After the drawing of lots and the sorting process, the numerous participating teams returned to their lodgings to rest.
Following a day of high-intensity labor, many of the chefs were already showing signs of exhaustion.
Upon returning to the Inn of Wine and Beauties, Zhang Wei locked his room door and quietly climbed towards the rooftop through the window.
Halfway up, Zhang Wei suddenly felt a premonition.
On the roof ridge, there seemed to be something.
"A person?"
"A thief or an assassin?"
"Proficient in concealment, no less than Mo Du's skills."
Zhang Wei himself was a supernatural being with a focus on perception, precision, and manipulation. Coupled with his extremely high level, even though the other party was skilled, Zhang Wei could still hear the subtle beating of hearts and breathing.
He calmed his mind and listened carefully.
"One... two... three... nineteen... twenty!"
"Good heavens, there are so many people! Is the roof almost full?"
These night-crawlers were extremely professional, not a single word was exchanged, they simply observed the situation silently.
After a moment of thought, Zhang Wei understood the reason.
Zhang Wei had been too outstanding in this competition, inevitably drawing attention.
However, today was an important day with Mo Du, and Zhang Wei didn't want these people to disturb them.
He infiltrated the crowd and let out a light cough, saying, "Everyone, fixing roofs can be done during the day. So late at night, are you trying to peek at the proprietress bathing? That's absolutely not allowed!"
The originally silent crowd erupted with Zhang Wei's voice, startling all the assassins and making their hearts leap into their throats!
Of course, they didn't take Zhang Wei's teasing seriously. It was just an intelligence gathering mission, not worth risking their lives.
Watching the assassins scatter and flee, Zhang Wei casually grabbed a few, knocked them out, and brought them into Mo Du's room.
"Brother, you're here!"
"These are? The group that's been following me recently?"
Upon seeing Zhang Wei, Mo Du smiled sweetly, then her expression turned questioning as she saw the captured assassins.
"You knew you were being followed?"
"Heh, I've been in the underground world for twenty years, I know a thing or two, don't I?"
"And you let them spy on you so freely without any pressure?"
Mo Du's originally proud face immediately drooped.
She said aggrievedly, "The Inn of Wine and Beauties is just a mess now, it can't support skilled people. I don't have anyone around me who can deal with them, and I wouldn't feel safe hiring someone on short notice..."
The Inn of Wine and Beauties had been without high-level chefs for a long time. The culinary hunters felt their future was hopeless and naturally turned their backs.
Zhang Wei reached out and gently patted Mo Du's head.
Perhaps it was time to improve Mo Du's strength.
He grabbed Mo Du and sent her into the Treasury Hall, his own consciousness also sinking into it.
Mo Du was awake this time, but facing Zhang Wei's new domain, even though she sensed the spatial transference, she did not resist.
When Mo Du returned, she was still a little scared. "Brother, why did we come back..."
"Naturally, because of you."
"Me?"
"With a strength of only around level 12-15, it's too embarrassing for an inheritor of the Deer God."
Saying this, Zhang Wei left the left side hall.
During Zhang Wei's absence, Mo Du felt like every second was an eternity; this place had already instilled too much fear in her...
"I'm back, look what I brought for you."
A rotating dining table, over ten meters long, was pushed in, laden with all sorts of exquisite delicacies, their aroma filling the air!
The entire Galoon Tiger Feast...
The Braised Whole Cow in a Clay Pot...
The Fruit Platter of Falling Rain...
The Mountain of Meat Barbecue...
These delicacies were what Zhang Wei had initially accumulated. Due to duplicated preparation, the replication time was only the minimum of 24 hours.
And because he had eaten these flavors so many times, they no longer provided any stimulation to Zhang Wei's culinary cells, only serving as energy to fill his stomach.
"Brother... this is..."
Mo Du's level was too low, she didn't understand the concept of barriers yet.
After Zhang Wei's explanation, he arranged post-meal exercises for Mo Du according to his own training rhythm.
"Don't mind it being boring here, we're going to have a ten-day special training session!"
"Counting the flow of time, it will be dawn outside by then."
Mo Du exclaimed with surprise, "Improve my strength?"
"Brother, are you going to help me improve my strength? But... my previous instructor told me my culinary cells were crude and dull, and the cost of leveling up would be far greater than for others."
"It's fine, just eat."
Zhang Wei naturally didn't care.
Among the culinary demons, those with only tens of millions of years of inheritance were still nascent and ignorant. Only those with over a hundred million years had accumulated sufficient power.
There was even a rumor that the strongest culinary demon had a heritage of 13.4 billion years, a lifespan that could be traced back to the Great Culinary Explosion.
But even the worst could be worse than Zhang Wei?
At most, Zhang Wei's culinary demon had only been born for seven months.
At Zhang Wei's signal, Mo Du sat at the dining table, arranged her scarf, cutlery, and bowls and chopsticks, and solemnly performed the pre-meal ceremony.
"I'll begin... wait a moment."
"What is it?"
"Can you eat with me?"
"This is prepared for you."
"Since I was little, I've always competed for food. As I grew older, I could only change my appearance and imitate others. No one has ever... shared a delicious meal with me like this, with our true selves."
Zhang Wei smiled and nodded, sitting opposite her at the dining table. He swirled the wine glass on the tray and clinked it with Mo Du's.
It was evident that Mo Du seemed a little hesitant...
However, the moment the first bite of meat entered her stomach, Mo Du could no longer care about restraint, ladylike manners, or her image in front of Zhang Wei.
These dishes seemed to possess immense magic, making Mo Du's hands and mouth unable to stop.
As the meal progressed, Mo Du's physique began to undergo secondary development.
Her hair became dark and long, her facial skin became firm and smooth, fair and elastic.
"Do you feel anything?"
Mo Du had no time to respond. Zhang Wei lowered his head and chuckled, "Carefully feel the voice within your body. That's the eager call of your culinary cells for the desire to eat."
"The weaker you are, the more you have a heart that yearns to become stronger!"
"Your culinary cells are not weak, they just lacked a little opportunity!"
The food on the table gradually became empty plates. With a contented sigh, Mo Du stretched her body with all her might and patted her slightly rounded belly.
"I've eaten so much, it feels so good, I feel completely reborn!"
Looking at the empty table, Zhang Wei frowned.
Her appetite was so poor!
She could only eat half a portion of the dishes?
Apart from the entire Galoon Tiger Feast, none of the other dishes had even been touched.
During a normal breakthrough to a barrier, the energy ingested into the body would be instantly converted into nourishing components for the body.
And this process clearly required time and accumulation.
"Sigh... can't rush things, can't expect you to advance to a very high level all at once."