The world of toriko.
"What? You're quitting?" Jiumen, with his dark skin, stared at Xia Yu in disbelief. "Why are you quitting? Are you unhappy with the salary? I'll give you a raise!"
"Stop, stop, stop, Boss. I'm not unhappy with my current treatment. In fact, it's already very good," Xia Yu said, waving his hands helplessly.
He thought he could just come and say it, but why was Jiumen reacting so strongly? If he had known that saying he was quitting could get him a raise, he would have said it sooner. Unfortunately, he really had to leave now.
"Boss, you've been great to me, but my heart isn't in this. I want to be a Gourmet—a Gourmet who explores unknown ingredients!" Xia Yu said with a serious expression, looking at Jiumen.
Hearing this, Jiumen's expression gradually softened.
"You brat."
Then, suddenly, with lightning speed, he clenched his fist and struck Xia Yu's chest. He was so fast that his fist left an afterimage.
"Thud—!"
"Boss, if your fists are this weak, you won't be able to handle ingredients properly."
Xia Yu caught Jiumen's fist with a smile and slowly moved it away.
Feeling the strength in Xia Yu's hand, the sensation of hitting a giant rock, and a reaction speed he couldn't even see clearly, Jiumen's face changed slightly.
"You brat... when did you become so strong?"
"When you first came here, you'd be panting after working half a day. What did you eat? The change is huge."
"Hehe." Xia Yu released Jiumen's fist and chuckled. "Becoming this strong is all thanks to my own efforts."
"Don't want to say, huh?" Jiumen also smiled and punched Xia Yu's chest playfully. "Then good luck. The path of a Gourmet is very perilous."
"I know, of course. After all, I saw everything when Toriko made deliveries. If I didn't have the strength to defeat those Monsters, I wouldn't think about becoming a Gourmet."
"Oh?" Jiumen raised an eyebrow at Xia Yu's words. "You mean you can already defeat the prey Toriko brings back?"
"I haven't fought them, but it's pretty much a given." Xia Yu stood with his hands on his hips confidently.
"Hahaha, then you really have changed a lot." Jiumen laughed loudly while patting Xia Yu's shoulder. "In the future, if you capture any precious prey, don't forget your former boss."
Hearing Jiumen say this, Xia Yu knew the other man had agreed to his resignation. He also smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not some ungrateful person. I'll always remember your kindness, Boss."
"When I capture precious prey in the future, I'll sell them to you at a low price."
"Then I'll be looking forward to your prey."
After agreeing to Xia Yu's resignation, Jiumen turned and walked away, waving and laughing loudly.
"Make sure you stay alive."
"I know. For the sake of all the Gourmet food in the world, I definitely won't lose my life that easily."
After resigning and saying goodbye to Jiumen, Xia Yu put his things into the Chat Group and left the World Kitchen, a place where he had worked for a long time.
Because the Gourmet Black Market had been a bit turbulent lately, the World Kitchen was also slightly affected, but that had nothing to do with Xia Yu anymore.
At this moment, he had arrived at the rental company for the Mountain-Climbing Staircase Houses.
Due to the influence of Zebra's release from prison, there were almost no people here, with only a few staff members present.
"Sir, would you like to take a Mountain-Climbing Staircase House to the Desert Garden?"
"That's right. Is there a problem?"
Xia Yu asked casually, looking at the trembling staff member.
The staff member scanned the surroundings first, and after confirming no one was around, whispered very quietly, "The most heinous criminal, Zebra, passed through here a few days ago. I heard he's also heading to the Desert Garden. You should wait a bit, sir."
Zebra, huh... I didn't expect them to get here a few days ago. That's quite fast.
In the Gourmet world, Zebra, who was one of the Four Heavenly Kings along with Toriko, was a heinous criminal like a natural disaster. In this world where Gourmet food was everything, he had forcibly eaten 26 species into extinction.
Although those 26 species were dangerous creatures that harmed the environment or destroyed the ecology and had little edible value, the general public didn't know that. So, Zebra was directly hailed as the most heinous criminal in this Gourmet world.
Now that he was out of prison, it caused massive upheaval in the world, like a natural disaster threatening humanity. Even countries still at war stopped fighting and formed military alliances to prepare for Zebra.
While Zebra's release caused upheaval, it also brought a halt to the long-standing wars. Therefore, many people suffering from war sincerely thanked Zebra... "It's fine, I'm not afraid. So please arrange a high-end apartment for me immediately."
Xia Yu smiled and handed a card to the staff member. It contained all the savings he had accumulated since coming to this world.
After becoming a Gourmet, money wouldn't be an issue, so he didn't need to save like before.
Seeing the guest insist, the staff member didn't persist. With a soft sigh, they took the card and arranged a high-end apartment for Xia Yu.
The so-called Mountain-Climbing Staircase Houses were the only means of transportation to the "Desert Garden," the largest desert region in the Human World. Travelers had to pay for the cableway usage and the rent for the Cableway Cabin to use this facility.
During the journey, one had to live inside the Cableway Cabin to cross the Valley of Dust, where dust storms raged, via the cables to reach the Desert Garden surrounded by the valley.
But because of the war, the number of tourists had plummeted, resulting in very few people renting the Mountain-Climbing Staircase Houses, which were one of the tourist attractions.
So, the high-end apartment Xia Yu wanted to rent didn't need a reservation at all; it could be rented as long as one had money.
A moment later, the staff member handed Xia Yu a key and a small booklet.
Taking the key, Xia Yu followed the directions in the booklet and quickly found his high-end apartment.
After checking in, he sent an invitation to Zombie Xia Yu. Soon, a pale purple figure appeared in the invisible air.
"Why so slow?" Zombie Xia Yu couldn't help but complain upon appearing. "If Toriko and the others take all the rich cola, then this trip will lose a lot of its fun."
"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything?"
After complaining, Zombie Xia Yu waved his hand in front of the stunned Gourmet Xia Yu.
"Cough, it's nothing."
Gourmet Xia Yu snapped out of it. Looking at Zombie Xia Yu, he hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. After some thought, he chose to ask.
"Why are you purple?"
Zombie Xia Yu: "..."
Does every newcomer who meets me have to ask this? Damn it, I'm a zombie! What zombie can still maintain a flesh color!
Well... Qiqi, that zombie, seems to be flesh-colored. Tsk, where do you find a flesh-colored zombie? That Qiqi is just lame.
A real zombie should look different from a living person; otherwise, how can people tell you're a zombie?
After complaining in his heart, Zombie Xia Yu squinted and looked at Gourmet Xia Yu with a punchable face. "Is that important? Are you discriminating against people of color?"
Gourmet Xia Yu: "..."
I recall you're not exactly a person... Suppressing the urge to complain, Gourmet Xia Yu tapped the watch on his wrist, and a light screen was projected.
"Let's discuss a plan first. The Desert Garden is quite large, and there are many good things inside."
Zombie Xia Yu didn't disagree. He pulled a bunch of junk food out of his food Red Envelope and placed it on the table.
"Let's discuss while eating. I remember it takes quite a while to get to the Desert Garden."
The Desert Garden actually has a total area of 39 million square kilometers, making it the largest desert region in the Human World, about four times the size of the Sahara Desert.
Within the Desert Garden, there are various Gourmet deserts, such as the Rice Desert formed by natural rice and the Brown Sugar Desert formed by sweet sugar.
In addition, there are Resource Deserts formed by coal and rare earths, Gem Deserts composed of gold dust and diamonds, and so on. It is truly a paradise of sand.
"Hey, I say, why don't we visit all these deserts?" After reading the descriptions of all the deserts, Zombie Xia Yu said with a grin.
"I want the food sand from the Gourmet deserts. The resources from the Resource Deserts can be given to those two research Monsters. As for the remaining Gem Deserts, although they aren't worth much, they're good for collection."
"Uh..." Gourmet Xia Yu was a bit stunned. "But there won't be enough time. We're already behind Toriko and the others. If we visit all the deserts, they'll probably have taken the rich cola before we've even finished exploring."
"So we'll overtake them right now."
Zombie Xia Yu chuckled and then opened the reinforced door of the Cableway Cabin. In an instant, a dust storm rushed in, whistling inside the high-end apartment.
"Hey, what are you doing~"
Having a face full of sand suddenly sprayed on him, Gourmet Xia Yu couldn't help but let out a squawk.
"To the Desert Garden, of course. Now, let me train you. After all, you just got your Starter Pack, right?"
With that, Zombie Xia Yu unceremoniously grabbed Gourmet Xia Yu with Telekinesis and jumped straight down from the Cableway Cabin. Below the Cableway Cabin was the bottomless Valley of Dust.
However, for The Xia Yus who could fly, no matter how deep it was, it wasn't a problem. After all, they could fly.
"You should have said so earlier! If I'd known, I wouldn't have rented such an expensive high-end apartment!"
"Also, the Starter Pack clearly contains the memories of how to use various abilities. There's no need for training at all. You're just taking this opportunity to get back at me!"
Gourmet Xia Yu, grabbed by Zombie Xia Yu, couldn't help but shout loudly before leaving the Cableway Cabin.
Of course, Zombie Xia Yu didn't listen to a word of it. How could he admit that this was revenge—revenge for the other guy complaining about him being purple?
Soon, Gourmet Xia Yu's screams disappeared into the depths of the dust storm, leaving only the endless sound of the wind.