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"Toriko, yours is still a bit inferior to mine."

In front of Qin Zhou was a forty-layer hamburger, which was even taller than Toriko's hamburger.

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration, Mr. Toriko, Mr. Qin Zhou?" Komatsu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Where does this unfounded competitive mentality come from?

"Haha, I didn't expect you to like eating like this too. It's very satisfying. But besides the demon serpent's meat, it seems like there's meat from other wild beasts in that dish. It looks delicious."

Aru laughed, "I didn't expect Qin Zhou to be a kindred spirit. The little hamburger isn't challenging at all."

"I still have some of the small cave mammoths that I caught on Cave Beach last time. You can take them if you want."

Qin Zhou used his energy to condense a chopstick, then inserted it into the hamburger from top to bottom, just like a kebab, and began to eat it in big bites.

The fragrant roasted meat is tender and chewy with a meaty aroma, the tomatoes are sweet and sour, and the vegetables are crisp, creating a very rich taste experience. Most importantly, it's incredibly satisfying.

Toriko didn't stand on ceremony and added a few more layers, similar to Qin Zhou's hamburger, but the way he ate it was different. He cleanly and neatly dislocated his jaw, gently pressed down on the hamburger, and demonstrated what it means to swallow it in one bite.

Xiao Song was embarrassed; that was truly an exaggerated way of eating. Who would dislocate their jaw while eating something?

Qin Zhou's lips twitched. He could dislocate his own jaw, but he felt there was no need for it.

For some reason, I thought of Talking Tom.

A private helicopter landed in front of Gate Six.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Toriko." The two soldiers greeted Toriko with a solemn salute.

Toriko shook his head helplessly. He had told them countless times not to greet him like that, but they just wouldn't listen.

"The research institute is huge, so don't get lost," Toriko shouted.

The entrance for sightseeing is not here; although the courtyard is open to the public, only a small part of it is open.

Only internal personnel can enter the First Habitat Courtyard through this passage.

Stepping onto the escalator, a magnificent research institute comes into view. All sorts of ingredients are transported via conveyor belts, just like a large-scale food production factory. Everything you can find on the market can be found here, and even things you can't find elsewhere can be found here—it has everything.

“One-third of the world’s food products are produced here, and there are frequent improvements to the varieties. Those are studies that cannot be made public,” Johannes said.

Toriko, somewhat displeased, said, "Still doing that? Rich people really have strange interests."

Johannes nodded without saying anything. None of the Four Heavenly Kings were easy to deal with, but given their status, they were all problem children.

Apart from Zebula, who is too outrageous and can eat so many species to extinction, the other three are alright and won't cause too much trouble.

"Toriko, the president of IGO, Mr. Ichiryu, didn't do this to make money. That old man really wanted to reduce the number of people going hungry, so it's normal that some people can't accept it." Qin Zhou couldn't help but shake his head.

Ichiryu is incredibly powerful and can eat any kind of delicious food, but he only eats the simplest things. Even his entire menu consists of ingredients meant to cope with human famine, unlike the high-grade ingredients in Jiro's menu. Perhaps they are not as delicious, but the meaning is different.

The relative stability of the Great Gourmet Era was largely due to the influence of IGO, established by Ichiryu; otherwise, wars would have broken out everywhere over food.

Yi Long is dedicated to change because of what he went through. He is indeed a very good old man. He is not only powerful, but also very approachable.

As a gourmet, Toriko's main job is to find delicious food, so he hasn't had much contact with it.

"Is that so? It seems I don't understand the old man yet." Toriko's expression was a little awkward; it seemed he had thought too much of IGO.

After all, he believes that modifying ingredients is a disrespect for them, and there are other aspects as well.

Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I last saw Mr. Yilong.

After the four of them left the courtyard to venture out into the world, they had very little contact with IGO and rarely accepted IGO's requests, unless they had ingredients they were very interested in; otherwise, they would simply refuse them.

"Qin Zhou, do you know the old man well?" Aru asked curiously.

"It's alright. I've heard my master say a few words about it. Although he didn't say it explicitly, I could sense that my master also greatly admires Yi Long," Qin Zhou said.

Of course, some of these were learned from the comics, such as the famine that followed when the Three Tigers destroyed the human world with meteorite spices.

Many people were suffering from hunger, but after Toriko and his crew collected Yilong's complete menu, it saved many lives.

Toriko nodded. The pressure point master Jiro was very familiar with the old man, so it seemed that he hadn't really learned about IGO before.

I need to find some time to see Yi Long. It's been several years since the last time. The wine made from the Rainbow Fruit is almost finished, so I can bring it to Yi Long as a gift.

Chapter 30 Mansam

The group took the elevator and moved downwards. Apart from IGO staff, no one else could use the elevator, as the area below belonged to the courtyard's research area and was not open to the public.

"Mr. Toriko, what kind of person is that director?" Komatsu asked curiously as the elevator descended.

Qin Zhou knew that he was a bald, middle-aged man who liked to drink, and he often misunderstood what others said as if they were saying he was handsome. He was also one of the top players in IGO.

"He really enjoys drinking. He's the third-ranking member of IGO, second only to Grandpa Ichiryu and the vice president. As a martial arts enthusiast, he's quite strong. He's a very nice guy," Toriko said.

Komatsu became nervous. The number three person in the IGO was arguably the highest-ranking person he had ever met. Even the director of the secretariat, whom he often met, did not have a higher status than this director.

"Don't be nervous, Komatsu. Director Mansam is quite easy to get along with." Toriko was also quite helpless about Komatsu's timidity.

The moment the elevator doors opened, a white-haired ape-like creature with round, bulging eyes rushed out, baring its teeth. Xiaosong was so frightened that he fell to the ground.

However, it didn't get close and crashed into the transparent glass with a thud. Because the glass was so transparent, Xiaosong thought it was a wild animal that had escaped by accident.

"Xiaosong, don't be afraid. There's specially reinforced plexiglass blocking the way, so these creatures generally won't come out," Johannes said calmly.

“A chained animal, huh? Looks like a new breed of Yeti from the Legion.” Toriko paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.

“Mr. Toriko, these creatures are so strange.”

The creatures in the glass case were unlike anything Xiaosong had ever seen; they seemed to have been hybridized, and they looked very strange.

"They are all clones of endangered species, which are then hybridized to create new species. They are shackled animals, meaning animals that are bound," Toriko said, clearly disliking this method.

From an ethical standpoint, many people find it difficult to accept such hybrid organisms, so the organisms used for research here are highly classified and generally not known to the public.

Qin Zhou stroked his chin. The hybridization of cloned organisms should be to give endangered species another chance to continue.

The reason for extinction ultimately comes down to adaptability. Whether it's changes in nature or predation by natural enemies, if a species can adapt, it won't easily go extinct. For example, the Eight Kings were highly adaptable.

After hearing Toriko's introduction, Komatsu nodded, turned around and exclaimed, "Wow, the transparency of this acrylic glass is incredibly high, it's like there's nothing there at all."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the enormous red crab spewed out two thick jets of air. Komatsu leaned back strategically, shouting in terror, "There really is nothing there!"

"This muscular crab..."

Qin Zhou didn't know how to describe it. Its appearance was hard to describe. The muscles were clearly visible, and apart from the pair of crab claws, it really had nothing to do with crabs. It looked like a red mutated multi-legged bullfrog wearing crab claws.

And this is what you call not being able to escape?

Is this a different situation now?

Qin Zhou used acupressure on the muscle crab, a creature used by the research institute, and acupressure was more appropriate than killing it.

"Haha, you're pretty good, buddy. Looks like I don't need to lift a finger. Hurry up and get this muscle crab in there. I've told you so many times to keep a close eye on them and make sure they don't escape."

A burly man wearing a camouflage vest and with a shiny head appeared, and a strong smell of alcohol wafted over the air.

"Director Mansam, every time I see you, you're drinking." Toriko grinned.

"Huh? Were you just saying I'm handsome?" Mansam asked, quite vainly, which was practically his catchphrase.

"I didn't say that." Toriko pouted, already used to Mansam's words.

Qin Zhou observed that this third member of IGO was indeed very strong, able to easily defeat Toriko in his current state. However, his appearance was not at all handsome; instead, he had a somewhat unconventional and rugged look.

"Welcome to our store, no, welcome home!"

Mansam and Toriko clasped hands, both of them smiling.

"Hey bro, you're Qin Zhou, right? The president mentioned you to me. How about joining IGO?"

Mansam extended an invitation. He had heard from Ichiryu that Qin Zhou was Jiro's disciple and an absolute genius with unlimited potential. Even at their first meeting, he could sense that Qin Zhou was no ordinary person.

As for why he didn't have a strong aura, Mansam knew it was because of pressure point techniques. He himself had sealed most of his strength with pressure point techniques. As a disciple of Master Jiro, it was only natural that he would have superb pressure point techniques.

Yi Long isn't here right now, otherwise I would have personally invited him.

Such geniuses are rare and hard to come by. The future of the Four Heavenly Kings is promising, but they still have room to grow. The fact that Jiro praised them repeatedly shows that their current strength has reached the upper level of the human world's powerful beings.

"What kind of position would you likely hold if you joined IGO?"

Qin Zhou's heart skipped a beat. After joining IGO, if anyone investigated his identity, it would only show that he was on the side of IGO.

Given Jiro's relationship with Ichiryu, he doesn't have any problems, and it will be much more convenient for him. He won't have to take out that black card all the time, which will bring him a lot of convenience.

"The president said he's inviting you to become an IGO Habitat 0 staff member. You'll have access to Habitat 0, and you don't need to worry about the benefits," Mansam said solemnly.

Qin Zhou is qualified to enter the culinary world, so this position is not a problem for him.

This is considered a leisurely position. Unless there is a particularly urgent matter that requires gathering, you will be on your own.

After Qin Zhou joined, even if there was a summons, he didn't have to go if he was too busy. This was mainly because Qin Zhou's identity was special, and the president trusted him a lot, after all, he was his junior apprentice.

"Okay, sure." Qin Zhou nodded.

The staff of Zero Habitat were invited by Yi Long from all over the world, and they are all quite capable.

"Does Chairman Yi Long know about me?"

Qin Zhou was not surprised. His master must have met with his senior brother Yi Long and told him about it.

“I know, the president is arranging a partner for you, you can look forward to it,” Mansam said with a smile.

Mansam doesn't know who Yi Long will arrange, but it should be a very reliable chef.

Qin Zhou became interested. What kind of chef would it be if his senior apprentice, Yi Long, personally arranged his partner?

With the influence of the IGO president, some of the world's top 100 chefs would agree to become his partners.

However, it's best to have a woman; a mix of men and women makes the work less tiring.

Chapter 31 Food Arena

"Wait, Director, does IGO still have a Zero Habitat?"

Toriko was slightly taken aback. Wasn't the habitat of IGO supposed to start from 1? How did a 0th habitat suddenly appear? He knew a lot about IGO, but he really hadn't heard of this one.

“Of course you don’t know, Habitat 0 is located in the Gourmet World,” Mansam said with a smile.

With his strength, he could also enter the 0th realm, but as the director, his duties are still very important, mainly concerning the human realm.

"The culinary world?!"

Toriko's breath hitched. It was a place he had always longed for and looked forward to. Compared to the human world, it was many times more dangerous, but the delicious ingredients were also diverse and countless.

It turns out there's a zero habitat in the culinary world that he'd never even heard of! That really piques my curiosity; I definitely want to check it out sometime.

Qin Zhou knew just how difficult it was to become an employee of the Zero Realm. The Zero Realm was located in the Gourmet World, and in addition to researching and developing ingredients for the Gourmet World, it was also monitoring creatures like Nitro.

Although there are few staff members, they are all powerful enough to intimidate others. They were invited to join by Chairman Yi Long. Zebula, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was arrested by him.

However, he also knew that some members of Habitat 0 were already on Joa's side.

"To celebrate your joining, Brother Qin Zhou, I'll treat you to my full menu tonight." Mansam was very pleased; as a disciple of the pressure point master Jiro, his background was naturally impeccable.

Qin Zhou nodded with a smile. Although Mansam's entire menu was related to alcohol, the taste was still quite good.

“Hey, Director Mansam, I want some too.”

Upon hearing that there was something delicious to eat, Toriko naturally came over. Since they were all old acquaintances, he wasn't shy at all.

"I know, you glutton," Mansam said with a laugh.

“However, there’s still time. Let’s head to the arena first; today’s matches are going to be very exciting,” Mansam said meaningfully.

"Still doing that? What kind of creature will appear this time?" Toriko scoffed.

The Gourmet Arena is a place to measure the fighting power and capture level of wild beasts, but in Toriko's eyes, it is an entertainment venue for the rich and powerful.

He had fought there before, honing his skills against the ferocious beasts, so he was naturally familiar with the place.

"It's a wolf fight."

Toriko was immediately surprised. He hadn't expected that such a creature could be created. It was indeed something to see, a powerful creature from legend.

Qin Zhou smiled slightly upon hearing the words "Fighting Wolves." His master, Jiro, had a deep connection with Fighting Wolves. Jiro was raised by Ginness, one of the Eight Kings.

Culinary Arena.

Every seat was occupied, and the sounds rose and fell like waves.

Qin Zhou didn't recognize these people, but Xiaosong and Alu knew some of them; they were high-ranking figures from various countries.