The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 237 Unexpected acquaintance

"this…"

"this!!!"

On the dock, Zhao Qian stared dumbfounded at the enormous cruise ship moored at the shore. "Cao Dongdong, are you sure this is the one we're going to ride?"

“That’s right, this is the ‘Leaping Fish’ luxury cruise ship.” Cao Dongdong crossed his arms and looked calm. “It’s the most luxurious and largest cruise ship on the Xiayun River, with a length of 300 meters and a gross tonnage of over 100,000 tons.”

"The ship has hundreds of outdoor swimming pools and various entertainment facilities, and the 24-hour buffet is free." Cao Dongdong waved the luxury ticket in his hand. "With this ticket, we can not only stay in the best luxury single room on the top floor, but also enjoy all kinds of services on the ship at will."

"Wow!" Zhao Qian's eyes lit up. "Why hasn't Qin Lang arrived yet? I can't wait to get on the ship!"

"Speaking of which, I'm a little puzzled too." Cao Dongdong shrugged. "The agreed meeting time is almost over, and Qin Lang isn't usually late. Could he have been delayed on the way?"

"Probably not..." Zhao Qian stood on tiptoe and looked around, quickly spotting a figure carrying large and small bags approaching from a distance. "Here they come!"

"Qin Lang! Over here!"

Qin Lang looked up and nodded at Zhao Qian, then led the two food spirits through the crowded throng to meet up with the two.

"Why did you bring so much stuff?" Zhao Qian asked, somewhat surprised. "You didn't have this much stuff on previous trips."

"There's no other way, I brought extra sauces with me this time." Qin Lang sighed. "I originally wanted to send them directly to the end of the trip, but considering that I might need them for the Level 2 Food Recommender assessment, I brought them with me."

Hearing this, Zhao Qian and Cao Dongdong shrugged helplessly.

They both already knew about the test that Mr. Li Yuantu had given Qin Lang.

Although Zhao Qian also obtained seven Level 1 Food Recommender Badges, she did not intend to continue down the path of cooking. Instead, she wanted to activate her subsequent Star Veins by obtaining the Spirit Bearer Badge.

As for Cao Dongdong, he is still working hard for his fourth Level 1 Food Recommender badge, and the Level 2 assessment is still a long way off.

The two could only offer Qin Lang moral support during his assessment.

"It's almost time to check in, let's go queue up now." Zhao Qian pointed to the dense queue at the ticket gate. "If we wait any longer, we'll have to wait a long time just to queue up."

“No problem.” Cao Dongdong said calmly. “We have luxury tickets, so we can use the special channel to board the ship.”

"Really? Then take a look at what that is?" Zhao Qian pointed to a ticket gate with a sign that read "Deluxe Ticket Exclusive Lane".

There was a long queue in front of the ticket gate.

Although they had luxury tickets, they weren't the only three people with luxury tickets.

“Okay, you’re right.” Cao Dongdong sighed, picked up his luggage, and strode to the back of the line.

After Qin Lang and his two companions reached the end of the line, the figure standing in front of them slowly turned around, his gray hair shining brightly in the sunlight.

It was Li Yuantu, whom Qin Lang had visited a few days ago.

However, compared to that day, Li Yuantu was now wearing a floral shirt and beach shorts, looking relaxed and ready for a vacation, no longer as serious as before.

"Good morning!" Li Yuantu waved to Qin Lang and the other two with a smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Li Yuantu." Qin Lang smiled in surprise. "I almost didn't recognize you today."

"Even though it's a business trip, you have to enjoy life in your spare time." Li Yuantu chuckled, glancing at Qin Lang's bags of sauces, his smile widening.

"I'm really looking forward to your answer sheet." "Don't disappoint me!"

"I won't let you down!" Qin Lang said earnestly, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

He will definitely give it his all in this Level 2 Food Recommender assessment.

"That's the kind of drive we need." Li Yuantu gave Qin Lang an approving look, then strode towards the front of the group.

"Hmm?" Cao Dongdong looked at Li Yuantu's departing figure with a suspicious expression. "Did he cut in line?"

“Mr. Li Yuantu’s seat should have been at the front; he deliberately stayed here to wait for me,” Qin Lang said with a wry smile.

"That's good too. Being with Level 2 food recommenders puts a lot of pressure on me." Zhao Qian, who was standing next to her, visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the three, the group slowly moved forward.

Just then, melodious musical instruments and singing suddenly came from the crowd not far away, causing a small commotion among the crowd.

“That voice…” Qin Lang looked suspicious. “Why does it sound so familiar?”

"That sounds more than just vaguely familiar." Cao Dongdong, standing to the side, looked surprised and couldn't help but stand on tiptoe to look in the direction from which the groan came.

A handsome man with long, flowing silver hair carried an instrument in one hand and gently stroked it with the other, plucking out a melodious tune while humming a sweet song. He walked step by step through the crowd, passing right in front of Qin Lang and his companions.

"It's Mr. Zuo Ge!" Zhao Qian exclaimed, waving vigorously at Zuo Ge who was not far away. "Mr. Zuo Ge, look here!"

Zuo Ge subconsciously turned his head and saw Qin Lang and the other two. His eyes lit up with surprise. He stopped playing the zither and quickly walked to their side.

"We meet again, my friend."

“I’ve already composed a new ballad about the story of the Silver Deer, and I was thinking of singing it to you sometime.” Zoge smiled. “I never imagined that fate would bring us together again.”

"This must be a reunion bestowed upon us by the leaping fish."

"A leaping fish?" Qin Lang blinked, about to ask what it was, when a shout of "Make way!" suddenly came from the side.

Immediately afterwards, several uniformed staff members walked over and surrounded Zuo Ge. "Sir, please stop your performance art. This is the ticket gate, and you did not buy a ticket."

"You didn't buy a ticket?!"

Qin Lang and the other two stared at Zuo Ge in disbelief.

Zuo Ge scratched his head awkwardly, then chuckled, "My friend, can I exchange the legend of the Leaping Fish for a ticket?"
-
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away from the dock, a fish-shaped telescope protruding from the water was pointed towards the cruise ship. The support rod below the telescope went down and eventually connected to the huge robotic fish that was submerged at the bottom of the river.

"They're boarding! Qin Lang is boarding!"

Looking at Qin Lang boarding the "Leaping Fish" through the telescope, Liu Chuang, sitting in the robotic fish, excitedly patted Luo Mi, "This thing is really useful!"

“Of course,” Lomi hummed. “This is the latest underwater tracking equipment I purchased from the Ferri region. It’s guaranteed to be foolproof.”

"I went back to headquarters a while ago to activate the second star vein, which gave Qin Lang a few days of peace and quiet. Now... koo koo!"

"This arrest plan must be foolproof!"

(End of this chapter)