Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 41: Seven Days Later, Gourmet Food Market

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Seven Days Later, Gourmet Food Market

Outside Bed City, a carriage bearing the emblem of the adventurer’s guild descended from the sky.

The Flying Horse folded its wings, and once the carriage settled, the coachman eagerly ran over to open the door.

"Have we arrived so soon?"

With an aged yet spirited voice, an elderly man dressed elegantly, his dense salt-and-pepper hair bold like a lion’s mane, stepped out of the carriage. He emanated an intimidating presence without showing anger and pulled out a gold pocket watch, saying,

"We are two hours ahead of schedule, the guild’s welcome ceremony is probably not ready yet, let’s take a look around the city first, I heard there have been quite some interesting events lately,"

"Mr. Ceder, I believe, ugh... I think we should first visit, ugh... the local Guild,"

Following him, a woman of neat appearance staggered out of the carriage, no, crawled out. Her face was pale, and she couldn’t help but retch frequently.

"After all, given your status, ugh..."

The old man named Ceder scowled, "Jina, as my assistant, it’s quite inelegant of you to get motion sickness. I order you to rest in the carriage,"

"Isn’t it because you insisted on speeding?" Jina finally managed to get out, leaned against a big tree to vomit for a while, and then weakly followed.

She didn’t trust the old man to act alone – who knows what kind of trouble he might stir up.

As soon as they entered Bed City, they sensed a different kind of life force.

Diverse adventurers of various races surged endlessly through every street, and figures armed with weapons were everywhere; the more the crowd, the noisier it got. Shops along the street used Magic Power megaphones to loudly loop advertisements to attract customers, so that having a conversation on the street required shouting.

The majority of people were in a hurry, as if they were rushing for something. Going to work, perhaps?

No, definitely not going to work.

Ceder, sharp as ever, noticed their eyes gleamed with longing and hope, and their mouths even held smiles; clearly, what they were up to was filled with joy.

So it definitely couldn’t be work!

"Were there so many people here before?" Ceder’s mouth didn’t move, yet his voice appeared in Jina’s mind.

"According to reports received by the headquarters, since the anomaly in Sain Dungeon, the number of adventurers staying in Bed City for more than three days has nearly doubled, and the number is still growing rapidly,"

Jina flipped through a notebook in her hands.

"Especially a week ago, a hidden area dubbed ’Food Paradise’ was discovered, attracting merchants from across the nation, rushing here relentlessly."

"A week ago, huh..." Ceder stroked his white beard.

"Earl Philip, who manages Bed City, converted a commercial street into a special market selling products from Food Paradise. Would you like to take a look?" Jina suggested, her interest in the so-called specialties evident.

"Earl Philip’s business acumen is as sharp as ever, completing such a big project in just a few days," Ceder remarked, then said, "Let’s go, let’s have a look at this so-called market."

As soon as they arrived at the food market, both stopped in their tracks.

For a gigantic creature emanating scorching heat hung upside down on a stake at the entrance of the market, making it impossible for anyone entering the market to overlook its presence.

It was a roasted whole pig, considerably larger compared to others of its kind, clearly dead for a while, but still emitting heat, and... a rich aroma!

Anyone entering the market was first stunned by this colossal being, then smelled the rich meat aroma. As they searched for the source of the aroma, they came to understand the true meaning of the market, the true meaning of Food Paradise!

"Was this pig roasted after being killed, or say..." Jina, eyes wide, muttered, "Was it already cooked from the beginning?"

Ceder took a few steps closer, and a person resembling a manager stopped him, but upon seeing his elegant clothing, presumably realizing he was a VIP, the manager politely said, "This is a non-sale item, for display only. If you wish to taste, please visit the stalls inside."

Ceder nodded, pointing to the roasted pig, he asked, "Whose handiwork is this? To be able to perfectly roast such a large ingredient, I really want to pay a visit,"

The manager immediately livened up, excitedly explaining, "Ah, sir, you must be new here? No wonder you don’t know. This huge pig, actually, was never touched by any chef!"

Ceder furrowed his brows, puzzled.

The manager, having seen similar reactions in recent days, felt a sense of superiority each time he explained, Look, I know so much more than you!

"It was born cooked from its mother’s womb!"

Born cooked from its mother’s womb?

As they walked away, Ceder still couldn’t grasp the meaning of that sentence.

A creature that’s born already cooked, how could it survive? It’s not an Elemental Creature.

"Sir, look over there," Jina’s voice woke him from his reverie, only to hear his assistant’s excited voice: "It’s all things I’ve never seen before,"

Things I’ve never seen?

I’ve grown up in the Royal City of Roland, what haven’t I seen!

Ceder looked disdainfully at the street vendors, then froze completely.

Octopus-legged fish, trees with boned roasted meat, willow trees whose branches are made of buckwheat noodles, lobsters shining like jewels...

Darn, he really hasn’t seen these before.

He scanned the area, trying to pinpoint even one ingredient he recognized, ah, there it is!

A pastry shop was selling sponge cakes, finally something familiar.

Sponge cakes couldn’t possibly have something to do with monsters, right?

Ceder stepped into the pastry shop and was about to say something when his gaze suddenly sharpened.

Because hanging in the pastry shop was a lion monster’s corpse!

The chubby owner was cutting the lion’s mane with a sharp knife, the mane was strangely squared and seemed as elastic as a sponge...

That’s the sponge cake!

He looked at the sponge cakes on the counter, his mouth twitched, realizing these cakes were cut from the lion’s body.

"Yo, would you like something?" The owner noticed him and greeted warmly.

"I’m just looking around,"

Ceder hurriedly left the shop, in fact, he was quite curious to try the taste, but it was somewhat embarrassing.

"Sir, try this,"

Jina suddenly brought two skewers of battered, fried items that looked like potatoes.

"Potatoes? No, the smell is more like..."

Ceder took a bite and his eyes widened instantly, "Fried pork chops?"

It was indeed a fried pork chop, both the texture and taste felt like a top-notch pork chop made by a master.

"I initially thought it was pork chop too, but," Jina said while eating: "This is actually a potato. I watched the owner pull it straight from the ground, and it was already fried when pulled out, it’s magical,"

Ceder looked at the potato pork chop in his hand, feeling his worldview crumbling.

Even the most experimental alchemists couldn’t come up with such a peculiar combination.

And these things, they all came from the Sain Dungeon?

As the two continued eating and strolling, the market, though constructed hastily, was well-equipped and each vendor sold varied items, making browsing rather irresistible.

At that moment, Ceder suddenly discovered an unusual stall because while other stalls were full of goods, this one was empty except for a tightly sealed box.

The vendor looked young, hands crossed and on the verge of sleep, a rare sight with black hair and eyes.

Intrigued, he approached and asked, "What are you selling?"

"Hmm,"

Gong Qiying rubbed his eyes, looked up at Ceder, and said:

"Rainbow Fruit, just a small piece,"

He added:

"It’s quite expensive, want to buy it?"