Chapter 320

The moment they entered the Surprise Apple farm, a rich, clean sweetness filled the air, carrying the warmth of sunlight and the earthy fragrance of soil.

Haruto looked across an orchard that seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

Every apple tree was tall and sturdy, with dark brown trunks thick enough that a person could barely wrap both arms around them. Dense layers of branches and leaves spread outward beneath the sky, while sunlight filtered through the canopy and scattered patches of shifting light across the ground.

Most striking of all were the red apples hanging from the branches.

Each one was round, plump, and vividly colored, gleaming temptingly beneath the sunlight. They were nearly the size of a fist and heavy enough to bend the branches beneath their weight. Whenever a breeze passed through, the fruit swayed gently among the rustling leaves.

And every single apple had an extremely human-looking face.

"So these are Surprise Apples?"

Komatsu tilted his head back and stared at the densely packed fruit overhead, confusion written across his face.

From a distance, they did not look particularly different from ordinary apples aside from being larger and much more vividly colored.

Beside him, Toriko eagerly stretched his arms and shoulders, his eyes shining with excitement.

He could hardly wait to start harvesting.

Quite a few Gourmet Hunters had already gathered inside the farm.

Some stood in small groups checking their equipment, while others discussed the methods they planned to use. A few had already headed deeper into the orchard, apparently too impatient to wait any longer.

Capturing a Surprise Apple was not dangerous in itself.

Getting one with a high Surprise Level, however, was another matter entirely.

Haruto swept his gaze over the crowd while quietly using detection magic to estimate their strength.

Most of the Gourmet Hunters gathered here were fairly ordinary.

Many had clearly come hoping to get lucky, harvest one or two decent Surprise Apples, and sell them for a good price.

There were, however, a handful of people with respectable strength mixed among the crowd.

As Haruto continued observing them, a burst of loud laughter suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"HAHAHAHA! So this is where all the guys looking for a big scare are gathering?!"

Haruto turned.

Standing in the middle of the crowd was Zonge, dressed in his usual wild animal-skin clothing and laughing toward the sky with his hands planted proudly on his hips.

"If something wants to be scared that badly, then the great Zonge will scare it so hard it sprays water from its whole body!"

His two followers immediately began showering him with exaggerated praise.

"Lord Zonge is incredible!"

"With Lord Zonge here, we’re definitely getting the highest-level Surprise Apples!"

"The moment those apples see Lord Zonge, they’ll be scared out of their skins!"

While Zonge was basking in his own magnificence, Terry, the Battle Wolf accompanying Toriko, suddenly walked over to him.

Terry sniffed lightly.

The scent was familiar.

He had smelled Zonge before in the Wuu Jungle.

Zonge, still completely absorbed in his own boasting, sensed something approaching and casually turned his head.

His eyes met Terry’s.

"Eek!"

Zonge’s entire body jerked.

Water immediately sprayed from all over him.

"Lord Zonge! Your whole body really is spraying water!"

His two followers stared at him in amazement.

"I’M GONNA DIE! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!"

Zonge screamed in terror, his face twisted with genuine fear.

Haruto could not help laughing.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone literally spray water from their entire body when frightened.

"Mr. Zombie?"

Komatsu looked at Zonge uncertainly.

He vaguely remembered that being the man’s name, though he was not completely sure.

Zonge immediately spun toward him.

"Not Zombie! Zonge! LORD ZONGE!"

Haruto studied him with growing curiosity.

He had already used several different methods to examine Zonge’s body.

Yet no matter how carefully Haruto sensed him, there was no particularly powerful energy coming from the man. At most, Zonge seemed only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.

Haruto did not believe that for a second.

Someone who could somehow survive repeatedly in the Gourmet World and possessed such absurdly powerful Food Luck could not possibly be this weak.

There had to be something unusual about Zonge that Haruto simply could not perceive.

Still, he had no intention of investigating further.

Whatever secret Zonge possessed had nothing to do with him.

Besides, Zonge’s Food Luck was ridiculously strong. Maintaining a friendly relationship with the man might even let some of that luck rub off on him.

With that thought, Haruto gave Zonge a friendly smile.

Zonge stared at him for a second, then nodded back in greeting.

Afterward, he turned toward his two followers with a blank expression.

"Who was that guy?"

Before either of them could answer, a slightly peculiar, drawn-out voice came from behind the group.

"My, my~ Could that possibly be the ancient king of wolves, the Battle Wolf~?"

Everyone turned.

A short man with a long handlebar mustache stood nearby, smiling pleasantly at Terry.

Behind him were four tall bodyguards in black suits, each wearing a sharp, expressionless look.

Komatsu’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Could you be Mr. Apollon, the famous taste master from the G7?!"

The G7 consisted of seven legendary taste masters selected from the IGO’s major member nations. They were responsible for judging and overseeing the rankings of chefs and restaurants throughout the Gourmet Age.

Naturally, G7 members generally visited only the very finest restaurants.

Receiving recognition from even one of them was something countless chefs and restaurant owners dreamed of.

Apollon smiled and nodded before turning his attention toward Komatsu, recognition appearing in his eyes.

"And you must be~ Chef Komatsu of the Gourmet Hotel~ the one who recreated Century Soup~?"

Before Komatsu successfully reproduced Century Soup, Apollon had never heard his name.

But once Komatsu recreated a dish that even the Gourmet Living National Treasure Setsuno had failed to reproduce, his reputation spread throughout the Human World.

By now, practically anyone involved in the gourmet industry knew who he was.

"You know who I am?!"

Komatsu looked even more excited.

"I’m so honored!"

He clasped his hands tightly together, visibly unsure what to do with himself.

Apollon smiled and nodded, then turned toward Toriko.

"And of course~ Toriko of the Four Heavenly Kings~"

His gaze moved across the group.

When he reached Haruto, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

He could sense an extraordinarily powerful presence from the young chef.

It was steady and restrained, yet even stronger than the aura of some famous veteran Gourmet Hunters Apollon had encountered.

Haruto naturally noticed the scrutiny and gave him a small nod in greeting.

At the same time, he thought to himself that the members of G7 really were not ordinary people.

Apollon looked like nothing more than a taste master, but clearly there was more to him than that.

Then again, that made perfect sense in the world of Toriko.

Once someone awakened Gourmet Cells, the more high-quality and delicious food they consumed, the stronger they became.

There were only a few common ways to awaken Gourmet Cells: being born with them active, receiving a direct Gourmet Cell injection, or consuming enough high-level ingredients containing Gourmet Cells to trigger an awakening naturally.

The members of G7 were taste masters personally selected by the IGO.

The amount of extraordinary food they had eaten over the years was unimaginable.

They had probably tasted nearly every premium ingredient available in the Human World, along with quite a few rare ingredients from the Gourmet World.

And many of those dishes would have been prepared personally by chefs ranked among the top hundred in the world.

Under circumstances like those, Haruto refused to believe Apollon had somehow never awakened Gourmet Cells.

Most likely, every member of G7 was a hidden powerhouse in their own right.

Some members of G7 would even go on to join NEO in the future.

Still, none of that had anything to do with Haruto.

He had come here for one purpose: to obtain as many high-Surprise-Level apples as possible.

He had no interest in getting involved in anything else.

Komatsu looked curiously at Apollon.

"When you said there were lots of promising challengers here, who did you mean?"

Before Apollon could answer, another voice came from nearby.

"Obviously, he meant us."

"Somehow I’ve ended up being pretty highly anticipated too."

Teppei strolled over with his usual laid-back air, wearing an expression of exaggerated helplessness.

"Mr. Teppei!"

Komatsu stared at him in surprise.

He clearly had not expected to run into the Regenerator here.

Teppei smiled and nodded.

"Well, I guess I am a somewhat famous Regenerator."

"It’s troublesome, but there’s not much I can do about it."

"I suppose that’s the price of fame."

"Not that I ever wanted things to turn out this way."

Despite all his complaints, the upward curve at the corners of Teppei’s mouth completely betrayed how pleased he actually was.

"You still talk way too much!"

Komatsu immediately complained.

Every time Teppei opened his mouth, he somehow ended up saying a whole pile of unnecessary nonsense.