The Great Worm Lich

Upon seeing this touching scene from the kitchen, Lili, who had just finished preparing the dinner, gently placed her hand on her chest and shouted softly, “Kids, it’s time for dinner now.”

While she was speaking, tears welled up in her eyes.

Beside her, Lavin hugged the shoulders of his lover and looked at his children. They could see a gentle and gratifying expression etched in that resolute face as well.

The dinner was composed of roasted beef pies, fresh fruit, and vegetable salad, sautéed squid and corn broth. Even though there were only a few dishes, all of them looked very delicious. After they placed the food on the table, an enticing aroma drifted and soon attracted the kids who no longer had any intention of continuing to play their card games towards the dining table.

Since it was a dinner party, after seeing his kids and their young friends seated on the table, Lavin, who was sitting on the host’s chair, closed his eyes and began to lead the prayers before dinner. “We’re thankful for the food that is scarce for us… I’m happy to serve the people, Amen!”

As always, Zhang Lisheng began to chow down on the food. By the time everyone had repeated “Amen”, he had already finished half a piece of the pie.

“It’s really delicious, mom!” The young man praised with a mouthful of grease. “I’d always remember the pie you make every time I eat outside. Even a three-star Michelin chef will not be able to make such a delicious taste!”

“Oh baby, eat more if you love it so much. Even though we can say that Riley is the one who did the pie this time since she was the one who made the filling, I’m still happy hearing you said so!” Lili, who knew very well about her son’s appetite, smiled happily and could not help but fork the pie in her place to Zhang Lisheng’s plate that was already filled with food. “I’m watching out for my weight now so I’m just gonna eat salad at night.”

“Oh Lili, it looks like your son who doesn’t believe in the ‘Lord’ can really eat a lot!” When Lucas, who was sitting by the side, saw the number of beef pies in Zhang Lisheng’s plate, which was about three to four times more than his own portion, he blurted out right away.

This sentence involved the issue of one’s religious beliefs, and though it was still considered polite among the Americans, Rachel, who was sitting by his side, had already quickly whispered to him, “Lucas…”

“No, no, no, Rachel! I mean nothing ill on what I said. In fact, I only started to believe in the omnipotent God after I’ve immigrated to this country,” Lucas, who knew that he had said the wrong words, quickly shook his head and explained. “Not to mention that this young man and I both have an Asian face and that we’re from the same race, so it kinda feels very amiable…”

“Mr. Lucas, I’m Chinese and you’re a Central Asian. We’re not from the same race,” Zhang Lisheng shrugged and interjected his words.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter if we’re from the same race, we’re both American now!”

“No, Mr. Lucas, no matter which race you identify yourself as, I’m still a Chinese,” Zhang Lisheng’s tone sounded casual but decisive.

“In that case, I really don’t understand anymore…”

“Lucas, this is someone else’s family business. It doesn’t matter if we don’t understand it.” When Rachel heard her boyfriend’s conflicted words, she, who was by the side, quickly whispered again. “Why don’t you talk about the inside news about the foreign world that you’ve heard from your comrade friends who are still serving the country? It’s the hottest topic now you know.”

“Oh dear, I really don’t wish to mention these terrible things, but since you’ve requested it, so be it,” Lucas sighed and began to talk in a tone that was filled with vicissitude. “Speaking of which, I’ve already retired for almost a year from the military, but I still keep imagining myself being in the army, and how I had to carry 40 pounds of equipment every day, marching 10 kilometers and then cross the entire sea channel. That time, I often felt as though I would collapse in the next second, but I still persisted with determination and tenacity…”

His English pronunciation was not standard, but there was a hint of indescribable magnetism and exotic charm in it. Recalling his hard life in the army, his brows knitted unconsciously and right away, an unwitting man’s charm drifted out of him inadvertently, causing Rachel to grip his hand right away.

“Look at me, I’m lamenting again.” Sensing the temperature of his girlfriend’s palm, Lucas shook his head and smile, as he returned the hold of her girlfriend’s palm before continuing, “A person who has not been on the front line before will find it hard to understand the strong friendship that can be produced when they think about two men holding an M4 rifle in their hands with their backs pressed against each other as they put their lives in each other’s hands. After I retire, those comrades of mine who are still in service will always come to New York to find me for a drink to have a chat and relax their tensed emotions every time during their vacation. As we’re chatting, we’d sometimes inevitably mention some sensitive and confidential topics; for instance, the natives on Shrimp B1 Island which is only less than one hundred nautical miles away actually have the habit of cannibalism. The reason they attacked the human gathering place was to get enough rations…”

“Pstt… Cough cough…” Upon hearing this, Zhang Lisheng, who was drinking a can of iced Coke, almost squirted the Coke out of his mouth. “Sorry, Mr. Lucas. W-Who told you that the natives on Shrimp B1 Island are cannibals? This is too absurd!”

“There’s nothing absurd about this, young man. I’ve said that those who told me about this are my comrades. They’ve recently been temporarily transferred to the garrison troops on Shrimp B1 Island…” Lucas replied as though this was true.

Rachel, who was by his side, had long heard about the general life trajectory of Zhang Lisheng in recent years from Lili before, so she could not help but whisper to her boyfriend in shock, “Lucas, the one you told me yesterday was not Shrimp B1 Island but Japan’s capital, Tokyo instead…”

“Oh dear, I’ve heard more than one inside news. The Tokyo Massacre is terrible, but it’s far from us. The indigenous people on Shrimp B1 Island are only a short distance away from us…” Lucas sighed and explained to his girlfriend.

Zhang Lisheng interrupted the Central Asian man with a smile. “Mr. Lucas, you’re right. The Shrimp B1 Island is indeed only a strait away from New York, but it’s precisely because of this that tens of thousands of US people have set foot on that island before. Many people have even lived there for a while. Everyone knows that there are both good and bad natives, just like us humans. Some are kinds while some are cruel, but I can guarantee that there are no cannibals among them.”

“Young man, you’ve gone through too little things, so that’s why you’d say such arbitrary words,” Lucas replied with an unchanged expressionm “Living on Shrimp B1 Island before doesn’t mean that you understand the natives there very well…”

“I’m a biologist, Mr. Lucas. The reason I go to Shrimp B1 Island is that the US government commissioned me to study the composition of the biosphere on the island and one of these is the study about the food chain there. For this reason, I understand the food of those natives very well.” Zhang Lisheng shrugged.

“You are a biologist? Wow, you’re really young,” Lucas was stunned and studied Zhang Lisheng again. Still maintaining a calm expression, he said, “Young man, perhaps your biological knowledge is far above me, but sometimes, the truth is not so simple. For example this time, to retaliate against the attack on the human gathering place by the Shrimp B1 Island’s natives, the government used an ace spy from the CIA to incite a civil war between the natives. The reason that this ace spy could win the natives’ trust was that he had personally eaten human meat before.”

Upon hearing such absurd and outrageous tales, Zhang Lisheng’s mouth gaped open, not knowing what to say. Without warning, he burst out laughing. “Oh, Mr. Lucas, I suddenly realized that you’re a hilarious person. You really can become a writer you know. The story of how the government used an ace spy from the CIA to incite a civil war between the natives to retaliate against the attack on the human gathering place and that the ace spy could win the natives’ trust was because he had personally eaten human meat before was completely too imaginative! Thank you for beautifying me so much. Then again, I’m neither a CIA intelligence officer nor have I eaten human meat before. Actually, the reason those natives would believe in me is that I look almost identical with the god status on their tribal totem pole. If I had known that someone would regard me like a cannibal because of this, I’d not have asked the white house to keep the news of me getting the Medal of Honor as a secret.”

“Oh, my Lord! Getting a Medal of Honor personally from the President is one of my ultimate dreams after joining the army. Did you really get it, brother?” Randy, who was by the side, asked in shock.

Zhang Lisheng nodded with a silent smile. Michelle, sitting diagonally opposite to the young man, said with a strange expression, “He has indeed obtained the Medal of Honor. There is a list of honors on the White House website, and when I first saw this news, I thought he has used his connections and made a lot of ‘political contributions’ to buy it.”

“Michelle, do you really think I can ‘buy’ the Medal of Honor through donations?” Zhang Lisheng asked. “Thanks, I can’t believe that I’m actually such an ‘influential’ person in your mind.”

When the young man was talking, for the first time during dinner time, Lucas whispered and asked his girlfriend, “My dear, who exactly is Lili’s son?”

“The founder of the LS Group, a doctorate graduate from Stanford’s biology course who presides over the university’s biological laboratory on Shrimp B1 Island. Now, it looks like he seems to have got a Medal of Honor too. That’s all I know,” Rachel answered weakly.

“A-Are you kidding me?” Lucas’s eyes widened.

“Of course not!”

“Uh oh…” Upon hearing Rachel’s affirmative answer, Lucas lowered his head and calmed down for a few seconds, before complaining a little, “My dear, you know such a big shot person, so why have you never mentioned it to me before?”

“It’s none of our business. besides, Lili doesn’t wish to reveal Lisheng’s achievements to too many people.”

“Oh, even though I’ve obtained US citizenship, I’m afraid I’ll still never understand what a true US person thinks. If a mother in Puerto Rico can give birth to such an amazing child, she would definitely make this news known in the entire city.”