly, "Captain Li, Han Xing went out for his morning exercise after eating breakfast. Let's eat together."
Li Chenglong nodded and started eating with Han Li. He said with a smile, "After breakfast, do you want to go buy some clothes? We're going to a thank-you banquet at noon, so we should dress nicely." Han Li looked at her patched clothes. Although they were clean, they weren't really suitable for that kind of occasion, so she replied, "Okay, but you have to come with me so you can help me see if my clothes are suitable."
Actually, Li Chenglong's psionic space storage area still had a lot of clothes, but most of them were men's and women's combat uniforms, or his and Yunlan's family's personal clothes, which weren't really suitable to take out. Yesterday, when he was strolling around, he saw that there were also clothes for sale in the outer circle, so he planned to buy some for Han Li and Han Xing.
After the two finished eating, they waited a while longer until Han Xing returned from his morning practice. After explaining the situation, Han Xing happily rushed to shower, then slung a bag over his shoulder and followed behind Li Chenglong and Han Li, acting as their carrier.
Although it is called the outer circle, it is not all slums. Different areas are divided into different classes, and some places are no worse than some places in the inner circle.
Yesterday, Han Xing and Long Ling caused quite a stir in the outer circle, so they were fairly familiar with these places. During this time, some people spontaneously approached them, offering to be their tour guide for the entire day for just a few white crystals, taking them wherever they wanted. To avoid Li Chenglong wasting money, Han Xing simply took on the role of tour guide, explaining things as they went.
Along the way, the three encountered various food vendors, some of which Li Chenglong had never seen before and had never eaten. After asking about the prices, which were relatively reasonable, they bought quite a lot to share with the siblings.
After walking for at least half an hour, the three of them finally arrived at a relatively high-class area in the outer circle. The living conditions and the various goods sold here were much better than the place where Li Chenglong lived.
It took Li Chenglong over an hour to buy two sets of clothes for Han Li and Han Xing, both inner and outer garments, all for just one level 3 crystal. Just as they were about to head back, two cars pulled up, and Wang Shanshan emerged. She smiled and said, "Mr. Li Chenglong, my father said the thank-you banquet is about to begin, so he asked me to invite you over first. We've also sent someone to take the proprietress's husband home and paid him."
Li Chenglong nodded, "Alright, let's go now." Wang Shanshan personally took the bags and put them in the trunk, then got into the driver's seat. Li Chenglong sat in the passenger seat, while Han Li and Han Xing sat in the back.
The five chatted casually along the way. Wang Shanshan mentioned that the heads of the four major families would all attend the thank-you banquet. The banquet served two purposes: first, to express gratitude for Li Chenglong's help, and second, to build a closer relationship with Li Chenglong, hoping to achieve cooperation or even become friends.
Li Chenglong wasn't surprised; he would have done the same. Wang Shanshan continued, "Mr. Li, our Wang family also has a small villa in the inner circle. Although it's small, the scenery is beautiful, it has all the necessary facilities, and it's very convenient to get around. Our Wang family has decided to give it to you as a token of our gratitude. We would also like to ask that you could be a temporary instructor for our Wang family's team of superhumans. You can teach them whenever you have free time. What do you think?"
Li Chenglong considered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright, those void creatures are the common enemy of all life. If I can help them grow stronger, it will be a good thing for the whole world. But please send someone to our place to tell the landlady."
Seeing that Li Chenglong had agreed, Wang Shanshan beamed and immediately replied, "I'll make the arrangements in a bit." The car wasn't moving fast, and after more than forty minutes, the group finally arrived at the venue for the thank-you banquet. Wang Shanshan had already introduced it to Li Chenglong in the car; it was an 18-story, four-star hotel that, thanks to the efforts of their four families after the apocalypse, had finally been renovated. The thank-you banquet would be held on the second floor of the hotel.
At the same time, Wang Shanshan also gave a brief introduction to the top combat power of the four major families. Currently, the four major families of the Gods Base have a total of 8 level 11 ability users. Among them, the strongest family, the Su family, has 3 level 11 ability users, the Chu family and the Ye family each have 2 level 11 ability users, and the Wang family only has Wang Shanshan as a level 11 ability user.
Previously, the four major families held an internal competition. Wang Shanshan, an 11th-level ability user with three elemental abilities (wood, wind, and water), ranked third. The top two were Su Changsheng, a 11th-level ability user with four elemental abilities, and Ye Tian, a 11th-level ability user with three elemental abilities, from the Su family. Although the Chu family also has two 11th-level ability users, one is a dual ability user specializing in healing with both wood and water elemental abilities, and the other is a pure 11th-level strength-type ability user. Therefore, their strength is actually the lowest among the four major families.
Han Li said with a smile, "Luckily, I changed my clothes at the clothing store, otherwise I would have been really embarrassed to go there dressed like that." Wang Shanshan said nonchalantly, "It's the apocalypse now, so there aren't that many rules. As long as you're not dressed strangely, no one will say anything."
At 11:40 a.m., the group finally arrived at the small square in front of the grand hotel, where a considerable number of people had already gathered. Li Chenglong had sensed it while in the car: all the level 11 ability users from this base, including Wang Shanshan, had come for this so-called thank-you banquet.
As soon as Li Chenglong got out of the car, Wang Xuance came over with two men and a woman. Wang Xuance first shook hands with Li Chenglong, and then introduced him: "This is Su Changsheng, the head of the Su family, a level 11 four-elemental ability user. This is Ye Tian, the head of the Ye family, a level 11 three-elemental ability user. And this is Chu Meiyu, the head of the Chu family, a level 11 dual-elemental ability user."
Li Chenglong shook hands with each of the three and exchanged brief pleasantries. Chu Meiyu was only fifty years old before the apocalypse, but having become an 11th-level dual-elemental ability user, she now looked to be only thirty-four or thirty-five. Wearing a fitted cheongsam, she smiled and said, "Yesterday, that kid Chu Mu came back and told me how handsome and strong Mr. Li was. I was still a bit confused, but seeing him today, he is indeed a man of great talent. It truly proves the saying that the younger generation surpasses the older generation, and the older generation is left to die on the beach."
After exchanging pleasantries, Su Changsheng, Chu Meiyu, and Ye Tian introduced the main members of their families to Li Chenglong. Li Chenglong shook hands with each of them, and that was it.
They then entered one by one and arrived at the second floor of the hotel. The place was very well decorated, and you couldn't tell at all that it was still a post-apocalyptic world. The second floor was quite large, with at least forty large tables, easily accommodating four or five hundred people.
Once most of the people had arrived, representatives from the four major families took to the stage and gave official speeches, mostly summarizing the Gods' Base and expressing gratitude to Li Chenglong. Wang Xuance had originally intended to invite Li Chenglong to say a few words, but Li Chenglong waved his hand in refusal.
While these people were speaking, numerous waiters had already laid out various dishes. Li Chenglong glanced at them and saw that most were Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hunan cuisines, though they certainly wouldn't be called by those names here. After all, although this was another China in a parallel world, with a basically the same historical trajectory, many place names were different.
The thank-you banquet was rather slow, but that wasn't really the point of the banquet anyway. Many family members came to greet Li Chenglong and offer him toasts. Out of politeness, Li Chenglong stood up to return the greetings and exchanged pleasantries with each of them. Han Li was also toasted several times during the banquet. Although she hadn't seen much of the world, she had at least observed the etiquette, and after a few times, she became familiar with the process and handled it very appropriately.
Han Xing didn't care about any of that. He ate all the dishes that the other people at the table didn't eat much of. Lee Sung-ryong would even add some more for him from time to time, making him truly stuffed.