Early the next morning, the noisy phone ringtone rang again.
Chu Chen rubbed his sleepy eyes and answered the phone.
"My dad agreed. Let's meet at the entrance of Food is Heaven at eight." Came Wang Lu's voice from the other end of the line.
Upon hearing this, Chu Chen immediately shook off his sleepiness and replied quickly: "Okay, I'll be there soon." With that, he hung up the phone.
Wang Lu shook his head helplessly as he listened to the busy tone coming from the phone.
"Dad, thanks a lot for this time." Wang Lu said with a smile to the middle-aged man beside him.
Father Wang waved his hand and said, "It's just a small matter. I've watched Chu Chen grow up; if I can help, I will. Besides, you'll be taking over the business in the future, and having more friends will open more paths."
At eight o'clock, Chu Chen appeared punctually at the entrance of Food is Heaven.
Seeing Chu Chen, Wang Lu came out of the hotel.
"Come on, let me take you around." Wang Lu greeted with a smile.
Chu Chen nodded with a smile, then followed Wang Lu inside.
The hotel was large, with a total of ten floors: the first floor was the lobby, the second floor was the restaurant, and the remaining eight floors were guest rooms.
The hotel's business was quite good, with an occupancy rate of up to seventy percent. Most of the guests were Beast Masters from nearby cities.
These guests were usually merchants, as regular transportation could not be used due to the barrier posed by Star Beasts, so transportation of materials could only rely on Beast Masters.
Half an hour later, Wang Lu brought Chu Chen to the restaurant's kitchen.
Wang Lu was very familiar with this place. As soon as he arrived at the kitchen, he went straight to a robust middle-aged man with a tiger back and bear waist.
"Uncle Liu."
Hearing the call, the man quickly turned to look at Wang Lu.
Seeing the visitor, the man smiled and said, "Little Lu is here, huh? This must be your classmate."
Upon hearing this, Chu Chen quickly said, "Hello, my name is Chu Chen, and I'm Wang Lu's classmate."
"Hmm, hello. I'm Liu Yong, the head chef here. Just call me Uncle Liu from now on."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang Lu patted Chu Chen on the shoulder with a smile and said, "I've already informed Uncle Liu here about you. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first."
"Hmm, go ahead and get busy."
After Wang Lu left, Liu Yong led Chu Chen to the door of a storeroom. He pointed at the storeroom and said with a smile, "This is where we store the Star Beasts. This is the list of Star Beasts that need to be slaughtered; the tools are all in the storeroom. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me." With that, he handed over a list.
Seeing this, Chu Chen quickly took it, patted his chest, and assured with a smile, "Don't worry, Uncle Liu, leave it to me."
Hearing this, Liu Yong nodded with satisfaction and then walked towards the kitchen.
Once Chu Chen saw him leave, he carefully opened the storeroom door.
In sight was a pitch-black space, and a foul stench rushed in.
Chu Chen reached his hand on the wall by the door, fumbled around, and quickly found the switch.
When he turned on the light, he froze in place, his eyes full of shock.
The storeroom covered an area of about a hundred square meters. Dozens of iron cages of varying sizes were placed against the east, south, and west walls.
Many Star Beasts were confined in the iron cages. With a simple glance, Chu Chen noticed that the strength of these Star Beasts was generally not high, and most of them had evolved from poultry, with relatively small sizes.
Against the north wall, there were two huge fish tanks, each with a volume of dozens of cubic meters. In one fish tank, Chu Chen saw a group of Water Spirit Fish, along with several types of freshwater fish, indicating it was a freshwater tank, while the other housed many oceanic Star Beasts, albeit common seafood types.
At the center of the storeroom stood a metal workbench about three meters in size, with more than a dozen knives on it: cleavers, bone-chopping knives, chopping knives, and so on.
The overall environment of the storeroom seemed reasonably clean, but the lingering scent of blood and Star Beast excrement emitted a nauseating stench.
Chu Chen had anticipated this, so he hurriedly took out a mask from his pocket and put it on.
With the smell mostly blocked, Chu Chen's nausea lessened significantly. He took out the list and began checking the Star Beasts that needed to be slaughtered.
After a dozen seconds, Chu Chen put down the list, his lips curling up slightly. This time, twenty-three Star Beasts needed to be slaughtered. As he looked at those Star Beasts, it was as if he saw moving Slaughter Values, with stars seemingly sparkling in his eyes.
Chu Chen didn't hesitate and directly summoned Lei Yao.
Upon manifestation, Lei Yao warily surveyed the surroundings, causing the Star Beasts confined in iron cages to scream in terror.
Seeing this, Chu Chen already confirmed his suspicion that facing fear is the best medicine for it.
Chu Chen patted Lei Yao's head and comforted him in a low voice, "Don't be afraid; with me here, they won't hurt you."
Hearing Chu Chen's comfort, Lei Yao finally stopped screaming.
"Let's start with the easiest ones." Chu Chen pointed at the fish tank with the Water Spirit Fish and said with a smile.
Chu Chen used the Slaughter Atlas to check the realm of these Water Spirit Fish.
These Water Spirit Fish were generally at the Servant Level Third or Fourth Rank, all in their growth stage, with the largest individual being just over a meter.
This time, five Water Spirit Fish needed to be slaughtered. Without hesitation, Chu Chen directly fished out the five Water Spirit Fish with the highest realm, four at the Servant Level Fourth Rank, and one at the Servant Level Third Rank.
"Lei Yao, do it. Remember to control your strength." Chu Chen softly instructed as he pointed to the Water Spirit Fish struggling on the ground.
Upon hearing this, Lei Yao nodded and sent the five Water Spirit Fish away with a punch.
Watching the continuously rising Slaughter Value, Chu Chen's curled lips were harder to press down than an AK.
The five Water Spirit Fish provided him with nineteen points of Slaughter Value.
He tried adding points to his talent, but it still showed that the Slaughter Value was insufficient.
Helplessly, he could only turn his gaze to the other Star Beasts.
The most significant improvement for him now was his talent, followed closely by Lei Yao's skill proficiency and talent, while the evolution formula was not within his immediate consideration.
There was a reason for Chu Chen's prioritization.
Firstly, the elite class selection would take place in a month, during which he just needed to cultivate step by step. Therefore, within this month, Heaven Rewards Diligence provided the greatest benefit to him, and since this enhancement was permanent, with the highest return, it naturally had the highest priority.
Secondly, Lei Yao's skill proficiency had just reached the Entry Realm. As long as he practiced diligently, significant early-stage improvement would come quickly. Slaughter Value was hard-earned, so spending it in the early stage seemed wasteful.
Lastly, evolution formulas typically required large quantities of Alliance Coins. With his current financial situation, it was somewhat ambitious, and since Lei Yao's quality had reached Elite Level Middle Grade, it was completely sufficient for the short term.
After an hour of effort, Chu Chen had slaughtered ninety-five percent of the Star Beasts on the list, with his Slaughter Value reaching seventy-five points.
After taking a break, Chu Chen shifted his gaze to the last Star Beast that needed to be slaughtered.
It was a canine Star Beast, shoulder height reaching a meter, body length about two meters, with blue-gray fur, and looked somewhat dispirited.
At this time, the Slaughter Atlas also displayed the information of this canine Star Beast.
Star Beast Name: Gale Dog
Life Level: Growth Stage
Star Beast Quality: Ordinary Level (Middle Grade)
Star Beast Talent: Extreme Speed (Can increase movement speed by ten percent.)
Star Beast Level: Fifth Rank Slave Level
Power Talent: F-Level
Defense Talent: F-Level
Agility Talent: E-Level
Physical Talent: E-Level
Soul Power Talent: F-Level
Star Power Talent: F-Level
Star Beast Attribute: Wind Element
Star Beast Skills: Gale Step (Ordinary Level, Entry Realm), Bloody Bite (Ordinary Level, Entry Realm)