Recent tasks have become increasingly demanding, with all laborers working overtime.
Correspondingly, rewards for outstanding employees have become more extravagant. Take Zhang Wei's team, for example; they now have their own private room.
The top ten teams with the best performance can even enter the executive dining room to enjoy delicious hot meals.
As for Zhang Wei's team's performance...
It's third place!
Inside an ice cell.
A hungry Galon Tiger roared within its cage, its thick chains firmly binding it.
The supervisor licked his lips and remarked, "A Level 3 captured Galon Tiger, rumored to eat 300kg of meat in one sitting. If it were to escape, a few of us wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth."
[Discoverable Ingredient: Galon Tiger!]
[Capture Level: 3]
[Habitat: Xing'an Forest]
[Description: A ferocious carnivorous animal; its bones, blood, and penis are all premium tonics.]
[Nutritional Effect: Greatly replenishes vitality, strengthens yang and kidneys!]
Under Zhang Wei's guidance, Wang Meng and Gui Tian Bian San's knife skills improved significantly.
With the entire team's capabilities up to par, they were assigned some high-grade tasks.
"Can you three handle this?"
"Don't worry, leave it to us," Zhang Wei said happily.
Whether on Blue Star or in Food Wars, tigers are protected animals. Zhang Wei had no such fine ingredients in his treasured dishes yet.
"Alright, you guys get busy. I'll go check on the next door."
Bian San carried over a cleaver and asked fawningly, "Wei Ge, which step do we start with?"
"You two go out first."
"And then?"
"Close the door."
Bian San: ...
Wang Meng: ...
After sending the two away, Zhang Wei stepped forward and unfastened the Galon Tiger's shackles.
The Galon Tiger, regaining its freedom, paid Zhang Wei no mind and charged towards the door like the wind!
THUD!!
After a violent collision, a trickle of blood flowed from the Galon Tiger's forehead.
"It's useless. This door is half a meter thick. Unless you're a cannonball. Moreover, not even sound can get through, so we can take our time playing."
The Galon Tiger roared, its fur bristling as it watched Zhang Wei, who was advancing step by step.
The beast's innate instincts told it that the man before it was not to be trifled with.
"First, the fists!"
The Galon Tiger, weighing several tons, was incredibly agile and evaded several times.
But the man before him was extraordinarily fast, and the room was not spacious.
The Galon Tiger roared.
Tiger claws!
Paws!
BANG!
The Galon Tiger roared and retreated, its claws bleeding.
"Next, the legs!"
THUMP~
The multi-ton tiger was kicked back more than ten meters.
Zhang Wei shook his head, "I'm truly not a qualified warrior. My instinctive punches and kicks are like a child's."
After half a month of consumption, his strength had broken through several levels consecutively.
Zhang Wei didn't even know how strong he was currently.
"But at the very least, Level 3 capture is no longer a match."
The Galon Tiger panted heavily, preparing for a final struggle.
Zhang Wei picked up the cleaver, his aura surging, and the fierce killing intent made the Galon Tiger's limbs go weak.
It felt as if...
It was on a dinner plate!
"As expected, a chef is still a chef with a knife in hand."
...
...
The heavy door slowly opened, exuding a pungent aroma.
Several movers had been waiting outside, eager to seal the tiger's blood in the gourmet display case before it solidified.
Zhang Wei had successfully stored the Galon Tiger, with a replication time of 130 days.
"It really is a long time..."
Wang Meng and Bian San were happily enjoying their leisure, chatting with the supervisor outside.
Zhang Wei and his team's performance was linked to the supervisor's earnings, hence their increasingly harmonious relationship lately.
The supervisor glanced at his pocket watch and chuckled, "You're getting faster and faster. Even a multi-ton Galon Tiger only took two hours."
"Did you apply for library access for me?"
"Uh... only elites in the high-level areas are qualified for that."
"I only want to hear the result."
The supervisor gritted his teeth, "Fine! I'll use all my connections and definitely get it for you! But I have a condition!"
"Speak."
"A total of eight Galon Tigers were transported today. I want our team to take half of them!"
"No."
"Then... three?"
"What are you talking about?" Zhang Wei asked with a playful smile.
"Seven. All of them for me!"
...
The lower levels of the glacier were warmer and had always been the residential area for the upper echelons.
The luxuriously decorated cafes, bars, and tea houses were exclusively for the entertainment of the upper crust and were not profit-generating.
Places like libraries were rarely visited.
"Black Jade Forest Park Collection Guide..."
"Seventeen Ways to Prepare Tiger Bones..."
"Formulaic Recipes: From Beginner to Burial..."
The library mostly contained illustrated guides, recipe books, and processing manuals.
Zhang Wei's goal, however, was knowledge related to gourmet cells, gourmet techniques, and gourmet hunters.
"Appetite, the true weapon of a gourmet hunter!"
"King of Hunters, Gourmet Technique Development Without Detours."
"Essential Gourmet Hunter Skill – Food Absorption!"
The content in the books mirrored the manga, describing how gourmet cells harbored gourmet demons, which were the materialization of human desires.
When gourmet cells developed to one hundred percent, humans and their desires would face a final battle and merge.
They would either transform into demons or reach the pinnacle of humanity.
Another book explained a technique called "Food Absorption," which could greatly enhance a gourmet hunter's endurance.
One gram of protein or starch provided 4 kilocalories.
One gram of alcohol provided seven.
One gram of fat provided nine.
A normal adult male, just to maintain heartbeat and respiration, would consume 1600 kilocalories.
If engaged in heavy physical labor, it might reach 2500-3000.
As for hunters who awakened gourmet cells...
They would require at least 6000 kilocalories!
Zhang Wei used the calculation method in the book and found his current consumption had reached an astonishing 10,000 kilocalories!
"No wonder my appetite has skyrocketed recently."
"Unlike other power levels, gourmet hunters do not rely on spiritual energy, magic elements, etc. Their power comes entirely from calories."
"In other words, the stronger a gourmet hunter is, the better their appetite!"
The book then stated that the caloric content of gourmet cells could not be judged by common sense.
Any creature possessing gourmet cells contained an astonishing amount of energy.
"So that's why... the meat of the Stone Crab is indeed very filling."
The skill of Food Absorption, on one hand, refined energy and reduced unnecessary consumption.
On the other hand, it could significantly increase the storage capacity of calories within the body without affecting physical appearance.
No wonder the scrawny characters in the manga could instantly transform into muscular men; there was such a reasonable explanation...
The last book explained the development of gourmet techniques.
The gourmet techniques in Toriko were diverse.
The first category was mental manifestation, such as Toriko's knife and fork, or IGO's chopsticks.
The second category was organ enhancement, which was the most common.
Koko's immune cells, Zebra's vocal cords, Sunny's hair...
The third category was peculiar techniques, such as the gourmet sages' talismans, which could steal the target's calories.
The most legendary was the domain, of which only a handful of individuals in the entire Toriko manga possessed.
"What kind of skill should I develop?"