Catastrophe Containment Facility
Chapter 418 - 416

Chapter 418: 416

In order to avoid causing widespread panic, the epidemic mentioned on the banners wasn’t described as too serious, so even though there were fewer pedestrians on the streets, the lives of Gaozhou City residents weren’t affected too much, and street-side restaurants were operating as usual.

Having arrived in this city famous far and wide for its delicacies, Wen Wen’s first thought was naturally to eat.

So, Wen Wen picked a seafood restaurant with good online reviews and ordered a number of signature dishes, as well as some that at first glance were clearly dark culinary dishes.

How could one not try some ’special’ dishes upon arrival in Gaozhou City?

"Beauty, your dishes are here..." The server, enthusiastically placing the food on Wen Wen’s table, said.

"Who are you calling a beauty? You’re the beauty, your whole family are beauties." Wen Wen flipped his hair, trying to widen his eyes in anger as he glared at the server.

Looking at the deep laugh lines on Wen Wen’s face and that touch of a sexy little mustache, the server was a bit at a loss.

Yes, Wen Wen wasn’t using his original appearance.

Because he wasn’t using his monster physique, Wen Wen wasn’t acting under the identity of a Ranger; moreover, he had made some disguise to prevent others from recognizing him.

The ability of a Corrupt Blood allowed control of one’s own body hair, so Wen Wen grew a head of thick, black hair and a neat little mustache. After dressing up carefully, even an acquaintance would find it hard to identify him as Wen Wen.

During the awakening trials these past days, he had been donning this disguise, but being called a beauty was a first.

But although Wen Wen appeared quite angry, in his heart he found it somewhat amusing.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Wen Wen began to taste the delicacies, observing the diners around him while eating, trying to discern any hint of the plague from these people.

The location of the plague outbreak was in a small fishing town under the jurisdiction of Gaozhou City, and the plague was definitely not a common disease; there must be some terrifying darkness at work.

But from the expressions on people’s faces, Wen Wen knew that the news must have been tightly sealed off by the Hunters Association, such that the nearby residents of Gaozhou City were clueless about what had actually happened.

Seeing that he couldn’t discern anything from these people’s faces, Wen Wen just enjoyed the food with Three Cubs.

Although Gaozhou City was a famous culinary city far and wide, the flavors weren’t particularly astounding; at least compared to the top-notch dining offered by the Hunters Association, it was far from close.

But this restaurant’s dishes were certainly novel. Wen Wen had chosen this place because it had many famous dark culinary dishes.

Deep-fried earthworms, braised dried field mice, beef with pickled mustard greens, plain boiled fish lice, red date pig brain soup...

Wen Wen tried a bit of each dish, finding the taste quite good, satisfying his curiosity.

Before becoming a superpower user, in order to train his wilderness survival skills, he had eaten every creature he could catch in the mountains, so he didn’t have any aversion to these dark culinary dishes.

Probably only dishes at the level of Boy’s Urine Eggs could make Wen Wen think twice.

However, Wen Wen had ordered a lot of food, too much for him to finish alone, so he just took a few bites of each, and the rest was devoured by Three Cubs.

Then Wen Wen picked up a serving of Golden Sea Urchin steamed egg. The sea urchin was about the size of two of Wen Wen’s fists put together, it looked exceptionally fresh and delicious, and among all the dishes, it was the most affordable.

"Speaking of which, the sea urchins here are so big and plump, yet why are they so cheap? Maybe I should buy some for the monsters to try some fresh delicacy."

Wen Wen was about to take a bite when he suddenly froze.

"Wait a second, if I want to find something related to the plague here, would the abnormal pricing of these sea urchins count as an anomaly?"

Following that thought, Wen Wen scanned the tables of every guest again and noticed that each table had sea urchin dishes on it.

In a coastal city, sea urchins weren’t considered a rare food, but it wasn’t normal for every table of guests to be eating sea urchins. Judging by the way they were eating, the sea urchins must have been delicious to the extreme.

So, Wen Wen stood up and quietly approached the kitchen door for a peek, where he saw several huge buckets filled with teeming, lively sea urchins.

"So many... When things out of the norm occur, there must be something amiss. Could the plague in Biyi Town be related to sea urchins?"

This was just a guess from Wen Wen. Maybe the locals just love sea urchins, or perhaps this year’s sea urchin harvest was simply abundant.

But now that Wen Wen had his suspicions about the sea urchins, he naturally wouldn’t eat another bite. When paying the bill, he casually asked the owner, "Boss, why are the sea urchins here so cheap? There’s no problem with them, is there?"

Since Wen Wen had ordered quite a few expensive dishes, the owner was very enthusiastic in his response, "You must be from out of town. The locals all know that the beach has been covered in big sea urchins recently. You can pick up a bucketful with ease, and that’s why the price is so low."

"Also, this year’s sea urchins are all very plump. In previous years, the price would have sky-rocketed for ones this big. Compared to those, this year’s are considered small. You won’t find this kind of deal after you leave this village, so you should eat more while you’re in Gaozhou."

"Even if they are cheap, it doesn’t mean that every table of guests would love eating sea urchins," Wen Wen said as he handed the owner a cigarette, continuing to inquire.

Taking the cigarette, the owner lit it up skillfully and replied, "Most guests go for whatever’s cheap, plus people in Gaozhou have always had a tradition of eating sea urchins. There’s a belief that eating sea urchins can enhance one’s health, strengthen the body, and prolong life."

Wen Wen looked perplexed. He had never heard that eating sea urchins could prolong life, as if a sea urchin were some kind of elixir.

Seeing Wen Wen’s skeptical expression, the owner laughed and said, "It’s said that in ancient times, a plague ravaged near Gaozhou City, and the sick were driven to a coastal town to await death."

"Then one night, a golden sea urchin as big as a house floated in from the sea. The townspeople shared the sea urchin among themselves. And just like that, the plague which had been a death sentence was cured!"

"Since then, eating sea urchins has become a tradition in Gaozhou City..."

"Golden Sea Urchin, ancient plague... Boss, what was the name of that town?" When Wen Wen heard content related to the plague, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly pressed for more information.

The owner shook his head and said, "How would I know that? The name of Gaozhou City itself has changed countless times."

After settling the bill, Wen Wen picked up his black briefcase and walked out of the restaurant, pondering over the owner’s words.

The folk tale mentioned by the owner held a certain value for reference, after all, this was a world where Supernatural Power existed. However, such stories couldn’t be entirely trusted; legends often differ greatly from reality.

To find out the truth, one needed to visit the scene of the plague personally.

The town affected by the plague was called Biyi Town, and the roads leading to it had been sealed off. Therefore, Wen Wen chose to walk there on foot.

Given Wen Wen’s physical condition, walking to Biyi Town would not be tiresome for him.