Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups-Chapter 1166 - 566:

"Stop staring, Wendi, you guys go inside and bring out a few boxes of beer. The meat is ready! Serve it!"

With Lin Chuqiao’s crisp call, a dozen plates of golden, crispy meat skewers were served onto the table.

Everyone took their seats, and the atmosphere in the yard instantly reached its peak, with cheers and laughter resounding.

Fang Cheng sat in the main seat, Lin Chuqiao naturally seated next to him.

She didn’t pick up the chopsticks but first wiped her hands with a wet wipe.

Then she picked up a grilled chicken wing, carefully trimmed off the charred edges, and gently placed it on Fang Cheng’s plate.

The action was skillful and natural, without excessive words, yet exuding the tacit understanding and thoughtfulness of a hostess.

Next to her, Xiao Shuai was quick-eyed and immediately got up to fill Fang Cheng’s empty glass with wine.

"Chairman, this rice wine is just at the right temperature, please try it."

He held the wine cup with both hands, slightly bent over, and then diligently filled up Lin Chuqiao’s, Professor’s, Li Dingjian’s, and others’ cups one by one.

Clearly displaying the image of a loyal personal secretary.

At another table, however, the scene was completely different.

"Come on, let’s have another one!"

Pan Wendi had one foot on a beer box, holding a pint glass, with his face turning red from drinking.

This young heir completely lost his usual elegance, spitting as he boasted to the fatty Hu next to him:

"Brother Hu, I’m not boasting, but in this East Capital, which street am I not familiar with?"

"When the heat is over, I’ll take you to the best nightclubs, the chicks there are definitely hot..."

"Hehe, I don’t get chicks, I still prefer grilled skewers and beer."

Fatty Hu’s mouth was oily, grabbing a handful of skewers with his left hand and holding a beer bottle with his right. His eating was bold and rough.

He wasn’t interested in Pan Wendi’s tricks but was extremely satisfied with this barbecue feast.

Sitting opposite, Xu Hao was also a carefree guy, suddenly slamming his cup on the table and shouting with the strength of alcohol:

"Young Master Pan, Hu Zi, Ah Fei, from now on we’re blood brothers!"

"With the leader supporting us in the Illuminati, in East Capital, we’re the ones who walk horizontally! Anyone who dares to defy us, I’ll be the first to take them down!"

Fei Ying spoke less, only silently listening to their bragging, occasionally clinking glasses, with a relaxed smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

Compared to that noisy side, Old Chen, Eagle Eye, Big Hammer, Monkey at another table, displayed a characteristic calmness of mature men.

All four were near middle-aged men, without loud babbling.

They were slowly sipping rice wine, occasionally picking a few peanuts, eating a skewer, and leisurely talking about past experiences.

The atmosphere wasn’t lively, but it exuded a sense of ease and comfort.

The most relaxed and joyful was the table of women.

Bai Ling, like a tireless little sparrow, holding a small piece of grilled bread, was enthusiastically teasing the hamster on Bean’s shoulder.

"Look, it’s holding its food with both hands!"

Bai Ling exclaimed in surprise.

Bean was amused by her, although still a bit shy, her body wasn’t as stiff as at the beginning.

She held the juice handed by Jiang Yun, sipping it slowly, her eyes curved into crescent shapes.

Jiang Yun occasionally helped fill Bean’s plate with food while softly chatting with Xiao Ya.

Meanwhile, the hamster named Xiao Bai was contently lying on Bean’s shoulder, chewing on a biscuit with relish.

After a few rounds of drinks, Fang Cheng held a wine cup, turned his head, and looked at Li Dingjian beside him.

"How are things back home these days?"

Li Dingjian put down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, speaking calmly:

"Ah Cheng, don’t worry about it."

"Wanghu Town is a small rural place, naturally remote, plus I’m watching over it, there won’t be any trouble."

After pausing, his expression turned solemn, he added:

"Your mother and grandfather are both in good health, Ah Cheng, go ahead and do what you want, don’t worry too much about home."

Fang Cheng nodded, reached out to refill his wine:

"I’ll have Big Hammer and Monkey go over in a couple of days to set up a few surveillance points in the town, and build an intelligence network. If anything arises, I’ll know immediately."

"Alright."

Li Dingjian didn’t decline, raised his wine cup and took a sip: 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"More eyes watching is always good, with them helping out, I can be more at ease here, and you can feel more assured in your work."

The two clinked their glasses, everything understood without words.

Putting down the wine glass, Fang Cheng turned his head, eyes falling on the Professor opposite him, slowly shelling edamame.

"Professor."

Fang Cheng called.

The Professor lifted his head at the sound, eyes peering over his glasses, quietly waiting for what comes next.

"You’ve seen a lot, there’s something I want to ask you."

Fang Cheng sat upright, then slowly said:

"Regarding the ’Super Ancient Civilization Ruins,’ how much do you know?"

Upon hearing the term, the Professor’s hand paused briefly as he shelled edamame.

The eyes hidden behind thick lenses flashed a hint of light, seemingly containing both remembrance and undiminished fear.

"Chairman, you’re asking about the ’Otherworld’ that the Masked Guest mentioned on the Roof Terrace, right?"

The Professor placed the shelled edamame into his mouth, chewing slowly:

"Actually, Old Chen already mentioned this to me last night."

"You asked the right person, in this East Capital unless it’s the Special Search Team or military top brass, few people know more about it than me."

"Why?"

Fang Cheng couldn’t help but ask.

The Professor took a sip of rice wine from the table, as if using the alcohol to suppress the inner turmoil, before slowly exhaling:

"Because a dozen or so years ago, I was fortunate... or maybe unfortunate enough to have entered once."

At this point, he adjusted his glasses, his tone turning especially solemn:

"At that time, I had just fled to the Southern Ocean a few years back, following an international mercenary crew trying to survive in a country rife with conflict."

"The crew was full of all kinds of people, retired soldiers, desperados, all had blood on their hands. Relying on my knowledge of geology and ancient scripts, I barely got a foothold."

"One time, we took a big job from local warlords, the pay was ridiculously high, just one task, escorting an archaeological team into the deepest Borneo rainforest to some ancient temple ruins."

The Professor’s gaze turned somewhat hazy, as if piercing through the burning coal in front, back to the damp and bloody rainforest.

"That rainforest was very sinister, losing three people in the first three days after entering."

"Either they got tainted by miasma, strange boils festered on their bodies, rotting down to the bone, or they were dragged into the woods by unknown things, their bodies never found."

"The archaeological team was tight-lipped, only saying they were looking for the ’Jungle Kingdom of Ancient Remains,’ nothing more."

"We finally reached the ancient temple ruins location, only to find it was not something an ancient civilization could have constructed."

The Professor paused, seemingly reimmersing himself in the shock of that time:

"The entire temple was built into the mountain wall, made entirely of black boulders, towering impossibly high."

"The main door comprised of two massive stone slabs, engraved with sinister beast motifs, exuding an indescribable oppression."

"Stone figurines standing a person tall lined either side of the stone path, every face fierce, seeming to be staring at anyone approaching."

"We followed the archaeological team inside, strange symbols densely etched on the stone walls along the way, unlike any known ancient writing."

"At the time, I could barely recognize a few symbols linked to ’sacrifice’ and ’passage.’ The ground was littered with remains, judging by the calcification, not modern, at least a thousand years old."

"We followed the archaeological team through several stone corridors, finally reaching a gigantic stone platform deep within the temple."

"The platform was carved from a single massive stone, tens of meters high, its surface etched with symbol patterns echoing those on the stone walls, with a fist-sized crystal orb placed centrally."

"The orb continuously revolved, emitting a faint blue glow, approaching it made you feel dizzy as if something was tunneling into your brain through your forehead."