The box

"This ugly cat must have a reason for living so comfortably at the Training Center."

"I thought Old Lu was backing it. Back when I was trying to get on his good side, I even brought the cat a bone I'd finished gnawing."

"But it turns out the cat being this ugly had nothing to do with Old Lu. Even Old Lu thinks it's ugly."

Watching the ugly cat saunter into the classroom like a victor, Lu Zhan felt rather conflicted.

To get into the Training Center, he'd not only had his belly ripped open by a "Mutant Beast," but also risked offending the Wutu Gang by signing a twenty-year enlistment contract.

Yet this ugly cat hadn't needed to do any of that.

By comparison, most of Yero City's commoners had worse lives than this cat!

Tap, tap, tap!

Shaking off his slight sense of unfairness, Lu Zhan entered the classroom as well.

Unlike Old Lu's deserted Alchemy class, the Gourmet Appreciation Class was packed every time.

Lu Zhan had never managed to snag a seat in the front row, in particular.

Of course, alone and without any backing, Lu Zhan wasn't in a position to fight for one now, either.

A few small cliques had long since divided up and monopolized the front-row seats in the Gourmet Appreciation Class.

Lu Zhan was all too familiar with this phenomenon, yet he couldn't quite understand it here.

In his previous life, when he'd been preparing for the graduate entrance exam, claiming seats had been about nothing more than the seats themselves.

Did sitting in the front row of this life's Gourmet Appreciation Class offer some special advantage?

Surely it wasn't just easier on the nose, letting them breathe in more of the aroma?

"Lu..."

The moment Lu Zhan entered the classroom, Wen Shiyan spotted him from where she sat alone in a corner.

Wen Shiyan had been about to call him over, but something suddenly occurred to her, and she hesitated.

Was today's Lu Zhan still the Lu Zhan of District 13?

"Senior Wen, everyone's really enthusiastic about class today!"

"What's so magical about this Gourmet Appreciation Class? You never will tell me."

Unlike Wen Shiyan, who was torn and hesitant, Lu Zhan simply took the seat beside her as he always did.

He wasn't some ungrateful wretch who despised the poor and fawned over the rich.

Whatever Wen Shiyan's motives, she had indeed helped him a great deal.

"Junior, I heard the Wutu Gang came looking for trouble with you?"

"As for the secret of the Gourmet Appreciation Class, I haven't told you because I don't want to spoil the surprise."

"Some things are more fun if you let them happen naturally!"

Seeing that Lu Zhan treated her just as he had before, without trying to distance himself, Wen Shiyan relaxed.

In Wen Shiyan's view, the Wutu Gang coming after Lu Zhan was a good thing.

It would allow him to shed his District 13 label.

If the Wutu Gang members actually took action and gave Lu Zhan a beating, that would be even better.

That would practically be the Wutu Gang's trainees putting themselves at risk to prove Lu Zhan's "innocence."

"Senior Wen, there's only a little friction between me and the Wutu Gang!"

"I'm an enlisted trainee from District 13 now. A washed-up bunch like the Wutu Gang wouldn't dare openly break with me."

"Since you want to keep it a surprise, I'll wait and see."

"I hope the Gourmet Appreciation Class doesn't get canceled again this time."

Since Lu Zhan had enrolled, the Gourmet Appreciation Class hadn't been held even once.

After being stood up so many times in a row, Lu Zhan genuinely worried that his enrollment might have made the Gourmet Appreciation Class disappear for good.

"Boss, you're well informed."

"What's going on with the Gourmet Appreciation Class? Why does it keep getting postponed?"

"Whenever this time rolls around, my cravings go wild. It's killing me!"

In the very center of the classroom's front row.

Graham fidgeted like an ant on a hot pan, utterly restless.

Their little clique of five had long since claimed an absolute monopoly over the best seats in the classroom.

"Graham, stop squirming."

"Control. You need to learn to control yourself."

"What other reason could there be for the Gourmet Appreciation Class to get postponed out of nowhere?"

"There must have been a problem with the supply of those miraculous foods."

"That's not something we can worry about. Since the class is starting again, the problem must have been resolved."

Compared with Graham, who wriggled like a worm, their leader Liu Shuang was doing much better.

He sat straight and proper, looking almost like a genuine gourmet.

Under Liu Shuang's firm hand, Graham finally stopped squirming.

His mind, however, remained restless and agitated.

With no other option, he could only distract himself with gossip.

Naturally, the subjects of that gossip were Lu Zhan and Baluk, who had faced off in the cafeteria that morning.

Time ticked by. At ten in the morning on August 31, all 235 trainees of the Basic Class were present in the classroom.

After another half hour of eager anticipation, the Gourmet Appreciation Class finally "resumed."

Tap, tap, tap!

Accompanied by light footsteps, a young woman in a skirt suit that showed off her curves entered the classroom.

In her hand, she carried a black box measuring one meter on each side.

It seemed entirely at odds with her light steps.

"Hello, Ms. Su!"

"Ms. Su, you're finally here!"

"We missed you so much!"

The instant Su Yuyan appeared, the entire classroom erupted.

Once they saw the black box in her hand, quite a few trainees became so excited they could barely contain themselves.

The little fatty Graham, sitting in the front row, even started drooling.

"Meow!"

Although the classroom was buzzing with excitement, the first to rush forward was a black cat.

A large cat with a mottled head,

and a body as black as coal shot over to Su Yuyan's feet like lightning, then rolled belly-up to beg for her affection.

The sight left Lu Zhan dumbfounded.

Damn it, where's your dignity?

You weren't like this when I gave you a bone!

"You're exaggerating, all of you!"

"It's only been a month since we last saw each other!"

"I went out into the Wilderness with the research institute a while ago. What's in this box is a gift I brought back for you."

"You're in for a treat this time!"

With the box in one hand and the "ugly cat" in the other, Su Yuyan walked up to the lectern.

Despite dangling in midair, that shameless cat looked as though it was enjoying itself.

But Lu Zhan could see it clearly: the cat's sly eyes stayed fixed on the black box.

Is the food we're going to appreciate this time inside that black box?

What kind of food needs to be kept under such wraps?

Like everyone else in the classroom, Lu Zhan stared fixedly at the black box.

But unlike the longing and greed in the others' eyes, his held only bewilderment.

Not only could he not see through the black box, he couldn't smell any food either.

That was rather strange!

This was the Gourmet Appreciation Class. Surely the gourmet food couldn't be completely scentless?