A Cultivator in the World Dominated By Awakeners

"From surviving through theft to becoming a Cultivator, her life journey is truly remarkable," Edward said, suddenly sounding rather impressed.

"I'll send someone ahead to inform her that you want to meet and request her help. We'll wait for her response," Henry replied.

It turned out their destination was not the city center. It was still in a rather rundown area, though slightly more organized, with a few parks filled with street vendors.

There, a military base stood with military housing behind it, and Henry drove straight into the residential area.

Most of the houses were quite small, and even the largest was only about the size of Oliver's home.

They stopped at one of the larger houses, where two female attendants were already waiting inside—typical Southeast Asian women with warm golden skin, not too pale, and shiny black hair.

"Edward, you can stay here for the time being. I've prepared everything you need. Of course, if you get bored, you can walk around the area, but I suggest not going too far," Henry said.

"Alright then, we'll wait for your news," Edward replied before getting out of the car, followed by Oliver and Rebecca.

The latter looked dissatisfied with the house provided for them—though not bad, it clearly didn't meet her standards of luxury. Still, she wasn't in the mood to complain.

"Edward, I'll be going now!" Henry said as he left.

Although he left, he assigned several soldiers to guard them.

"Sir, ma'am!" The two attendants greeted them politely at the door.

"Please come in, you must be tired. We've prepared warm water for your bath," one of them said.

Oliver and Edward exchanged glances at that, looking slightly intrigued. But before either of them could speak, Rebecca suddenly said, "I'll go first—show me the bathroom."

She stepped forward, and one of the attendants immediately led her.

"Sir, don't worry, there are three bathrooms for each of you," the remaining attendant told Oliver and Edward.

They both nodded and asked her to guide them.

Apparently, the bathrooms in this house were quite spacious, each with a soaking tub.

Oliver sank into the warm water with a look of satisfaction.

His body, stiff from the trip, began to relax.

His mind was currently split into three—his real body and two manifestations.

One of his manifestations was still waiting in the Eagle General's nest, left alone while expecting resources from the eagle flock.

The general had given the flock a day, but the time limit had yet to come.

He could only wait patiently, even though he was dying to see what they would offer.

'Maybe later tonight,' he thought.

He bathed for about fifteen minutes before drying himself off and slipping into casual clothes.

In the living room, he found Edward already done, but Rebecca was still in the bath.

Meanwhile, the attendants were busy moving dishes from the kitchen to the dining table.

The food was unlike anything Oliver had seen before—clearly local cuisine—but he couldn't help finding it more tempting than European food.

"Oliver!" Edward called him over.

"Let's have lunch here. Just so you know, Southeast Asian food is much tastier than European food. They have a variety of spices and are masters at mixing them," Edward said.

Oliver nodded. Of course, he wasn't going to bother looking for food elsewhere.

Not long after, Rebecca finally appeared—no longer in a dress.

She had changed into long jeans and a short-sleeved white shirt, even taking off her diamond necklace. She looked simpler, but her beauty was untouched, for her charm had always rested on her flawless face, luxurious blonde hair, and tall, elegant figure.

Her body also carried a gentle fragrance.

"Sir, ma'am, please eat," the two attendants invited them once Rebecca had joined.

The woman eyed the dishes with curiosity. She was knowledgeable enough to know about Southeast Asia, though this was her first time visiting. But she clearly wasn't familiar with food from such a far-flung region compared to Europe.

Her reaction to the spread was much like Oliver's.

Still, she seemed hesitant.

"This is clean, right?" she asked, leaving the attendants momentarily stunned.

Edward, already walking to the table, answered for them.

"What are you afraid of, Rebecca? You're an Awakener— even if you ate a pile of flies, you wouldn't get sick."

"…"

Edward was probably just trying to mock her. He sat down and began eating with obvious enthusiasm.

Oliver cared even less about cleanliness—something demanded only by upper-class types who couldn't stand a speck of dirt, unaware that even their own bodies housed countless bacteria.

The important thing was that he knew any ingredient from nature could never be perfectly clean; it was usually just made to look clean.

And in reality, such things didn't affect them—once cooked, all the bacteria were essentially dead.

Rebecca clearly didn't want to argue with Edward. She finally sat down and tried the food.

When she bit into fried chicken coated with chili sauce mixed with various spices, her expression instantly showed enjoyment.

Oliver ate heartily, as if realizing there was a higher sky above his own—he felt like he was eating food from heaven.

Southeast Asia might lose to Europe in terms of economy and power, but they won by a landslide when it came to food.

Here, they dined like kings every day—by European standards, at least.

Oliver tried all kinds of meats and vegetables. He even sampled different sauces, each a different color but all chili-based.

Without realizing it, he ate so much that his six-pack stomach bulged slightly.

Even Rebecca ate a lot—more than one plate—though at a slower pace.

Edward, on the other hand, looked like he was struggling to breathe from being too full.

"Do you have any cigarettes?" he asked the attendants.

They were taken aback by the question and instinctively shook their heads.

"Sir, if you'd like, we can go buy some right now," one of them offered.

"Good, go get them," Edward replied.

One attendant left immediately.

"Oliver, you should try smoking too. I don't smoke in Europe because it's not good there, but here, cigarettes are as good as the food," Edward said.

The moment he said that, Rebecca responded,

"Edward, don't be a bad influence on Oliver."

"Come on, it's not bad. Besides, we're not ordinary humans—we won't suffer from smoking," Edward said casually.