Chapter 294: Strange Giant

This is a unique culinary world. It’s a world where one can both fight and eat. A paradise of delicacies; this is where Xu Zhi’s dream truly begins.

As a farmer in this entire orchard, Xu Zhi now has high hopes for this world. After all, the nine-layered world of Pangu’s true form is his own backyard. The owner's will is essentially evident within it. For instance, the Phoenix’s miniature world is a Wood Realm, filled with tree and plant spirits that cultivate harmoniously, growing stronger together without the need for resource enhancement or internal strife.

At this moment, the entire forum was buzzing with excitement. Many people quickly began researching culinary arts and dishes. Now that the direction was clear, most could prepare a dish within three hours, allowing them to transform and separate from their original bodies.

This was because Beibeilong Xilin had provided everyone with several unparalleled secret recipes: “Charbroiled Pork Loin,” “Steamed Bamboo Rat,” “Braised Funeral Chicken”...

With these secret recipes in hand, and culinary creation not requiring uniqueness, many began following the cooking instructions, creating glowing dishes that transformed into first-tier gourmet creatures. However, they discovered that the energy and proportions contained within each dish resulted in different types of creatures. That plate of food was like a culture medium where spore bacteria grew. The more delicious and well-balanced the dish, the stronger the creature born from it!

“It gives me a feeling similar to elven transformation... Elves are nurtured by absorbing life fruits, while we, as gourmet species, are nurtured by absorbing food from a dish.”

“Heh, culinary recipes are extremely important! The more powerful the secret recipe, the stronger one becomes after advancing!”

“Damn Xilin! I won't cook these common recipes and be like you all. The first tier is the primal form, and the transforming dish is crucial! I'm going to research the supreme culinary art, ‘Nine Solitary Cookings’!”

“Heh, that's nothing compared to my ‘Northern Roasting Divine Art,’” a deformed creature said, hands clasped behind its back.

“Tch! I don't care about any of you. I'll transform first, then go search for precious gourmet ingredients—trees bearing fresh meat, delicious fish that cry. I'll embark on a gourmet's journey; the first tier is just the foundation, the second tier advancement is what truly matters...”

Discussions erupted everywhere as countless strangely shaped creatures quickly came into being. They enthusiastically began cooking, transforming the land into a leveled plain where many chefs were conducting their research. Bright bonfires were lit, one after another.

In just over ten days, they all shed their wizard bodies, rapidly transforming into over eight thousand individuals... And the three original wizard bodies, abandoned as they transformed, quickly vanished as well.

One player, looking at their five-pointed star-shaped gourmet body, couldn't help but exclaim, “My first-tier gourmet life form is a Staryu, isn't it! Later, I'll evolve into a Starmie.”

A player resembling a black mouse laughed, “Then I'm Pikachu; I taste great and won't easily get heatstroke.”

A shell-like creature walked over, “Then I look like Omanyte from Pokémon... So, I'll call myself Qiaobiluo.”

Everyone was very excited. Hahahaha! A new life had begun!

Like vacationers at a summer camp, they quickly established bases, built houses, and erected a large defensive wall around themselves. They even divided their settlement into three major areas, corresponding to the players from three different server regions. After all, building tall walls was essential. They had all become weak now; they couldn't even defeat a random low-tier life form!

While first-tier creatures could evolve simply by following a recipe, second-tier creatures required powerful, rare ingredients and advanced cooking techniques. Most people had no prior cooking experience and had to learn from scratch.

“Brothers, let's team up! Go hunt Jumping Pigs! Collect second-tier ingredients!”

“Guys, we need one more here! Two of us are good at damage, but we need a tank!”

In the central plaza, many gourmet creatures began forming teams to hunt monsters. Soon, some discovered a way to cheat. They weren't good at cooking, but others were! They only needed to acquire ingredients and hand them over to a chef to get stronger... even if those chefs took a hefty cut.

Nevertheless, the outside environment was extremely dangerous. Within those ten-odd days, many who went hunting for ingredients ended up becoming ingredients for other creatures, eliminated either by being killed in combat or simply dying of old age, as first-tier creatures only had a lifespan of a little over ten days. Out of eight thousand, only three thousand remained who could officially become chefs and transform into second-tier gourmet species, granting them a full three months of lifespan.

Some even, unable to gather second-tier ingredients, resorted to preying on their own kind.

“Brother, you've reached second-tier? I'm still first-tier, and I can't find any second-tier recipes. Could I borrow an arm?”

The other person: ???

“Don't worry, once you break through to the third tier, you'll be able to reshape your body. How about fifty thousand sand coins?”

The deal was struck.

“Holy moly! This works too? Paying to level up, that's the power of money! So, this brother... could I borrow a leg? Fifty thousand?”

At the settlement.

At this moment, the three most capable fighters—Yuan Qinghua, Cai Ji 052, and Kexi—were surrounding Beibeilong Xilin, seeking advice on cooking and gourmet dishes. After all, she was a rare culinary genius among them.

“Bring me ingredients, and I'll cook for you and help you advance,” Xilin said, a gooey slime chef holding a wooden spatula, glancing at them in the gourmet Chinese restaurant. “It's only because you can fight; otherwise, everyone else would be eliminated!”

The three wore bitter expressions. “We think you're taking too much of a cut.”

Xilin shot them a look. “It's not about what you think; it's about what I think.”

In this world, chefs reigned supreme. Without cooking talent, one could only serve as a grunt for these esteemed chefs, hunting for ingredients.

A few more days passed, and a glowing dish shot into the sky. Two chefs were engaging in a culinary duel, using their self-developed dishes to break through to the third tier of cuisine.

“Auction time!”

“Bid, bid, bid! Third-tier gourmet dish 'Rotten Diagram Meat'! Do you want to be the first third-tier gourmet creature? Do you want to top the leaderboard? Starting bid fifty thousand sand coins!”

“One hundred thousand sand coins!”

“One million sand coins!”

Ultimately, a wealthy player spent two million real-world RMB, acquiring sand coins from various other players. The first third-tier gourmet hunter was born! However, this was a cash-splashing tycoon with no real combat ability, possessing the tier but being utterly useless.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

“Life is only once! Cherish life, starting with me!”

In the plaza, someone loudly proclaimed, giving a speech, “Reject violence! We no longer need to team up and hunt monsters; that's too cruel!”

“Only three thousand of us remain. We sacrificed a large portion of our people to establish this settlement and achieve self-sufficiency today! We cannot betray the hopes of those who are gone!”

“We can even reproduce ourselves! After all, many of us evolved by eating the same dish, becoming the same species. We can multiply our population, and then... practice 'yi zi er shi'!”

“Yes!!! No violence, only harmony and friendship!”

These beasts then completely retreated within their walls, beginning to domesticate gourmet animals, cultivate plants, dig cellars, and build furnaces, seemingly planning to live forever and develop cautiously. A bunch of little scoundrels.

The more Xu Zhi watched, the stranger it seemed. These people were too cunning, engaging in all sorts of shady tactics, cheating, and even offline private transactions. The first powerful individual was actually a cash-splashing bigwig? They were also split into two factions: one focused on cooking, the other on learning to cook and farming frantically. This was not at all what he had envisioned.

“They're simply shameless. To find so many loopholes in a game, they're truly 'talented'... This settlement is the source of your degradation. What I want is for you to become gourmet hunters and embark on a culinary journey!”

Xu Zhi rested his arm, pondered seriously for a moment, and soon came up with an idea. He had originally intended to enable this mode a bit later. After all, harvesting with a scythe right after planting vegetables wasn't what he wanted. But now, he had no choice but to introduce some difficulties for them.

The towering fortress walls, built from countless trees, were impenetrable. Inside, short dwellings housed a continuous stream of strange gourmet creatures, coming and going, cooking their dishes.

Suddenly. A tremor spread through the ground.

Thump! Thump!

The ground quaked, and inside the towering walls stood a blank-faced giant, over sixty meters tall. It looked down at them through the fortress, like a hunter spotting wild prey.

“Ah!! What is that?!”

“My god!? A sixty-meter-tall giant! Carrying a basket on its back!”

Countless creatures on the streets stood stunned, murmuring with numb, fearful expressions. They watched the colossal giant, half its head turned towards them, its face gleaming with an emotionless light.