Haruto continued deeper along the passage.
However, the interior of the Regal Mammoth was like a labyrinth, with crisscrossing side paths; one slight mistake could lead to getting lost.
To prevent this, Haruto used his kitchen knife to carve marks into the fleshy walls every so often.
Fortunately, the food here was almost inexhaustible.
When hungry, he would cut a piece of meat from the wall, grill it on an alcohol stove, and sprinkle it with orange salt ground from salt oranges for a delicious feast.
When thirsty, he drank the water he had brought along.
In this manner, Haruto spent two full days exploring the interior of the Regal Mammoth.
It wasn’t without danger; on the second day, Haruto encountered a ‘Parasite’ twenty meters long and one meter thick, resembling a prehistoric giant python.
Luckily, that ‘Parasite’ only gave him a glance before leaving immediately.
Thinking back later, Haruto felt it was normal; after all, the meat on his body wasn’t nearly as delicious as the Regal Mammoth’s meat.
But this also meant his previous assumption was wrong; danger still existed within the Regal Mammoth.
On the morning of the third day, as Haruto rounded a corner, the passage ahead suddenly became bright.
Moreover, an aroma so rich it was almost tangible hit him in the face.
This aroma was unlike any flavor before—noble, mellow, fragrant… as if it condensed the essence of all the world’s delicacies.
It was enough to make even the finest perfumes pale in comparison.
Just taking a single sniff made Haruto feel his soul tremble, and the hunger in his stomach was instantly magnified countless times.
“It’s the Jewel Meat!”
Haruto’s eyes lit up brilliantly, and he quickened his pace, sprinting toward the light.
Passing through the final narrow passage, an open space appeared before his eyes.
In the center of the space grew a massive, circular chunk of meat over two meters high.
The surface of the meat was covered in a thin halo, as if plated with a layer of gold dust, shimmering brightly.
Meat juices slowly dripped from the chunk, each drop sparkling with a gem-like luster and making a crisp sound as it hit the ‘ground’…
Haruto’s breathing became ragged, his feet felt nailed to the spot, and his eyes were fixed intently on that piece of Jewel Meat.
After a long while, Haruto finally walked forward with trembling steps, took out his kitchen knife, and gently pressed it against the surface of the Jewel Meat.
The moment the blade sliced through the skin, an even richer aroma erupted.
Haruto felt a wave of dizziness, as if he were drunk.
Holding the small piece of Jewel Meat he had cut in his palms, the warm sensation made Haruto’s heart nearly leap out of his chest.
The meat layers shimmered with a mother-of-pearl iridescence, and the juices flowing between the textures looked like molten amber.
*Gulp…*
Swallowing his saliva, Haruto could no longer resist; he opened his mouth and bit down hard.
The moment his teeth cut into the Jewel Meat, Haruto felt as if he were swept into a vortex of flavor.
Warm meat juices exploded in his mouth first, the taste complex beyond description.
With a slight chew, there was the tender juiciness of tenderloin, which then melted into the characteristic sweet fragrance of marbled fat from the top sirloin.
Continuing to chew, the firm texture of shoulder meat emerged, followed finally by the long-lasting aftertaste unique to offal.
Furthermore, it integrated the savory aroma of pork, the richness of beef, the tenderness of mutton, and the freshness of fish… it seemed as if the merits of every meat in the world were gathered within it.
Thousands of flavors exploded in his mouth.
An indescribable sense of satisfaction surged through his entire body, making every pore on his skin relax.
Haruto was completely lost in the ultimate deliciousness of this ‘Ancient Food Treasure’.
“Delicious… so delicious…”
Haruto’s mouth was stuffed with Jewel Meat as he murmured indistinctly.
Tears fell uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes—not out of sadness, but from extreme happiness and fulfillment.
Haruto had never imagined that such delicious food could exist in the world.
At this moment, all fear, fatigue, and confusion vanished before this bite of Jewel Meat…
Entranced by the flavor, Haruto’s chewing speed had long since exceeded the limits of an ordinary person.
His throat swallowed uncontrollably, and the Jewel Meat diminished at a visible rate.
Unbeknownst to Haruto, earth-shattering changes were occurring within his body.
An imperceptible golden light quietly appeared inside him.
It was a strange golden cell, less than a micron in diameter, yet emitting strong energy fluctuations.
This golden cell actually originated from the highly active Gourmet Cells within the Jewel Meat.
As this gourmet cell appeared in Haruto’s body, it immediately displayed a terrifying aggressiveness.
Haruto’s original somatic cells were like weak ants before a towering elephant, completely powerless to resist.
With a slight tremor from the gourmet cell, the surrounding ordinary cells were drawn toward it as if by a black hole, then decomposed and devoured.
Meanwhile, the Jewel Meat Haruto swallowed was rapidly transformed in his digestive system, and massive amounts of energy surged toward this gourmet cell like rushing lava.
Nourished by the energy, the gourmet cell began to change drastically.
After only three seconds, it completed its first division.
One gourmet cell became two.
It then continued to greedily devour the surrounding ordinary cells and the energy provided by the Jewel Meat.
After the second gourmet cell was born, it began its second, third, and fourth divisions almost without pause…
The Gourmet Cells divided faster and faster, spreading through Haruto’s body like a prairie fire.
Everywhere they went, ordinary cells were either assimilated or devoured.
Blood vessels were widened, bones were reshaped, and muscle fibers became denser and tougher under the weaving of the Gourmet Cells…
Haruto’s body temperature quietly rose, and sweat soaked his clothes.
But immersed in the deliciousness, Haruto was completely oblivious to this.
The intense hunger generated by the energy consumption drove Haruto to swallow large mouthfuls of Jewel Meat, providing a continuous stream of energy for the upheaval inside him.
This was a silent evolution, and also a gamble between life and death.
Although Gourmet Cells were discovered by the Gourmet God Acacia in the Deep Sea Phantom Jellyfish,
In reality, they had long since fully integrated into this world.
Gourmet Cells can drive a leap in life level, but they also possess a demonic, greedy appetite.
Haruto’s original cells were too weak to withstand the invasion of highly active Gourmet Cells.
Without enough energy support, these Gourmet Cells would soon backfire, completely devouring Haruto’s body.
Fortunately, the Jewel Meat before Haruto was the most perfect energy source.
The Jewel Meat, hailed as an ‘Ancient Food Treasure’, not only possessed the ultimate flavors of all meats but also contained immense energy, which just happened to support this dangerous cellular replacement.
After an unknown amount of time, when Haruto felt full and finally stopped chewing, letting out a satisfied burp,
Inside his body, the Gourmet Cells had already completed the transformation of his entire being.
They were no longer dividing frantically but were instead orderly distributed in every corner of his body, operating like precision gears, storing the remaining energy as the basic power to maintain life activities.