"The Gourmet Pyramid? If I go there, I can indeed find quite a few Nitro, and they'll all be in that half-dead mummy form."
After staying in the Biohazard world for a while longer, Gourmet Xia Yu finally muttered to himself and returned to his own world.
During his time there, as someone possessing gourmet cells, he had the honor of becoming a guinea pig for those two mad scientists.
Occasionally having to watch them mess around with his clones was truly a form of torture for Gourmet Xia Yu; fortunately, he had a good mindset, allowing him to continue cooperating with the experiments.
He also took advantage of that time to re-read the manga once more to prepare for his upcoming journey to the Gourmet Pyramid.
It was during this re-read that he discovered there were actually more than two Nitro in the Gourmet Pyramid; or rather, only two Nitro had been resurrected.
One escaped, and one was barely killed by Toriko and his companion Zebra, while the rest of the Nitro remained lying in their coffins.
As long as they didn't come into contact with moisture, they would remain in a mummified state. Although they were the lowest-ranked Red Nitro, they were still a type of Nitro nonetheless.
Jiro ate Red Nitro when he was a child, so they aren't too bad. Besides, there are only eight Blue Nitro in this universe, so I shouldn't think about them for now.
"The Gourmet Pyramid... I wonder if Toriko and the others have already headed over there."
Xia Yu sat on the edge of the bed, a lit Cigar Tree branch dangling from his mouth as he pondered. According to the plot, after Toriko and the others finished forging their new kitchen knives, they would head to the Gourmet Pyramid for the rich cola.
If the timing was right, he might even run into them, which would allow him to get some of their blood as well.
Moreover, he really wanted to drink the rich cola that sat at the pinnacle of all colas; or rather, all The Xia Yus wanted to drink it.
While chatting in the Chat Group, he mentioned his next goal was the Gourmet Pyramid, and then all The Xia Yus begged him to bring back some rich cola.
After all, what The Xia Yus loved most was 'Fat Otaku Happy Water.' Since there was a chance to drink the highest-grade Happy Water, they naturally couldn't let it pass.
However, he didn't want to go there alone; he needed at least one chef to accompany him. One must know that the Gourmet Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, hiding legendary ingredients.
Even though he had the memories of a master chef, he was still more interested in eating.
Hmm... as expected, I should call that guy.
[toriko] @ [Gourmand Dungeon]: Brother, do you have time? Want to go to the Gourmet Pyramid with me?
[Gourmand Dungeon]: Oh ho, you finally remembered me. Thanks for the ingredients last time. I'll head over in a bit.
[toriko]: Great, I'll go to Tom's place first to resign. I haven't gone to work for so many days and he couldn't find me anywhere; he's probably furious by now.
[toriko]: I hope he doesn't mind. I'll bring him some specialties from the Gourmet Pyramid later.
[Gourmand Dungeon]: Alright, then I'll go say goodbye to my boss as well.
Gourmand Dungeon World, Super Space ark.
Since expelling the soul fragments of the Evil God, followed by several months of busy work, they finally managed to build a space ark capable of holding all life and navigating the universe.
Because the solar system had lost its sun and life could no longer survive, they were currently flying toward an alien colony on the other side of the universe.
Fortunately, this ark stored the entertainment creations left behind by all of humanity, so the space voyage wasn't exactly tedious.
"Mmm~"
After sending the message in the Chat Group, Zombie Xia Yu stood up and gave a comfortable stretch. Unlike ordinary zombies, his body no longer suffered from stiffness.
He didn't need to follow the example of a certain zombie named Qiqi, doing calisthenics every day just to keep his body flexible.
In fact, with his current abilities, he could have turned himself back into a human long ago, but this zombie body was a promise between him and the original host, which is why he maintained his zombie appearance.
However, after so much time had passed, he had already grown accustomed to this body.
After checking the kitchen utensils and weapons he needed to carry, Xia Yu finally walked toward the living room outside the ark.
"Boss, I want a vacation."
"Huh? Why? You're a zombie; you don't even need rest."
In the ark's living room, his boss, Ximi, lifted her head slightly from the game console and questioned him quite bluntly.
"I have the right to request a vacation, you unscrupulous, black-hearted boss."
Xia Yu walked over, snatched the controller from her hands, held it high, and forced his boss to watch helplessly as her game character was killed.
"I'm clearly your creator and boss; you can't do this."
With her controller snatched away, Ximi huffed and tried to grab it back, but Xia Yu dodged left and right, making sure she couldn't get her hands on it.
After a bit of play-fighting, Ximi finally panted and snorted unhappily, "Fine, fine. As a benevolent boss, I'll give you a vacation. But where are you going this time?"
"That's a wonderful place..." Xia Yu plopped down on the sofa and started playing based on Ximi's save data while explaining.
"That place is filled with ingredients everywhere. There are rivers made of honey, mountains made of chocolate, and animals made of all kinds of food. There are no talking vegetables, and ingredients will even voluntarily choose a chef to cook them."
As Xia Yu spoke eloquently, a magical universe unfolded before everyone's eyes. The others, who had been busy with their own tasks, couldn't help but gather around to listen quietly to Xia Yu's description.
"That truly is a wonderful universe," Ximi murmured with a look of longing after hearing Xia Yu's description.
"Yeah, that place really is a chef's paradise." Tangerine also leaned in close to Xia Yu, cupping his face with both hands and saying seriously, "Chef, since you can travel to other universes, can you let me go and see that chef's paradise too? Just take me, no need to bring Ximi."
"He's clearly my chef, get lost!" Ximi suddenly rushed over, slapped Tangerine's hands away, and then hugged Xia Yu's head. "Chef, you'll definitely take me with you, right?"
"Um..."
Feeling Ximi's washboard-like chest, Xia Yu felt it was a bit of a pity. Why wasn't it the well-endowed Tangerine hugging him?
However, some things still needed to be explained. For example, he couldn't take others to other worlds yet—at least not for now.
"Ahem, sorry." Xia Yu broke free from Ximi's embrace. "I can't take you to other universes yet, but I can bring back some specialty ingredients for you."
"Huh? Chef, aren't you a higher-dimensional being like puchui? You can clearly run off to other universes whenever you want, so why can't you take people?" Ximi asked in confusion.
"If I could take people to other worlds, we wouldn't have to look for some alien colony," Xia Yu rolled his eyes. "Besides, even if I was a higher-dimensional being before, I'm not anymore. If I were still a higher-dimensional being, I probably would have left long ago."
As soon as he said this, everyone looked over. Ximi and Tangerine each grabbed one of his arms and looked at him nervously.
"Chef, you want to leave us?"
"Uh... no."
"Then why did you say that just now?"
"...That was just a metaphor. I just wanted to say that I'm staying here voluntarily. Really, I'm not lying to you."
Looking at the nervous expressions of everyone before him, Xia Yu smiled inwardly. If he were still the higher-dimensional being known as the 'Player,' he probably really would have left long ago.
After all, for a 'Player,' they can leave once the game is cleared. Perhaps they might play through a few more cycles out of interest, but they will eventually leave.
To game characters, 'Players' are those higher-dimensional beings who suddenly appear to save everything and then suddenly vanish.
Of course, there are some worlds that even 'Players' cannot save, destined to fall into ruin, but at least most worlds can be saved by 'Players.'
But he hadn't descended into this world with the identity of a 'Player'; he had transmigrated. So he wasn't lying; he truly wasn't a higher-dimensional 'Player' anymore.
However, it wasn't bad. As a 'Player,' one could never experience everything he had now. After all, there is always an indestructible barrier called the'Screen' between a 'Player' and the game characters.
"So, I really don't want to leave. After all, this is my home now. I will come back no matter what."
As Xia Yu spoke, he tried to pull his hands out, but sensing his movement, Ximi and Tangerine only hugged them tighter.
"Uh... can you let go of me?"
Feeling the soft pressure on his arms, Xia Yu stopped using force. It wasn't that he was enjoying the moment; it was truly because they were hugging too tight.
Yes, that was it.
"No, you have to swear first that you'll definitely come back!" Ximi stared at Xia Yu and said loudly, "Swear on your own name!"
"But my hands..."
"Swear first!"
"Alright..."
Unable to win the argument, Xia Yu could only straighten his expression and say seriously with a stern face.
"I swear in my name that I will never abandon this world. This world will forever be the home of me, Zombie Xia Yu!"
"Alright, we believe you now." Ximi released Xia Yu's arm with satisfaction, but soon, she showed confusion. "Chef, why did you add 'Zombie' in front of your name?"
"Because I really am a zombie."
Xia Yu brushed off the question. He couldn't exactly say there were many of him, but only Zombie Xia Yu was *him*. At least among all The Xia Yus in the Chat Group currently, he was the only zombie.
"Alright, alright, I'm leaving. Don't worry, I'll definitely bring you ingredients from that world. They're absolutely dream-like ingredients."
"Good, then let's have a farewell party first!" Ximi raised her hands high and cheered loudly.
"Agreed!"
"I agree!"
"Let's have a party!"
Looking at the cheering companions before him, the corners of Xia Yu's mouth curled up. Having so many attachments now, how could he possibly just give up everything and leave on a whim?