Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 375 (Patreon)

Chapter 375: Realm

Master Zelas's assassination became a topic of conversation among Elba residents for a long time. Since the money on Master Zelas's body was missing, the case was classified as a robbery and murder.

The third prince handled this matter with swift and decisive actions. To minimize the impact, he didn’t bother with evidence. Within two days, he identified five murderers, cut their tongues and tendons, and executed them in front of the public, thus closing the case.

Those five murderers were actually Master Zelas’s accomplices, one of whom was the person who had acquired the Greed Pot, one of the five people who the Black Cat had attacked to steal the ancient artifact.

During his thorough investigation, the third prince obtained unexpected information about Master Zelas’s activities in recent years from the five people.

Perhaps thinking that further investigation would be a waste of energy and time, the third prince used the five people as scapegoats.

Although he closed the case quickly and used exceptionally brutal methods, it couldn’t change the fact that Master Zelas was assassinated in Elba. In the end, he had to bear the responsibility of inadequate security, for which he was scolded by the king.

Regarding this matter, Luo showed no interest and did not pursue the Black Cat for unauthorized killings, considering the other party had already drawn their blades, clearly indicating it wasn't something to be resolved easily.

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed since Luo arrived in Elba.

Luo learned about Salin and the desert forbidden zone from the diary but didn’t rashly inquire with Sago or Linne, feeling it was inappropriate to bring up topics involving the deceased.

On the first day Buhara arrived, he ate all the insect pots in Sago's shop, so he had to help Sago watch the store most of the time.

During the day, Sago, who had free time, became a professional tour guide, taking Linne and Luo around Elba, tasting local delicacies, and visiting shops selling various spices.

Previously, Luo had to rely on the White Smoke Font to know the origins of things, but since reading all of Linne’s collections, he could recognize many items at a glance without using the White Smoke Font.

Linne took Luo to experience various spices partly for purchasing and partly to assess Luo, which naturally yielded satisfactory results.

When they returned to the shop, the plump aunt who lived nearby was chatting with Buhara at the door. Her enthusiasm was even more fervent than the sun in the sky.

Because Sago's business was so slow, Buhara couldn’t get away, being tangled up in conversation with the plump aunt.

Seeing Luo and the others finally return, Buhara sighed with relief, abandoned the clinging aunt, and ran towards Luo, eagerly asking, “What did you bring today?”

“Roasted lizard legs.”

Luo handed a large package of lizard legs wrapped in cowhide paper to Buhara, who excitedly took it and started eating on the spot.

Sago walked to the plump aunt's side and lazily said, “You old cow, don't dream of eating young grass.”

“Scram!”

The plump aunt glared at him, grabbed her packed insect pot, and turned away.

Sago watched the plump aunt's figure, sighing deeply. He knew the reason she clung to Buhara was because his clumsy demeanor reminded her of her foolish son who never returned from the forbidden zone.

Linne leisurely walked into the shop, climbed the ladder to the second floor.

Luo came to the side, picked up a red scorpion, and popped it into his mouth, saying, “You guys go in, I'll watch the store.”

Sago nodded and quickly rushed into the shop, likely to find Linne, while Buhara also found it too hot outside and ran in with the newly opened lizard legs, leaving Luo alone at the shop's entrance.

Sago's shop was located in a residential area, a distance away from the bustling streets, which explained the sparse flow of customers and his slow business. However, his insect pots were among the best in Elba.

The house was bought by Salin, and Sago turned the first floor into a shop selling insect pots, probably because Salin liked to eat them.

“In the past few days, there hasn’t been a single ancient artifact with Nen on Vulture Street. It seems the output rate of ancient artifacts from the desert isn’t great, considering the high danger level,” Luo muttered to himself, resting his cheek on his hand.

Since tasting success on Vulture Street that one day, he would go there whenever he had free time, but except for that day’s harvest, it was hard to find any more artifacts with Nen, indicating no new artifacts had been produced.

During his free time, besides going to Vulture Street, Luo visited many bars to inquire about the desert forbidden zone. However, the locals seemed to treat it as a taboo, not only refusing to talk about it but also warning Luo against excessive curiosity.

This phenomenon differed from what was described in Salin’s diary. Perhaps, over the decades, some things and attitudes had changed.

At night, with a full moon hanging high, Elba City fell into a quiet atmosphere. Almost everyone was asleep, except for the soldiers responsible for security who were still on duty and patrolling the streets.

In the night, two figures, one tall and one short, swiftly moved through the streets, easily avoiding the soldiers of Elba.

Those two figures were Luo and Linne.

They reached the base of the outer city wall, where Luo used his Nen ability to create an opening, then left Elba City, heading into the desert.

About two kilometers from Elba City, they stopped near a rock about six or seven meters high.

During the day, Linne took Luo to personally experience spices and local delicacies. At night, she taught Luo Nen abilities and her own techniques.

Although there was no formal master-apprentice relationship, Linne thoroughly fulfilled the responsibilities of a teacher, which was Luo’s fortune.

“Netero’s ‘Hatsu’ is the ultimate stillness turning into motion. Before activating his Nen, his aura is as calm as dead water, but once activated, it’s as fast as lightning, catching people off guard.”

Linne stood on the sand, raising her hand. Her Nen clung to her arm like a dormant tiger, motionless. As she finished speaking, she suddenly threw a punch, and the sound of wind roared!

That punch was incredibly fast, with the aura bursting forth in sync with the punch.

“Can you do it?” Luo asked, watching Linne’s demonstration.

“Did you see my punch clearly?” Linne countered.

“Yes,” Luo nodded.

“Netero’s punch speed is several times faster than mine,” Linne said calmly.

The implication was that she was far from reaching Netero’s level. Moreover, the hardest part wasn’t just the speed of the punch but the synchronization of the aura flow with the punch.

Luo knew about Netero’s true strength but could only pretend not to know.

Linne raised three fingers and continued, “There are fewer than this number of people in the world today who can reach Netero’s level. I can’t do it. It’s not just hard work but also talent.”

She paused, gazing at the attentive Luo, “But I think you can achieve it in the future.”

Realm is not the entirety of strength; it’s the product of long years of accumulation. But nothing is absolute; the world always has geniuses beyond words, like Ging...

Hearing Linne’s words, Luo was stunned, not expecting her to hold him in such high regard.

Before Luo could respond, Linne suddenly pressed her hand against the rock. Without any noticeable fluctuation in Nen, a deep pit appeared on the rock, twice the size of Linne’s palm.

“Netero is fast, but I am slow. Which one do you choose?”

“Can I choose both?”

Luo looked at the deep pit created by the concentrated force.

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