After seeing off the last customer, the time had already reached past 5 a.m. The sky outside was beginning to brighten.
After tidying up everything by the counter, Store Manager Kobayashi said to Bai Mo, who was washing the dishes, "Xiao Mo, you've worked hard these past few days. From now on, just come on Fridays and Saturdays. Other days, you don't need to come—school is about to start, and your studies are more important."
Bai Mo didn't refuse and nodded in response. "Understood, Grandpa Kobayashi."
"There's one more thing. Cooking is something you can only master by practicing more, so you'll need to put in extra effort from now on."
"Got it."
"Well, with your super taste buds, identifying flaws in dishes should be easy for you. But don't rely too much on your super taste, understand?"
Bai Mo didn't feel the slightest annoyance at Kobayashi's meticulous guidance. After all, in this foreign land, having an elder who cared for him so deeply was something to be grateful for.
After bidding farewell to Kobayashi, Bai Mo, who had stayed up all night, returned directly to his apartment and collapsed onto his bed to catch up on sleep. Though his current physical condition could easily handle staying awake for a couple more days, it was still important to rest when possible.
By the time Bai Mo woke up, it was already 11 a.m. Remembering the store manager's teachings from the morning, he decided not to go out for food. Instead, he used ingredients from his fridge to prepare a simple meal: a vegetable fish ball soup, stir-fried shredded pork with celery, and a large pot of rice.
"Hmm… the greens were stir-fried a bit too long, the fish balls aren't fresh, and the shredded pork needed three more seconds in the pan. So many flaws..."
After tasting his own cooking, Bai Mo suppressed his critical taste buds and finished all the food. Unfortunately, such ordinary ingredients provided almost no energy.
His gourmet cells had only activated once—when he first tasted a few rare delicacies like a 60-centimeter-long, 12-pound wild yellow croaker from the East Sea, steamed Yangtze River knife fish, lightly roasted Tibetan butter mushrooms, bamboo fungus liver paste soup, lion's head goose liver, Lychee mushroom soup from Yangcheng, and roasted camel hump from Xinjiang. Since then, his gourmet cells had shown no further evolution.
As for the Gourmet Hunter System, apart from functioning as a recipe log, it had only recorded a dozen or so star-rated recipes and ingredients, with rewards being meager at best.
This world only had such ordinary rare ingredients, which was why Bai Mo was so eager for ingredients from other worlds.
Though there were chefs capable of turning ordinary ingredients into extraordinary dishes, such talents were few and far between. Bai Mo's current strength wasn't enough to convince them to cook exclusively for him, which was why he was determined to improve his own culinary skills—so he could one day prepare his own gourmet meals.
Seeing the system's countdown showing only one day left, Bai Mo couldn't help but grow restless. But preparations still had to be made.
Returning to his bedroom, he opened the wardrobe and took out a large box. Inside was a sheathed longsword, a steel shield, a set of camouflage clothing, and most importantly—two handguns he had "found" in the U.S.: an M1911 and a Glock G19.
Ah, the freedom of America—where gunshots rang out daily. Bai Mo never expected to find these in a hotel trash can.
Both pistols only had one magazine each, and neither was fully loaded, so he'd have to use them sparingly. Hopefully, they'd prove useful against prey from another world.
But in the end, his greatest weapon was himself. These tools would be a bonus if they worked, but it wouldn't be a big deal if they didn't.
Aside from the weapons, the box also contained a bag of compressed biscuits, bottled water, and energy drinks.
Weapons and food were ready, but Bai Mo still hadn't found suitable alloy armor. It seemed he'd just have to be extra careful.
After taking inventory, he added an emergency medical kit, bandages, three small gold bars, and some silver and copper ingots.
With that, his supplies were fully prepared.
After another afternoon of training at home, Bai Mo had dinner and headed to the Midnight Diner for another night of work.
As the countdown entered its final ten minutes, Bai Mo double-checked all his prepared items before storing them in the system's one-cubic-meter随身空间, which was now completely packed with supplies.
Watching the timer approach zero, Bai Mo swallowed hard and finally pressed the teleportation button.
A flash of blue light later, Bai Mo vanished from his bedroom.
Meanwhile, in another world, a figure plummeted rapidly from the sky.
"Damn system! Who the hell opens a portal several kilometers in the air?!"
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
As the ground rushed closer, Bai Mo quickly pulled out the tent fabric he had originally intended for shelter.
At about ten meters above the ground, he willed his cells to vibrate rapidly, generating an electric current that allowed him to briefly hover in mid-air.
Then, he swiftly unfurled the tent fabric into a makeshift parachute, rolling upon landing but managing to touch down safely.
"Damn it… Being cautious really paid off!"
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T/N:
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