Chapter 63: [Painted Skin] + [Glutton] = [Devourer]

[The Gourmet 'Wang Jing' has appraised your A+-grade Minced Meat Pancake. Eerie Value +500!]

Looking at the prompt popping up on his phone screen right on schedule, Chen Ye raised an eyebrow. "An immediate increase of five hundred in Eerie Value? This growth rate is pretty decent!"

Previous batches of sugar-roasted chestnuts had only yielded a hundred points of Eerie Value, but he hadn't expected the Minced Meat Pancake to boost the return by a whopping fivefold.

Aside from the higher quality—reaching the A+ grade—this was likely also tied to originality.

After all, sugar-roasted chestnuts were not an invention of Chen Ye's, so the Eerie Value returned naturally wouldn't be as high.

However, as a dish newly researched and developed by himself, bringing the Minced Meat Pancake to the [Gourmet] for appraisal granted an additional multiplier to the Eerie Value growth.

This also demonstrated that an exceptional chef must possess a heart of creation.

Right at that moment, the blood-red phone suddenly buzzed with a series of incoming messages sent by Wang Jing.

[Wang Jing: "Holy crap, Big Bro! I think I dropped a trait item from a monster!"]

[Wang Jing: "Big Bro, did your food bestow such mighty power upon me?"]

[Wang Jing: "Such a massive phantom, and I blasted it into mere scraps of minced meat with a single punch. Absolutely legendary!"]

[Ding! Wang Jing has uploaded the 'Glutton's Heart' to the trading interface, requesting a transaction...]

"???"

Gazing at the messages on the screen, Chen Ye felt his mind filled with question marks.

After inquiring in detail, he finally learned that Wang Jing had just encountered a customer who came for an appraisal.

As a result, because the customer's dish was far too unpalatable, Wang Jing had accidentally beaten the visitor to death with a single punch!

Wang Jing was merely a [Gourmet]; where would he get such fierce physical strength? At best, his tongue possessed exceptional skills.

Being able to obliterate that phantom with one punch was entirely thanks to the Minced Meat Pancake.

Chen Ye couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised, not expecting the explosive power of the Minced Meat Pancake to be so ferocious that it could genuinely insta-kill a somewhat weak phantom!

Eating the Minced Meat Pancake could literally pound a phantom into minced meat?

Immediately afterward.

Chen Ye's gaze fell upon the trading panel, specifically the [Glutton's Heart] sent by Wang Jing.

Drawing upon the gaming knowledge stored in his mind, he instantly recognized this trait item.

[Chen Ye: "This should be a foundational item of the Glutton sequence, usable by most players. You can check if it can merge with your profession."]

[Wang Jing: "Big Bro, it doesn't seem to work. The prompt says there's a conflict between the Gourmet and the Glutton, making fusion impossible."]

[Chen Ye: "Is that so?"]

Recalling slightly, Chen Ye vaguely remembered that such a setting indeed existed.

The [Gourmet] focuses primarily on appraisal, requiring slow chewing and careful savoring to distinguish the unique deliciousness of food. However, the roleplay of the [Glutton] demands binge eating, which ironically prevents one from tasting the flavors of the food. Even though both are professional sequences related to "eating," their attributes are in complete conflict.

Consequently, ordinary players can absorb the [Glutton], but the [Gourmet] cannot.

Chen Ye shook his head with a smile, thinking this fellow was quite unlucky; after finally dropping a versatile, universal trait item, he couldn't even merge with it.

In the early stages, trait items with universal absorbability actually hold a relatively high value.

Some advanced trait items require specific professions, or possession of certain necessary traits as prerequisites, before they can be fused and absorbed.

In that case, the value unleashed by such an item would have to be delayed.

What if one played the waiting game, only to find no suitable sequence all the way until the end of the game? Wouldn't it just sit in the warehouse gathering dust forever?

However...

Being able to drop a [Glutton] trait item meant it certainly retained its value.

Placing it on the [Eerie Black Market] to exchange with other players in need of trait items could serve as a more than adequate bargaining chip.

Similar to the [Gourmet], the [Glutton] possesses attributes that ignore the negative effects of food, ensuring that even consuming unclean food will not result in death. In the near future, the entire city of Linjiang would face the crisis and ordeal of food scarcity; traits like this would undoubtedly be in extremely high demand!

Just then, the blood-red screen flashed with another message sent by Wang Jing—

[Wang Jing: "Big Bro, do you need this Glutton's Heart? We can make an exchange."]

[Chen Ye: "An exchange? But I don't have any other trait items on hand at the moment..."]

[Wang Jing: "No, no, no. Big Bro, you just need to give me a discount when you have food to sell in the future, and give me priority in tasting any newly crafted dishes. That will do."]

[Chen Ye: "Are you sure... isn't this a bit too much of a loss for you?"]

[Wang Jing: "That's hardly certain. Since it's not the same professional sequence, I can't absorb it anyway... This thing is indeed quite valuable in the early game, but later on it'll probably become worthless junk. But being able to enjoy Big Bro's discounts means I'll break even sooner or later!"]

[Chen Ye: "Aren't you afraid I'll break my promise, or that some unexpected accident might happen down the line?"]

[Wang Jing: "Hehe, you're a top-ranking big shot, and after trading so many times, you've always kept your integrity. Therefore, I'm willing to trust you!"]

[Ding! Gourmet 'Wang Jing' has confirmed the trade...]

With a slight stir in his heart, Chen Ye looked at the confirmed trading panel, momentarily speechless.

"Could it be because I rejected the trading invitations of other players?"

After a moment, Chen Ye recalled the Three-Colored Ring, within which the "Mystic Yellow" radiance had not yet truly been triggered.

If it were an ordinary player, upon seizing the chance to make a massive fortune, they would either hike up prices or make a quick cash grab.

Chen Ye, however, had not done so, effectively passing up this opportunity to profit from a disaster.

Yet...

The halo of fortune didn't seem to dissipate because of this; instead, it had transformed into another way, presenting Chen Ye with an even greater gift.

Had Chen Ye accepted all player trades and avoided sparking discussions on the forum, Wang Jing might not have made such a judgment. This invisibly helped facilitate a transaction of unequal value, as if guided by the subtle arrangements of destiny.

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then placed three hundred copper coins onto the platform and accepted the trade.

He did not wish to completely free-ride on the [Glutton's Heart] gifted by Wang Jing, having perceived a faint clue hidden within this development of fate.

Thus, he could circumvent risks that might arise in the future.

Though he paid three hundred copper coins, purchasing a [Glutton's Heart] and placing it on the [Eerie Black Market] was an unimaginable feat.

Even for a thousand copper coins, no player might be willing to sell it.

Overall, it was still a profitable deal.

What's more, for the current Chen Ye, earning a few hundred copper coins was by no means a difficult task. At worst, he could accept other players' trading invitations; three hundred copper coins could be acquired in a matter of minutes.

Yet, using this cost to evade unknown risks potentially brought by "fate" could be considered extremely reasonable.

Transaction successful!

Chen Ye sent a message: "Heh, you're a gourmet to begin with; as a long-term customer, discounts are naturally in order. You can taste any new dishes for free in the future. Either way, both of us earn Eerie Value."

"Great," Wang Jing replied excitedly.

Closing the blood-red phone.

Chen Ye took a deep breath, putting aside any further thoughts on the matter.

Having paid three hundred copper coins, it wasn't a free ride, and he likely wouldn't leave any loopholes behind due to an unequal twist of fate.

Prudence above all!

Furthermore, as a player in the top ten of the leaderboard, he would certainly seize any opportunity for cooperation with minor characters like Wang Jing.

Therefore, he only needed to view it with a calm and ordinary mindset.

Immediately afterward...

Chen Ye's gaze landed on the extra black heart resting before him.

At that moment, the blood-red phone let out a sudden "ding" sound, popping up a prompt—

[Detection: You have a new trait available for fusion!]

[Painted Skin] + [Glutton's Heart] = [Devourer]

[Do you wish to proceed with the fusion?]

...