That evening at 8 p. m., a total of 21 trainees from Huaxia gathered on the second floor of Restaurant No. 1 in the Elite Training Camp to welcome Zhang Junbao!
It's only when you're away from home that you feel a special warmth among fellow countrymen. It's so rare to meet compatriots who speak the same language here. Many of the senior students warmly drank and chatted with Zhang Junbao.
This kind of drinking party is actually not much different from that in ancient times. On the contrary, people in ancient times would occasionally play drinking games, scholars would recite a few poems, and martial artists would occasionally perform martial arts to liven things up.
This kind of purely casual gathering made Zhang Junbao somewhat lament that ancient culture was so severely lacking in this era. Humans are all fighting for survival, so how many people have the mind and time to appreciate culture?
The banquet lasted for more than two hours before everyone took their leave, as they all had their own cultivation plans. Zhang Junbao managed to become somewhat familiar with this group of young talents from Huaxia.
"Tonight's welcome banquet was hosted and organized by Senior Brother Chu Qiang, and even the chef was a top-notch chef specially invited. Many of the ingredients used were from demonic beasts, which are very expensive."
Zhao Ruo's face was flushed; she had drunk quite a bit that night, and she spoke in a drunken slur.
"Tonight's dinner was paid for by Senior Brother Chu Qiang. Do you know how much this dinner cost?"
Zhang Junbao savored the lingering aroma in his mouth; it was indeed much tastier than the barbecue he used to grill in the Wilderness Zone.
However, he didn't feel much about the monster materials, as they were of a lower quality than the raw materials he ate in the Wilderness Zone.
In the Wilderness Zone, to ensure he had enough nutrition, Zhang Junbao mainly chose materials from high-level demonic beasts, and he was too lazy to eat ordinary Beast Soldier. Although they could fill his stomach, their nutritional value was on a completely different level.
Based on the monster ingredients he had eaten in the Wilderness Zone, and combined with the local chef's cooking, Zhang Junbao thought for a moment and said, "Monster ingredients need to be sourced fresh. More importantly, monster ingredients are generally quite tough, so the chef needs to process them until they are edible. The requirements are quite high."
"Plus, there are over 20 of us, and the amount of ingredients is quite substantial. It must be close to 100 million Huaxia Currency, right?"
Zhao Ruo suddenly paused, looking at this fellow villager she had just met with a strange expression, as if he had suddenly become a stranger.
Zhao Ruo knew that Zhang Junbao came from an ordinary family. For a family like that, shouldn't tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan already be an astronomical sum?
But Zhang Junbao asked for one hundred million right off the bat. Doesn't he know that even a warrior at the War General Level would need several months to earn one hundred million?
This junior brother is really carefree!
What? Did I misspoke? Is there more to it than that?
"That's true. Senior Brother Chu Qiang looks like someone with connections, and with so many brothers gathered, it would definitely cost at least several hundred million. You're being too kind."
Zhang Junbao praised.
"Please, Junbao, have some decency! I've noticed you really like to brag, and that's not a good habit. Even at high-end parties, nobody eats hundreds of millions at once!" Zhao Ruo said speechlessly. What's wrong with this new junior brother? He just talks about eating hundreds of millions? Is this how his family usually eats?
"The chefs in the Elite Training Camp are among the world's best, and many of the ingredients used in these dishes are even taken from the materials of powerful monsters."
Just this one dinner... 21 people, the food must have cost at least tens of millions.
This is already way too much!!
Zhang Junbao, you don't actually think that monsters are like pigs and sheep that you can just kill at will, do you?
"Tens of millions...?"
Zhang Junbao did the math and realized it was about the price of a Intermediate Beast General, and a relatively low-level Intermediate Beast General could fetch hundreds of millions just from their materials.
Is this a bit stingy for 21 of the world's top martial arts talents from Huaxia to eat in one meal?
It's not surprising that Zhang Junbao would think that way. If they were in the Wilderness Zone, killing a Intermediate Beast General be a piece of cake for the group of people they gathered today.
The amount of meat that can be eaten from Intermediate Beast General might not be enough for all 21 of them, especially if it's from a smaller demon beast. Martial artists have large appetites; it's normal for one person to eat dozens of kilograms of meat in one meal.
They are able to quickly break down these foods into Cosmic Energy within their bodies to replenish their strength.
This is just the cost of making do with food in harsh outdoor conditions; when it's served at a banquet, the price could be several times higher.
The two Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle cubs he had consumed cannot be valued at the price of ordinary demon beast materials, since they were cubs and could be nurtured, making them more valuable.
Of course, when martial artists carry out missions in the Wilderness Zone, they usually prioritize sustenance over high nutritional value when it comes to the food they carry. Otherwise, the cost of food alone would be higher than the cost of hunting monsters.
Compared to the other two, Zhang Junbao lost interest in this "feast" that was "only" in the tens of millions.
This senior brother Chu Qiang probably lives in rather difficult circumstances.
However, since Chu Qiang was treating, Zhang Junbao didn't say anything more.
Zhang Junbao could enjoy lavish banquets as well as coarse rice, so he didn't care too much about the price of the dinner. As long as the fellow villagers got to know each other and enjoyed the meal, that was all that mattered.
Fortunately, Zhao Ruo was unaware of Zhang Junbao's current thoughts, otherwise she would probably be so angry she would vomit blood.
Seeing that Zhang Junbao didn't speak, Zhao Ruo assumed he already knew the truth and continued, "Senior Brother Chu Qiang is the second strongest in the Training Camp. If he's willing to join an organization, he can definitely get a large sum of money."
" Chu Qiang joined the organization?"
" Chu Qiang was recruited by our Huaxia Military Department; this news has been known to everyone for a year," Zhao Ruo said in a low voice. "Moreover, I heard that the Limits Dojo is also trying to recruit Chu Qiang, and several organizations within Huaxia Country are vying to invite him."
Rumor has it that the military created a special operations department specifically for Chu Qiang! And after graduating, Chu Qiang became the head of this operations department!
Zhang Junbao was relieved. The country had set up a special operations department specifically for him, which showed how much importance they placed on him. Being able to rank second in the Elite Training Camp, Chu Qiang definitely had the strength of High-level War God. He was already a powerful figure right after graduating from the Training Camp, so it was no wonder that Chu Qiang was interested.
" Junbao!" A hearty laugh rang out.
After seeing off the other fellow disciples, only Chu Qiang remained, and he was now walking towards Zhang Junbao.
Zhang Junbao turned around and saw a tall young man with a face as if carved by an axe and a knife walking over. It was none other than Chu Qiang, the famous figure in the Elite Training Camp!
"Senior Brother Chu Qiang," Zhao Ruo called out with a smile, "You two chat." Then she obediently walked away.
Zhang Junbao and Chu Qiang stood on the balcony, where they could see the entire Training Camp.
" Junbao," Chu Qiang glanced at the others in the distance and said in a low voice, "Our Huaxia Military is very interested in you. Would you be interested in joining the Military?"
Zhang Junbao was surprised. He had just joined the Elite Training Camp and hadn't achieved any decent results yet, but Chu Qiang was already trying to recruit people. That was really fast.
It seems the real purpose of this welcome banquet wasn't just the food!