The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 524 The Missing Left (End of this volume)
"Doesn't this description by Little Chili sound a bit familiar to you guys?"

Qin Lang suddenly spoke up, "First, I heard a beautiful song, then I was lost in the sea in a daze, and then, Little Chili mentioned that the blue light and shadow had a long tail like a fish."

“It does look very familiar…” Cao Dongdong stroked his chin. “You mean, the one Little Chili encountered was the Qili Bay Monster?”

"Probably."

Qin Lang nodded, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the little goldfish beside him.

The little goldfish was originally a golden lake perch. Even if it were to transform into a rare spirit fish, it should still be a rare spirit fish of the perch family. However, with the help of the leaping fish, it transformed into a completely new species that encompasses the characteristics of most fish and can adapt to all kinds of cooking.

This means that legendary beings have the ability to bestow special abilities upon precious spirits.

The Qili Bay monster that Zuo Ge is investigating is most likely a legendary creature, and the descriptions of it in the rumors match everything Xiao La Jiao just said.

All the clues suggest that this is very likely what Little Chili encountered.

“If that’s the case, everything seems to make sense,” Tang Yu said softly. “The cruise ship’s disappearance was caused by the Qili Bay monster, which means that the monster has indeed been active in the coastal area recently.”

"And Little Chili is the one that was recently created and is being hunted by the Rare Animal Hunting Team."

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded seriously. "Manager Qu Dong and the other tourists on the cruise ship have not been found yet, and we don't know their situation."

“Captain Lin said before that this case has been transferred to the Guanling City Public Security Management Team.” Cao Dongdong paused slightly. “Why don’t we ask Zuo Ge?”

"When I called this guy last time, didn't he say he had already arrived at Qili Bay and was investigating clues?"

"Several days have passed now, he should have some leads by now."

As he spoke, Cao Dongdong casually dialed Zuo Ge's number.

But a full minute passed, and all I heard on the phone was a busy signal; there was no response from the other end.

“This…” Cao Dongdong frowned and continued making the call.

Once...twice...three times...

No one answered the phone.

Their hearts sank.

"I hope Mr. Zuo Ge isn't in any trouble?" Zhao Qian's pretty face tightened. "He's investigating the Qili Bay Monster, and the Qili Bay Monster can cause ships to lose their way..."

"Hopefully it won't be like that." Qin Lang took a deep breath. "Let's go back to the hotel to pack our things, and then head straight to Guanling City."

"The Guanling City Food Festival is about to begin, and we should continue to pay attention to the missing cruise ship. We should also inquire with the Guanling City Public Security Management Team about the situation."

“Yes!” Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian nodded, and then looked at Tang Yu at the same time.

"Although I really want to continue working with you all and keep up with this matter, the combat competition I signed up for is about to start." Tang Yu showed a helpless expression.

"So, we may have to part ways here."

"It's alright, Sister Tang Yu." Qin Lang smiled. "You've already helped us a lot during our trip to Xianyu Market."

"Good luck with your match, and we'll do our best to investigate."

"Yes." Tang Yu nodded. "If there's any progress in your investigation, please let me know by phone." "Also, I believe we'll definitely meet again in the future." Tang Yu chuckled softly, "on a bigger stage."

"Yes!" Qin Lang and the other two nodded emphatically.
-
In the hotel room, Qin Lang, with the help of Danbao and Lala, packed his luggage and then slowly closed his eyes, entering a state of introspection.

He completed the twenty-first painting upon reaching the estuary, but only now has he had time to check the Traveler's Book.

Turning to the back of the twenty-first painting, Qin Lang's face immediately broke into a predictable smile, for what came into view was a field of chili peppers.

This is clearly prepared for the newly joined Little Chili.

Under Qin Lang's gaze, mist rose around the chili field, and then slowly connected with the three precious spirit living areas he had previously obtained.

On the way back, Little Chili, who had already been added to the Traveler's Book but could only stay in the activity areas of the other three rare spirits for the time being, seemed to sense something. She looked at the newly appeared area, then cheered and rushed in, rolling around in the chili field.

Suddenly, a large number of chili seedlings broke through the soil in the lush chili field, and blossomed and bore fruit at a visible speed on the small mounds.

What surprised Qin Lang even more was that upon closer inspection, each cluster of the chili peppers that had grown was different, with dozens of different varieties in total.

Is this change brought about by the Qili Bay monster, or does the little chili pepper, as an auxiliary ingredient, possess the unique ability to produce so many different kinds of chili peppers?
Regardless, there is one thing Qin Lang is certain of.

That means that given time, he shouldn't need to worry about chili peppers anymore.

Chili seedlings grow and flower very quickly, but when it comes to fruiting, the speed slows down. The little chili peppers bury themselves in the soil, and their bodies recover from weakness to health at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the time its body recovers, the chili peppers will probably be ripe.

Without disturbing the recovering Little Chili, Qin Lang returned to the Traveler's Book and looked at the twenty-second painting that had been unlocked with the successful completion of the twenty-first painting.

It was a gloomy sea, with an endless thick fog above it. In the fog, vague outlines could be vaguely seen, as if they were hiding great mysteries.

The moment Qin Lang saw the painting, he knew what it represented.

Without a doubt, it is inextricably linked to the Qili Bay Monster.

It seems my trip to Guanling City won't be as peaceful as I imagined.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Lang withdrew from his internal vision and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Let's go." He glanced at the two Food Spirits beside him and said softly, "Dongdong and Zhao Qian should already be waiting for us downstairs."

The two spirits arrived at the hotel lobby, where Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian, who had also checked out, were standing.

"Sister Tang Yu has already left." Zhao Qian said softly, her eyes slightly red, clearly feeling very sad when she said goodbye to Tang Yu.

"We still can't get in touch with Zuo Ge." Cao Dongdong put down his phone and said with a serious expression, "I've been calling him the whole time. According to his usual habits, he should have answered the phone by now."

"It seems that something might have really happened to him."

"Don't worry." Thinking about the situation with the twenty-second painting they had just seen, Qin Lang said calmly, "We will find them all."

Since everything points to the same place, then…

"Let's go, destination: Guanling City."
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(End of this volume)

(End of this chapter)