Thwack! Ma Lu slapped his palm.
"Now, you can open your eyes and look forward."
The hardware store owner didn't open his eyes as he was told, but after flaring his nostrils twice, he said, "Earth Dragon at?"
"Hey, has anyone told you that having such a keen nose will make you miss out on a lot of fun in life?"
Yan Wu ignored Ma Lu and slowly opened his eyes.
In front of him, there were three oranges on the plate.
Feeling intrigued, Yan Wu picked up his chopsticks, grabbed the top piece of orange peel, and gently lifted it to reveal the atball inside.
"Speaking of Earth Dragons, I rember there was a plane full of deserts where the Earth Dragon at was the most delicious. However, the Earth Dragons there also had a strong earthy taste. Ordinary chefs would use a lot of seasoning when cooking, but this would destroy the fresh flavor of the Earth Dragon."
"Have you been to many places before?" Ma Lu asked curiously upon hearing this.
"Mhm, back then I was young and energetic with nothing to do, and I had my own planar airship, so I traveled all over the Multiverse."
A hint of nostalgia flashed in Yan Wu's eyes, "I once swore to traverse the entire Multiverse, to taste all the delicacies, see all the beautiful sights, and screw all the beautiful won with fluffy tails. But then I got to Earth and stopped."
"Why, did you fall in love with soone here? Who was it, what's their na, are they still here?"
Ma Lu's curiosity was ignited.
"No, my airship broke." The Werewolf said, "And this damn place is so remote, it's impossible to connect to The Grand Alliance network. I can't even get through to the repair hotline, and I've been stuck here for over a thousand years.
"To save myself, being originally clueless about machinery, I was forced to learn how to repair. But at that ti, material science wasn't developed here either, and quality steel couldn't be produced. I struggled for a long ti, only to waste my effort."
"That's tough."
"However, this experience sohow made fall in love with hardware by accident. Looking back, I find it incredible. This is hardware we're talking about... When I was younger, I never imagined I'd end up on such a path. Life's encounters really are unpredictable," lanted Yan Wu.
"Until later, I t other people and found a way to contact the outside world. But how should I put it? By then, I was completely fascinated by hardware, and having spent so long in this plane, before I knew it, I had grown into middle age and lost the wildness of my youth.
"I realized that the days of wandering weren't quite for , so I simply settled down here and continued my study of hardware. All in all, my story demonstrates a lesson," the hardware store owner said gravely.
"Should people be faithful to what they love doing?"
"No, don't go to places without signal. If it wasn't for wandering blindly and getting trapped here when I was young, right now I might still be enjoying delicious food, beautiful sights, and making love in front of floor-to-ceiling windows with beautiful won with fluffy tails."
"Uh, my condolences."
"I'm just saying, it's not that I'm complaining about my current life." The Werewolf said while picking up a atball with his chopsticks and popping it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
The next mont, his actions suddenly halted, then his eyes widened in surprise, "This is!"
"Have you felt it?" Ma Lu said, "This is no ordinary Earth Dragon atball."
"That's right, Earth Dragon at that's been pounded ten thousand tis is just the outer layer. In addition to the ground at, there are also big chunks of at inside, making it particularly satisfying to eat."
Yan Wu closed his eyes again and said hurriedly, "And surprisingly, you didn't use alcohol or any other strong-flavored spices to mask the gay taste of the Earth Dragon at. No, except for a little bit of salt, you didn't add any condints at all. Tsk, that's a bold approach.
"But strangely, the gay taste has indeed disappeared, and not only that, but the aftertaste is slightly fragrant. The answer must lie in these oranges used to hold the atballs, right?"
"Yes, Old Wang hollowed out the oranges to keep the peels, specifically to use the fruit fragrance to dispel the gay sll."
"So that's how it is. I rember that court chefs during the Song Dynasty also had similar cooking techniques. Up to this point, I can still understand, but why does this atball still contain a trace of fla? What else did you put beneath the skin made from Earth Dragon at?"
Yan Wu looked perplexed.
"The Lava Giant Lizard's second stomach—that's where the Lava Giant Lizard stores its molten lava. Ma Lu brought it back earlier. It hadn't been eaten and was just sitting in the fridge," Old Wang answered.
"It was precisely because of this key part that all the culinary conditions for the Flaheart Earth Dragon Orange Brew were t."
"Flaheart Earth Dragon Orange Brew?" Yan Wu savored the taste in his mouth, then tilted his head back and swallowed it all, grinning, "Delicious!"
His chopsticks never stopped. As he spoke, he picked up the second orange atball and popped it into his mouth.
A hint of joy appeared in Ma Lu's eyes.
Yan Wu's reaction was within his expectations. Ma Lu and Old Wang initially planned to select a three-star recipe and then rely on Old Wang's 25% chance of additional star ability after advancing to Level 2 to whip up a four-star dish. Continue your journey on m|v-l'e -
However, when he returned this ti, he accidentally discovered that the materials for the already four-star Deliciousness Index "Flaheart Earth Dragon Orange Brew" were conveniently available.
Consequently, Ma Lu decisively chose this dish to complete Yan Wu's task.
And Old Wang was quite lucky this ti; the added star was triggered on just the second portion.
That ant the dish currently in front of Yan Wu actually boasted a high Deliciousness Index of four stars and one star.
It represented the pinnacle of The Universe's Number One Snack Stall—the absolute zenith among peaks!
"It's too delicious!" Yan Wu swallowed all three orange atballs into his stomach, then reluctantly put down his chopsticks, lavishing generous praise without hesitation.
"I really haven't tasted such deliciousness in a very long ti!"
"I'm glad you're satisfied," Ma Lu said, "It looks like we've passed your test. Can you give us those three High-Dinsional Artifacts now?"
However, upon hearing this, the hardware store owner shook his head, "No."
"Hmm? You've already said it's delicious, are you planning to go back on your word?" Ma Lu frowned.
"No," the Werewolf said with a cunning smile, "It's true that the dish you made is tasty, and I'm quite satisfied, but do you rember the condition we agreed upon?"
"To make a dish that satisfies you?"
"No, what I said was 'move '. I wanted you to make a dish that could move ."
"Are you trying to play word gas with us now?"
Ma Lu's expression had turned rather unfriendly.
"This is becoming rather uninteresting, Old Yan. You wouldn't have had the intention to withhold the three High-Dinsional Artifacts from us from the start, would you? If that were the case, you should've just said so. There's no need to lead us on like this."
Yet, Yan Wu's gaze seed innocent, "That's really not the case; if you don't believe , you can ask around—whether it's that pigeon or the residents of the nearby neighborhood, they will all tell you that in business, Yan Wu always prioritizes honesty and never cheats or deceives."
"Then what would it take to move you?"
"I don't know."
"Ha?"
"I'm just a hardware store owner. You are the Cosmic Chefs. How to create a dish that can move a diner, that should be within your field of expertise, shouldn't it?" Yan Wu spread his hands.
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