Food! Paradise!

"Gulp."

Everyone present couldn't help but swallow, not out of nervousness, but because of the

fragrance!

Floral, fruity, meaty, vegetable aromas. Every scent imaginable, and unimaginable, converged into a torrent that surged forward, wildly stimulating everyone's senses.

Aili rubbed her stomach. She had eaten a lot that morning, yet now she felt incredibly hungry.

"Go in and take a look?"

"Let's go in and take a look!"

A deep, long tunnel, but at its end, there was a glimmer of light. This faint light quickened everyone's steps, faster and faster, until the glimmer grew into sunlight that filled their vision! With one final step—

The entire world opened up before them.

Sunlight, dazzling sunlight, streamed down from the sky. Although they knew it was merely a sun fabricated by the dungeon, they felt a vibrant life force that instantly dispelled the gloom of the swamp.

An endless plain appeared immediately. A verdant plain, with towering ancient trees reaching for the sky. Their canopies were laden with leaves resembling giant slices of meat, and pitcher plants filled with beverages hung from vines, taller than a person. Giant scallions, as tall as people, were everywhere, and mushrooms with the texture of pudding flowed with cocoa. A white river flowed slowly and peacefully. Judging by the smell, it was actually milk and honey flowing within!

In the distance, strangely shaped birds and beasts frolicked freely: giant roasted pigs whose bodies flowed with heat, lions whose manes were made of high-grade sponge cake, koalas with cocoa beans growing on their backs, and mammoth elephants with patterned brown fur.

And at the farthest point, the limit of human vision, a colossal plant sat like an emperor, its branches bent under the weight of cherry-like fruits, shimmering with a seven-colored rainbow. A single glance was enough to know that it must be the most precious existence in this entire area!

This place was like a fairy tale. Who hadn't dreamed of a paradise made entirely of food as a child?

Qilajie stared blankly. Just then, a locust landed on his hand. The insect looked peculiar, its back bulging as if it contained a brown liquid.

As if possessed, he grabbed the locust and tasted the brown liquid.

"Croak, so salty," he exclaimed, snapping back to reality, "It's soy sauce?"

Aili squatted down and picked a dandelion. However, this dandelion also looked very strange, with a fleshy texture at the top.

She hesitated for a moment and took a shallow bite.

"This is..." she said in disbelief, "Beef tongue?"

With a precedent set, the others could no longer contain their impulses and rushed into the food area with cheers.

"Look, look! The trees are full of roasted meat with bones!"

"These mushrooms... Huh, is that chocolate sauce on the cap?"

"This tulip looks so weird. Holy crap, it's garlic inside."

"These grapes are so small and have a strange color. Ah, why are they roe?"

The Timid Priest walked the farthest, all the way to the riverbank. He scooped up some of the white water and took a sip. A warm sensation spread throughout his body. It was actually hot milk flowing here.

No matter who it was, they were immersed in the food. Every step brought a new taste experience. This feeling was much more exciting than any dungeon!

Even Shuen, who looked the most rigid, was captivated by the roasted meat tree, unable to tear himself away. In a short time, he had already gnawed on three pieces of roasted meat. The drinks in the pitcher plants by the tree were all-encompassing; he was lucky enough to find beer. With a bite of roasted meat and a gulp of beer, his fatigue vanished into thin air.

"What beautiful oysters,"

Qilajie found a bright red oyster by the river. The surface of the shell looked like layers upon layers of rose petals, and it smelled of roses.

Setting aside the reasonableness of finding oysters by the river, he eagerly pried open the shell with a knife. The rich oyster meat exuded a rose fragrance. With just a slurp, the tender, slippery meat and fragrant broth flowed into his mouth, entering his stomach before he could even chew.

"Ah..."

Qilajie moaned, his eyes glazed over.

This is what you call food. What have I been eating all this time?

Just as everyone was lost in their reverie, a huge shadow slowly emerged from beneath the river, gliding towards Qilajie.

And he was still immersed in the explosive taste experience brought by the rose oyster.

"Boom—"

Water splashed, and the shadow completely engulfed him!

"Captain!"

The Timid Priest was the first to react. His body moved instinctively, and he shoved Qilajie hard to the side!

"Ah, help—"

Everyone was drawn to the commotion by the river and turned to look.

It was a giant tuna, but its tail ended in tentacles like an octopus. The small, skinny priest was now being swung around by the tentacles, terrified to the point of fainting.

Isn't this the Tuna Octopus that Jack sells at the barbecue stand? It can get this big?!

"Trouble!"

Shuen was the first to react, drawing his short sword and throwing it. The short sword shot out like a cannonball, smashing the tentacles!

The priest shrieked as he fell, but luckily, Qilajie had also recovered and not only caught her steadily but also cast a Gale Spell, instantly conjuring a gust of wind that blew them both away from the Tuna Octopus.

The Tuna Octopus let out a pained cry and quickly sank to the riverbed, leaving the people on the shore trembling with fear.

"We were careless," Danya said with a grim expression. "After all, this is still a dungeon, and specifically Sain Underground City."

Indeed, food could soothe the heart, but it could also make one lower their guard.

"No, it's because we got too close to the river,"

Shuen was still shaken, but he was the most experienced adventurer in the Falling Hammer Squad. He figured it out in just a moment.

"This river is the boundary,"

He pointed to the cave they came from and said, "I think the thousand meters from the cave to the river are safe. Beyond this river, on the other side, monsters start appearing."

His analysis wasn't unreasonable. As long as they didn't approach the river where monsters resided, this vast plain was theirs to explore without any danger. At most, they'd have to worry about eating too much.

But once they crossed the river, they'd be face-to-face with monsters.

Roast whole pig, trumpet lion, cocoa koala, muscle crab, Doro King Kong.

These creatures, which were both delicacies and terrifying monsters, seemed to follow some kind of rule. No matter how much humans messed around, as long as they didn't cross the river, they wouldn't attract their attention.

It was only then that Shuen and the others realized that their ability to stand here unharmed wasn't because this was a paradise of plenty, but simply because some rule of the Dungeon was protecting them.

This was, after all, a dangerous Dungeon!

"But as long as we don't cross the boundary, ordinary people could explore here, right?" Aili murmured to herself. "I feel like a lot of people will come here to make money in the future."

Danya nodded noncommittally. The journey from the teleportation gate to the food area wasn't far, and it seemed like there were fewer monsters along the way. If one knew the path well, it wouldn't be a problem for ordinary people to come here at all.

Bed City's economy might see a surge.

The group exchanged glances, suddenly realizing they seemed to be among the very first to find the food area.

"What should we do?" Shuen asked. "About the information here."

This was a considerable fortune, provided no one else had found it yet.

But it wasn't that difficult to find, and revealing the map was only a matter of time.

After some discussion, they reached a conclusion – sell the information immediately!

They all knew themselves well enough to realize they weren't cut out for business, and they also knew the food area would inevitably be discovered by more people.

It was better to sell the information now and get the highest possible price!

"I want to go take a look over there,"

Shuen suddenly said, pointing to a towering plant in the distance. "My intuition tells me that thing is absolutely, absolutely valuable."