"Wow, we've arrived at Mo City!"
"You guys, come look, it's huge!"
"Holy crap, it really is massive!"
The clamor woke Zhang Wei. He checked the time; forty hours had passed.
"This dragon's flying speed is way slower than a plane."
Calculated by speed, the Twin-Headed Pterodactyl's flight was no more than 120 kilometers per hour. While not as fast as a plane, it was still much quicker than most birds.
Perhaps the full load of the shuttle affected its speed.
Looking out the window, Mo City occupied a vast area, at least five hundred square kilometers.
In this technologically backward era, it was a veritable megacity.
There were no city walls. The outer district was a ring-shaped road, mostly low-rise residential buildings and factories.
The inner city was much more opulent, with visible signs of fresh paint on the buildings, and even some "skyscrapers" over ten stories tall.
The docking area was a large plaza filled with all sorts of flying beasts. The Twin-Headed Pterodactyl was only mid-tier among them.
"This is Mo City. The official competition will be in seven days. For now, we'll stay at a hotel."
"You're all free to do as you please. During this period, all industries will have promotions, far surpassing the New Year's festivities."
"Don't stir up trouble. Mo City is a place where dragons and tigers hide. Even a beggar might have awakened their cells to level 20."
Xi Feng announced the rules one by one, and everyone nodded.
Tang Zhihun called over a few assistant chefs and distributed 1,000贝利 to each.
"You've been working in the Great Glacier for years and likely don't have much cash on hand. Consider this my personal sponsorship; you don't have to repay it."
A ministerial-level position earned only about a thousand贝利 a month, making this a substantial sum.
In terms of purchasing power, it was equivalent to 500,000 RMB or 9 million JPY in his previous life.
However, this amount was nothing to Tang Zhihun. Chefs earned high commissions on every dish they made, and the Century Collection Association's annual income of five-tenths of a percent all went into Tang Zhihun's pockets.
At least 600,000贝利!
But the income of a ministerial-level official mainly came from benefits and various bonuses, so they wouldn't truly be destitute.
…………
……
Black List International Investment Group
The Black List had a long history, once being a formidable force in the underworld a century ago.
One day, they seemingly vanished, rumored to be due to a devastating conflict between criminal organizations.
However, in reality, the Black List's leader realized that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered." Their extremely prominent reputation was not beneficial. They subsequently shed their extensive branches and successfully transformed with their elite members.
Indeed, after a century, the Black List still existed and was even more powerful!
Meanwhile, many of the top organizations from that era had long since faded into history.
Over the years, the Black List developed numerous external organizations, and the Heavenly Thief Alliance was one of them.
Black List Board of Directors.
A long table was filled with people, and no one present appeared to be below level 40!
The meeting was presided over by the Vice Chairman; the main seat had remained vacant for fifty years.
"Vice Chairman, last quarter, we collected 35 kilograms of Salt Essence from various locations, all of which have been transferred to the alchemy workshop."
"The production of the two-color pills is also on track, though we're lacking some illicit substances..."
"We are in contact with the Golden Triangle region for the pharmaceuticals, where there is a large quantity of toxic ingredients."
"As instructed, we have successfully incorporated addictive drugs into the two-color pills, making them extremely potent!"
...
The members reported continuously, with one success after another.
The Vice Chairman smirked and asked, "What's the situation with the Northern United Territory?"
"We've been subtly pushing things forward... According to the drafted agreement, the seats in the Northern United Territory government will be entirely determined by the results of this competition."
"Our fifteen invested restaurants have already entered the competition, marked as four-star chefs, so as not to attract any attention."
The Vice Chairman chuckled, "Excellent. Even if we proceed through the normal competition, we can secure over twenty seats!"
Seats were allocated based on rankings.
Rankings 11-30: one seat.
4-10: two seats.
Third place: three seats.
Second place: four seats.
First place: ten seats.
The entire Northern United Territory government comprised a total of 41 seats.
And these 41 seats would control millions of square kilometers of the Northern Territory.
To prevent infiltration by foreign powers, the Northern Chef's Feast only permitted local catering organizations to compete.
The Vice Chairman stated, "As long as we obtain twenty-one seats, the entire Northern Territory will belong to the Black List!"
"Then, we can shed our underground status and fully enter high society. We could even, through votes, turn the Northern Territory into a new nation."
"At that time, all of you present will be founding heroes!"
Someone expressed concern, "We will be facing all the top chefs in the Northern Territory, including those at five-star and even six-star levels. Will our chefs... be able to handle it?"
The Vice Chairman replied proudly, "Of course. What do you think the Black List has been accumulating for a century? Without top-tier chefs, could such a large organization be sustained?"
"I can reveal a highly classified piece of information: Master Lou Ming will also be participating in this competition."
Everyone was alarmed.
One person even exclaimed, "Master Lou Ming? Isn't he the partner of the Black List's leader from a hundred years ago?"
"Has that master not died yet?"
A hundred years ago, the Black List's leader had won over a hundred consecutive battles, dominating the underworld.
The true reason was his partner, Lou Ming, who possessed the ability to create auxiliary medicinal cuisine.
The recipes for those medicinal dishes remain sealed within the Black List to this day, and only a few have had the fortune to glimpse them.
The Vice Chairman lamented, "Master Lou Ming is suffering from a malignant tuberculosis and has little time left. He will be participating in this competition with three of his disciples... Those three are said to have already mastered thirty percent of Master Lou Ming's skills. Victory will be effortless!"
If they could secure the first, second, and third places, they would secure seventeen seats. Combined with the young talents within the organization, controlling the Northern Territory seemed not difficult.
"However, as a precaution, the organization has also spent a considerable sum to temporarily hire three six-star chefs, all seasoned veterans who have dominated the underground culinary world for years."
At this thought, the Vice Chairman felt a pang of pain.
Even Tang Zhihun, a four-star chef, earned 600,000贝利 in salary and commissions annually. The cost to hire these three, given their experience and reputation, was imaginable.
But if they could control the Northern Territory, all costs would be worthwhile.
With this, the Black List's plan was all but guaranteed!
Another person suggested, "Why don't we prepare some assassination and poisoning methods to eliminate a few of the championship favorites? Wouldn't that..."
"Foolish!"
"Top chefs are surrounded by experts. Not only is the probability of failure extremely high, but it could even expose the Black List. If the Northern Territory becomes vigilant, our invested hotels might face investigation, and our plan could fail!"
"Ah, but we don't necessarily have to assassinate people. Poisoning the flying transport beasts to delay their journey would be enough!"
The Vice Chairman's eyes lit up.
"Excellent idea."