Going back a few hours, after Claire, Dalia, and Amy got dressed and did their makeup, they left the hotel and started shopping.
Because the Olympics were being held, Sydney was currently the most lively city in the world. Tourists from all over the globe gathered there, and you could see people of all skin colors speaking all sorts of languages.
Claire, Dalia, and Amy were all beautiful women, and they had dressed up carefully. Walking down the street, they were incredibly eye-catching.
Their heads turned 100% of the time, and because of this, quite a few men who thought they were charming came over to hit on them.
After dealing with another greasy middle-aged man, Amy couldn't help but start complaining.
"Why are these guys like this? Do they really think they're so charming?"
After spending a long time with Roy, Amy's standards were now incredibly high. Even Hollywood stars were just average in her eyes.
Dalia rubbed her thighs, which were feeling a bit sore and swollen. She wasn't sure if it was from shopping or the "battle" that morning.
"Yeah! I knew I should have just stayed at the hotel with my daughter. I wonder if she's being good and listening."
Before leaving, Dalia had put her daughter in the hotel's childcare area and was now starting to worry about her.
Claire looked up at the sky. The sun had already started to set. In the summer, this kind of sky usually meant it was getting late.
"How about this? Let's grab dinner together and call it a day."
Dalia and Amy nodded in agreement.
Sydney was packed right now, and most good restaurants required reservations in advance. The three of them went into several restaurants that were all full, leaving them quite speechless.
"How about... we go eat at Mickey D's?"
Dalia looked at the others with an uncertain expression.
Amy put her hands on her hips. Her personality had always been quite strong, which was evident from the "peephole motel" incident.
"Are you kidding? We can eat Mickey D's anywhere. Why come all the way to Sydney to eat it?"
Amy still had her camera with her and clearly wanted to take photos during dinner. If they ate Mickey D's, what would there be to photograph?
Going on a trip and ending up eating American fast food? People would laugh if they found out!
"How about we ask a local and see if there are any unique small restaurants we could try?"
That was a good idea. Most cities have some hidden gems that only locals know about – places that are good, cheap, and have local characteristics.
So, the three women found the nearest newsstand owner to ask for information.
"You want to know where there are some less-known but delicious restaurants?"
The newsstand owner was a lecherous old man, his eyes constantly scanning Dalia's enticing figure.
Dalia, who was doing the talking, forced a smile. The man's gaze made her uncomfortable.
"Yes, yes."
"And what's in it for me after I tell you?"
The old man wiggled his eyebrows, seemingly hinting at something.
This was more than the hot-tempered Amy could stand. She slapped the newspaper on the newsstand hard.
"Do you want to go to the police station?"
During the Olympics, the Sydney police were naturally cracking down on crime very strictly. The old man's face immediately changed, and he looked at Amy with dissatisfaction.
"I meant, you have to pay for directions!"
Claire didn't want to argue with the newsstand owner any longer and immediately took out her wallet, ready to pay.
"How much?"
"50 Australian dollars."
This price was too much for the usually thrifty Dalia.
Although Dalia was no longer as strapped for cash as she used to be after being with Roy and was living the wealthy life she had always dreamed of, she still kept her habit of being thrifty.
"50 Australian dollars? Are you crazy? 50 Australian dollars is enough to eat a meal at Mickey D's!"
Yep, Dalia still couldn't forget about Mickey D's.
50 Australian dollars was equivalent to about 25 US dollars at the current exchange rate. This "direction fee" was indeed not low.
"That's the price. It's okay if you don't want to pay. Go ask someone else!"
The old man had a smug look on his face, like "what can you do about it if I don't tell you?" He was really being a jerk.
Claire quickly took out a 20 US dollar bill. The beautiful psychologist came from a good family and didn't care about money that much, plus she didn't want to keep arguing with the newsstand owner.
After taking the money, the old man's face immediately changed, and he handed Claire a map.
"I didn't take this money for nothing. It comes with a free Sydney tourist guide map, which highlights some local attractions and restaurants. It definitely won't let you lose out!"
This made Dalia and Amy's expressions look a little better. They took the Sydney tourist guide map and looked at it.
The paper quality of the map was a bit poor, similar to the paper quality of free flyers given out in supermarkets. The cost was probably less than a cent.
Dalia wanted to say something else, but Claire and Amy quickly pulled her away. Neither of them wanted to talk to the newsstand owner anymore.
"Dalia, let's go!"
But Dalia was still a bit angry.
"Hmph! If Roy were here, this guy wouldn't dare to do this!"
The three of them stood by the side of the road studying the Sydney tourist guide map for a while. Although the paper quality of this map was indeed poor, it did recommend some small and medium-sized restaurants that were not found on other tourist maps.
Generally, tourist maps feature large restaurants that pay for advertising. Small and medium-sized restaurants can't afford that, so they usually don't get recommended.
Claire pointed to a location on the map.
"There's a restaurant here run by Maori people. It looks quite unique. Should we go eat at this one?"
The Maori people are the indigenous people of New Zealand, which is very close to Australia. Both countries are former British colonies that became independent nations, so their connections are very close.
"This location seems a bit off the beaten path. Is that okay?"
Amy had some reservations. After the "peephole motel" incident, she was more afraid of remote places like this.
Claire was quite confident.
"There shouldn't be any problems. It's the Olympic period right now, so security should be fine. There are police patrolling everywhere!"
Dalia and Amy exchanged glances and reluctantly agreed with this statement.
"Look, there's also a shortcut here. Let's just go straight through here!"
Claire pointed to a location on the map. There was a less obvious path there that looked like a small alley.
This was too much for Amy. Going to a remote restaurant was bad enough, but taking a shortcut through an alley?
"Claire, let's not! I can't walk anymore. Let's just take a taxi. It's not worth saving that little bit of money!"
So, the three women still took a taxi to the Maori restaurant.
However, when the taxi driver heard their destination, his expression seemed a bit strange, which the observant Claire noticed.
"Excuse me, driver, is the food at that Maori restaurant not good?"
"No, no, no, the Maori food is actually pretty good. I'm just worried it might be too unique, and you won't be able to handle it."
This made Claire breathe a sigh of relief. She wasn't afraid if the food was just a bit strange.
After being "developed" by Roy, Claire's hidden desire for adventure had been ignited.
"It's okay, we just want to try some new and unique food!"
The driver kept looking in the rearview mirror, giving off a feeling that he wanted to say something but was holding back. However, the three women were chatting happily and didn't notice.
The taxi finally stopped in a relatively run-down neighborhood, completely different from the bustling downtown Sydney where the three women had been shopping earlier. The streets were full of dark-skinned people, gathered in small groups.
These sights made Dalia feel like she was back in a Los Angeles slum.
The taxi driver kindly reminded the three women before leaving.
"Ladies, this is where immigrants live. It's a mixed area. It's best not to stay out too late here. Just grab dinner and head back quickly!"
Well, even the most developed cities inevitably have places like this. America couldn't avoid it, so Sydney certainly couldn't either.
Claire, who had suggested coming here, gave Dalia and Amy a reluctant smile.
"Well, since we're already here..."
"Since we're already here," "It's the holidays," "They're just kids," "The person is already dead..."
These phrases were just too effective. Dalia and Amy ultimately decided to eat this dinner, but Dalia also kept her guard up and called Roy to tell him their location.
But the three of them didn't notice a van following them the whole time.
After all, getting a taxi at night in this kind of neighborhood wasn't easy.
Fortunately, the area around the Maori restaurant was decent, and there weren't any idle people hanging around.
It was just the food inside...
As the driver had said, it was very unique.
The Maori people live on the islands of New Zealand and learned to cross the ocean very early on, relying on the sea for their livelihood.
So their diet was very hearty, mainly fresh seafood, and it was mostly eaten raw, at most with some lemon juice poured on it, which Dalia and Amy found somewhat unacceptable.
Although people in Europe and America often eat rare or medium-rare steak, not all Westerners can accept this way of eating, and Dalia and Amy were among them.
Claire, on the other hand, ate quite happily. She really enjoyed trying new things like this.
Fortunately, the Maori people also had a more unique cooking method called Hangi.
It's essentially putting red-hot stones in an earth oven, wrapping meat and vegetables, putting them in the pit, and finally covering it with soil to fill the gaps.
It was a bit like the "Beggar's Chicken" method in East Asia, which was very novel for Dalia and Amy, who hadn't seen anything like it.
You could only say that coming from a "culinary wasteland" like America, everything felt new and interesting to eat.
The three women didn't have large appetites. Only Dalia ate a bit more. After all, those magnificent "headlights" weren't built on a vegetarian diet.
After eating their fill, everyone felt generally satisfied. Claire offered to pay.
After all, coming here for dinner was Claire's suggestion.
After paying the bill, the three women stood outside the restaurant waiting for Roy to pick them up.
"Why is Roy taking so long?"
Amy kept looking at her watch. It was almost 8 PM now, and the streets were getting less crowded.
"He's probably still finishing dinner? You know how much Roy eats."
The further improvement in his physical attributes had made Roy's body consume even more terrifying amounts of energy. Every meal was more than ten times that of an ordinary person.
This was very troublesome, especially when eating out.
If you ate a few times more food than others, you could explain it by being an athlete, but ten times...
This wasn't an eating contest!
So Roy was wondering if he could find some high-energy food to solve his eating problem, otherwise, the more he ate, the more trouble he would be in.
This made Roy think of Elizabeth.
The life form of the King of Sloth must be stronger than Roy's current form. So how did the Demon Queen solve the problem of energy consumption?
Perhaps he could ask Teacher Elizabeth later.
When eating at the hotel, Roy didn't dare to show off too much and only ate to about 50% fullness before stopping.
"Heather, Penny, Jennifer, you guys go back to the room first. I still need to go pick up Dalia and them."
Hearing this, Penny bit her red lip and looked at Roy with moist eyes.
"Should we get ready in the room? Heather and I have a little surprise planned for tonight!"
Heather also winked at Roy at the same time. The hint was quite obvious.
Roy's heart stirred. Dalia and Amy had already teamed up with Heather and Penny before. Only Claire was new, but she should be able to accept it, right?
"Roy, I won't be joining. I've been out for so long today, Nidhi's parents should be getting suspicious."
"Okay, then I'll take you back first, and then go pick up Dalia and them."
Across the Pacific Ocean, Bumblebee couldn't come, so Roy just rented a regular car in Sydney.
However, Roy did bring Crowlyia to Sydney. If anything happened, he could ask Crowlyia for help.
Since the Silent Hill incident, after Roy used hellish power to modify Crowlyia, Crowlyia had Roy's mark on her, similar to the relationship between Elizabeth and Roy.
Roy could mentally connect with Crowlyia remotely through the mark, which was much more convenient than Bumblebee.
Bumblebee: So love disappears, right?
"Jennifer, in a couple of days, I'm attending a reception for American athletes. I might need a date then. Go help me get a dress ready, and get one for yourself too."
Since Allen Berg said this reception was quite formal, Roy naturally had to be prepared. He needed a suit, a female companion, and so on.
After thinking it over, Roy felt Jennifer was the most suitable date. After all, they were the same age, and there wouldn't be any major issues taking her out.
At this moment, Jennifer had switched back to her own consciousness. Lilith's consciousness had returned, and Jennifer's face was full of pleasant surprise.
Roy's words were equivalent to acknowledging Jennifer's status. Although Roy's parents, Philip and Sharon, had expressed similar sentiments before, this was the first time Roy had formally stated it.
However, Jennifer still felt a bit embarrassed, feeling like she was taking her best friend's place.
"What about Nidhi?"
"You know Nidhi's personality. Going to a place like that would only make her uncomfortable. It's better for you to represent me."
Jennifer nodded gently, a sweet smile on her face.
"Okay, I'll get the dresses ready!"
It was good to have a helpful partner. Jennifer always made things easy for Roy and didn't make mistakes.
Just as he was thinking, his phone suddenly rang.
Roy took out his phone and glanced at it, seeing it was Dalia's number. He thought she was trying to rush him, so he handed the phone to Jennifer.
"Jennifer, can you answer this for me?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Jennifer put it on speakerphone, she heard Dalia's anxious voice.
"Roy, something happened!"
Claire (Anne Hathaway, The Princess Diaries version)