Ten-odd days passed in a flash, and Zhang Wei gained a basic understanding of the local situation.
The city where Zhang Wei was located was called Hecheng. It was a well-known transportation hub in the Cloud Country, as it was close to the Sky Channel.
The concentration camp where prisoners were held was nearby, rumored to be guarded by tens of thousands of troops.
His information exchange with Mo Du also continued without interruption.
'Brother, I have good news for you. The Northern Territories United Government has been established, and I am the Speaker.'
'Brother... being Speaker is so tiring. These old geezers just bicker all day instead of doing real work, and they don't respect me at all.'
'Last night, we received a letter from the Cloud Country demanding ransom from the Northern Territories. Several thousand Beli per person, they must be insane for money.'
'The Black List has arrived!'
'They want to merge with the Northern Territories, become part of it, and jointly resist the Cloud Country. But they demand their rightful 28 seats.'
'Brother, with the Black List's involvement, I feel the Northern Territories are much easier to manage...'
'Brother...'
...
...
"This girl, she actually has quite a talent for being a leader. She understands balance and restraint intuitively."
"If I can control the Northern Territories, collecting high-quality ingredients will be much more convenient in the future."
Glancing at the time, Zhang Wei locked his door and headed to an area in the city center.
Hecheng Auction House!
The Cloud Country was short on material goods, but at the same time, it had unique outputs, creating strong complementarity.
Hecheng, as a port connecting to the Human Realm, had a daily throughput of several thousand tons.
Normal trade incurred a heavy tax of 50% of the selling price, cutting over sixty percent of the profits. Many Cloud Country nobles resorted to smuggling, and the confiscated items were then auctioned at the Auction House.
"Mr. Tam, you're here?"
"That item, it's being auctioned today, isn't it?"
"Of course, it's Auction Item Number 27!"
"Excellent."
"Here is your number plate."
Zhang Wei looked at it. The number was six-six-six.
A rather auspicious number.
During this period, Zhang Wei had been frantically collecting ingredients with electrical properties, such as electric eels, electric rays, electric catfish, and hammerhead sharks... most ingredients with strong electrical properties were fish.
Perhaps it was because electricity was particularly effective in water.
Zhang Wei's target was a recently confiscated poisonous ingredient, the Electric Banana!
In the original work, the Electric Banana had also appeared and looked very similar to the picture. There were simply too many ingredients in the Great Gourmet Era, and it wasn't easy to encounter ingredients mentioned in the original work.
With the addition of this poisonous ingredient, creating new dishes should not be a problem.
Entering the VIP section, Zhang Wei surveyed the surroundings.
"There are quite a lot of people today."
The host droned on, first welcoming everyone present, then reading out the regulations of the Cloud Country, and speaking of smuggling being a disgrace to nobles.
After completing the necessary procedures, the auction officially began.
Since it was confiscated goods, the quantity was substantial, and high prices were frequently offered.
"Next is Auction Item Number 27, the poisonous ingredient Electric Banana, 25 large bunches totaling 700 kilograms. The starting bid is 28,500 Beli."
[Discovered storable ingredient: Electric Banana]
[Capture Level: 5]
[Edible Effect: Induces poisoning and addiction, damages health]
[Description: A very common poisonous ingredient, can be cultivated artificially. After consumption, a paralyzing electric current will sweep through the body, causing pain and a sense of relief.
However, each paralysis damages the central nervous system. Once addicted to this ingredient, symptoms will gradually appear: dizziness, dry heaving, loss of body control, decreased motor skills, epilepsy, hemiplegia, high paraplegia...]
Upon perceiving the specific information, Zhang Wei felt a little frightened.
To utilize this ingredient, its toxicity must be neutralized first. Addicts were too disgusting.
"Bidder 227, 29,000 Beli!"
"Bidder 145, 29,500 Beli!"
"29,500 Beli for the first time!"
"29,500 Beli for the second time!"
Zhang Wei raised his paddle: "32,000 Beli!"
"Bidder 666, 32,000 Beli. Are there any higher bids?"
"Once... twice... three times!"
"Sold!"
Without any competition, this crucial ingredient was obtained with ease.
Processing poisonous ingredients was extremely difficult, and very few people in the entire Cloud Country possessed this skill, so most were uninterested.
These fresh ingredients had a shelf life, and to prevent them from going unsold, the starting bids were also very low.
"At this price, I couldn't even buy this in the Human Realm. I've gotten a good deal."
With nothing else to do, Zhang Wei wasn't in a hurry to leave.
Most of the items auctioned here were ingredients, and perhaps there were some useful ones.
Auction items were sold one by one, with prices gradually increasing. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred auction items were all sold.
The last item was presented.
The auctioneer scanned the room, looking as if he had expected this.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I know you have all been waiting for this exhibit. After all, such a level of delicacy is truly rare."
"In order to confiscate it, the Anti-Smuggling Squad lost over a hundred agents. According to the instructions of the Sovereign, 3% of the proceeds from this auction will be set aside as death benefits."
"Let us offer our most sincere respect to the benevolent Sovereign!"
Enthusiastic applause erupted. In an autocratic country like the Cloud Country, disrespecting the Sovereign was a grave offense.
The curtain was lifted!
The precious ingredient in the display case was revealed to everyone.
[Thunder Dumplings]
[Capture Level: 44]
[Origin: Below Gourmet Clouds]
[Description: A unique delicacy formed by lightning strikes, extremely rare in nature!]
There was an extremely rare climate in the Human Realm. Flour blown from the Gourmet World, combined with the tornado water from the Gourmet Sea, would form cumulonimbus clouds called Gourmet Clouds.
Wherever these clouds passed, there would be heavy rains of bread, hamburger rain... the specific fillings and types depended on the ingredients carried by the tornado water.
Among them, bread rain and steamed bun rain were the most common, while hamburger rain and sushi rain were rarer.
The rarest, however, were fish slice rain, bacon rain, and meat sauce rain.
The formation of Thunder Dumplings was extremely demanding, requiring two independent Gourmet Clouds to meet and merge.
One must be a steamed bun rain, and the other must be a meat sauce rain.
And as the rain fell, the intermingling lightning simultaneously struck the filling and the steamed bun, creating a very low probability of producing Thunder Dumplings!
It was said that these dumplings were personally made by the Thunder God, a gift from the divine.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei was stunned on the spot. Nature possessed such incredible craftsmanship!
"How can these Thunder Dumplings appear in the Cloud Country? These things would be fought over to death even in the Human Realm!"
"In the Human Realm, Gourmet Clouds only form along the coast of the Gourmet Sea. For two suitable clouds to converge from thousands of miles away, and to be coincidentally struck by lightning... the prerequisite conditions are simply insane!"
"Since I've encountered it, I absolutely cannot let this good thing slip away!"