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Abel really didn't want to get entangled with a woman like Stussy, so as soon as Du Feld brought over the rest of the Kura beef, along with the two hundred million Berries in cash, he decisively took his crew and left the ship.
Such top-notch ingredients naturally couldn't be wasted.
He decided to hand them all over to the 'Medicine King' for processing, so he promptly took out a [Ginpei's Diner Invitation Ticket] and transported the beef over.
The cooking didn't take too long to complete.
It was a large pot of several hundred pounds of Ginpei style braised beef!
Abel immediately called over the little girl, as he had promised her a treat.
Baby-5 was very excited too and began to feast on it, eating merrily.
"Delicious~"
"Haha, if it's tasty, eat more. There's plenty left."
Abel ruffled the little girl's hair, and she cooperatively showed a contented expression, very well-behaved.
Before starting to eat himself, he remembered to set aside a portion, planning to use it later to fulfill Coco's long-standing wishlist order.
Speaking of which, it had been a while since he had reaped any benefits from Coco.
Indeed, he hadn't managed to get his hands on any particularly delicious goodies recently and was worried about receiving a poor review.
Hundreds of pounds of beef were no challenge for Abel and Baby-5; they finished it off quickly, even soaking their rice in the soup.
Eating Kura beef to satisfaction!
This was a treatment only the Celestial Dragons usually enjoyed!
Today, they also got to relish it.
Moreover, Abel could feel that after eating so much of the Kura beef, the gourmet cells within his body were emitting a sense of fulfillment.
This meant that his body's gourmet cells were approaching the bottleneck before their next evolution.
After Baby-5 went back to sleep, Abel submitted the reserved portion.
Soon after, the system notification sounded.
[Order item confirmed. Commencing transport.]
[Special Long-Term Wishlist Order has been fulfilled. Customer has given a three-star rating (generally positive)!]
[Feedback: The beef was very delicious, but it's a pity that I couldn't see its diamond bones. The cooking method was also rather ordinary.]
[Three-star rating does not increase or decrease the base transaction point reward. Remaining rewards have been automatically distributed, please check them.]
...
[Gem Meat Rice Bowl]
One-time consumption item
Description: The most precious meat from the body of the Ligaru Mammoth, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Gourmet, Sani's life's main dish.
Effect: Consuming it increases strength, and if gourmet cells are present in the body, there is a chance of completing life evolution.
PS: 100 grams sells for 5 million, it's really a steal!
...
Abel was shocked!
He had just traded a generous portion of Kura beef to Coco, and in return, he'd received a [Gem Meat Rice Bowl].
Putting the taste aside for now, the sheer cost alone was enough to bring tears to the eyes of the less fortunate.
As for the reward of 300 trading points, it seemed inconsequential in comparison.
Feeling the ample bio-energy within his body, Abel decided to attempt a new life evolution with this [Gem Meat Rice Bowl] right now.
Mainly because this [Gem Meat Rice Bowl] was just too tempting.
He had thought the marbling on the Kura beef was beautiful enough, but the gem meat in front of him was several times more stunning - it really did resemble the quality of a gemstone.
He couldn't hold back any longer.
Although his gourmet cells had just conveyed a feeling of satisfaction, their signals of desire now overwhelmed him.
So he immediately picked up his serving of the "Jewel Meat au Gratin," grabbed a piece of the beautifully succulent jewel meat soaked in juices, and put it in his mouth.
At that moment, Abel truly felt as if his soul had left his body; he was floating on clouds, soft and weightless, as if he had arrived in heaven.
The flavor was so rich and profound, yet not at all greasy. He could feel every single cell bursting with juices in his mouth, a complete and utter satisfaction rated ten out of ten.
By the time he came to his senses, he had licked the plate clean, leaving not a single drop of juice.
It was embarrassingly gluttonous!
But it was also astoundingly delicious!
So delicious that he felt slightly dazed.
Even the gourmet cells within him were intoxicated by such flavors, forgetting their purpose of evolution.
Fortunately, evolution was their instinct, and they eventually remembered their primary function.
Then, a massive surge of energy erupted within him like a storm!
Every cell was bathed in this energy, evolving and being reborn.
Abel's bones seemed to crackle as he grew rapidly. His height, already at 1.7 meters, was shooting up again, along with a significant increase in weight.
His already optimized genes were undergoing even deeper enhancement.
Good thing he had consumed a large amount of Kura beef as an energy replenishment, otherwise, he would be in for some discomfort.
At a certain moment, the gourmet cells inside his body finally quieted down.
Abel moved his limbs and found that he was somewhat unable to control his own strength.
He had the illusion that if he wished, he could tear the very earth apart.
Not only had his weight increased a lot, but his height had also reached an imposing 1.9 meters!
He was only 12 years old, or 13 by the traditional East Asian age reckoning.
Just by appearances, no one would consider him a child anymore.
In Abel's world before crossing over, he would be a little giant, the kind who could play basketball with Yao Ming.
But in the world of pirates, that was just not disabled.
Don't forget that Caterina Devon, whom he had defeated before, was 3.6 meters tall.
Even Doflamingo stood at 3.05 meters!
The tallest member of his family, Pica, even reached a height of 4.7 meters!
So 1.9 meters wasn't really anything special; he was too short, even getting shunned for being too short to hold a Den Den Mushi phone.
Abel's target wasn't high, growing to around 2.5 meters would be quite sufficient.
But the largest gain from this evolution was yet to come.
[You have gained a new talent—Power of the Giant Beast (Purple)]
Talent: [Power of the Giant Beast] (Purple)
[Description: Infused with the essence of two giant beasts, the Ice Dragon, and the Legarus Mammoth. When activated, it consumes a great amount of physical strength and bestows the power of a giant beast.]
[With the power of the giant beast, strength will be enhanced to double the original.]
[Side effects: Huge consumption of physical strength. If the body's durability is not up to par, it may lead to collapse.]
[Growth potential: Input three different giant beast templates. Currently inputted templates: 2 (Ice Dragon, Legarus Mammoth)]
...
Abel never imagined that the "Heart of the Ice Dragon" he once consumed had so much potential to unearth!
Although this talent of [Power of the Giant Beast] was only of purple quality, the words 'growth potential' indicated that it had extremely high potential!
And now, he was only one giant beast template away from upgrading to an orange-quality talent.