135: News from Erina

Over the next few days, Lin Luo poured all his energy into tempering his body. Aside from necessary sleep, his time was almost entirely filled with training and eating. The assimilation progress of his gourmet cells advanced steadily, gradually covering his entire body.

When he had finished consuming all of the captured One-Horned Bear, the energy accumulated within his body finally reached a certain threshold.

A surge of heat welled up from deep within, flowing throughout his body. It was not a burning pain, but rather a comfort akin to soaking in a hot spring. He clearly perceived every inch of his body pulsing along with it, as if responding to some internal call.

A faint, shimmering light emanated from beneath his skin; it was no longer piercing, but more solid and full. Standing where he was, he felt his blood and Qi brimming, his spirit more uplifted than ever before, as if his entire life form had completed a silent metamorphosis.

"This method of evolving just by eating is too much of a BUG..." Lin Luo couldn't help but marvel in his heart. He thought of the over ten years of hard work he had put into spiritual cultivation for his metamorphosis, yet here, in just half a month of continuously enjoying delicacies, he had once again achieved a Breakthrough beyond his limits. gourmet cells were simply like an unreasonable cheat code.

Lin Luo was immersed in the focus of familiarizing himself with his new body, every punch and movement drawing upon the majestic new power within him. Just then, a series of rapid "beep-beep" sounds broke the silence. He pressed the answer button, and Tommy's voice immediately came from the other end: "Lin Luo, are you free lately? That matter you asked me to look into has some leads."

After arranging to meet Tommy at their usual bar, Lin Luo's gaze sharpened, and he immediately sprang into action. He quickly organized his belongings and, moving like the wind, soon vanished into the forest, speeding toward the city.

"Tommy." When Lin Luo arrived at the bar, Tommy was sitting in his usual spot chatting with the bartender. He stepped forward quickly, sat down next to Tommy, ordered a whisky from the bartender, and impatiently cut to the chase: "Is there news? Where is she?"

Seeing how anxious he was, Tommy couldn't help but laugh and signaled for him to stay calm. "Don't worry. What I heard is that about two months ago, a beautiful young girl did indeed 'fall' into the Gourmet Shrine. Rumor has it she received the favor of the Gourmet God Acacia, and..." He paused deliberately, lowering his voice, "she did mention the name 'Tōtsuki'."

"Two months ago?" Lin Luo's heart stirred. He had been in this world for barely over half a month; it seemed there was indeed a difference in the flow of time between different worlds. This discovery deepened his understanding of the world's rules.

Lin Luo's eyes turned sharp, and he unconsciously leaned forward slightly. "Was it a girl with blonde hair and violet eyes?"

"That's right, the characteristics match perfectly." Tommy nodded in confirmation.

"Good, I'm going to the Gourmet Shrine right now." Hearing this, Lin Luo immediately stood up, only to be grabbed by Tommy.

"Wait! She's long gone from there."

A gleam flashed through Lin Luo's eyes as he picked up his glass. "At least the weight is off my mind. Having a lead is good; it's better than searching aimlessly. Next, I just have to follow it to pull out the whole thread."

"Don't be in such a hurry." Tommy signaled for him to remain calm. "There's news that someone later saw her helping out at Setsunos Diner. It’s possible she has already been taken in as a Disciple by that national treasure of gourmet—Lady Setsuno."

"national treasure of gourmet? Setsuno?" Lin Luo was indeed unfamiliar with the name.

Tommy looked incredulous and slapped his forehead. "Good heavens, just what kind of remote mountain forest did you crawl out of? You don't even know her?" Seeing that Lin Luo wasn't faking, he explained, "Lady Setsuno is a top figure ranked second in the World Chef Ranking and is revered as a 'national treasure of gourmet.' She runs a whimsical restaurant where the opening hours depend entirely on the 'mood' of the ingredients; it might not even open once a month. But even so, her income is not at all inferior to those Gourmet Towers that own ten-star restaurants."

After listening, Lin Luo could only marvel. As expected of the Young Miss from Tōtsuki, her Food Luck was indeed Heaven-Defying.

"That's great! So, as long as I go to Setsunos Diner, I might be able to find her?" A light of joy flashed in Lin Luo's eyes.

Tommy, however, poured cold water on him at the right time. "I just said, Lady Setsuno's shop opening depends entirely on the 'mood' of the ingredients. If you go now, you'll most likely be turned away. Wait until I find out the opening times for the near future first."

Lin Luo waved his hand dismissively. "I don't have any other urgent matters anyway..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his communicator rang. An emergency mission notification from the IGO flashed on the screen—requesting him to immediately head out to capture the "Puffer Whale."

Tommy leaned over to take a peek and couldn't help but laugh. "As an IGO-certified exclusive Gourmet Hunter, you can't just turn down these requests. Otherwise, the IGO has the right to revoke your exclusive status."

Lin Luo rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache. "Why does it have to be now... Puffer Whale? I've never heard of this ingredient."

"I'm familiar with this!" Tommy immediately became energized and explained like he was presenting his treasures. "This season is exactly the Puffer Whale's once-in-a-decade migration period. They usually live in the deep sea, and due to the water pressure, their body length is compressed to only fifty or sixty centimeters. However, the neurotoxin contained in their poison sacs is so potent that 0.2 milligrams is enough to be fatal. Their capture rank is as high as 29, and even more troublesome is that fewer than one percent of chefs in the world can perfectly remove the poison sac."

He paused, a businessman's shrewdness flashing in his eyes. "But once successfully processed, that meat... the fat distribution is excellent. Whether served as sashimi or fin sake, it's a top-tier delicacy, and it's said to have health-boosting effects. I reckon the IGO issued this mission likely for the special needs of some head of state—those wealthy folks are willing to pay astronomical prices for just one bite."

Lin Luo naturally understood Tommy's underlying meaning and patted the other's shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry, if I can successfully capture them this time, aside from the portion handed over to the IGO, I'll leave the surplus for you to handle."

Upon hearing this, a brilliant smile immediately broke out on Tommy's face, revealing his characteristic white teeth. "So reliable! I'll take full responsibility for finding the person; I'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

After accepting the mission, Lin Luo and Tommy went their separate ways. He followed the instructions and boarded the Gourmet Railway to the cave where the Puffer Whales spawn.

The train traveled through wild mountains and desolate ridges, with strange landscapes flying past the window. Lin Luo withdrew his gaze from the window and sized up the passengers in the carriage—most were well-equipped, clearly here for the Puffer Whale. Among them were several individuals with sharp auras who looked like they weren't to be trifled with.

"Hey! I was wondering why all the wine was gone, turns out you people bought it all!" A coarse voice broke the silence of the carriage. "How dare you underestimate me? I am the great Gourmet Hunter Sunny!"

Following this commotion, Lin Luo saw a burly man dressed like a savage, accompanied by two lackeys, arguing with another person. From what he said, all the alcohol on this train had been bought by that person—not only did they have a huge appetite, but they were also a hopeless drunk.

However, what happened next changed Lin Luo's view of the dispute.

After the two lackeys finished bragging about the "Great Sunny's" Full Course Meal (though most were common ingredients, and the only one with a Danger Rank of five was just a meter-long juvenile Galala Crocodile—in this world, Gourmet Hunters take pride in personally completing their own Full Course Meals), the man calling himself "Lord Sunny" shouted at the other party: "Hey! If you don't hand over the wine, I'll have to make you suffer!"

As the person opposite Sunny slowly stood up, Lin Luo finally saw his appearance.

An astonishingly tall build—even a burly man like Sunny only reached above his waist, not even to his chest. He had short, neat blue hair, and three claw marks were clearly imprinted on his left cheek.

Seeing these features, Lin Luo immediately recognized the man.

Dressed in capable adventurer's gear, combined with that oppressive height and the scar on his left face—there was no doubt, this was the IGO Gourmet Hunter known as one of the contemporary Four Heavenly Kings, Toriko!

It was said that out of the approximately 300,000 types of ingredients currently in circulation, 2% (nearly 6,000 types) were discovered and recorded by him. The strength and achievements of a hunter worthy of the title "Heavenly King" were beyond question.

"You can take the wine. My apologies, little brother Zonbi," Toriko said, his broad palm already resting on Sunny's shoulder.

When Toriko stood up fully, the pressure brought by his tall frame caused Sunny's arrogance to instantly deflate by half. Hearing this ridiculous name, his voice unconsciously lowered, yet he still forced himself to correct him: "Hmph, I'll let you off today... but my name is Sunny!"

Ultimately, Sunny led his two lackeys away, carrying the basket of "spoils" of wine, looking satisfied and chuckling.

Once Sunny's group was far away, Lin Luo took the initiative to walk toward the seat where Toriko was.

"Toriko of the Gourmet Four Heavenly Kings? Would you mind if I shared a table with you?"

Toriko sized up the unfamiliar young man before him. The other was tall and well-built, and even just standing casually, a wild aura naturally emanated from him—this was a true Gourmet Hunter, definitely not comparable to that noisy "Zonbi" from before.

Toriko's nose twitched slightly, and his gaze fell on the IGO bracelet on Lin Luo's wrist. A hearty smile immediately appeared on his face. "So you're an IGO Gourmet Hunter. Everyone's a friend when we're out and about. Please, have a seat!"

The small man with a large nose sitting next to Toriko hurriedly greeted him warmly: "Please, sit! I'm Komatsu, a chef from the Gourmet Hotel."

Lin Luo nodded in greeting. "My name is Lin Luo. Like you, I'm here for the Puffer Whale."

Toriko flicked the cork off a bottle of wine with his finger and handed it to Lin Luo. "Most people on this train are here for the Puffer Whale. A once-in-a-decade delicacy—no one wants to miss it." As he spoke, a yearning light appeared in his eyes. "Imagine it—Puffer meat as delicate as snowflakes, tuna belly covered in fat, plus the exquisite texture of top-grade whale meat... just thinking about it is unbearable."

Before he could finish, Toriko's drool was already flowing uncontrollably.

Lin Luo couldn't help but laugh. "As expected of Toriko, known as the glutton. Your appetite is as terrifying as your strength."

Toriko pointed to his own nose and said meaningfully, "You're not simple either. My nose tells me that if I were to underestimate you, I'd be in for some big trouble."