148: dispersion

"Spatula!" With a sharp shout, he suddenly launched his attack.

This strike was not a direct attack, but an Advanced technique capable of skillfully rebounding an opponent's physical assault.

The stronger the opponent's power, the more astonishing the rebounding force! Of course, this move also had its limits. Once the impact exceeded the tolerance threshold of the "Spatula," it would completely fail.

But he was full of confidence—with an attack as heavy and fierce as the Rock Drum, it could definitely be steadily rebounded, slamming solidly back into its own body and shattering that rocky shell to pieces!

On the other side, Rin also acted quickly. Her hands flickered, and several slender vials appeared between her fingers. With a few crisp "clicks," she loaded them into the launcher on her wrist, then raised her arm to aim, precisely locking onto the Rock Drum that was entangled with Toriko.

"Sedative!" Amidst her sharp cry, a thick indigo mist gushed from her wrist. It expanded upon contact with the air, instantly engulfing the Rock Drum's massive body.

"Well done, Rin!" Toriko cheered loudly, and his long-prepared heavy punch followed, blasting out.

Taking advantage of the moment the Rock Drum was suppressed by the sedative and its movements were sluggish, the power of his Triple Nail Punch erupted like a raging tide—the first strike shattered the rock shell, while the second and third strikes stacked and penetrated, forcibly blasting half of that massive creature's body to smithereens!

Lin Luo, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but clap his hands: "Beautiful!"

Tina, however, grew anxious—the commotion here had already attracted more and more Rock Drums. She couldn't help but turn to Lin Luo: "Lin Luo, you aren't really planning to just watch, are you? Toriko and Rin are fighting for their lives!"

Lin Luo was not entirely inactive. His figure flickered as he leaped into the air, using the tip of his foot to lightly push off the giant arm swung by a Rock Drum, and in a few bounds, he vaulted onto the top of another Rock Drum's head.

Frying Pan Punch!

Nail Punch!

The Fusion technique rained down, the force of ten thousand jun crashing like a collapsing mountain, slamming heavily onto the Rock Drum's massive skull.

"Boom!" The huge skull made of rock was actually smashed to pieces on the spot, with gravel splattering everywhere like a torrential rain!

In Sunny's eyes, this fierce battle had no aesthetic appeal whatsoever; it was simply barbaric. He shook his head and clicked his tongue, his tone full of disdain: "Lin Luo, and Toriko—you two are truly crude. You only know how to use brute force, without a shred of artistry."

Lin Luo couldn't be bothered to respond, but Toriko was incensed upon hearing this and was just about to turn his head to retort—

Oh no.

Sunny had forgotten that his hair was still wrapped around the last Rock Drum. In the moment of distraction while the two were bickering, the binding suddenly loosened.

By the time Lin Luo noticed, it was already too late to intervene.

"Waaaaah!" Toriko and Sunny, along with the innocently dragged-in Komatsu and Rin, were all sent flying by the Rock Drum's violent struggle, turning into a few crooked meteors in the sky that disappeared at the edge of the horizon in the blink of an eye.

In the original spot, only Lin Luo remained, along with Tina, who was standing far behind.

"Um... are they, are they okay?" Tina looked at the sky, still a bit dazed. The battle just now was too terrifying; she hadn't dared to get close, only running over after Lin Luo had finished off the enemy—after all, compared to those two wild-acting Heavenly Kings, the always composed Lin Luo seemed much more reliable.

"They're fine," Lin Luo said calmly. "Judging by the direction they flew off in, they should arrive at the Legal Plateau earlier than us."

He then looked at the other "survivor" on the field—the young Fighting Wolf, Terry.

"Terry, if you're worried about Toriko, you can chase after them first. We will eventually meet up at the destination."

"Awoo!" Terry nodded heavily, his nose twitching, and then he transformed into a snow-white afterimage, sprinting towards the direction where Toriko had disappeared.

Only then did Lin Luo turn to Tina: "The road ahead might be more dangerous. Do you want to go back to the research institute first?"

"No way!" Tina didn't hesitate for even a second, answering almost without thinking. "How can you say such things at a critical moment like this! There must be even more spectacular scenes ahead, and since I'm here, I've prepared myself. Besides—"

She blinked, her tone carrying a hint of slyness and complete trust:

"You will definitely protect a weak girl like me, right?"

Lin Luo didn't say anything more; he reached out and put an arm around Tina's waist, his figure shifting slightly as he nimbly dodged the last few flying stones thrown by the Rock Drum. After choosing a direction, he exerted force with his feet—

"Whoosh!"

The two left a fleeting afterimage in the air as they quickly departed from this chaotic Black Grassland.

A moment later.

The surrounding scenery changed abruptly. Before their eyes unfolded a vast, boundless, and colorful Mushroom Forest. Huge caps towered like trees, pink, blue, purple, and yellow, weaving together a dreamlike yet eerie world.

Lin Luo landed with Tina in a clearing in the forest, their feet on mycelium as soft as a carpet.

"We've arrived at the Mushroom Forest." He let go of her, his gaze scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Tina was curiously observing this strange scenery and hadn't even had time to exclaim when Lin Luo suddenly let out an "Hmm?" His gaze landed on a cluster of milky-white, pine-mushroom-shaped mushrooms not far away.

He stepped forward a few paces and bent down to look closely.

"Creamy Pine Mushrooms... These are quite rare Advanced ingredients."

Before he finished speaking, a rustling sound suddenly came from the mushroom cluster ahead.

"Crash!" A huge figure lunged out! It was a hideous grasshopper nearly as tall as a person, with cold compound eyes and sickle-like forelimbs gleaming with a chilling light. Most eye-catching was the bulging, dark, and shiny liquid sac on its back, which trembled slightly with its movements.

Soy Sauce Grasshopper!

If he weren't in a hurry to find Toriko and Sunny, Lin Luo would have probably set up a pot and started cooking long ago. Soy Sauce Grilled Creamy Pine Mushrooms—just thinking about it was enough to make one's mouth water.

The Mushroom Forest itself wasn't too dangerous, and the two quickly traveled through it. Along the way, skeletons began to appear, exposed in the wilderness; the further they went, the more skeletons there were, and the air grew colder and colder.

After some time, a huge swamp blocked their path.

The Ancient Swamp!

It is said that numerous gourmet ingredients from the primeval era sleep here, collectively known as the "Museum of Food."

Above the swamp, strange birds flew by from time to time.

Awoo!

Suddenly, a massive creature rushed out of the swamp, opening its giant mouth to bite a flying strange bird. It was a Swamp Tough Fish, and it was happily preparing to enjoy a big meal.

However, at that very moment, its body was wrapped by a snail's tentacles—one, two... a full eight of them.

Eight-Headed Snail!

"Awoo!" The Swamp Tough Fish let out a painful wail, struggling desperately, but to no avail.

It never expected that it would also end up becoming someone else's prey.

The Eight-Headed Snail was planning to slowly digest this big meal.

However, no sooner had this thought arisen than it met with disaster.

Awoo—!

A roar came.

A huge Crocodile Shark rushed out from the depths of the swamp, opening its bloody maw and biting the Eight-Headed Snail, along with the Swamp Tough Fish, into its mouth.

Plop.

The next second, the well-fed Crocodile Shark sank into the swamp, continuing to wait for the next prey to come knocking.

Witnessing this scene of chain hunting, Tina gasped: "It's really... too terrifying."

Lin Luo, however, said calmly: "The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is the truth of the natural world."

Tina looked at the vast swamp around them, worried: "In such a dangerous place, how are we supposed to cross? We aren't going to have to swim across, are we?"

Lin Luo rubbed his chin: "Just carving a small boat will do, it'll be quick."

He brought his hands together like a blade, the life energy of his gourmet cells surged from his palms and attached to the edges, as if he were holding a sharp axe, and nimbly chopped at a large tree beside him.

The thick trunk of the ancient tree was quickly sliced away like tofu under Lin Luo's hands. Amidst flying wood chips, a simple yet sturdy boat-shaped outline gradually appeared—both ends slightly upturned, the middle concave, just enough for one or two people to sit comfortably.

"Get on." Lin Luo reached out to support her, and after Tina carefully stepped into the "dugout canoe," he gave it a gentle push. The boat swayed twice before floating steadily on the dark green swamp water.

"Eh? But there are no oars..." Before Tina could finish, she noticed something strange.

The boat was silently gliding forward.

There was no wind, no waves, and certainly no sound of rowing. There were only the subtle ripples on the water surface being broken through steadily, rippling backward in circles. She looked down at the bottom of the boat—there was nothing propelling it beneath the murky water, yet the boat's speed was slowly increasing.

It was Lin Luo.

He stood quietly at the stern, his eyes slightly closed, his whole body shrouded in an indescribable air of composure.

Invisible Mental Energy permeated from his body, gently but continuously brushing over the water surface at the stern, like invisible propeller blades, stirring the water and pushing the small boat steadily and firmly toward the hazy outline of the opposite bank.

The silence of the swamp was made even deeper by this tranquil method of propulsion. Only the occasional long, low roars of unknown creatures from afar and the rustling sound of the boat hull brushing against water weeds intertwined to form the unique background noise of this deadly wetland.

Tina sat in the boat with her knees hugged to her chest, her initial nervousness gradually replaced by curiosity.

She quietly turned her head to look at the man behind her, who was navigating the boat with his eyes closed.

His profile appeared exceptionally calm in the dim light above the swamp, as if he were out of place with the crisis-ridden, savage world around him, yet in an incomprehensible way, he firmly controlled their small, moving sanctuary of peace.

The boat carried the two of them just like this, gliding over deep water areas where Crocodile Sharks lurked, bypassing mud pits emitting eerie bubbles, and silently passing through the edges of territories belonging to countless slumbering or watching primeval creatures.

The outline of the opposite bank became clearer and clearer in the pervasive light mist.

Before long, Tina suddenly felt that the surroundings were too silent and couldn't help but whisper: "Lin Luo, it's so quiet... How come this swamp feels like it's dead?"

Lin Luo did not open his eyes, only nodding slightly. His Divine Sense had already spread out like a net, detecting the anomaly in this water area—the auras of the beasts that should have been lurking, swimming, or watching had disappeared in large numbers.

"Many of the beasts are already dead." He opened his eyes, casting his gaze into the depths of the mist. "There is a small island ahead; let's go and see."

The small boat turned quietly under the propulsion of his Divine Sense, sailing steadily toward a certain direction. Before long, the outline of an isolated island surrounded by deep green swamps and craggy, strange trees emerged from the mist.

Before they even reached the shore, a stench so thick it almost solidified rushed toward them.

Tina covered her nose and mouth, and when she saw the situation on the island clearly, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her stomach churned—

On the clearing at the edge of the island, the corpses of various swamp beasts were piled up like a mountain.

Some were disemboweled with their organs exposed; some had shattered skulls with fluids flowing out; and many more had twisted limbs, showing the posture of struggling before death.

Dark bloodstains soaked the soil on the island, attracting large swarms of tiny creatures like gnats, which buzzed and circled in a black cloud. The smell of decay mixed with the scent of blood was almost suffocating.

"Ugh..." Tina turned her head abruptly, her face as pale as paper, her voice trembling, "Who, who did this... This is too cruel..."

Lin Luo frowned tightly, his gaze sweeping sharply over the wounds on those corpses.

The method was crude, and it wasn't for the purpose of precisely obtaining ingredients; it was more like a pure and efficient massacre.

"Gourmet Association," he said in a deep voice.