CHAPTER 662: CHAPTER 661: TRADE FAIR (PART 2)

"2 jin of ’Gem Meat’?"

Without saying a word, Xia Yu burst out laughing. Finally, wrapping her arms around herself, she looked the scruffy Hunter up and down with a discerning eye, "So you’re Jintan Shun, the international eighth-ranked Qilin-level Gourmet Hunter? I’ve heard of you. ’Silverback Prophets’ are indeed rare, but, heh, if you’re thinking of bartering for ’Gem Meat,’ the grade is just too far apart!"

Jintan Shun’s face immediately fell.

"Lady, this is a transaction between men. Could you not interfere?" he exhaled a vexed ring of smoke.

Zhu Qing couldn’t help but laugh, "Fine, fine, it’s a man’s deal. You guys talk. Eriina and I will go wander elsewhere."

Despite her quirky nature, her life experiences laid bare before her, it was clear to Zhu Qing that the two men needed some private space to talk.

And talk about it, they did.

In the past while, Xia Yu had thrown a number of accusations about the illicit acquisition of various ingredients on Jintan Shun’s head without any justification. Zhu Qing and Dojima Yin had no way of verifying the truth, so they could only believe it.

And, given Jintan Shun’s background, the credibility of the seemingly casual explanations Xia Yu offered was actually quite high.

"Awesome!"

As the two women walked away, Jintan Shun gave a thumbs up, "Ever since I bumped into you at the snowy Chuyun Shrine, I knew you weren’t some ordinary fish in the pond. Yeah, just like the media describes you, a golden dragon ready to soar. Now I’ve truly seen it!"

Xia Yu’s mouth twitched, "Can we not play these games, please?"

How could he not see Jintan Shun’s eagerness for the ’Gem Meat’? Right now, with all the sucking up and relationship-building, it all boiled down to a single motive in disguise.

"I’m serious!"

Jintan Shun took another drag of his cigarette, pulled out a small square black iron box, retrieved a treasured black-rolled cigarette, and handed it over with apparent pain, "Kid, this is a ’Leafroll Tree’ special fantasy cigarette, the old Hunter’s favorite. You’re going to like it!"

"It’s quite spicy but strong. Take a drag before a blood-pumping fight for focus, or when you’re lonely and bored. As the smoke fills your lungs and the spice courses through your body, it won’t let your blood run cold..."

"No, thanks, I don’t smoke—"

Xia Yu waved it off, not even caring to look, rejecting Jintan Shun’s kind offer. But they squatted down side by side, leaning against the trading post’s tent, one puffing clouds of smoke, the other savoring the view of the entire festival-covered barren hill. Sometimes, being outside the crowd, just quietly watching people come and go, listening to the noise, could indeed be quite pleasant.

Snap!

Jintan Shun was the first to lose his composure, pinching off the last bit of his cigarette and stamping it hard into the ground.

"These are the ingredients I have on hand for trade. Take a look!" He unlocked his phone, slid it over, and immediately changed his tone to a serious one, "You know, I desperately need to gather Forbidden Ingredients like ’Gem Meat’ to prepare for a culinary showdown that concerns my very life and fortune!"

Xia Yu glanced briefly at the phone screen, didn’t look closely, and said indifferently, "Apart from some rare species, I don’t need the others."

"Then give me some time!"

"You’ve misunderstood..."

"Huh?" Jintan Shun peered at him intently upon hearing this.

"Actually, I have a different way of trading," said Xia Yu. "You’ve left the snow mountain, returned to the city, right? How about it, are you interested in working for me for a while? Your payment will be ’Gem Meat,’ or ’Five-headed Bird Eggs,’ or any other ingredient I have, if you prefer."

After a long silence.

"Work for you?" Jintan Shun clearly showed interest. As a Gourmet Hunter and formerly a Food Mercenary, he had no aversion to being hired, especially since he was also urgently seeking revenge. Compared to that, "selling himself" for Forbidden Ingredients was really nothing.

He opened his mouth, about to ask for more details, when suddenly there came a clamor from the foot of the distant hill.

"Aunt Qing, where’s Eriina?" Xia Yu got up and looked around. In front of a large tent similar to those used for circuses, there was a dense crowd with sounds of arguments emanating from it. He was worried that Zhu Qing might cause trouble, especially at a time when they had just won the "Jade Dragon Pot" and should be keeping a low profile. Without care for anything else, he quickened his pace and headed over there.

"Hey! That’s..." Jintan Shun could only follow quickly.

At the periphery, once Xia Yu could clearly hear the voices, he relaxed. It wasn’t Zhu Qing and Eriina who were arguing, but a pair of plump socialites.

The socialites were fighting over a pet in a small cage. They might be relatives of some famous chefs or great gourmands. After all, being able to pass the identity check and get here indicated a certain social status.

But the quarrel between the socialites wasn’t much different from that of neighborhood old ladies. One lady from Osaka, speaking in dialect, pointed at another lady wearing a mink coat and cursed her out. The gist was that her bid was higher, so the item should be hers, and she shouldn’t be causing a fuss. Being from Osaka, her language was inevitably filled with coarse words.

The lady in the mink coat then loudly mocked, "Typical of Osaka grandmas!"

"Driving without following traffic rules, dirty and messy streets, jaywalking, littering, known as the place with the lowest quality in all of Neon... Humph, you certainly reek of money! What does it matter if you’re rich? Compared to us from the Capital City, it’s like the difference between nobles and country bumpkins! Disgraceful!"

Great, the fight had escalated into a regional spat between the people of Osaka and the Capital City. Nearby, Japanese chefs who got caught in the crossfire felt humiliated. They tried to intervene but ended up being showered with a torrent of abuse.

Xia Yu watched speechlessly, amused on the inside and reminded of a talk show he used to love watching before throwing himself into the world of cooking.

That show traveled through various prefectures and cities in Neon, interviewing passersby, deliberately exposing regional conflicts. As a result, Neon people, who seemed polite at first glance, transformed into powerful detractors on the show, expressing the fiercest form of regional prejudice.

The Capital City has a profound historical background, so its people usually carry themselves with a noble and chilly elegance.

Osaka, on the other hand, was unanimously labeled as vulgar by the people of the island country.

As for the regional conflicts, there was so much to talk about. Without even starting on the differences between Kansai and Kantou, even within the Tokyo Metropolitan area, a rigorous hierarchy was formed with the 23 wards berating each other intensely. The residents of the Port District, Central District, and Chiyoda District seemed to stand above it all, chuckling without a word.

This quarrel was boring compared to the show. Xia Yu found Zhu Qing and Eriina who had slipped into the large tent, which appeared to be a shop. He entered with Jintan Shun, and they were immediately exposed to a world of wonders.

The seemingly small tent was packed with all sorts of pets.

Insects, reptiles.

Birds, mammals.

And many creatures Xia Yu couldn’t name, undoubtedly all exotic and rare species.

Xia Yu inspected a transparent basin next to the tent flap, where a turtle was lying quietly in shallow water.

"Has the shell of a turtle but the head and tail are like a lizard’s, hiss, with scales..."

"Heh, this is an ’Earth Dragon Turtle’, just a juvenile though," Jintan Shun explained. "It’s carnivorous but doesn’t eat ordinary meat, making it quite difficult to raise. Adults can grow to enormous sizes with immense strength and formidable fighting capabilities, which is why the IGO has given its adult form a hunting level of 20."

"Interested in keeping one?" Jintan Shun winked at him.

"No!" Xia Yu exclaimed upon hearing it was an "Earth Dragon Turtle". This was the plaything of the rich in the Middle East, something he couldn’t afford.

Looking further into the tent, he saw Zhu Qing and Eriina standing at a counter, gazing at a small glass vial with sparkling eyes, as if they were looking at the world’s most beautiful diamond.

"So it’s the miraculous insect known as ’Tears of the Sea’!"

With a smirk, Jintan Shun teased, "Although this insect isn’t suitable for consumption, it is a very popular ornamental pet, full of poetry and elegance... Looks like you’re going to spend some money!"