Being called out in the open, Zhao Kai remained calm and collected, almost as if he was unaffected by the words.
However, his outer appearance could not fool the keen eyes of Xu Feng.
"Alright, it's your style, so I can't say much. But just know that you're making your life difficult." Xu Feng ultimately sighed and said.
At the end of the day, it was his character and his freedom, so he shouldn't attempt to intrude upon it.
"Thank you, Brother Feng." Zhao Kai smiled widely, clearly appreciative of Xu Feng for knowing the boundary and respecting his decision.
Maybe it was because both of them knew each other's personality well and understood when to stop which helped enable their lasting friendship.
"Do you want any advice on how to build the character since you are going on such an unorthodox path?" Xu Feng asked, seemingly trying to help his buddy out.
Additionally, he realized once again the future had been altered due to the butterfly effect.
He was positive of Zhao Kai being a Gunner not just because of the equipment he saw, but because of the past timeline of him being a Gunner.
However, it became quite clear that the timeline was now starting to change, and his knowledge advantage was decreasing slowly. Despite that, Xu Feng wasn't bothered or worried about losing such an advantage.
The path he walked on was never about relying on some future knowledge advantage but based on his intuition, research, and strategy.
Sure, knowing some advanced information is beneficial, but one must also know how to utilize it to their advantage. That was the key point, and he would be foolish to fail in the utilization.
If perhaps some of the key knowledge elements had been altered due to the butterfly effect, then he would simply adapt to the new changes and make alterations to his plan.
"Whatever, I trust you, Feng. I only started to play the Divine World because of you anyway. Just don't make me equip the shield that is heavy and unsightly." Zhao Kai readily responded, adding some of his input as well if Xu Feng wanted to assist him.
"Give me some days to ponder over it, and it's not like unequipping the shield is a bad thing. At the very least, your appearance would fool others into believing you're a Gunner when in reality, you're a Gun Knight who is capable of being a tank." Xu Feng calmly said, reassuring him that it wasn't overly terrible.
Sometime later, the staff returned with a plate full of dishes and they placed them on the table in an orderly fashion.
"Please enjoy your food," the staff said with a smile.
"Finally, this is the highlight of the Divine World. Their food is just otherworldly and almost makes you feel like you will undergo nirvana." Zhao Kai exclaimed, his mouth nearly drooling at the mere sight of the glistening dishes.
"Undergo nirvana?" Xu Feng raised an eyebrow. "You're not trying to tell me that you would experience your clothes being burst or ripped open with a single bite of the food, right? That only happens in nonsensical gourmet fantasy or fan service moments."
"Tsk, you don't know about that, Feng. Trust me, when the food is that good and melts in your tongue, that feeling is real, albeit minus the clothes being shredded." Zhao Kai rolled his eyes, grabbing a fork as he dug in on the spaghetti bolognese.
A slurping sound was created as Zhao Kai enjoyed the spaghetti to his heart's content.
Smiling softly, Xu Feng dug in on his spaghetti as well, ensuring to savor every bit of the flavor. This order alone cost him 1 Silver Coin and 10 Copper Coins, mainly because it provided an extremely good buff.
Agility Enhancement: Improves movement speed and attack speed by 15%.
Health Regeneration: Restores 5% of maximum health every 10 seconds.
Mana Regeneration: Restores 5% of maximum mana every 10 seconds.
Stamina Recovery: Reduces stamina consumption by 20%.
Critical Hit Rate Increase: Raises critical hit chance by 5%.
All these buffs lasted for an hour which was necessary when treading the upcoming Verdant Valley. It was also precisely because of the necessity that Xu Feng agreed to indulge Zhao Kai in his foodie interest.
"No need to force yourself to eat everything. If you can't finish them, then just store them in your inventory for later." Xu Feng warned, having witnessed Zhao Kai's antics of grabbing so many different foods and stuffing them in his mouth.
If he didn't know any better then he would have mistaken him for a beggar who had been starved for days.
Luckily, the other players were too immersed in their own conversation and their table location was quite inconspicuous as well for others to notice them.
Otherwise, Xu Feng might really ask for a second table and switch his seat.
Time slowly passed by, and Zhao Kai finally felt his stomach bulge a bit.
"Ahh, I swear this isn't a game, but another way to fulfill your hunger." He exclaimed in bliss, rubbing his tummy as if he was some old man.
"Unbelievable… you should join some food-eating contest." Xu Feng sighed, unable to fathom how he was able to consume so much food.
Just the spaghetti bolognese alone had filled his stomach already, and he could barely eat a few BBQ ribs. After all, it would be a lie if he wasn't tempted by the aroma and fragrance emitted from the tenderized ribs.
As Xu Feng paid for the food, he felt a bit of heartache for losing his hard-earned money.
'I'll make sure to exploit others thrice for this expenditure.' He vowed silently, wondering if Herald Fist was in need of information or items.
That person had been played like a fiddle, so by throwing some more juicy bait out for him, he could easily earn big money.
"Anyway, let's get this show on the road. Just this delay has caused us quite a bit of time." Xu Feng stood up and said, getting ready to leave the inn.
"What's the rush, Feng?" Zhao Kai scratched his head. "You really became weird. You're constantly rushing now, almost as if you are in a state of urgency. Just relax a little bit and take a deep breath."