Haruto slowly opened his eyes, his brain gradually clearing from the intoxication of the sense of taste.
The next second, Haruto suddenly discovered that a world-shaking change seemed to have occurred within him.
His skin had become tight and smooth; the originally slightly coarse texture had vanished without a trace, replaced by a delicate texture like fine silk.
Even the light emitted by the Jewel Meat shone upon him, reflecting a faint luster off his skin.
After a moment of daze, Haruto hurriedly checked for other changes in himself.
His slightly thin chest had become broad and upright.
Lifting his shirt, he could see eight abdominal muscles bulging on his stomach, their lines smooth and full of power.
The muscle outlines on his arms and thighs were full but not bloated; instead, they exuded a sense of explosive beauty.
Haruto slowly clenched his fists, and an unprecedented sense of power surged from every bone and limb; his fingertips could even feel the faint resistance generated by compressed air.
Trying a light punch, a slight sound of breaking air reached his ears—something he wouldn’t have dared to imagine before.
He stood up and stretched his muscles and bones, which emitted crisp ‘crackling’ sounds.
Every movement had become incredibly light and flexible, as if he had cast off heavy shackles.
However, it wasn’t all just pleasant surprises.
Haruto looked down at his body and compared it to the Jewel Meat beside him, finding that he seemed to have grown shorter.
His original height of about 1.8 meters seemed to have shrunk by ten centimeters, becoming around 1.7 meters.
Combined with his suddenly robust physique, his whole person appeared exceptionally sturdy.
After the initial surprise at his changes, Haruto had a guess…
“The effect of the Jewel Meat? Or Gourmet Cells?”
Haruto muttered to himself, gently stroking the tight muscles on his arm.
He knew that Jewel Meat was not only a top-tier delicacy but also had the effect of strengthening the body.
Even a sickly person could instantly become robust after consuming Jewel Meat.
As for Gourmet Cells, they were even more miraculous.
In Haruto’s view, even ordinary people in the world of Toriko possessed Gourmet Cells; it was just that the cells in ordinary people were not active, at most only allowing them to have a slightly larger appetite.
Among the race known as Netero, they seemed to possess culinary techniques capable of stimulating the Gourmet Cells in ordinary people, making them delicious.
Of course, that had nothing to do with him.
Haruto had no intention of ‘eating people’.
However, after a bit of thought, Haruto determined that he had most likely obtained Gourmet Cells, and active ones at that.
As for the reason, on one hand, the changes in his body were too great for Jewel Meat alone to achieve.
On the other hand, nearly a third of the Jewel Meat in front of him was missing.
A third of the Jewel Meat was larger in volume than he was, and the energy it contained was beyond imagination; if it were an ordinary person, they would have likely burst and died long ago.
But not only was he perfectly fine, he felt energetic to the extreme.
Haruto couldn’t think of any other explanation for this common-sense-defying situation except for the effect of Gourmet Cells.
After all, only Gourmet Cells in an active state could possess such terrifying digestive and absorption capabilities, converting massive amounts of ingredients into energy for one’s own evolution…
What made Haruto curious was that the process of obtaining Gourmet Cells seemed a bit too simple.
Haruto knew that in the world of Toriko, those who could truly activate the Gourmet Cells in their bodies were actually not many compared to the vast human population.
Even members of the Gourmet Corp, in order to activate their Gourmet Cells, did not hesitate to directly inject highly active Gourmet Cells, eventually becoming bizarre and grotesque, showing how high the difficulty was.
Yet he hadn’t injected highly active Gourmet Cells like the Gourmet Corp members, nor had he activated them through the subtle influence of eating large amounts of gourmet food over a long period.
He had completed the activation of his Gourmet Cells just by eating enough Jewel Meat.
No matter how he looked at it, it was too simple.
Haruto didn’t realize that the reason he could succeed so smoothly was entirely because he was too ‘weak’.
Not just in terms of strength, but even the cells in his body were also very ‘weak’.
Therefore, when facing Gourmet Cells, his original cells had zero resistance.
This allowed the Gourmet Cells to act like cancer cells, taking root and multiplying within his body without any hindrance… ultimately completing the replacement and remodeling of all the cells in his body.
“Forget it, there’s no need to dwell on this too much.”
Haruto shook his head, a relieved smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Regardless of the process, as long as the result was good.
He now not only had a healthy and strong body but had also obtained Gourmet Cells; this was already a stroke of immense luck.
Subsequently, Haruto excitedly began to test his new body.
First, he tested his speed, which was at least two or three times faster than before.
Then he punched the nearby wall of meat, directly smashing a deep indentation into it.
Trying a jump, his body lightly soared into the air, leaping over two meters high, landing as steady as Mount Tai without any sense of impact…
Haruto grew more excited as he tested, constantly trying various movements and feeling the surging power within him, as if he had inexhaustible energy.
After testing his basic physical condition, Haruto began trying to trigger the special abilities brought by Gourmet Cells.
However, Haruto concentrated his mind and tried to mobilize the energy within his body.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, besides feeling that his strength and speed far exceeded ordinary people, no special abilities appeared.
Haruto wasn’t disappointed by this; after all, having just obtained Gourmet Cells was like a newly sprouted seed, still needing time and more delicious ingredients to nourish its growth.
He believed that as long as he continued to consume high-quality gourmet food, he would definitely obtain special abilities.
He wondered if his special ability would be similar to Toriko’s sense of smell or Coco’s poison.
Or perhaps something like Zebra’s sound or Sunny’s sense of touch…
Haruto was very much looking forward to it!
But those were matters for the future; now he needed to consider his next move.
Having already found the Jewel Meat, there was naturally no need for him to continue wandering around inside the Regal Mammoth.
Therefore, Haruto decisively decided to stay in this space until it was time to leave.
Since Jewel Meat could exist here continuously, it indicated that this space was relatively safe.
He didn’t have to worry about encountering parasites or other dangerous creatures inside the Regal Mammoth.
As for leaving the Regal Mammoth’s body, Haruto hadn’t even considered it.
He couldn’t help it; Haruto knew very well that although he had obtained Gourmet Cells and completed a life evolution, his actual strength was still limited.
Right now, his strength and speed far exceeded ordinary people, but facing the beasts in the world of Toriko, he would still be defenseless.
He might not even be able to beat the parasites inside the Regal Mammoth right now.
The world outside was certainly wonderful and even had a vast amount of gourmet food, but it was also much more dangerous.
And the area where the Regal Mammoth lived was bound to be lurking with countless beasts.
With his current strength, if he went out, there was no telling which hungry beast might eat him as a little snack.
Under these circumstances, continuing to stay inside the Regal Mammoth was actually safer for him.