Adventure Begins with Pioneering Cuisine

Literary Blurb:

Another cataclysm is upon us, and the Feisla Continent is once again in turmoil.

After awakening his talent at thirteen, Lu Ranzhu never imagined his life would be such a turbulent ride.

System binding, racial identity, a second cataclysm, the Stele Summoning Squad...

A young Awakened from a border city is gradually swept into the tide of his era.

"Do people drive the course of history, or does history carry people along?"

It's a question of process and outcome, and Lu Ranzhu chooses to enjoy the outcome.

Sitting before a campfire, he wonders aloud:

"Why can't I be born in this era and shine in it?"

"Even a faintly glowing star is part of the starry sky."

Original Blurb:

Thirteen-year-old Lu Ranzhu finally scraped together enough to buy a ticket to the lowest-level Awakening Tower.

But being a cheapskate wasn't all that was wrong with him. He was poor and unlucky, too. On the day of his awakening, the bargain-basement tower exploded, and a golden spoon falling from the sky knocked him unconscious.

"Are you the talent I awakened?"

"That's right. I'm your talent!"

"Can you help me make money?"

"Of course! I'm the Gourmet Exploration System!"

But when the little Golden Spoon opened its System interface under its Host's eager gaze, all it saw was a vast gray expanse.

[Beep! Level too low! Insufficient permissions!]

Lu Ranzhu, who could both hear and see it: "?"

The sweating, guilty Golden Spoon: "Beep! Your awakened talent needs to level up!"

From that day on, Lu Ranzhu's life took a sharp turn and gradually veered into the realm of the absurd.

**

The Feisla Heroes' List is a ranking of Awakened that everyone across the continent loves to discuss.

Then one day, an Awakened called Burning Gold, who had been at the very bottom of the list, began surging upward and forced his way into the top twenty.

Countless Awakened began speculating about Burning Gold's identity.

No one knew that the person they were so curious about was weaving through the crowd with a body left weak by his own poison, while bickering with his "talent."

Meanwhile, the strongest fighter was curled up comfortably in the warm hollow of Lu Ranzhu's neck, thoroughly enjoying his ongoing "recovery."

Reading Guide:

1. The strongest, a dragon who can't keep his appetite to himself, gong (younger generation) x a fake gourmet who tries every plant, shou.

2. My take on gourmet adventure, wearing a heavy leveling-story outer shell. Food gets little mention early on and only comes into play once the main plot gets underway!

3. The System gets plenty of screen time, and the main plot is front and center!

4. Slow burn!

5. If it's not for you, please don't read.

-- My next upcoming novel: The Generous Game Merchant. If you're interested, please add it to your reading list~

After transmigrating, Shen Dian thought he had landed in a world where he would rise to greatness. But he waited and waited for his "golden finger" to show up. After turning ten, he finally gave up hope and decided to follow in his mother's footsteps and become an excellent gatherer.

In this world, his nose was a little different from other people's.

That gave him a bit of an aptitude for becoming a gatherer.

At eighteen, Shen Dian went out as usual, only to stare in shock for a moment at the sea of people flooding the streets.

Then he heard the familiar call, "Level 20 dungeon, anyone want to party?" and his eyes filled with tears.

Shen Dian: ...It's finally here, my golden finger!

Soon, Shen Dian noticed something was off. The players he could see seemed to be confined to the town, and he could only interact with them in certain fixed locations.

Shen Dian looked at the basket on his back: !

A business opportunity!

**

Luoming Continent is an intelligent full-dive game that has taken the future world by storm.

Its rare materials are all the rage on StarNet, drawing countless players into the game.

Some people spend days trying to win favor and get nothing, while others get rare materials by accidentally slapping someone.

All sorts of bizarre discovery methods keep cropping up.

But one day, players became inexplicably fascinated by a merchant NPC who appeared at a fixed location in the beginner village.

"I'm convinced Brother Shen is my wish-granting machine. I told him I wanted some Fluffgrass, and the next day he brought me some. I'm crying... I'm so touched!"

"Look at all the good stuff he's got. He can even get materials from regions that haven't opened yet!"

"Seriously? Even rare materials?!"

From low-tier crafting materials to all kinds of rare materials, no one could guess what might be in his basket.

Soon, Shen Dian's name was all over the forums. A huge crowd of devoted fans flocked to him, together crowning him their favorite NPC.

Game designer: Huh? Did we even add this NPC?

Shen Dian: Hehe, made another killing today!

Theme: Though the moss flower is no bigger than a grain of rice, it still strives to bloom like a peony.