The winner of the Shokugeki competition will receive a Silver Apple!
A Golden Apple worth tens of billions!
Judging solely by the prizes, this competition is as significant as the Northern Chefs' Competition!
Another reporter, Da Mao, asked excitedly, "What are the rules for this competition? Will there be regional restrictions like the Northern Chefs' Competition?"
"There are no restrictions on the contestants!"
Zhang Wei declared proudly, "Regardless of rank, origin, fame, whether carrying criminal charges, or affiliated with any power, anyone with genuine skill can sign up to compete!"
"Then why is it called Shokugeki? And what is Shokugeki?"
Zhang Wei replied, "Shokugeki is a battle of ingredients. Both sides in the competition can freely place bets!"
"Additionally, contestants need to pay an entry fee, which will be settled with ingredients. Half of these ingredients will be added to the prize pool and distributed to the winner!"
Reporter Da Mao gasped in disbelief!
Such a calculation method!
This means that the ultimate winner will not only receive the Silver Apple but also an astronomical amount of ingredient rewards!
And since there's an entry fee, it will exclude some rookie chefs. Furthermore, with participants from all powers and regions, this competition will be far more exciting than the Northern Chefs' Competition!
With the Silver Apple as bait, it is bound to attract culinary masters from half the continent!
A top-tier event!
A top-tier event!
Da Mao asked excitedly, "Then the entry fee..."
"High-quality ingredients of level 55 or above, with a value of at least 10 million Belli."
Da Mao exclaimed!
He knew the threshold would be high, but he never expected it to be this high!
When Tang Zhihun was working in the Great Glacier, his annual salary, excluding benefits, was only 600,000 Belli. His total annual income was estimated to be around 2 million Belli.
Yet, this entry fee required 10 million Belli, directly eliminating four-star chefs who wanted to gain fame. Participants had to be five-star chefs, and moreover, the wealthiest ones!
"And the ticket price?"
"Settled with ingredients, 500,000!"
This is 500 times the price of the Northern Chefs' Competition, with no benefits whatsoever.
After all, at the Northern Chefs' Competition, the audience had the right to taste and vote, which justified the exorbitant ticket price of 1000 Belli!
If 1000 Belli was considered a sky-high price, then 500,000 Belli... was simply insane!
Zhang Wei continued, "Furthermore, 10 million Belli is just the entry fee. If you want to have fun in the Shokugeki battlefield, you'll need to prepare a massive amount of betting capital, and you'll also need to provide your own ingredients for your dishes."
"According to my calculations, without at least 30 million Belli worth of ingredient reserves, don't even think about participating in this multi-billion Belli culinary feast!"
Unlike those crowded, insincere events, Zhang Wei's Shokugeki truly achieved a high standard!
Its rewards, concept, and model all attest to this!
"When will this competition be held?"
"In 180 days!"
This was the timeframe Zhang Wei determined after consulting with Xifeng.
With all available manpower and resources, and high salaries, even at the fastest pace, it would take at least six months.
Xifeng urged, "Zhang Wei, shouldn't you leave some buffer time? What if there are problems with the construction..."
Zhang Wei reassured him, "Don't worry, I've got this."
Hearing these words from Zhang Wei's mouth brought a sense of relief!
...
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
To alleviate the strain on transportation capacity, Zhang Wei decided to personally intervene and utilize the Hall of Treasures for transporting building materials.
Zhang Wei alone was equivalent to an army of thousands.
Before he could depart, a giant black ink dragon descended from the sky!
As the ink splattered, it vanished without a trace. In the center of this ink, an old man with a goatee appeared.
"It's you..."
The goatee old man was vastly different from his disheveled appearance that day. He wore a white, low-cut outfit, with a cyan inner garment, and shod in cloud-patterned boots. A dark divine dragon was embroidered on one side.
His scattered hair was tied into a small braid, giving him an artistic flair.
Zhang Wei said, "Yo, you're looking super handsome today. I thought you were always that eccentric."
Mo Lao tugged at his clothes and said, "I just came from a meeting. One has to tidy up."
"You guys still have meetings?"
Mo Lao rolled his eyes, "It's all because of you, kid!"
"Me?"
"You've really stirred up a huge mess this time. You even dared to touch things from Olympus. You're truly tired of living."
Zhang Wei chuckled sheepishly, "How did you know it was me?"
"There are countless unconventional arts in this world. Finding you isn't difficult."
Mo Lao continued, "After you stole the apples, the Olympians immediately filed a complaint with the Human Supreme Gourmet Association, demanding to intervene in the human world, severely punish the thief, and recover the stolen goods."
Zhang Wei whispered, "I say, can't we, the powerful organization of Human World Guardians, let Olympus run rampant like this?"
"You actually know fear, kid?"
Mo Lao grew more agitated as he spoke, "If it weren't for the duties of the Human World Guardians, I'd have grabbed you and thrown you to Olympus!"
"Heh heh, so you held them off?"
Mo Lao snorted disdainfully, "A mere Olympus isn't worthy of putting pressure on us!"
"However, our Human Supreme Gourmet Association also operates according to regulations and doesn't use force to oppress others."
"If Olympus occupies land in the human world to cultivate divine trees, then the produced resources naturally belong to the human world's common ownership. How can picking them be considered theft?"
Zhang Wei nodded vigorously.
"Yes, yes, that makes perfect sense! All ingredients in the world naturally belong to those who can obtain them!"
"Makes sense, my foot!"
Mo Lao said, "If it weren't for a few of us old geezers, you'd have been cut into eight pieces and scattered as fertilizer. But you're not bad yourself, managing to slip away from two Saint Seiya of Cetus..."
The more Mo Lao looked at Zhang Wei, the more satisfied he became.
With this person's talent, breaking through to level 100 and heading to the Gourmet World would be effortless.
And Zhang Wei, by revealing these apples, clearly didn't care about them.
After all, the collection was complete. Zhang Wei was indifferent to the ordinary apples; he could just return them and secretly eat the perfect ones.
It's just that the development of the Gourmet Bank might be a bit slower.
Mo Lao continued, "But don't get too smug, kid. I can only block powers beyond the super-tier from entering the human world. With Olympus's wealth, hiring some powerful individuals from the human world to retrieve the apples is beyond my control."
"I can only guarantee that the hiring fee won't be too high, so you don't have to worry about being ganged up on by a hundred level 100 powerhouses tomorrow."
Level 100?
Given Zhang Wei's current strength, he might still have a chance against those above level 90!
But if too many came at once...
"Less than a hundred, how many is that?"
Mo Lao bared his teeth and chuckled, "Ninety-nine isn't out of the question."