"Okay, stop thinking about it."
Chu He looked at the two beauties beside him, one tall and one small, and let out a long breath.
"Once I've made it, you'll know what real food is."
Kachi and Xia Yao nodded eagerly, their eyes full of trust and anticipation.
Looking at them, Chu He felt a belated flush of shame well up inside him.
In the end, he still had a lot to learn.
When City Lord Lilian had blatantly targeted him and handed him a massive twenty-million task, his first reaction had been to freeze up and panic. His mind had become a complete mess.
If not for Xia Yao telling him, "Your cooking is delicious," and Kachi's analysis and encouragement, he would probably still be wallowing in despair.
Those two girls might act sweet and innocent or haughty and proud around him, like children who had never grown up.
But when it really mattered, their composure under pressure left him in the dust by a mile.
"So surviving in another world isn't just about having cheats. It's about keeping your cool, too."
Chu He silently reflected, looking at the two girls with heartfelt gratitude and warmth in his eyes.
"Since we've decided to do this, then let's go big!"
Chu He cast aside his doubts, his gaze sharpening as his fighting spirit surged.
"If we're doing this, we're aiming for the best!"
"Let's head straight to the heart of Myriad Phenomena City and find a location. We'll prey on... I mean, focus on all the rich and powerful weird creatures!"
"That's exactly what I had in mind!"
Kachi snapped her fingers excitedly, approval written all over her little face.
"Myriad Phenomena City has its own hierarchy. The outer districts are full of poor folks with limited spending power. There's not much to squeeze out of them."
"The real tycoons and powerful beings all gather in the central district!"
As soon as she finished speaking,
Xia Yao understood at once and lightly tapped the ground with her jade-like foot.
The next second, Chu He felt the world spin. The view before him dissolved into countless twisted streaks of light.
The three of them shot into the sky like a cannonball breaking free of gravity, racing toward the neon-lit, divine-light-drenched heart of the city.
When his feet touched the ground again, even though Chu He had been prepared, the sight before him still left him utterly stunned.
If the outer district was Cyberpunk,
then this place was a Wall Street straight out of a world of gods and demons!
Every building was extravagantly luxurious, defying the laws of physics and radiating a cold message: "I'm expensive, and you can't afford me."
The weird creatures passing along the streets were completely different from those in the outer district, too.
Their forms were far closer to perfect human shapes!
A man in a tailored suit, with the physique of a top male model, strolled past elegantly with a cup of coffee in hand. But his head was unmistakably that of a vicious lizard, covered in fine scales.
A curvaceous, alluring mature woman sauntered by, swaying her slender waist. Behind her, nine fluffy fox tails swayed gently as if alive, exuding a fatal charm.
There were also boys with adorable cat ears and girls with splendid antlers atop their heads...
All kinds of demi-human species, usually seen only in myths and anime, were commonplace here.
The moment Chu He, a pure-blooded human, appeared with Xia Yao and Kachi—two beings whose looks and aura rivaled the highest levels of royalty—he became the center of attention.
Countless gazes, filled with surprise, jealousy, envy, greed, and more, turned toward them all at once.
"That human... actually has members of both the Void Gazer Royal Family and the Star Law Royal Family accompanying him?"
"Am I seeing things? Those are two King-level beings! Since when have kings become so cheap?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Can't you see? Those two princesses are looking at that human with such indulgence! That guy... he must have gotten incredibly lucky and become their kept man!"
Whispers came from all around.
Chu He didn't care in the slightest. Instead, he puffed out his chest and calmly basked in the feeling of being the center of attention.
What was wrong with living off a woman?
It took skill to live off a woman, too!
Reality soon poured a bucket of cold water over him, though.
They spent a full hour wandering the area, covering the busiest shopping streets, only to come away with a crushing discovery.
Not a single shop in the entire district was vacant!
"This is a problem. Prime locations really are hard to come by." Chu He frowned slightly.
Just then, Kachi suddenly pointed somewhere, excitement in her voice.
"Little He He, look over there!"
Following her finger,
Chu He spotted a building that looked completely out of place.
Surrounded by futuristic skyscrapers, a quaint, three-story pavilion crouched at the heart of the busiest intersection like an ancient ferocious beast.
The entire pavilion was pitch-black, with two enormous, vicious horns sprouting from its roof and piercing the sky.
Its walls and roof tiles were made of dark scales that gleamed like metal, reflecting an eerie blue under the sunlight.
It seemed to breathe.
A solitary wooden sign stood before the pavilion's tightly shut vermilion doors. Several lines were written on it in what looked like fresh blood.
[Gluttony House]
[Rent: Free]
[Condition: You must offer food that satisfies this establishment.]
[Warning: If the food is not to its taste, the tenant will be devoured on the spot.]
Free?
Chu He's eyes lit up instantly!
Wasn't this like finding a pillow the moment you got sleepy—except it was a gold-and-jade-inlaid dragon bed?
A perfect opportunity to claim a prime location at zero cost!
"This is the one!" Chu He slapped his thigh and made the decision on the spot.
"These conditions are practically tailor-made for me!"
His face beamed with confidence, as if he could already see the wonderful future of making a fortune every day after conquering this "Gluttony House."
However, just as the three of them reached the entrance,
Creak—
The heavy vermilion doors soundlessly opened a crack.
A dull, ancient thought, steeped in bottomless hunger, crashed into their minds like a thunderclap:
"Offer... your tribute..."
"Or... become my food!"
Holy crap!
Chu He's heart lurched. This house was actually alive?
"That's not unusual." Xia Yao's cool voice rang out at just the right moment, explaining it to him.
"This is the Gluttony Clan, a race that has nothing in their heads but eating."
"Later, when the 'Lord' established a society governed by laws and forbade them from devouring living beings at will, they evolved into buildings that could be rented out so they could survive on tasting their tenants' food."
So that was how it worked!
Chu He understood at once. Every last bit of fear vanished from his heart, replaced by blazing determination.
Without another word, he pulled out his phone and opened the app called "Ghost Coin Wallet."
He didn't hesitate for a second before tapping the borrow button on the twenty-million loan limit.
[Enter loan amount]
"One hundred thousand!"
[Loan successful!]
On his phone screen, his debt instantly went from -3,600 and skyrocketed.
He had just treated the two girls to some "specialty snacks" at a roadside stall, which had cost him 600.
His current balance was frozen at a truly alarming figure.
-!
Seeing that number, Chu He felt no pressure at all. Instead, his blood seemed to catch fire.
"Let's go! Time to shop!"
With a grand sweep of his arm, he led the two queens straight toward the highest-end market for weird ingredients nearby.
The moment they entered the market, a strange, overpowering smell hit them.
The sight inside once again shattered Chu He's understanding of the world.
In the fresh-food section, enormous metal cages held not chickens, ducks, or fish, but hulking monsters the size of rhinos, their faces vicious as they rammed against the bars and roared.
The vegetable section was even more absurd. Cabbages had legs and bounced around inside cages. Carrots tried to burrow into the ground, their exposed ends wriggling wildly.
"Many of the ingredients here are captured by professional adventuring groups in dangerous areas outside the city," Kachi explained dutifully. "That's why most of them are still alive. It's the only way to guarantee absolute freshness."
Clicking his tongue in wonder, Chu He began selecting ingredients.
He passed by the clawing, snarling monsters and headed straight for the section with meat that had already been prepared.
But when he walked past a huge waste-disposal chute, he suddenly stopped, his nose wrinkling on instinct.
He saw several weird creatures in butchers' uniforms casually dumping bucket after bucket of bloody offal into the waste chute.
Among it were enormous livers, cleaned until they shone like white jade.
Thick, snow-white caul fat, glistening and translucent.
Tough, tender-pink intestines and stomachs, smooth and springy to the touch.
There were even some crunchy-looking blood vessels and windpipes...
Back on Blue Star, in Dragon Country, these were treasures that would have had hot pot and barbecue lovers fighting over them!
And here, they were being treated like trash and thrown away?
What a waste!
It was an absolutely deranged waste of precious ingredients!
Chu He stared at the "scraps" being callously discarded, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. They shone so fiercely it was almost frightening.
A brilliant plan, so devious it could almost be called downright wicked, took shape in his mind in an instant.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled into a knowing, almost "evil" smile.
"The secret to hot pot..."
"You weird creatures will never see it coming. Hahaha!"
Before you continue