This familiar aroma brought Zhang Wei back to the street vendors of his childhood.
They used the most primitive methods to turn sesame seeds into fragrant sesame oil, just a drop or two was enough to fill the room with a captivating scent for noodle soup and dumplings.
But ever since he grew up, Zhang Wei hadn't smelled anything like it.
"What a nostalgic taste..."
The newly made ceramic pot had a volume of several million cubic meters, enough to stew an elephant's leg even if it were a legally obtained mammoth.
Its inner surface area was over 250,000 square meters. Even if the thinnest layer of oil was applied, one square meter would require 0.5 liters.
That's 125,000 liters!
And Zhang Wei only had 20,000 liters of Morse oil.
But the Morse oil immediately boiled upon contact with high temperatures, dancing like sprites at the bottom of the pot.
Everywhere it passed, everything became soft and smooth, losing its rough, stony texture.
"Such delicate oil!"
Just over a thousand liters had brushed the entire 250,000 square meters of the ceramic pot, leaving it crystal clear.
And at the very bottom of the pot, a pile of black, burnt-up substances accumulated, the collection of impurities from the pot's surface, all scrubbed away by the Morse oil!
This was self-cleaning!
It possessed the purification characteristics of the Morse Mountains!
Considering that the Morse Mountains consumed countless substances every second, being able to refine anything from such complex materials meant it was truly unblemished!
Yet, this oil had a remarkable affinity for food, and due to its extreme concentration and high nutritional value, it was incredibly durable.
"Based on the conversion ratio, it would take at least tens of millions of tons of nutrients to form about three liters of Morse oil. If the structure were optimized, producing fifteen liters should be possible."
Zhang Wei's current production output was no longer something that mere Meat Hell or legally obtained mammoths could consume.
Perhaps the next goal should be... cultivating waterfalls?
"Morse oil is just the lightly floating oils being extracted. Over the millennia, countless more massive amounts of nutrients must have accumulated beneath the waterfalls, waiting to form new culinary terrains, much like the Rice Desert or the Mineral Meat Deep Well."
Alright! The cooking officially begins!
...
The refugees walked slowly, not exactly in rags, but all of them gaunt and emaciated.
Affected by the Gourmet Pirates, they had lost their livelihood – their ships. Their legs had never walked such a long distance before.
"When will this road ever end!"
The young and strong walked quickly, with the old, weak, women, and children mostly trailing behind.
One could often see a mother leading several toddlers alone,
and elderly people with canes supporting pregnant women, their eyes filled with despair at the distant, mountainous terrain.
"Mom, I want to eat hairy crab."
Facing her child's aggrieved expression, the middle-aged woman could only pat his head. "Just hold on. Once we reach the Mineral Meat Deep Well, we'll be able to eat things ten times tastier than hairy crab."
For children by the sea, sea crabs were merely one of their staple foods.
An old man beside them stumbled and fell, his cracked lips murmuring, "I... I can't go on. You all go ahead, I'll catch up later..."
The middle-aged woman hesitated, then took out two handfuls of wild vegetables from her embrace. After a moment, she picked a few leaves and slowly fed them to the old man.
"Ugh... so bitter!"
Though he said it was bitter, his chewing didn't falter.
The bitterness on his tongue seeped into his heart. Looking around, there wasn't even much wild grass left on the road.
Widespread suffering.
The scorching sun was draining the last vestiges of strength from the refugees, but just then, a shadow loomed over them!
All the refugees' eyes widened, staring at the sight before them in disbelief.
"What is this..."
"What on earth is this!!"