177: Advancing to 100 Gold, Blade Unsheathed

"Cost? What cost? We raised the dongtao chicken ourselves, caught the big Soft-shell Turtle in our own reservoir, and the lobsters, eels, and such were all caught by setting cages in the reservoir. Sister Bing, if you like eating them, just tell Little Ye, and you can have them as meals every day."

Li Ming naturally understood Ye Tian's intention and spoke in a carefree manner, his voice raised high, as if he were afraid others wouldn't hear him.

"Does it not cost money just because you raised it yourself?" Zhao Rubing asked with a smile.

"What money? It seems Sister Bing, you were the one responsible for raising the bugs that feed the chickens," Li Ming also said with a chuckle.

Zhao Rubing was slightly stunned, then pursed her lips and smiled. Li Ming's logic really didn't have any issues.

"Alright then, since it doesn't cost money, I won't stand on ceremony."

"Eat!" Ye Tian raised his chopsticks.

He immediately reached for the huge Soft-shell Turtle skirt meat he had been craving for a long time. After serving a large piece to Zhao Rubing and the old man respectively, he then took a piece for himself.

Taking a bite, he immediately felt as if he couldn't open his mouth; the gelatinous, dense texture was incredibly rich.

After swallowing, a surge of fiery energy spread instantly. Sure enough, this wild game, which had grown for who knows how many years, had immeasurable benefits for boosting vital energy and blood.

Looking at Zhao Rubing and the others, they were also eating with their eyes squinted in delight.

"Sister Bing, this stuff is good for women, you should eat more of it," Ye Tian couldn't help but say.

Zhao Rubing was stunned for a moment, then looked down at herself. She couldn't help but secretly glare at Ye Tian.

"Are you implying something, you little guy?"

"This..." Ye Tian followed her gaze and was stunned as well, then realized what she meant, his face turning red: "No, Sister Bing, I absolutely didn't mean anything else. I just meant that it's good for girls to eat more collagen."

"Collagen? Then you must try this dongtao chicken. Compared to the Soft-shell Turtle, I feel our chicken feet are the real collagen; otherwise, just relying on the skirt meat wouldn't result in this viscosity," Li Ming, not noticing the awkwardness between the two, chimed in instinctively.

Ye Tian quickly picked up his chopsticks and served a large portion of dongtao chicken feet to Zhao Rubing.

If the chicken feet they ate at the restaurant before were like bear paws, then these four could almost perfectly rival bear paws. With such a large serving from Ye Tian's chopsticks, he had taken less than one-fifth of the chicken foot.

The chicken foot meat was oily and shiny; moving it felt like cutting through high-quality mutton-fat jade.

Distracted by this, Zhao Rubing's attention was immediately captured. She picked up a bite and put it into her mouth. Her beautiful eyes widened slightly.

She had originally thought that such thick chicken feet would be as sticky as the Soft-shell Turtle skirt meat. However, after eating it, the texture was completely different. Refreshing, chewy, rich in fragrance, and finally, soft and sticky. It could be said that with every chew of this chicken foot, there was a different feeling. Even after eating several bites, it didn't make one feel greasy at all.

"This chicken is worlds apart from what we ate last time."

"Yeah, it's indeed completely different. The chicken feet last time were, at best, just a bit fatty, but these chicken feet are Q-bouncy, soft, and sticky, with a rich fragrance. They completely surpass any chicken feet I've ever eaten."

Ye Tian also nodded in surprise. He had originally held high expectations for the dongtao chicken they had been raising for so long, but he hadn't expected to underestimate the chicken's energy. Almost the instant the meat reached his stomach, he felt a surge of energy spreading that was in no way inferior to the skirt meat. Moreover, this energy spread even faster than the skirt meat.

It was truly delicious and satisfying.

Li Ming, feeling the explosive texture and fragrance, was also spirited. "Brother, now we don't have to worry about future business anymore. Once these chicken feet come out, it's an absolute trump card. Among all the food I've eaten, nothing can compare to this chicken. Most importantly, this chicken is big enough that eating it truly brings a sense of satisfaction."

"Brother Li, how heavy were the two chickens you slaughtered today?"

"About 15 jin, but it shouldn't have reached the limit yet. I estimate that if we keep raising them, they can grow to at least over 20 jin."

"That's not bad. Even if the price is high, if a table orders one, they will definitely be satisfied. The cost-performance ratio will definitely be unquestionable."

"Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly what I think. This is our core competitiveness: letting customers pay a high price but feel that it is worth the money."

"Exactly. Such a business can last. Little Ye, if the scale of your dongtao chicken production can increase, just relying on this one breed, I'm afraid you could create an iconic brand for Copper City. At the upcoming trade fair, you could try a debut."

"A debut? Selling chickens?"

"Yes, I feel this is a very good opportunity. Originally, I planned to give you an exhibition spot, but now it seems I can arrange an exclusive booth for you directly."

"Is there any difference?"

"There is a huge difference. Even if general products have a spot, they can only be arranged in a corner, which is hard to attract attention. But if there is an exclusive booth, everyone can see it immediately. We, as the organizer in Copper City, only have two exclusive spots. You better not embarrass me when the time comes."

Ye Tian's spirits lifted.

"Does that exclusive booth only allow displaying one product, or can it be multiple?"

"Since it's exclusive, it's definitely up to you. Actually, even with a general spot, the number of items displayed isn't limited, but the space is only so big. The more things you put, the less focused it is, and the harder it is to show professionalism. The final result still depends on order volume."

"I see. Then I must make good use of it." Ye Tian nodded, already starting to calculate in his mind what he could take for the exhibition. Seeing Ye Tian's expression, the old man's mouth curled up slightly. He seemed full of interest, feeling that the future was bright.

The people at the table were in high spirits while eating. After a thorough tasting, they remembered that the wine poured on the table hadn't been drunk yet. They all raised their glasses and downed them in one gulp.

The others were all stunned. Their complexions visibly became rosy. The most surprised was the old man. As the only person besides Ye Tian who had drunk the Gold-level medicinal wine, he immediately felt the huge difference between this wine and the previous one. That surging turbulent flow made his whole body warm almost immediately. He took a deep, comfortable breath, feeling as if his whole body was floating like an immortal.

"Little Ye, how many medicinal herbs did you soak in this? How is it completely different from before? The kick of this wine is simply amazing." He couldn't help but stand up and move his body around. He felt that his state at this moment was at least ten or twenty years younger.

It was similar for the others. At this moment, Li Ming, Wang Shufen, and Factory Director Wu were all glowing with health. They breathed in the surrounding air deeply, as if they were in the clouds. The big meal just now and the kick of the wine erupted together, making them feel comfortable all over. One by one, they looked at the medicinal wine in their glasses with glowing eyes.

Even Zhao Rubing, who was usually the calmest, was now looking at the bottle of exclusive wine Ye Tian had prepared for her with burning eyes. She was both surprised and delighted.

Ye Tian looked at the effect brought by the medicinal wine with satisfaction. It was truly a treasure recommended by his Blade. Who could resist this power? However, although the wine was good, one shouldn't drink too much. With Ye Tian's physique, two cups a day was already the limit, so after pouring each person another cup, he didn't pour any more.

Miraculously, everyone seemed to feel the power of this wine. After the second cup, no one asked for more. As if drunk, everyone felt the comfort brought by the medicinal wine, chatting while watching Ye Tian start a second round of eating and drinking alone.

After a long while, the remaining large plate of food all went into Ye Tian's stomach. He poured himself a third cup of wine and drank it in one gulp. Only then did he truly satisfy his craving.

After Zhao Rubing's driver took her away, he called Little Stone from the kitchen to drive his own car and take him and the old man back. As for Factory Director Wu, he sent the factory driver to pick him up.

Back at the Breeding Farm, the old man, having eaten and drunk his fill, was clearly slightly tipsy. He didn't even take a shower and went back to his room to rest. Ye Tian, on the other hand, was full of energy and glowing with health, feeling that his body had reached an unprecedented height.

Carrying a large box, he came to the back of the warehouse. With a swoosh, he collected everything and filled the box completely. Then he returned to the room. He lit the insect gathering incense and started throwing toilet paper into the box one sheet after another.

The Blade also felt Ye Tian's state at this moment. With a fierce bite, blood from Ye Tian's fingertip splattered directly. The toilet paper in the box was instantly soaked in a large area.

Ye Tian felt his internal state, carefully counting the number of sheets. One, five, ten, twenty. After wetting a full twenty-one sheets, he felt his vital energy and blood calm down. He withdrew his finger, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Not bad, not bad. With the medicinal wine, rare wild game, and the quantity boost of the dongtao chicken, his vital energy and blood had increased by more than double compared to before. Moreover, Ye Tian could clearly feel that this improvement was not just temporary, but had also improved slightly on the foundational level. However, exactly how much it had improved would only be known tomorrow under normal conditions.

Thinking about this, the battle in the box ended quickly. The blood from 21 sheets of paper synthesized a total of 27 Gold-level Cockroaches. It could be said to have set an unprecedented new high.

Even the Blade seemed to be surprised by this big meal. It was trembling with excitement. However, when it actually started eating, it appeared much more refined. It waited until those Gold-level Cockroaches finished producing their ootheca before starting to eat. It only ate ten Gold-level Cockroaches at a time, then began to molt. After molting, it leisurely continued to eat the next ten.

Ye Tian looked and saw there were seven left over. After a moment of hesitation, he summoned three leftover ones from a few days ago from his pocket. He gathered ten for the Blade again. The Blade was clearly very excited when it saw these ten appear. It quickly molted again and ate them all. Afterward, it immediately began to molt.

Ye Tian's gaze was fixed on the Blade's state. Because after these ten, the Blade's level would reach a hundred gold. Logically speaking, this was a turning point for transformation, but he didn't know if there would be any surprises.

Under Ye Tian's gaze, the Blade's molting time this time was significantly longer. After a long while, it finished molting completely. Looking at the brand-new Blade fully extended in front of him, there was a hint of surprise in Ye Tian's eyes. Because at this moment, the Blade's physique was much slimmer and more delicate than before. It had shrunk by about half overall. The gold color on its body flickered, as if it were changing according to the surrounding light. Between stillness and movement, it became so that Ye Tian couldn't feel its existence without looking carefully.

On the contrary, the molted shell on the table was much more eye-catching, the gold color was more brilliant, and it felt heavy to the touch, at least twice as heavy as the previous molted shells.

Seeing Ye Tian only focusing on the molted shell and not paying much attention to it, the Blade seemed a bit displeased. It flapped its wings and hovered directly in front of Ye Tian. After attracting Ye Tian's gaze, it shook its body and appeared on the table like a teleportation. Then, under Ye Tian's puzzled gaze, it crawled onto a soup spoon. Just when Ye Tian was somewhat confused, his pupils shrank. He saw the shiny stainless steel soup spoon suddenly break in the middle.

"Is this the new ability?" Ye Tian hurried to the table and picked up the soup spoon to check. The break was smooth, as if it had been cut by a guillotine. But when the Blade moved its mouth just now, Ye Tian didn't hear any noise.

The Blade flicked its antennae and crawled onto the half of the soup spoon in Ye Tian's hand again. The next moment, as the Blade moved continuously, the spoon fell into pieces of iron. Throughout the process, Ye Tian couldn't feel any sense of effort from the Blade. Its two mandibles, which had evolved to be incomparably sharp, were now like swords that could cut iron like mud, emitting a cold glint under the light.

This power! Ye Tian watched the Blade, which flew back to the table with ease and bit those iron pieces into scraps, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva. If the Blade in his eyes before was still a slightly powerful Gu insect, then the Blade now had absolutely become an unsheathed sharp blade. With its current stealth ability and attack power, if Ye Tian wanted to act recklessly, he could completely kill people invisibly.

Moreover, this sharp blade was not an ordinary weapon, but at the level of a legendary flying sword. Not to mention killing enemies from a thousand miles away, at least within a hundred meters, it could definitely be done without anyone knowing. Thinking of this, a thought flashed through Ye Tian's mind. The Blade flew out according to his will. In an instant, it arrived over the landfill. Then it flew further and further away. Finally, it arrived at a distance of one hundred meters before stopping.

Although this distance was only double the previous fifty meters, the actual effect was definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two. At least at this distance, no matter what Ye Tian did, he could be shadowless and invisible. It would not arouse suspicion at all.

Moreover, this improvement seemed to be more than just this. Because as Ye Tian observed through shared vision, the Blade, without command, rushed directly toward the ground. The next moment, before Ye Tian had even seen clearly what happened, the Blade's claws were already holding something, and it took off again.