Thump-thump-thump!
Thump-thump-thump!
Heartbeats like drums echoed throughout the hall!
Even upon contact with skin, the Rich Cola radiated a surging power. Bones and muscles crackled and popped, a testament to the returning strength!
The three could no longer resist, opening their mouths to let torrents of the beverage pour in!
[Discovered Storable Ingredient: Rich Cola]
[Capture Level: 175]
[Eating Level: 270]
[Description: Nurtured within the Salamander Sphinx, it is an unimaginably superb beverage in this world, requiring decades, even centuries, of sugar accumulation. It is an ingredient far more precious than the Salamander Sphinx itself.]
[Description: Rich Cola contains immense energy, capable of rapidly replenishing sugar, water, phosphoric acid, and carbon dioxide. It also contains a large amount of caffeine, providing powerful invigorating and strengthening effects!]
[Description: Upon consumption, it purifies muscles and bones, powerfully recharges energy, and greatly enhances strength and physical vitality! Furthermore, the carbon dioxide and phosphoric acid react on the body's surface to form a protective membrane!]
"Awesome!"
"Zhang Wei, this cola... how can it be so delicious!"
"The cola I had earlier, I already felt it was unique, a taste that would leave no regrets even if tasted only once in a lifetime. But compared to this cola, it pales completely!"
Zhang Wei explained, "This is the purpose of my visit this time! The one known as the Cola Emperor—Rich Cola!"
Zhang Wei had anticipated this situation. Even the initial alkaline water had greatly boosted the strength of the two. Now that they were drinking the true Rich Cola, how could they not soar?
An incredibly terrifying amount!
The Salamander Sphinx showed no signs of stopping. The surging Rich Cola gathered more and more, even threatening to turn the room into a swimming pool!
It was more than twenty times the amount of alkaline water!
"Is it because it's been accumulated for too long with no outlet? The amount accumulated is even more terrifying than in the original work!"
This couldn't be wasted.
Zhang Wei took out another large white gourd. The Rich Cola transformed into a trickle and was sucked into it.
The sound of storage notifications continued to chime.
——————
[Storage Complete: Rich Cola]
[Replication Volume: 1000 Liters]
[Replication Time: 240 Days]
——————
[Storage Complete: Rich Cola]
[Replication Volume: 1000 Liters]
[Replication Time: 225 Days]
——————
[Storage Complete: Rich Cola]
[Replication Volume: 1000 Liters]
[Replication Time: 206 Days]
………………
…
One thousand liters at a time, Zhang Wei stored it hundreds of times, compressing the replication time to just one day.
Kurama and Seitaro watched enviously but felt too embarrassed to ask for any.
But since the storage was complete, Zhang Wei was not stingy. He took out two skin bags and gifted dozens of liters to each of them.
The crackling sounds had not stopped.
After drinking the Rich Cola, the surface of the three individuals' skin continuously emitted sounds similar to the cola's bubbles!
"This..."
"It's surging carbon dioxide, directly spewing out from the skin."
"Drinking too much normal cola will cause burping, but with Rich Cola, there's no need to worry about that at all!"
Seitaro sighed, "Such a refreshing feeling. It seems the heat is carried away by the carbon dioxide, dispelling the oppressive heat of being in the desert. I feel..."
As he spoke, Seitaro's physique expanded again. After his shirt burst, even his sturdy underwear couldn't withstand it and tore completely.
His head nearly touched the ceiling, his muscles exaggerated, and veins like dragons crisscrossed his entire body!
Zhang Wei exclaimed in alarm, "Varicose veins?"
"You idiot!"
"I'm leveling up!"
Seitaro's face was full of the blissful sensation of drinking Rich Cola, "This taste, I will never forget. Not only did it break through my barriers, but it also allowed me to level up by at least five stages!"
Five stages!
His strength increased by at least sixty percent!
At Seitaro's level of power, such a dramatic increase in strength was already very rare!
Beside him, Kurama also unleashed sharp energy from his limbs, like freshly honed blades!
Five stages! Kurama also advanced by five stages!
"As expected of Rich Cola!"
Feeling the energy surging within him, Zhang Wei was confident he could take down that Net Poro alone, without their assistance.
Also leveling up!
One stage!
Yes, only one stage. In fact, up to this point, except for dishes personally cooked like Musou, Sweet Lover, and First Taste, nothing had caused Zhang Wei to advance two stages.
This was the essence of the entire Gourmet Pyramid!
In other words, the entire ecological structure within the Gourmet Pyramid existed for the Salamander Sphinx!
"This pyramid still holds things I need!"
………………
Building Manual
Library
Biological Structure Diagram
Pictorial History
What Zhang Wei truly needed was the knowledge that Net Poro possessed to construct such magnificent architecture!
How to construct a food chain, allowing them to depend on each other for survival, the purpose of each room's existence...
Finally, Zhang Wei discovered three key plants and animals.
Desert Mushroom!
A peculiar fungus that could absorb moisture from the desert sands from a great distance to grow. Not only did it reproduce rapidly like locusts, but it also produced a large amount of oxygen.
Because of this mushroom, the Gourmet Pyramid could absorb nutrients from the outside world and moisture from underground rivers beneath the desert sands. Due to its astonishing reproductive capacity, it was also the staple food for the herbivores within the pyramid.
The second was Luminescent Moss, a simple fluorescent plant, but it was a favorite snack of the Salamander Sphinx. Luminescent Moss absorbed vast amounts of carbon dioxide and was the raw material for Rich Cola. Furthermore, as it grew, it secreted silica to produce stone powder, indirectly repairing the pyramid.
And the third, the Scarab Beetle.
Also known as the Golden Corpse Beetle, they were the scavengers within the pyramid, insectivorous and detritivorous.
They ate bones, decaying flesh, and bacteria—the perfect garbage disposal units, and also played the role of dung beetles.
Although they did the dirty work, Scarab Beetles could secrete a protease that protected them from any dirt or viruses.
Animals within the Gourmet Pyramid would also capture Scarab Beetles as antibiotics when they fell ill.
"Zhang Wei, you've been researching here for a week, have you made any progress?"
Zhang Wei was currently holding a book filled with replicated murals, collected by Kurama and translated by Seitaro.
"Yes."
"What progress?"
"The production of Rich Cola can be increased!"
"Ah?"
Zhang Wei immediately explained.
The Gourmet Pyramid was a perfect closed loop, capable of maintaining life and mutual dependence, isolated from the outside world, allowing for indefinite continuation.
Each room had a function to limit the population of creatures. When the population was too low, they would hide within to prevent extinction from predators. When it was too high, the shelters couldn't accommodate them, preventing excessive depletion of the lower food chains.
However!
If the isolation were broken, and a large amount of basic resources were provided, promoting the numbers of Desert Mushrooms, Luminescent Moss, and Scarab Beetles, it would allow the pyramid's ecosystem to flourish.
And eventually, all these nutrients would converge at the apex of the food chain, within the Salamander Sphinx!
"It takes a hundred years for the entire Gourmet Pyramid to accumulate nutrients to produce this much Rich Cola..."