In the original comic, Toriko once took Komatsu to a place called the Sky Country.
There,高级 (high-grade) vegetables grew everywhere, abundant and plentiful. There was also the King of Vegetables – the Ozone Grass, which could greatly enhance cellular energy.
Thus, it was also known as Vegetable Sky!
Zhang Wei was quite sure that the Cloud Country and the Sky Country were not the same place, and it wasn't as bountiful here.
Wandering through the buildings, Zhang Wei continuously changed his identity, having apprehended over a dozen people in the right side halls.
Inner third layer...
Inner second layer...
Inner first layer...
With the Illusory Form Technique and superb physical attributes, Zhang Wei managed to sneak into the very center without major incident.
"I need to hurry; the absence of guards will soon raise suspicion!"
"I won't act unless absolutely necessary. With my current destructive power, this vegetable garden might be half-ruined."
As a chef, a chef with an extreme obsession for ingredients, he would never want to destroy these treasures!
...
At the very center was a yurt-like structure, about a thousand square meters in size. The entrance was still guarded by individuals of considerable strength.
"With this size and flow of people, sneaking in will be difficult!"
Zhang Wei had no choice but to wait in place, looking for an opportunity.
Just then, a burly man who looked remarkably like a catfish, dressed in exquisite chef attire, slowly pushed a food cart. In the Cloud Country, where fabrics were extremely scarce, his status was evident!
"A chef?"
"Delivering food?"
"Heaven-sent!"
Zhang Wei immediately stepped forward, blocking the chef. "Halt! Who are you? Don't you know what the inner first layer is? Who allowed you to wander around?"
However, the chef had a temper too, and he immediately cursed, "Are you blind! How dare you block me, Chef Tam! Get lost!"
Zhang Wei scratched his head, "Tam? You're a chef?"
"You... you don't even know me?"
"I just started working here. My boss said this place is of great importance and requires very strict identity verification!"
"Who is your boss? The captain? Go call him over!"
"No, I can't leave my post!"
Tam was almost furious!
"Then what do you want? If you delay the meal for a few Lords, the Thunder Plain will be your final destination!"
"Then... make out a registration form."
Saying this, Zhang Wei produced a piece of paper.
"Name."
"Get lost, do you think you're worthy?"
"If you don't register, I won't let you pass."
Tam was almost consumed by hatred!
But he had no choice but to go through with it for now. Once he saw the supervising captain, he would definitely have this kid sent to the Thunder Plain!
"Tam Kench!"
"Occupation."
"Are you blind? A chef!"
"What are you going in to do?"
"Deliver meals to a few Lords."
"Who are the Lords?"
...
After asking over a dozen questions, which grew increasingly bizarre, Tam finally became suspicious.
The moment his eyes showed hesitation, Zhang Wei immediately moved forward and struck his neck with a chop.
The ensuing commotion attracted a squad of guards.
"Who's making noise over there?"
"Get lost!"
"Oh, it's Chef Tam! Are you in some trouble..."
"Get lost! Didn't you hear me?"
Zhang Wei hid around a corner, imitating Tam's unique voice, and finally managed to send the patrol away.
He stripped Tam, changed into his clothes, and meticulously memorized every detail.
His body swelled into a ball, his head became round and square, and the most difficult features to imitate were his extremely wide mouth and rows of fine teeth.
The guy's tongue was also very long.
Zhang Wei wondered if the guy was a catfish or a toad.
Before long, Zhang Wei pushed the cart into the core area.
The guards on both sides, seeing the catfish spirit, greeted him repeatedly and respectfully opened the main gate.
"Tam, I've missed you so much!"
"We're all starving!"
"What delicious food have you prepared today."
Zhang Wei nonchalantly flipped open the food tray. Inside was thick, fully cooked roasted meat, accompanied by a generous amount of crushed peanuts and pepper salt.
Judging by the color of the roasted meat, it had likely been braised, and the aroma was strong!
"Wow, roasted meat! We're in for a treat today!"
Everyone was clearly satisfied with the cuisine.
Zhang Wei surveyed the surroundings. There were about a dozen so-called Lords, and their presence was by no means weaker than Guji Guli. The Cloud Country indeed had considerable wealth.
In the center of the hall was a large crystal tank, about the size of a living room.
"This is the supposed immortal treasure..."
While the Lords were eating, Zhang Wei pretended to be strolling and approached the crystal wall.
On an ancient wooden stand, a vibrant green vine was coiled, with three to five small fruits on it.
"These fruits look a bit... slender."
"Strange, why is there no system notification?"
This situation had occurred before, indicating that the ingredient itself was in an uncollectible state.
For example, an unripe apple tree.
Only the apples were edible; the tree itself was uncollectible.
"Are the fruits of this vine not yet ripe?"
A Lord standing nearby saw Zhang Wei staring blankly at the crystal and smiled, "You, you look at it every time you come! This gourd can't be eaten!"
A gourd?
Indeed!
No wonder it looked so alluring!
In ancient times on Blue Star, ripe gourds were often used as containers or cut in half to make dippers.
But in reality, the gourd is a vegetable, belonging to the Cucurbita tribe, Cucurbitinae subfamily.
When the gourd skin is tender and green, it contains white flesh inside, which is edible. Pickling, simmering in soup, or stir-frying are all excellent options.
However, this must be done when it is crisp and tender. Once the gourd matures, it loses its edibility.
Zhang Wei thought for a moment and changed to a more tactful question, "It's a shame it can't be eaten. Such a good ingredient, isn't it meant to be eaten?"
"That won't do. Although this Immortal Gourd is delicious, we rely on it to trade with the mortal realm."
Immortal Gourd?
The name has a fantastical flair!
In that case, does the gourd become spatial equipment upon ripening?
If the Cloud Country relies on springs to reach the surface, then transportation must have significant limitations.
Things that fear water, things that are too large, things that don't sink...
If they had a large amount of spatial equipment, everything would be much more convenient!
However, if it were to be collected, it would certainly be in the form of an ingredient; don't even think about collecting the ripe gourd.
"You're looking at these small fruits, how much longer until they're edible."
Things with such magical properties shouldn't take decades or centuries to mature. He didn't have that much time.
A Lord asked strangely, "You should know this sort of thing, shouldn't you?"
"Ahem... I haven't been keeping track of the days."
"Isn't it about ten more days for this batch of fruits? Why are you thinking about this? It definitely needs to ripen. This is too precious, you certainly can't take it to cook."
Ten more days...
It seemed like a wait he could afford.