Chapter 271 - 36: You Will Make a Lot of Money

Due to the instance’s restrictions, the summoned Hancock was only palm-sized.

A single spoonful of food was enough to fill his stomach, which also made the poison’s reaction in his body all the more obvious.

After a single bite, he began to space out, his already dazed expression turning even more numb.

After checking on Hancock’s condition, Duan Fei nodded. "It’s the food, all right."

Johnson, who was also present, stared in confusion at the creature Duan Fei had summoned. He lowered his voice and asked, "Duan Someone, what is this thing? Where did you get it?"

"A secret weapon. Don’t ask questions."

Picking up the leftover food, Duan Fei examined it and began to ponder why the city’s higher-ups would pull a stunt like this.

However, with so little information, he couldn’t figure it out. He could only take out a newspaper and say to the still-staggering Hancock, "Get on there and do your thing."

Duan Fei wasn’t sure how much luck Hancock had left in his current state, but there was no harm in trying.

The tiny Hancock walked onto the newspaper, staggering about like a drunkard. Before long, he had left a trail of footprints across the page.

Connecting the words that the footprints touched spelled out a name: "Clown Gang."

Seeing the name, Duan Fei closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then he looked at the others and asked, "In all likelihood, the Clown Gang is behind this. What do you think we should do?"

"Let’s just bear it for now," Johnson said. "We don’t have any proof. If we say it’s just a guess, people will think we’re fools. We could move to another place and start over."

Johnson said this because he had no reason to go head-to-head with the Clown Gang, but for Duan Fei and his group, it was a different story.

They only had four days left in this instance; there wasn’t enough time to relocate to another city.

After all, they had connections with the Foreigners and the Gentlemen’s Association in this city. They wouldn’t have those advantages anywhere else.

After a moment of thought, Duan Fei finally understood one thing: whether or not the Clown Gang was the Black Hand, they had to be.

So, he immediately picked up the phone and called the Godfather. "We’re going to go after the Clown Gang."

The Godfather on the other end was silent for a moment before asking, "Give me a reason."

"They’re targeting us, and they poisoned the food."

"I can’t support you, because we have an agreement. But I can pretend I didn’t hear your request. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood."

"Besides, I owe you one. I misjudged you because of my nephew, so I can provide you with a shipment of weapons. Eight hours from now, a car will be parked downstairs from your current location. It will contain a gift from me. Try to make a big splash, Mr. Duan."

"Alright."

Hanging up, Duan Fei said to the others, "Let’s go. Time to take down the Clown Gang!"

"But isn’t there a truce with the Clown Gang?!" Johnson said hurriedly.

"Did they get my permission for a truce? Where did I sign off on it? And so what if I did? I’ll break the deal if I damn well please."

"It’s a real waste of talent you not joining the Clown Gang. And Bystander A, why are you getting ready too? You want to go after the Clown Gang as well?"

Bystander A adjusted his shield. "They killed someone right in front of me. You think I can let that slide? On top of that, they killed four of my companions before. That’s even less forgivable."

"But he killed one of his own men."

"As a Close Guard, letting an enemy get past me is a failure. So I have to settle this score."

Seeing that Bystander A was dead set, Johnson turned to Flora and the Maid. "What about you two? Can you help talk some sense into them? This really isn’t the time to be starting a war with the Clown Gang."

"You’re an NPC, so shut your mouth. We’ll fight however we want," the Maid huffed, annoyed.

"Why are you the one talking?! And what’s an ’NPC’? Why do you all speak with such a sense of superiority?"

Noticing Johnson’s strong resistance, Duan Fei pulled him aside and said seriously, "Johnson, you don’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. The government has already made its move, and you’re still trying to hide in your shell like a coward."

"I am not..." Johnson protested stubbornly.

"Think about it. Today they dare to poison the food. Tomorrow they’ll be giving you frontal lobotomies. The day after that, they’ll be dropping nukes on you just to study the effects of radiation on the human body."

"What’s ’radiation’?" Johnson asked, confused.

"That’s not the point. The point is, have you forgotten your dream? Why you started this in the first place? You’re a Chef. Your mission is to share delicious food with as many people as possible. But right now, someone is standing in your way."

"It’s not that serious, is it?"

"No, it will only get worse. You have no idea how low those politicians will stoop. If their little experiment succeeds here, next it’ll be the entire state, then the whole country, and eventually the entire world. You’ll all be living like livestock. You’ll completely forget the taste of good food. The entire world will become a culinary wasteland, and people will cease to be human."

The scenario Duan Fei described sent a chill down Johnson’s spine. After a moment’s thought, he realized that what Duan Fei described was exactly the future that awaited them.

The thought of everyone becoming a mindless drone, living each day like a walking corpse, made him feel that such a future must be prevented at all costs.

Taking a deep breath, Johnson finally steeled himself. His eyes shone with renewed purpose as he asked, "Tell me. What do you need me to do?"

"It’s simple. Cook something delicious with me and Cuihua."

"Huh?"

"Don’t ask so many questions. Just do it."

Although he didn’t understand why, Johnson was swept up by Duan Fei’s conviction and began to prepare as much food as he could.

Once he had a moment to process what he was doing, he looked at Duan Fei and Cuihua while kneading dough and said, "So, uh... am I saving the world right now?"

"You could say that."

"This is the first time I’ve ever heard of food saving the world."

"Good food has always saved the world."

Duan Fei’s words took Johnson by surprise, but then he started to laugh.

The act of cooking had been given a whole new meaning, which made him work with even more vigor.

After preparing every dish he knew how to make, Johnson stared at the table laden with bizarre-looking food, still not understanding how it had all turned out this way.

However, after discovering that it tasted fine, he asked, "Will you need any other support later?"

Duan Fei tried some of the food the three of them had made together and found himself covered in a pile of buffs. His Attributes had also increased significantly.

Under the instance’s previous restrictions, their strength had been about twenty percent greater than an ordinary person’s.

But with the buffs from all this food, their strength was now double that of an ordinary person, and their defensive capabilities were massively boosted.

However, these buffs had a time limit. Each portion of food only provided a boost for a little over ten minutes before its effects would fade.

Understanding this, Duan Fei said to Johnson, "Keep cooking. The more, the better. And it’d be best if it’s something portable."

"Let me think... How about fried chicken?"

Duan Fei nodded approvingly. "Perfect. You’re going to make a fortune someday, I guarantee it."