Chapter 160 A Meal to Win Teammates, and a Name More Outrageous Than a Meteor

“Mmm! Delicious!”

Xia Lian carefully lifted a slice of snow-white fish, glistening in crimson chili oil, and popped it into her mouth.

In the next instant, her eyes, which always held a touch of timidity, went wide and froze.

The fish was so tender, so impossibly smooth, that it seemed to dissolve on her tongue with the slightest pressure, releasing a pure, fresh sweetness that tasted of the deep ocean. Before she could even process that, a domineering, multi-layered spiciness exploded across her palate.

First came the electrifying tingle of Sichuan peppercorns, a pleasant numbness that danced across her tongue. It was immediately followed by the searing, radiant heat of dried chilies, a wave of fire that ignited every single taste bud.

It was stimulating, deeply satisfying, yet it didn’t burn with malice. Instead, the heat only served to whet her appetite, making it utterly impossible to stop.

“This one is delicious too!”

Su Wan, attempting to maintain the habitual elegance she had cultivated over years of disciplined life, picked up a piece of spicy chicken. She prepared to take a small, delicate bite.

However, the moment her teeth broke through the crispy, fragrant skin, all her carefully constructed poise shattered.

With a satisfying crunch, the tender meat juices, perfectly sealed within, erupted in her mouth. The succulence of the chicken and the crispiness of the skin created a sublime contrast. The searing oil had unlocked the very soul of the dried chilies and peppercorns, leaving behind only pure, unadulterated fragrance without any overwhelming spice.

Her mouth was filled with an incredible display of textures and flavors—crisp, fragrant, tender—leaving an endlessly savory aftertaste.

Her mind went completely blank. Her body, moving faster than her reason, had already reached for a second piece.

There was no stopping now.

“I told you! My sister’s cooking is the best in the world!” Selene mumbled, her words indistinct as she shoveled food into her mouth, her face already smeared with oil. “A hundred times better than the Elven Imperial Chef!”

Celeste watched the three of them, completely and utterly conquered by her food, and felt a surge of incredible pride.

‘Hmph, allow me to demonstrate the power of a Liyue Master Chef!’she thought smugly.’So what if he’s an Elven Imperial Chef? Does he have the blessing of Guoba? Does he even know what glowing cuisine is? In the grand culinary arts, Master Xiangling has never known defeat!’

In a whirlwind of chopsticks and delighted murmurs, the dishes on the table were swept clean. Even the very last bean sprout, soaked in the fragrant red chili oil of the boiled fish, was precisely fished out by a determined Selene.

The four of them slumped back in their chairs, all pretense of grace abandoned, rubbing their round, full bellies. A moment later, a satisfied burp escaped them in near-perfect unison.

“Burp… So… so happy…” Xia Lian’s face was flushed, her eyes glazed over, her soul clearly still lost in the delicious memory of the meal.

Su Wan, too, had completely let go of her usual dignified demeanor. She leaned lazily against the back of her chair, her face a mask of pure relaxation and contentment.

“Celeste, your skills…” she praised with genuine sincerity. “If you don’t open a restaurant, it would be a crime against the entire world’s culinary industry.”

“Keep it low-key, low-key. Just standard procedure,” Celeste waved her hand dismissively, but the proud smirk playing on her lips couldn’t be hidden.

After the meal, with the atmosphere warm and comfortable, Su Wan sat up straight, her expression turning serious and earnest.

“Celeste. Selene. Xia Lian.”

She took a steadying breath, as if she were about to make one of the most important decisions of her life.

“I’d like to make a proposal.”

“I’m very glad we teamed up for this Domain trip,” she began, her voice steady. “We work together smoothly, and we trust each other.”

“So, I want to ask… can we form a permanent team? From now on, we’ll tackle all our missions and operations together.”

After speaking, she looked at the three of them, a flicker of uncharacteristic nervousness in her eyes. This was probably the first time in her life she had ever taken the initiative to ask for something so directly.

“I! I agree!” Xia Lian was the first to shoot her hand into the air, her head bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice. “I-I’d be so happy to be with everyone!”

Selene habitually glanced at her sister.

Celeste smiled warmly. “Of course, I have no objections.”

She looked at Su Wan and Xia Lian. “You two are the most reliable teammates I’ve ever had.”

An Ice Mage who could handle both damage and crowd control, calm and decisive. A Ranger who was an all-rounder in reconnaissance and surprise attacks, careful and dependable. Their combat styles complemented each other, and their personalities, surprisingly, meshed well. Teammates like these were a rare find, the kind you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern.

“Awesome!” Selene cheered, the atmosphere instantly becoming lively again. “Since we’re a permanent team, we need a team name, right?” she suggested enthusiastically.

“A team name?”

The moment the question was asked, the previously lively atmosphere instantly cooled.

The four of them looked at each other, blinking.

“How about… the ‘Beautiful Priestess Squad’?” Selene ventured, striking a pose she clearly thought was adorable.

“…Tacky,” Su Wan’s evaluation was concise and brutal.

“Then… the ‘Justice Iron Fist Sisterhood’?” Selene refused to give up, clenching her fists.

“That sounds like a third-rate gang that shakes people down for protection money,” Celeste’s mouth twitched.

“How about the ‘Wreck-It Crew’? Simple and direct!” Selene’s eyes lit up, feeling this one really suited their style.

“Could you please try a different line of thinking?” Su Wan pressed her fingers to her forehead, feeling her years of mental fortitude facing an unmatched challenge.

“Then let’s go for something epic! ‘Athena’s Aegis’? Or ‘Valkyrie’s Spear’?” Selene threw out two more, looking at everyone expectantly.

Celeste closed her eyes in secondhand embarrassment, feeling her toes curling so hard in her shoes they were about to dig a tunnel to another dimension. She raised her hand with great difficulty, making a “stop” gesture.

“Selene, I’m begging you, please stop talking. At this rate, ‘The Social Death Priestess Posse’ would be an improvement.”

Xia Lian was already so mortified she looked like she wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.

“Let me,” Su Wan cleared her throat, attempting to salvage the team’s dignity. “A name should have a certain artistic flair. For example, ‘Winter’s Overture’?”

“Sounds like we’re about to go to a poetry recital,” Selene retorted.

“Then how about ‘Elemental Resonance’? It reflects our professional characteristics.”

“Sounds like a high school physics club,” Celeste ruthlessly shot back. “And while we’re at it, what is my professional characteristic? Summoning meteors and pulling out an AK-47? How exactly does that ‘connect’?”

“How about, ‘Protection of the Moon Goddess’?” Xia Lian suggested softly. “Or… ‘Starlight Clover’?”

“The first sounds like a fan club for some celebrity, and the second sounds like a gardening class,” Celeste shook her head.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Su Wan groaned, scratching her hair and completely abandoning her elegant facade, her face a mask of frustration. “We can’t just call ourselves ‘The Association for People Who Suck at Naming Things’, can we?”

Just as everyone was at their wits’ end, a flash of inspiration struck Celeste like a bolt of lightning. A name that perfectly combined chuunibyou flair, sheer dominance, and a very special connotation began to form in her mind.

She slapped her thigh. “I’ve got it!” she declared in a deep voice.

Three pairs of eyes snapped towards her.

“We’ll call ourselves—”

Celeste deliberately dragged out her words, her tone as solemn as if she were announcing a fundamental truth of the universe. She slowly enunciated the two words:

“Quantum Battleship!”

The air in the room solidified.

Selene: “…Huh?”

Su Wan: “…Why?”

Xia Lian: “Quan… what’s a quantum?”

“Think about it,” Celeste began, her expression dead serious as she launched into her grand explanation. “What is the core feature of our team? It’s uncertainty!”

“Think about it. Isn’t our tactical style completely unpredictable?”

“One second I’m a harmless priestess who couldn’t truss a chicken, the next I might pull out a meteor and reformat the enemy along with the entire map.”

“And aren’t our mission routes bizarre? While other teams are still grinding in the novice zone, we’ve already raided the final boss’s lair and, by the way, had afternoon tea with a major faction leader.”

“In physics, what do you call this kind of unpredictable behavior, this state that exists in all possibilities until it’s observed?”

The other three just shook their heads blankly.

“It’s called a ‘Quantum State’!” Celeste snapped her fingers. “Schrödinger’s cat, get it? Before you open the box, you never know if the cat inside is dead or alive.”

“And before we make our move, the enemy will never know how we’re going to send them to the afterlife.”

Selene touched her chin thoughtfully, her expression slowly shifting from confusion to ‘…wait, that… kind of makes sense.'”And’Battleship’!” Celeste’s energy grew as she spoke. “Doesn’t that sound incredibly domineering? Intimidating?”

“Full firepower! Invincible! Sweeping away everything in our path!”

The more she said it, the more she believed this name was a stroke of absolute genius. Quantum mechanics plus an interstellar battleship—the cool factor was maxed out! It was perfect!

Selene, Su Wan, and Xia Lian chewed on the name. It had so many things wrong with it they didn’t even know where to begin their complaints, their expressions growing stranger by the second.

Quantum. And Battleship. The combination was just… beyond outrageous.

But… thinking about it carefully… it seemed to fit?

Their combat style was full of uncertainty.

And the scene where Celeste dropped a literal star on their enemies… wasn’t that functionally identical to a battleship’s main cannon firing?

“I… I have no objection,” Xia Lian was the first to give up trying to think about it.

Su Wan let out a long sigh, rubbing her swollen temples. She finally gave up the struggle, choosing to accept this absurd new reality. “…That works, I suppose. At the very least, the name is intimidating enough to bluff people.”

“Sister is right!” Selene slapped her own thigh, now completely convinced. “Let’s be the Quantum Battleship! Besides, my sister is a very quantum person to begin with; you never know what new, crazy trick she’s going to pull out next!”

And so, in a harmonious atmosphere (of having given up all hope for a normal team name), the “Quantum Battleship” was officially established.

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: