Douluo Continent: Gourmet Prisoner

The next morning, the first rays of sunlight, like melting gold leaf, pierced through the layers of chocolate leaves, dappling the ground in the forest.

Shi Yu, Zhu Lu, and Huo Yutong were awakened by a clear bird song. The sound was not the chatter of a chocolate bird, but rather a clear and melodious one, like a silver bell coated with honey.

The three of them crawled out of the makeshift chocolate tree hole and took a deep breath of the morning air—the air was a mixture of the richness of cocoa, the sweet and sour taste of berries, and the freshness of grass and trees, sweet but not cloying, making them instantly refreshed.

After a night's rest, the three of them were full of energy. After taking a few bites of the remaining chocolate raptor, they couldn't wait to head towards the center of the forest.

The sunlight was just right, dispelling the gloom of the night, and the entire view of this chocolate primeval forest finally unfolded before their eyes.

As far as the eye can see, there is an endless chocolate forest. The trunks are made of dark brown dark chocolate, light brown milk chocolate, and even rare white chocolate. The patterns on the bark are clearly visible, like carefully carved designs.

The leaves are a deep, rich green, and when you get close, they have a faint aroma of matcha. When the wind blows, the leaves rustle, and occasionally a few matcha chocolate leaves will fall and make a crisp sound as they hit the ground.

The meadow in the woods is covered with colorful "grasses"—red ones are strawberry-flavored chocolate, yellow ones are mango-flavored chocolate, and purple ones are grape-flavored chocolate.

What shocked the three of them the most was the dinosaur herds that could be seen everywhere in the forest.

On a wide open grassland not far away, groups of herbivorous dragons were slowly feeding.

They come in all shapes and sizes. Some look like enlarged versions of Triceratops, with three horns on their heads made of crisp white chocolate and scales on their backs made of colorful fruit chocolates, such as red strawberries, yellow bananas, and green cantaloupes, making them dazzling to behold.

Some are Brachiosaurus with long, slender necks, their necks resembling long rainbow chocolate bars, one segment red, one segment blue, and one segment purple. They are stretching their necks to nibble on matcha chocolate leaves high up, and as they chew, tiny chocolate crumbs fall from the corners of their mouths.

There were also a few round, plump ankylosaurs, their bodies covered in thick matcha chocolate scales, lying on the ground, slowly munching on chocolate grass, occasionally flicking their tails. The bone hammers on their tails were made of hard dark chocolate and looked quite heavy.

These vegetarian dragons move very gently and do not disturb each other. Occasionally, they will rub against each other's bodies as if they are greeting each other. The whole scene is harmonious and healing.

But this tranquility is always broken by unexpected hunting.

Just as the three were engrossed in watching, a series of heavy footsteps came from deep within the woods, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Immediately afterward, a lithe black shadow suddenly darted out. It was a slender carnivorous dragon with a streamlined body covered in dark chocolate scales that gleamed mattely in the sunlight. Its head was sharp and pointed, and its teeth were snow-white chocolate, gleaming coldly.

Its target was a small Triceratops that had fallen behind the group.

With a powerful leap, it pounced like a black lightning bolt. The little triceratops was terrified and let out a soft scream before turning to run away.

Just as the baby Triceratops was about to fall into the tiger's mouth, the larger Triceratops not far away suddenly became alert.

They all raised their heads, revealing the sharp chocolate horns on their heads, and let out deep roars as they charged towards the carnivorous dragon in droves.

In an instant, the colorful figures collided with the black figures, making a "crunching" sound—the crisp sound of chocolate colliding.

Although the carnivorous dragons were fierce, they were no match for the shepherd dragons' sheer numbers. Before long, they were forced to retreat in defeat, and finally, they could only growl in resentment and turn to disappear into the depths of the forest.

Such scenes are common in this forest.

Occasionally, carnivorous dinosaurs would swiftly strike, hunting down lone herbivorous dinosaurs, their roars echoing through the forest.

Occasionally, herbivorous dragons would unite, using their massive bodies and hard armor to drive away the ferocious carnivorous dragons and defend their territory and companions.

The three of them were overwhelmed by what they saw. One moment they were worried for the lone little vegetarian dragon, and the next they cheered for the unity of the vegetarian dragon group.

Do you think that's why you're overwhelmed by all the choices?

That's incorrect. Actually, the three of them were looking at the colorful chocolates and didn't know which one to eat, so they were overwhelmed by the choices.

But as she continued her observations, Huo Yutong discovered an interesting pattern.

She tugged at Shi Yu's arm, pointed to two dinosaurs not far away, and whispered, "Brother Shi Yu, look, aren't those carnivorous dinosaurs chasing their prey all about the same color?"

Shi Yu and Zhu Lu looked in the direction she pointed, and sure enough, whether it was the black carnivorous dragon from before or the other carnivorous dragon lurking in the forest now, their body colors could not escape the range of black and brown, either pure black dark chocolate or dark brown milk chocolate, with almost no other bright colors.

In contrast, the herbivorous dragons have colors that look like an overturned palette, with reds, yellows, blues, purples, and all sorts of colors, dazzling the eyes.

The three stopped and observed carefully for a while, discovering that the pattern was invariably the same for all of them.

Those ferocious carnivorous dragons were all the color of dark chocolate or milk chocolate.

The gentle vegetarian dragon is dressed in a colorful "coat," with each color corresponding to the flavor of a fruit or dessert.

"I get it!" Shi Yu suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes shining with sudden realization.

"Look, carnivorous dinosaurs only eat meat, which is the chocolate body of other dinosaurs. And they mostly prey on herbivorous dinosaurs. But think about it, although the meat of herbivorous dinosaurs is colorful, they eat leaves and grass. The base of those leaves and grass is actually chocolate."

"Carnivorous dinosaurs fed on these chocolates for a long time, consuming dark chocolate and milk chocolate with high cocoa content, which is why their bodies were black and brown."

"In other words, this is a result of a long-term vegetarian diet."

Zhu Lu and Huo Yutong listened and realized what was happening, nodding repeatedly.

"Yes!" Huo Yutong said excitedly.

"Vegetarian dragons are different. They eat things like matcha leaves, strawberry chocolate grass, and blueberry chocolate grass. These foods themselves have the flavors of various fruits and desserts. Over time, their bodies naturally turn into all sorts of colors, and their flavors become rich and diverse!"

Zhu Lu added, "In other words, the meat of carnivorous dragons is generally mainly dark chocolate because of their long-term carnivorous diet, where they consume only pure cocoa. The meat of herbivorous dragons, on the other hand, is various fruit-flavored chocolates, a result of their long-term vegetarian diet!"

The three of them smiled at each other, and they all saw excitement and surprise in each other's eyes.

This discovery undoubtedly deepened their understanding of this original chocolate forest.

The sun was still shining warmly on them. Not far away, a group of colorful herbivorous dragons were strolling by, while in the shadows of the woods, a black carnivorous dragon was watching them intently.

This forest, brimming with wondrous colors, holds even more secrets waiting to be explored.