"Ahhhh... I don't feel hungry but I do want to eat too." Wa Xiong Da was walking along the Tiangong Shopping District from his way after a long trip from the neighbouring province of Fujian. He kept thinking that the food in this district was not enticing as it used to be.
"I should probably lose some weight." Feeling dejected he continued to stroll along the shopping district until he smelled a tinge of curry fragrance.
"When did the shopping district sell curry rice? I do not remember there being any new store coming up. Those square headed shop owners could not even get away from their traditional food items when I told them the food was not great at all." Xiong Da grumbled a little.
Xiong Da's sense of smell was sharply enhanced with his cultivation, the Hungry Hippo Style. He concentrated a little and tried to follow the scent of the curry fragrance. The fragrance got stronger as he approached the end of Tiangong Shopping District.
A part of him wanted him to savour this new food item that had such a strong thick aroma. The other part of him kept telling to stop thinking about food.
Xiong Da found out the direction that the fragrance was coming from where that the burnt pachinko building was previously at. However, now it had been replaced with a traditional looking shophouse and a small beautiful looking park that occupied the area. "What happened to this area when I left for my business trip?"
The footsteps got even more hurried and the aroma indeed originated from this store. There was indeed someone eating the curry rice behind the bar counter. To his dismay, Xiong Da looked at the menu and realised that it was actually a dungeon supplier store.
"245 Yuan?! For an instance?" He thought to himself that the shop owner was ripping people not just of their wallets but their intelligence too.
"Hi, can I ask where did you buy this curry rice from? The aroma emanated from this curry rice is extremely enticing." Seeing this was a dungeon supplier store, he was not expecting much from the owner's reply. He must have bought it from some delivery service like Qiandu Waimai.
However, Xiong Da had not smelled such an incredible aroma of curry before. His mouth was filled with activity. The saliva within him overflowed like a tap that was left gushing in the kitchen sink and his taste buds were already screaming at him.
Jin was about to eat his curry rice and felt a little annoyed when this person with a waistline probably three times bigger than him interrupts his meal. "Why can't I eat in peace?!" Jin thought to himself.
"That's karma for ignoring me!" Yun laughed heartily.
"This tonkatsu curry rice is served here, part of service for the cultivators who train, play and fight the dungeons. If you like one, buy a dungeon instance."
Xiong Da was astonished by the shop owner's answer. Although he was a cultivator of the Hungry Hippo Style and possessed a weapon for self defense purposes, he did not use much of it. Thus he was just a mere Grade 1 cultivator at 34 years of age.
"You are not worthy of her!" Those words kept echoing within Xiong Da's head which prompted him to lose weight despite the urge to eat a lot. But eventually, his stomach's desires overtook his weak willpower and he finally had the courage to ask. "I will have one instance ticket, just pass me the curry rice!"
"Pay first." Jin was also hungry, for his customer's money.
The payment was done and Jin took a while to get the tonkatsu curry rice ready. He scooped a generous serving of rice from the rice cooker as he previously did for Bu Dong and the others.
He used the tongs to grab the large piping hot pork cutlet from the oven-like cabinet and placed it on a metal griddle. He wore a pair of plastic gloves as he handled the cutlet and he cut it into several slices. After which he used a medium sized metal pizza spatula to scoop the sliced cutlets to place it on top of the steamy rice.
He then opened the magical bar cabinet where the thick aroma of curry started to seep out of the pot. Beside the pot, there was a button for Jin to push so that the curry sauce would flow out of the pot through a large tap and into a gravy boat. Surprisingly, such an action done by the System did not cause any spillage and the tap was large enough for chunks of potato and carrots to flow out from the tap.
The gravy boat was near to the brim when the pot tap automatically stopped. He took the gravy boat out and subsequently poured it onto the plate with the golden breaded pork cutlet and rice.
After which he used a pair of mini tongs to grab a few pieces of Fukujinzuke, lucky god pickles, which was nibbed in red from a jar provided by the System. He placed the Fukujinzuke at the side of the tonkatsu curry rice and the dish was ready to be served.
"Eh? Isn't this a little too fast when it comes to cooking or preparing the food? Are they instant food?" Xiong Da suddenly felt like he was cheated, but decided to hold his thoughts until he tried it for himself.
The aroma infused into the air from the plate that was in front of Xiong Da and it was intoxicating to say the least. He quickly grabbed the utensils that were wrapped in a piece of serviette and scooped a mountain full of rice with curry.
When the spoon came into contact with his lips, he felt a rush of goodness moving up his throat and brain. The taste of the rice was smooth like silk and the curry had the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness. As he chewed on, the chunk of potato with the curry was tip top fresh.
This time round, he took the pork cutlet with his chopsticks and dipped half of it in curry. When he bit it, the crunchiness of the breaded tonkatsu was exploding in his mouth. The meat was fresh and juicy with a dash of saltiness that complemented with the taste of the curry.
Those two mouthfuls of savoury food made Xiong Da unable to stop and he gobbled the whole plate within minutes.
Jin served a glass of pure spring water to him and it was not insipid compared to the normal tap water Xiong Da had always been served in restaurants. That natural sweetness within the spring water made it satisfying and refreshing especially after such a meal.
"Can I have one more serving please! Boss, it's...it is super delicious! I do not mind the price! ...Sorry Boss may I know your esteem name?" Xiong Da wiped his sweat with his oversized business coat and raised his right index finger.
"Name's Jin and no. You do an instance run first before you can have another." There was no one item only per rule, but Jin was adamant to not allow wastage.
"But I do not think, I can pass the dungeon…" Xiong Da thought to himself how humiliating it was when he first try a dungeon instance.
"Wait a minute." Xiong Da thought to himself. "If I can train at this dungeon supplier and enjoy such delicious food too. Does that mean I may be able to train myself and maybe...prove myself worthy while enjoying good food at the same time? I might actually have a chance!" Xiong Da seemed a little desperate but at the same time, this desperation gave rise to unfounded determination.
"Okay Boss Jin, I will give it a try!" Xiong Da took off his business coat and rolled his sleeves up. He took the dog tag from Jin and Jin explained the standard instructions.
"Station 2." Jin figured this person had some hidden agenda. How can this fatty just agree so easily to an instance fight. Since young, he knew these foodies would die trying to get their food desires fulfilled through unscrupulous ways instead of following orders. Anyways, he gave Xiong Da some privacy by using the station further in the store.
"Boss, I am going in now!" Station 2 teleported Xiong Da into the instance.
Jin realised an important thing. How the damn panda was he going to bring this fatty up the stairs to rest if he was rendered unconscious?!