Chapter 14: The Results of Danbao’s Scan

For Qin Lang, there were two pressing goals at the moment.

The first was to obtain his very first Food Spirit, officially becoming a Spirit Chef.

With the birth of Danbao, this goal had already been achieved.

The second goal was to unravel the secrets of the Traveler’s Book.

This mysterious tome had appeared in his Star Vein for unknown reasons and was anything but ordinary. So far, Qin Lang knew nothing about it except for its name.

The only page he could open revealed an unknown image.

Now, Qin Lang seemed to have found a crucial clue.

In an old photograph at Zhao Chuan’s house, he spotted a stone sculpture of a carrier pigeon strikingly similar to the one on the first page of the Traveler’s Book!

If there was any difference, it was that the pigeon in Zhao Chuan’s photo appeared newer and more intact.

But there was no doubt—there had to be some connection between the two, and they very well might be the same stone sculpture!

After all, Zhao Chuan’s photo was taken decades ago.

Decades of weathering could have altered the sculpture’s appearance.

Suppressing the excitement swelling in his chest, Qin Lang turned to Zhao Chuan.

“Grandpa Zhao, the scenery in this photo is quite nice.”

“Indeed,” Zhao Chuan chuckled heartily. “This is Gardenia Park in Dongxia City, which has a history of over a hundred years.”

“Your Grandma Liu and I often take walks there; it’s a way of reminiscing about our younger days.”

“You two really have a strong bond,” Qin Lang said sincerely, mentally noting down the name “Gardenia Park.”

He had memories of this park but had never visited before.

Now, this park had become a place Qin Lang absolutely had to go.

After chatting a while with Zhao Chuan and Liu Suyun, who had just finished tidying up the dishes, Qin Lang checked the time, gathered the snack-stuffed Danbao in his arms, and prepared to leave.

Stepping out of Zhao Chuan’s home, Qin Lang did not return to his own but instead opened his phone’s navigation app and set the destination to Gardenia Park.

He couldn’t sleep tonight without uncovering the truth about the Traveler’s Book!

Gardenia Park was not far from Qin Lang’s home—only about three kilometers away.

After some thought, Qin Lang decided to walk there.

Looking down at Danbao in his arms, he smiled softly and tapped its soft body with a finger. “You’ve eaten so much—how come your body hasn’t changed at all?”

Danbao’s head was inside its body; it could even fly out while feeding. Tonight, it had consumed almost as much food as two egg-yolk sized heads, yet there was no visible change.

Qin Lang was genuinely curious whether Danbao even had a digestive system.

After pondering, he could only attribute it to the miraculous nature of Food Spirits.

Hearing Qin Lang’s words, Danbao immediately showed a pitiful expression.

“Gulu? (*꒦ິ﹏꒦ີ)”

“I’m not saying you can’t eat,” Qin Lang smiled wryly. “It’s just that we’re at Grandpa Zhao’s place, not our own home…”

Seeing Danbao’s innocent gaze, Qin Lang gave up explaining.

Anyway, Danbao was so adorable that Grandpa Zhao and Grandma Liu probably wouldn’t mind.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make all kinds of delicious food for you in the future,” Qin Lang said firmly, stroking Danbao’s big ears.

He had thoroughly reviewed the brochures he received from the Spirit Chef Association and gained a basic understanding of Food Spirits.

Food Spirits had a special metric called Experience Points.

Only by tasting different foods and encountering various events could their Experience Points increase.

The maximum was 100 points, after which the Food Spirit had a chance to undergo a new transformation.

Therefore, Qin Lang not only couldn’t stop Danbao from eating but had to encourage it even more.

Upon hearing this, Danbao’s originally elliptical eyes suddenly widened, sparkling with delight in their pure white irises.

“Gulu!”

(≧‿≦)

To express its happiness, Danbao rubbed Qin Lang’s arm vigorously, its egg-yolk head bouncing like a three-dimensional pinball inside its body, much to Qin Lang’s amazement.

Danbao was so unique; even among Food Spirits, it must be quite refreshing and rare.

“By the way!” Qin Lang suddenly remembered the Food Spirit scanning device provided by the Spirit Chef Association. He picked up his phone and scanned Danbao.

“Beep—”

With a crisp electronic tone, the phone app linked to the scanner quickly displayed the results.

[Type: Food Spirit]

[Level: Lv1]

[Taste Attribute: Salty]

[Element Attribute: Fire]

[Food Skill: Full of Freshness]

[Combat Skill (excluding self-learned): (Fire) Breath of Flames]

[Experience Points: 1/100]

“Quite useful,” Qin Lang nodded with satisfaction, comparing each item to the Food Spirit knowledge he had acquired.

Sensing that Qin Lang’s gaze was fixed on something related to itself, Danbao rolled out from Qin Lang’s arms and landed on his shoulder, curiously looking at the text on the phone before showing a puzzled expression.

“Gulu?”

“You can’t read yet,” Qin Lang laughed. “Let me explain it to you.”

It was important for Danbao to understand these things as well.

“The first line means your type is Food Spirit, which you can ignore,” Qin Lang said, pointing to the second line.

“The second line is your level. You’re a newly born Food Spirit, so your level is Lv1.”

“It’s said Food Spirits can reach Lv99, with every 10 levels marking a new stage, from one-star to nine-star.”

“You’re currently a zero-star Food Spirit and need to gain 9 more levels to advance to one-star.”

One-star Food Spirit…

Danbao’s eyes filled with determination.

“Gulu!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll work hard with you,” Qin Lang said with a smile, stroking Danbao’s ears. Then he pointed to the third and fourth lines.

“These two lines show your attributes.”

“Each Food Spirit has two attribute systems: taste attributes and elemental attributes. The number of each differs.”

“There are seven taste attributes: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, umami, and astringent.”

“Twelve elemental attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, wind, ice…” Qin Lang didn’t remember all, so he pulled out the brochure from his pocket. “Hmm, also light, dark, fighting, and psychic.”

“Attributes have mutual counters, which greatly affect battles. Taste attributes only counter taste attributes, elemental attributes only counter elemental attributes. They are independent.”

“Taste attribute counters reduce incoming damage by 50%.”

“Elemental attribute counters increase outgoing damage by 100%.”

“Your taste attribute is salty, which counters sweet, spicy, and astringent, but is countered by sour, bitter, and umami.”

“Your elemental attribute is fire, which counters metal, wood, ice, and fighting, but is countered by water, earth, wind, and psychic.”