The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 572 An unexpected encounter

"Zhao Qian!"

"Zhao Qian, are you there?"

On another beach in the ideal land, Cao Dongdong shouted at the top of his lungs, but there was nothing to answer him except the salty sea breeze.

After a moment, he wearily lowered his hands. "This guy, didn't he say he'd wait for us when we entered the ideal land?"

"Why can't we find her even after searching for so long?"

"Fira~" Tuan Tuan snuggled up to him and rubbed against him.

“Tuantuan, you’re right. Zhao Qian shouldn’t leave us behind first.” Cao Dongdong stroked his chin, looking thoughtful. “Besides, we’ve been here for almost half an hour, and Qin Lang hasn’t come over yet.”

"So!" Cao Dongdong took a deep breath, his expression becoming serious.

"Tuantuan, if I'm not mistaken..."

"They must be lost!"

“Fi...La?” Tuan Tuan’s expression became blank.

Are you sure they're the ones who got lost, and not us?

"Sigh, I didn't expect them to be so careless as to get lost in a place like this." Cao Dongdong sighed, looking like "my teammates are all troublesome." "In that case, let's rely on the two of us this time."

Tuan Tuan: "=_="

Before Tuantuan could even complain, Cao Dongdong shouted excitedly.

"I already have a plan!"

Upon hearing this, Tuantuan immediately adopted an expression of listening attentively.

“Since Zuo Ge has already arrived here, let’s find him first.” Cao Dongdong paused for a moment. “Although he got lost, the others must have also come to the Land of Ideals. Once we find Zuo Ge, finding them will be much easier.”

"After all, both Zuo Ge and I are quite reliable teammates!"

At this point, Cao Dongdong proudly puffed out his chest.

He could almost see himself and Zuo Ge descending like divine warriors, bringing back one by one their lost companions from the ideal land!
“Fira…” Tuan Tuan’s expression suddenly turned strange, but then it suddenly changed its expression and looked sharply at the jungle not far away.

Then, without hesitation, it stood in front of Cao Dongdong.

"Rustle...rustle..."

A slight sound came from the bushes not far away.

Even Cao Dongdong's expression became tense.

Under the tense gazes of the human and the spirit, a figure pushed aside the dense bushes and walked towards them while scratching his head.

"Little Pi, Little Mantis, what do you think Lomi will do...?"

Seeing Cao Dongdong and Tuantuan standing in front of him with astonished expressions, he stopped talking abruptly.

Their eyes met, and two exclamations rang out almost simultaneously.

"It's you?!" x2——
"This place called the Ideal Land is indeed a bit strange."

Qin Lang led Danbao and Lala through the bushes, heading towards the forest and the city beyond. As time passed, a thoughtful expression gradually appeared on his face.

"This thicket is so quiet."

"It was as if no animals existed at all."

“Gurgle~” Egg Baby nodded in deep agreement.

After hearing this, Lala looked around, then "woof!" she bit into a clump of bushes not far away, and then spat out the leaves from her mouth.

"...Lala, you won't find any animals this way."

"Chapter chapter!" Lala returned to Qin Lang's side.

Qin Lang regained his composure and continued speaking.

"This quiet thicket of bushes gives me an illusion," "as if it hadn't formed naturally."

At this point, Qin Lang looked up at the city that was faintly visible beyond the forest.

What exactly is the ideal country?
With this thought in mind, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

After crossing the bushes and entering the forest, Qin Lang still didn't see any trace of animals, as if it were an empty world.

Then, a faint sound came from afar.

"The rustling—"

Upon hearing the sound, Qin Lang abruptly stopped and looked around in surprise and uncertainty. "Did you two just hear that?"

Danbao and Lala looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.

"Strange, could it be my imagination?" Qin Lang muttered to himself, but then he heard a clearer sound.

This time, even Danbao and Lala heard it.

Both the human and the spirits showed tense expressions, anxiously watching the direction from which the sound came.

Before long, a tall figure emerged from the dappled shadows of the trees. Upon seeing Qin Lang, he was first taken aback, then both amused and exasperated.

"Qin Lang? What are you doing here?"

"Captain Qiao!" Qin Lang exclaimed, his face showing surprise and delight.

"I never expected that you would be the first person I meet here!"

Then, as if remembering something, he quickly said, "We came in with Miss Qiao Yu. Your disappearance worried her a lot, so..."

"What?! Xiaoyu too…" Qiao Hong's expression changed slightly, "She entered here too?"

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded. "She came in before me."

“Sigh…” Qiao Hong sighed deeply. “This girl is still so reckless. When we went missing, she should have stayed at the Public Security Bureau to oversee things and hand over the assistance sent by the association, instead of coming to find us.”

As he spoke, Qiao Hong shook his head.

He knew his daughter's personality better than anyone else.

"Captain Qiao, if I'm not mistaken, you must have gotten separated from the other people in the Public Security Bureau, right?" Qin Lang asked softly.

“Yeah,” Qiao Hong sighed, “This godforsaken place.”

“But now that everyone’s in, we should be able to find each other if we spend a little more time.” Qiao Hong glanced at Qin Lang and let out a soft sigh. “Your appearance has made me even more certain of this.”

Since they were able to meet Qin Lang, they were naturally able to meet other people as well.

"So, what exactly happened to you all?" Qin Lang couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It's a long story," Qiao Hong said slowly. "Since you came in with Xiaoyu, you should know something about the situation."

“Yes.” Qin Lang nodded. “Miss Qiao Yu said that some citizens claimed to have seen a huge city at sea, so you launched an investigation.”

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Qiao Hong’s expression became more complicated. “Initially, I didn’t care about it. I thought it was just a mirage. I could investigate it, appease the citizens, and then it would be over.”

"It's not just me; everyone else in the security management team thinks so too."

“But…” Qiao Hong paused slightly, “After the actual investigation, I found that this was not the case.”

"That enormous city is not a mirage."

"...What?" Qin Lang was slightly taken aback.

If it's not a mirage, then what is it?
He suddenly remembered something and looked down at his feet.

“You guessed right.” Noticing Qin Lang’s actions, Qiao Hong spoke slowly.

"What he sees is where we are right now."

(End of this chapter)