The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse-Chapter 378 - 371 Tea Ceremony

When Nate Schumacher uttered the two most important names in one breath, Gao Yuan was not at all surprised.

Behind it all might be involved many people, many events, many secrets, but Gao Yuan knew that when the Expeditionary Army was first formed, the initial foothold and supply station was here, at Abu Hadi Airport.

In that case, it explained why Nate Schumacher had a deep relationship with Ram, as well as a connection with Poseidon, so some secrets were not really secrets to Nate Schumacher.

"Find both."

Gao Yuan quickly responded to Nate Schumacher’s secret, and after pondering for a moment, he finally said in a deep voice, "But focus on Poseidon, because I must find him first to understand some matters."

Nate Schumacher nodded but at that moment, the water boiled. Nate’s adjutant whispered something, then Nate made a gesture, after which the adjutant took out a small gram scale.

The so-called gram scale was a small electronic scale accurate to point-something grams, and the adjutant also placed a tiny dish on it, turned on the scale, set the dish down, picked up the tea caddy, scooped out some tea leaves with a bamboo spoon, and slowly tilted them onto the dish.

Gao Yuan felt as if his eyes were being opened wide.

Having drunk a lot of tea and seen many drink it, Gao Yuan had never before encountered someone who used an electronic scale to precisely measure the tea leaves’ weight.

The adjutant stopped tilting the spoon, and then from a neatly organized box, he took out a tiny bamboo tweezer, picked up two leaves, returned one, and finally placed the single leaf he retained back into the spoon and then poured the tea leaves back into the caddy.

The adjutant then placed a thermometer into the kettle; the water had begun to bubble but was not thoroughly boiling yet. It was unknown what temperature would satisfy the adjutant, but he who had been watching the thermometer intently finally took it out and immediately picked up the kettle.

The tea leaves from the dish were poured into the teapot, and then the water was rapidly poured into the teapot.

Watching Nate’s expression, his adjutant’s focus, and their practiced motions, it was clear that they were very familiar with and took this procedure very seriously.

Could this be an illness?

This thought crossed Gao Yuan’s mind, and also, he felt quite uncomfortable with the idea of putting a thermometer into the water that one would drink.

After pouring the water into the teapot, the adjutant began watching the clock, and then, he just kept watching the clock.

Gao Yuan understood, this was about strict brewing time.

Regarding the art of tea, Gao Yuan had encountered it before, but was the trouble Nate Schumacher took to drink tea considered part of the tea ceremony?

Could it be considered so?

Gao Yuan really did not know.

Finally, when the time was up, the adjutant picked up the teapot and poured the tea into two cups.

There was no washing of tea leaves, no warming of the cups; once the tea was brewed, it was poured directly into the cups.

Gao Yuan could now confirm that this did not qualify as the art of tea; the person brewing the tea was just not right in the head.

Nate finally made a gesture of invitation, so Gao Yuan picked up the teacup. He did not like drinking tea, but he indeed wanted to taste if there was any difference in the tea brewed in this unique way.

The water was very hot, and Gao Yuan sipped lightly, then he felt no difference at all.

Nate Schumacher also picked up his teacup, touched it to his lips, and then he quickly put down the cup.

Seemingly hesitant, Nate’s expression appeared normal, but Gao Yuan felt that he was indeed pondering a question.

After a brief moment, Nate smiled again, and then he spoke a word to his adjutant who immediately turned around and took out a small jar.

A delicate, unique, porcelain jar that could be tightly screwed on, not just latched.

After opening the jar and placing it on the table, Nate made another inviting gesture and then smiled, "Would you like some sugar?"

Sugar? Sugar in tea?

Gao Yuan was startled for a moment before shaking his head, saying, "Uh, I don’t need any."

The sugar in the jar was still the kind used for coffee, sugar cubes, to be exact. Nate Schumacher reached into the jar and pinched out a sugar cube, dropping it into his own teacup.

One cube, two cubes—just when Gao Yuan thought that would be the end of it, Nate Schumacher had already dropped six sugar cubes in.

"That’s full, that’s full..."

The tea was about to overflow, the sugar definitely wouldn’t dissolve now. Gao Yuan felt Nate Schumacher could just drink sugar water, especially since he thought Nate had talked about so many kinds of tea; he must have some understanding of tea culture. But to Gao Yuan’s surprise, this was how he drank his tea.

Nate Schumacher chuckled, lifted his teacup, gestured again to Gao Yuan, and took a sip of his tea. Then, a satisfied smile finally spread across his face.

Nate Schumacher drank three sips in succession, reducing the contents of his teacup by a third, then he set down the cup and reached for the sugar jar again.

One cube, two cubes, three—Nate added seven sugar cubes into his teacup.

Gao Yuan could see clearly, that was no longer tea, it was sugar porridge with a hint of tea color, semi-solid and about to spill over the brim of the cup.

Gao Yuan felt nauseatingly sweet even though he hadn’t tasted it, so he lifted his teacup and gently took a sip.

"Are you looking for Poseidon to find out the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant?"

Nate’s casual remark scalded Gao Yuan’s tongue.

Fighting the pain and trying to maintain his composure, Gao Yuan didn’t spit out the tea but gently set down his teacup, looking at Nate and said, "Oh?"

Nate waved his hand, saying, "No need to hide, yes or no?"

Now that Nate had mentioned the name, there was nothing left for Gao Yuan to hide, so he nodded and replied, "Yes."

Nate let out a slight breath, lifted his teacup, took a sip, and methodically said, "Well, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. Poseidon does not know the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant. He has made great efforts, but... so far, I believe he has not found it; otherwise, he would have informed the Ram, and me."

After finishing, Nate still had a calm face, but he leaned forward slightly, then seriously said, "It’s not just you who wants to save Earth, but also us."

Gao Yuan quietly said, "So... um."

It wasn’t that his thoughts couldn’t keep up, rather that Nate held so much information that the sudden onslaught of key details overwhelmed Gao Yuan. He was a bit shocked and, for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Nate pointed at his own teacup; his aide added some water for him, which, somehow, Gao Yuan found somewhat relieving.

Nate continued nonchalantly, "Do you have anything you would like to ask?"

What to ask? Gao Yuan pondered for a moment, then he finally said, "What is the situation here right now?"

Nate thought for a bit and replied, "There’s a war going on here. The fighting sides are the Angel Mercenary Corps, which I lead, and the armed coalition of the Sanitation Workers and the Graycloaks."

Gao Yuan waited for a while, but when he realized Nate Schumacher had finished, he felt compelled to ask, "And then?"

"And then? It’s just war, nothing more."