"Look at you, child. You don't take care of your body while working away from home. Have you been eating instant noodles every day again?"
A woman with several strands of silver hair at her temples looked at the girl with a hint of reproach, as if she had done something terribly wrong.
Hearing her mother's 'concern,' the girl looked somewhat helpless. She had only lost a little weight; was the change really that big?
"Sigh, Mom! I haven't. I rarely eat instant noodles now. I only have them when I occasionally want a taste, not all the time."
"Besides, isn't being thinner a good thing? I used to be so chubby; that was actually ugly."
"Nonsense. You were so cute when you were chubby as a child. Now that you're grown, my daughter is only getting more and more beautiful!"
A middle-aged man, his hair also dusted with white, placed a piece of grilled meat onto a plate. While praising his daughter, he picked up another piece and continued grilling it on the rack.
"That's true... my daughter has grown up. I wonder who her future husband will be."
The woman took the girl's hand in hers, looking at her daughter with deep emotion. When did she grow up? She was a small child once, then she started running, gradually letting go of their parents' embrace and running toward a life of her own.
"I don't know if I'll still be around to see my grandchildren..."
"Mom! What are you talking about? I'm only twenty-three! Why are you in such a hurry to see grandchildren?"
"Right! Exactly! Which brat dares to eye my precious daughter? He'll have to get through me first!"
As soon as the topic came up, the middle-aged man immediately became anxious. How could the cabbage he had worked so hard to raise for so long be casually uprooted by some pig from who-knows-where?
This lively family atmosphere was not unique. Most people in this buffet restaurant came as families or groups of friends, though a few were drawn in by the shop's reputation.
Just as the family was happily enjoying their barbecue, a voice suddenly drifted over, drawing their attention.
...
Meanwhile.
In a sky-blue space, dozens of figures stood before a massive, translucent sphere, watching the images within.
Zooming in, the footage inside the sphere was exactly where Lin Tian and the others had fought the Witch.
No, to call it a fight was perhaps inaccurate; 'one-sided crushing' was more appropriate. The Witch had no power to resist at all and was easily defeated by Lin Tian.
Seeing the Witch being captured by that male human in the footage, the area was deathly silent.
They weren't shocked by the Witch's capture, but rather by the fact that such a tiny insect like a human actually possessed someone of that strength. Furthermore, that male human also possessed spatial abilities!
When the footage finished playing, everyone present couldn't help but turn their gaze toward the person standing in the very center.
"Heh, heh, hehehehehehe!!!"
Standing in the center, a figure of unknown gender wrapped in a gold-trimmed black robe let out a terrifying laugh. The sound felt as if it could destroy the world; under the influence of this laughter, the entire space began to vibrate violently.
The twelve people nearby had already begun to tremble uncontrollably the moment they heard the laugh.
This was because usually, when the Boss laughed like this, it meant his interest had been piqued. And once his interest was piqued, the spiritual pressure from his body would be released involuntarily.
Their bodies trembled for this reason—otherwise, what else could it be? Fear of the Boss? The salary here was high, the food was great, and there were massive bonuses for completing missions. Never mind that the Boss wasn't a 'good' person; even if he wasn't human, they would follow him willingly!
Compared to the previous bosses they had followed, those guys were trash! Ptu!
"Boss, stop laughing! We can't take it anymore!"
A large man with a scar over his right eye and a smooth, bald head shouted at the top of his lungs.
Hearing the big man speak, the others cast grateful looks his way. Only the Deputy Boss would dare to interrupt the Boss's laughter!
Hearing the shout, the one called Boss finally stopped laughing and looked at the group of people pinned down by his pressure with a bit of embarrassment.
"Sorry, everyone. Seeing someone whose spatial manipulation is as smooth as mine made me a bit excited."
Then, without waiting for the others to speak, he rubbed his chin with one hand, contemplating whether to take a trip to Earth. It was rare to encounter such a powerhouse; perhaps it would help with his own breakthrough?
'Sigh, what did I do to deserve this? Every boss I follow has some kind of mental issue. The first one loved to wail, and those tears could turn into weapons.'
'The second one loved to sleep and enjoyed killing in dreams, dragging everyone around into a dreamscape indiscriminately.'
'The third one loved to eat, munching on planets like snacks.'
'Now with the fourth one, he loves to laugh. Although it won't outright crush me, this feeling is not pleasant at all!'
A figure who looked exactly like a human male, except for a few octopus tentacles on his face, recalled his collapsing life with a look of despair. He truly had no luck with bosses!
However, compared to the first three, this boss provided materials every month for their cultivation. He could already be considered a rare 'good' boss in this Chaotic Starry Sky.