As a clandestine organization spanning many regions, the Black List was never short on combat prowess.
By the time Lou Ming arrived, over a hundred Black List operatives had the pharmacy surrounded. The scummy tactics employed by the assailants seemed comically inept in the face of these seasoned professionals.
Chu Xiang led the charge into the building, capturing dozens of ringleaders alive.
“Master, according to the interrogation results, they did indeed kidnap a man in his twenties at the behest of the Third Miss. Based on the descriptions of his build and appearance, it was the chef from ‘Wine and Beauties’.”
“The location?”
“An abandoned warehouse on the east side of the city.”
The Black List moved with swift efficiency. Within ten minutes, Lou Ming and his entourage reached the warehouse.
A crowd had already gathered, their attire suggesting they were from the Mo City Joint Guard.
“Master, the entire place is covered in traces of blade qi… It looks like your four-inch blade!”
Lou Ming’s vision darkened. If Zhang Wei was dead, the Black List’s exposure would be a foregone conclusion.
The Black List had been operating in the underground for over a century, and they had finally encountered such a golden opportunity!
All their meticulous planning, and they only had to wait a little over ten days…
“A body is being carried out!”
A Black List scout immediately moved forward, easily obtaining the information.
Chu Xiang reported with a grim expression, “Master… they’ve only found one body. It’s… a woman!”
“A woman? Thank goodness… What? A woman?!”
Lou Ming’s mind raced with a terrible possibility!
Ignoring the crowd blocking his path, Lou Ming rushed to the stretcher and pulled back the blood-stained white sheet!
“San’er!!!!”
…
…
Wine and Beauties
Zhang Wei took out a chef’s knife and examined it.
“Just the blade qi alone can damage my current physique. It truly is a marvel.”
“The grip is excellent, clearly a tool used for countless years.”
“Not metal… biological material? That’s plausible in this world.”
The knife was about eleven inches long, with a shape resembling a surgical scalpel. It felt very light in his hand, weighing only a few ounces.
The blade was matte with a textured surface, devoid of any unnecessary ornamentation.
He gave it a few casual swings, leaving faint traces in the air of the room.
“It won’t be of much use in daily cooking, but I’ll keep it for processing tougher ingredients in the future.”
He placed the blade into the Treasure Hall and then went to Mo Du’s room.
“Brother, you’re here.”
Mo Du grabbed Zhang Wei’s hand and pulled him towards the bed.
The bed was piled high with various male formal wear.
“You usually only wear those two outfits. You never dress yourself up. Look, do you like any of these?”
“Oh, and do you prefer silk or pure cotton?”
Zhang Wei chuckled, “It’s fine, as long as I have something to wear.”
“Try them on. I estimated your size, but I don’t know if they’ll fit!”
“Alright, we’ll talk about it later. It’s time for business.”
“Business?”
“Boosting my strength!”
With a wave of Zhang Wei’s hand, the piles of clothing on the bed vanished, along with Mo Du.
Last time Mo Du broke through his limit, he had only reached level 22.
By the standards of the Northern Lands, he was already a top-tier expert. However, Zhang Wei was far from satisfied; such strength was merely enough for self-preservation.
He sent Mo Du into the side annex and supplied him with ample food.
Zhang Wei then took some time to organize the books he had purchased recently.
“Fantastic Adventures in the Cloud World”
“The Giant Pea Vine: An Invitation to the Sky”
“Mr. Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky”
…
Many of the books were about the Cloud Kingdom, some were biographies, others were adventure novels, with very few actual scientific texts.
Although humanity yearned for the sky, for them, the sky was largely a mystery!
According to the books: there existed a wondrous pea vine that grew in the clouds. Its size far surpassed that of a Tyrannosaurus tree, extending for tens of thousands of meters.
These incredibly long-growing pea vines would occasionally descend from the floating earth of the clouds, some hundreds of meters from the ground, others just tens of meters.
In ancient times, brave warriors had climbed these vines and reached the Cloud Kingdom.
The Cloud Kingdom was like a fairyland, yet it was inhabited by terrifying giants, constantly poised to invade the ground world.
The protagonists in these stories would always acquire wealth and then, miraculously escaping danger, destroy the pea vines, thus preventing the giants’ invasion.
“Almost without exception, all the stories featured the pea vine.”
“To enter the Cloud Kingdom, there are trials: hurricanes, low temperatures, unpredictable lightning strikes, terrifying birds, and monkeys and apes that inhabit the vines…”
“The talk of giants is likely nonsense, though in this world, who can say for sure.”
“Sigh… there’s still too little reliable information.”
Books only represented the author’s level of understanding.
This world was changing rapidly under the catalysis of Gourmet Cells, and many things could not be viewed with common sense.
Furthermore, the place names mentioned in the books were all different, suggesting that these so-called Cloud Kingdoms were scattered everywhere.
In reality, with such vast expanses of clouds, the ground would be perpetually shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to escape people’s notice.
“Speaking of perpetual darkness…”
“Holy cow, isn’t the Ice Hell Plains a place that snows year-round, where the sun is rarely seen!”
“Could it be that above the Ice Hell Plains lies a small section of the Cloud World?”
“But this is just my speculation; I have no way to confirm it.”
Putting away the books, Zhang Wei stretched.
“Perhaps I’ll take a stroll there sometime if I get the chance.”
…
…
After the preliminary rounds, 32 formidable contestants had fought their way through.
Every contestant wore a smile of triumph.
This competition would determine the allocation of seats in the Northern United Government based on rankings.
Rankings 11-30: One seat.
4-10: Two seats.
Third place: Three seats.
Runner-up: Four seats.
Champion: Ten seats.
The entire Northern United Government would have a total of 51 seats.
In other words, as long as they weren't incredibly unlucky, everyone would secure a seat.
And securing a seat would grant them immense influence and greatly solidify their position in the future of the Northern Lands.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now entering the final round of the Northern Chef’s Feast!”
“The Free Competition!”
“Contestants have no restrictions; they can prepare any dish they wish, with the sole requirement being that it must be delicious!”
“Of course, addictive and poisonous ingredients are still forbidden!”
Bringing their own ingredients was also a test of comprehensive ability.
It was for this very round that Jun Qing had ventured into the Ice Hell previously.
With no restrictions, the chefs’ creativity knew no bounds, and exotic treasures abounded, making this the most thrilling round!
It was truly a feast for the most discerning gourmets!
“We now invite the 32 contestants to enter with their ingredients!”