HLM -Chapter 1168 The Beauty Below Zero

Wang Bo stood up and shook hands with the owner, smiling. “You know me?”

The owner replied, “I’ve been to Sunset Town. I’m a boxing fan. I once followed in V’s footsteps and went on a pilgrimage to Sunset Town. I was lucky enough to attend one of your parties back then—a huge party in the square. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

With that, the distance between them naturally disappeared. As they chatted, the dishes began to arrive.

The owner was the very sociable type. Clearly aware of the influence Wang Bo carried, he deliberately tried to befriend him. When the food was served, he asked, “Would you mind if I stayed here and introduced our dishes to you?”

“Of course, you’re welcome,” Wang Bo said. “Then I’m the one getting the better deal. I don’t think there’s anyone in Alaska more suitable for this than you.”

The owner laughed. “After talking with you, I can see why you were re-elected mayor. It’s only natural. You really know how to talk—people always end up feeling happy around you.”

The first dish was an appetizer salad. The owner introduced it proudly, “I’m not bragging, gentlemen—this is something you can only eat at my little place.”

“My head chef is a very creative guy. This is a traditional halibut salad. Tony knows that it’s usually paired with beer. But my chef chose to add a candy-flavored, low-alcohol malt drink instead. Give it a try—you’ll find the halibut comes alive.”

Wang Bo took a bite of the salad and then a sip of the drink. Seizing the chance, the little girl also took a small sip, her eyes narrowing happily as she smiled. “Wow, this is amazing!”

Alaska was a land of ice and snow, and people there relied heavily on alcohol. Even children were allowed to drink low-alcohol malt beverages; this wasn’t illegal locally.

Wang Bo wasn’t the type to strictly police children. Not wanting to ruin the mood, he allowed the little girl a glass of malt drink. “But only one glass. Otherwise you know the consequences—I’ll find a courier company and ship you back to Sunset Town.”

Dale rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to scare me. I already checked—courier companies in Alaska don’t transport live animals. And I’m a live animal.”

“If you drink too much, you won’t be,” Wang Bo said with a deliberately cruel grin. “A drunk is as good as dead.”

Resigned, the little girl hugged her cup and could only take tiny sips after that.

Next came the main course. A server brought over a platter of salmon.

The owner, Quertok, said, “Everyone knows that when you come to Alaska, you have to taste our salmon. Even bears from Russia wouldn’t miss the chance.”

“The James Beard Foundation in the U.S. has even listed it on the map of America’s classic foods. So ordering salmon was absolutely the right choice—and ordering a platter was even more right. We prepare salmon in many ways: smoked, boiled, grilled in crab shells, fish soup, as well as sushi and sashimi. Please, enjoy.”

Wang Bo didn’t like sashimi. He took a piece of smoked salmon, gave a thumbs-up, and said, “A very distinctive flavor. The fish is tender yet still chewy. I’m guessing that has a lot to do with your smoking technique.”

Quertok burst into laughter. “Wang, you really know how to enjoy life!”

The meal was extremely lavish, and perhaps because the owner was present, the chef had gone all out.

Wang Bo tasted black truffles paired with Texas-style blue cheese and milk chocolate sauce, sea-salt-smoked bacon, tuna sashimi brushed with bittersweet Alpine honey, and of course, king crab.

The king crab was also served as a platter. A whole giant crab had been dismantled, with different parts prepared in different ways—for example, the claws were coated with a layer of chocolate, while the crab roe was paired with a black pepper sauce.

After the meal, Wang Bo once again shook hands with the owner and thanked him. “This meal will keep me reminiscing for at least ten hours. When those ten hours are up, I’ll come back here and have another one.”

“I’ll be delighted,” the owner said with a smile.

As they were leaving, the owner gave them a small gift.

“You’re really too thoughtful,” Wang Bo said. “And far too polite.”

The owner replied, “Buddy, I know where you’re going tonight. So you absolutely can’t refuse scallop cheese and gravy cheese fries with green pepper. They’re the perfect way to replenish energy on a cold night like this!”

From that alone, one could tell how capable the owner was—and also how lacking the local nightlife was.

They slept until one in the morning. Wang Bo did a quick wash, then put on a thick, warm coat and prepared to go out.

One of the little girl’s strengths was her boundless energy—she never slept in. This time, she didn’t sleep at all. Instead, she’d been outside having snowball fights with Fat Cat Brother and Little White Fox.

Fat Cat Brother and the White Fox Princess were beside themselves with excitement. They’d never seen such thick snow before. The white fox burrowed into it and refused to come out; if Fat Cat Brother hadn’t gone to drag it out, Wang Bo would’ve had a real headache.

There were no cars at night, so they traveled by sled. The dogs were very clever and had already become familiar with the techniques and commands for pulling a sled.

As they ran, the sled glided steadily and swiftly over the snow. If it weren’t so cold, Wang Bo thought it was actually quite pleasant.

They went to the city square, where the lights blazed brightly, as bright as day.

After arriving, Tony made a phone call and said they’d wait for a friend.

At that moment, the little girl suddenly cried out, “Wow, so beautiful!”

Wang Bo turned around but didn’t see anything—only heard a clear ding-ding-clang sound, like glass shattering.

Then someone waved, and Wang Bo thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

A huge cloud of mist suddenly rose into the air. Then, as if time itself had briefly stopped, the mist hung motionless in midair.

Two or three seconds later, the icy fog seemed to come alive again. It slowly drifted down, and soon the crackling sound Wang Bo had heard earlier rang out again.

At that point, he understood. “Oh—he splashed hot water just now? This is the effect of hot water freezing instantly?”

As a model university graduate of the new era, Wang Bo still understood the principle. The formation of freezing mist from boiling water worked the same way clouds formed—a process where water molecules go from unsaturated to saturated, then precipitate out.

This was exactly what Tony had brought them to see. It really did look like a special effect straight out of a movie.

Using different tools to fling hot water into the sky produced different results: some instantly turned into tens of thousands of icy arrows, some transformed into ice clouds that drifted slowly down from the air, and some became oddly shaped, transparent blocks of ice suspended in midair…

The last one left Wang Bo staring in amazement. Only later did he realize that one end of the ice was still frozen to the tool—the hot water had frozen far too quickly after being flung out.

When Tony’s friend arrived, he brought tools and thermos flasks. He poured out boiling water and flung it rapidly into the air—only then could the effect be achieved.