"Delicious..."
Zhang Wei chewed.
At first, only a faint taste could be perceived.
Then, some changes occurred. Although the taste was still faint, it became more profound and clear...
It made Zhang Wei involuntarily feel as if he were immersed in a hot spring.
After a while...
"My sense of taste!"
"It's back!"
Zhang Wei was ecstatic!
He immediately took out a piece of raw meat and tasted it...
"It hasn't fully recovered. It's far from my previous sense of smell, which surpassed that of a bloodhound, but at least it's at a normal human level."
"And my sense of taste, I can clearly distinguish sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy."
"Amazing effects!"
As expected of the Olympus Divine Tree!
Even its accompanying bronze apple had such an effect. What about the silver apple... the golden apple...
Wouldn't I be soaring?
Find it! Dig three feet deep, hollow out the entire Hengduan Mountain peak if necessary, but I will find it!
With the Olympus Divine Tree, why bother with the Hunger Path?
My good brother Tian Zui, when I get the golden apple, I will definitely pick the sweetest bronze apple for you!
At this moment, the human-skinned doll exclaimed in surprise, "Chef, I've broken through again. My cell level has reached level 66."
"And... some functions of my body are also recovering. This feeling... is like the first time I ate your promotion meal, incredibly relaxed and at ease."
Zhang Wei stared blankly, "You..."
"What about me?"
"You smiled."
"Smile..."
The human-skinned doll quickly looked at herself. Unbeknownst to her, she had returned to her Lolita attire. Logically, she should be in her masked state at this time and shouldn't be able to smile.
She reached out to touch her face.
The human-skinned doll trembled, "It's fleshy... I have a sense of touch... My face has a sense of touch!"
Because she tried and developed this peculiar technique, the human-skinned doll, as a girl, lost a lot.
Even something as simple as making an expression required her to activate a skill.
But at the same time, she gained combat capabilities far beyond her peers.
A tank that can stealth and camouflage, plus a warrior – aren't you afraid?
The human-skinned doll's combat power had ascended to another level. She had advanced three levels just by consuming one bronze apple!
"It seems that the bronze apple is very suitable for you."
Zhang Wei could clearly see the changes in the human-skinned doll.
"Chef, what's next for us..."
"Of course, it's to go all out to find the Olympus Divine Tree. With it tempting me, I'm not really interested in ordinary ingredients for now."
Moreover, this apple tree was clearly hidden deliberately. If someone discovered Zhang Wei stealing all the golden apples, he would have nowhere to cry.
He reached out and took down the remaining few apples.
[Storage complete: Bronze Apple]
[Replication time: 109 days... 102 days... 96 days... 90 days]
It finally settled at ninety days.
The yield from one apple tree was too little, only five fruits.
Zhang Wei's consciousness sank into the Treasure Hall. On the last platform stood the replica, which combined all the advantages of the five apples.
The biggest...
The sweetest...
The most fragrant...
The most complete...
Even the small sliding puzzle game on it was the easiest of the five types.
Replicating storage... what a divine skill!
"But if it's a companion... where would it be?"
Zhang Wei stared blankly at the branches.
In this dim underground, without sunlight, what allowed the bronze apples to survive?
Moreover, on the dried trunk, the leaves were unevenly distributed. Logically, plants would have more leaves facing the sun... So, what was this tree facing?
"Perhaps, this is the clue!"
"Spiral Fist Force, one percent power!"
Penetrating underground!
To avoid harming the fruit tree, Zhang Wei released only one percent of his strength each time. However, this one percent was enough to bore a hundred-meter-long hole in the underground rocks, and the hole was four to five meters high, which was quite spacious.
One punch!
Another punch!
A miserable howl sounded ahead!
"Huh?"
"Did I hit the apple tree?"
"Can apple trees scream?"
Ding~
————————————————
[Discoverable ingredient found: Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine]
[Capture Level: 58]
[Type: Semi-mechanical insectoid construct]
[Description 1: A product of ancient human technological civilization, a new life form created after being parasitized by a fungus, similar to Cordyceps sinensis. In subsequent reproduction, the powerful design of the tunnel boring machine has been fully preserved.]
[Description 2: Usable meat is scarce, and the quality is poor, but it can be tamed to excavate caves, or its parts can be dismantled after death. Its blood can be used to smelt bio-metal.]
————————————————
"A biological entity created by fungal parasites infecting machinery?"
"It's indeed fantastical and cartoonish!"
That miserable scream just now was from the Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine.
He never imagined that in his own territory, he would encounter something that dug holes even more fiercely!
Without a word, Zhang Wei lunged forward!
He punched, tearing the wound even wider, and burrowed in.
Taking advantage of its body as a shield, Zhang Wei shouted loudly, "You're also level 58, you must have some intelligence, right? After all, you're a product of ancient human technology, wouldn't it be a bit unreasonable not to have some artificial intelligence?"
"You can see the situation now. You can't escape me, and I definitely have the ability to kill you! If you want to live, tell me you can communicate! Otherwise, I can't let you destroy my formation!"
"Now, if you want to live, stop immediately!"
As he spoke, energy gathered in Zhang Wei's fist.
His killing intent erupted!
Just after Zhang Wei burrowed into the wound, the Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine went mad, digging tunnels and squeezing its body, desperately trying to expel Zhang Wei.
If that didn't work, the Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine even considered a severed-tail escape.
Screeeech...
A grating sound like a train braking was heard.
This Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine actually stopped.
Zhang Wei said, "Can you really understand?"
"Cough, cough, cough. From what I understand of you, you feed on rocks, metal ores, soil, and microorganisms and moss, and you don't consume more advanced animal and plant tissues, right?"
"That's... right..."
A rough voice, like a broadcast, came from beneath the Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine, like an old, damaged speaker.
The sound quality was terrible!
Being able to communicate, Zhang Wei instantly became happy!
This way, communication would be much easier!
Zhang Wei said, "As a chef, I don't like you, who are mainly made of rocks and metal. I like to eat fruits or meat. I can consider letting you go."
"How... do... I... do... it..."
"Help me find some ingredients. You've been moving underground for a long time, so you should know about unknown caves and the like."
"Cave... find what?"
It seemed to become smoother.
Zhang Wei took out the leftover bronze apple peel from earlier, climbed onto the head of the tunnel boring machine, and said, "This thing is also bio-metal. I believe you're familiar with it, right?"
Little did he know.
As soon as Zhang Wei took out the peel.
The Wriggling Tunnel Boring Machine's speaker emitted a harsh electrical static, as if it had seen something terrifying.