Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 5978 - 4997: Forward Yueke Forward (15)

Soon enough, Shiller was no longer surprised by the signs. Because he directly saw an Atlantean. He could recognize it because the person didn’t bother to hide. The skin was a cool color, and there were scales on the ears. They even directly controlled the water flow from one tank to another while casually grabbing a lobster.

Shiller took a closer look; it was a clawed lobster, known in the market as a Boston lobster or Maine lobster. However, Gothamites generally call them big-claw lobsters, mainly because the lobsters near the coast of Gotham have particularly large claws, making them quite difficult to catch. Originally, due to this characteristic, they should be more expensive and sell better. But, unfortunately, no one really dares to eat them, so they generally end up as delicacies on the tables of local fishermen, while upscale restaurants use the ones from Canada.

Precisely because of this, the cooking method for Gotham lobster is different from most lobsters, with a very heavy flavor, and they don’t bother with steaming. Usually, the meat is crushed and boiled into a soup, with strong-flavored spices like fennel, nutmeg, and red chili added.

After everyone found a place to sit, the first seafood dish that arrived was indeed lobster soup, though it didn’t have crushed meat. It looked somewhat like it had been baked then dipped into a broth, undoubtedly an uncommon lobster preparation method.

"Don’t worry, all the dishes have passed safety inspections," Carter said. "Please trust us; we’re more concerned about accidents than you are."

"It’s not a question of safety," someone spoke up. "Can lobster taste good when cooked like this? I’ve only had the kind served in its shell on a plate."

True Gothamites had already started serving the soup.

Gotham hasn’t really developed any high-end cuisine; it’s most famous for its various street foods, especially the local seafood cooking techniques. They’re not just about enhancing and enriching the flavor but can also be considered sterilizing and disinfecting, bringing a different kind of taste.

Shiller took a sip of the lobster soup. It also had spices, but not so heavy. The scent of butter was quite rich. The lobster was clearly very fresh; it might not have even died seconds after hitting the pot, and the lobster meat had a pretty good texture. Although, under such strong seasoning, the original flavor couldn’t be tasted, all the umami was absorbed into the soup, making it a great appetizer.

The main courses included king crab, sea bass with vinegar sauce, garlic roasted shrimp with mushroom sauce, red wine veal tail, and corned beef and cheese sandwich. For dessert, there was the famous New York heavy cheesecake, apple pie, and Manhattan shake.

This meal left everyone satisfied. The Fusion Universe is truly great. Although the prices in Gotham are not low, seafood is indeed quite affordable. And perhaps due to long periods without being caught, the seafood sizes are exceptionally large. Even the most common large shrimp looked like they had been swollen, yet the meat wasn’t tough, perhaps due to some mutation causing the body type to grow larger.

Meanwhile, as New York is a city famous for high-end dining, talented chefs from around the world prepare these seafood dishes, giving Forward York City citizens quite the culinary treat. Not only can one find meticulously cooked giant seafood in high-end restaurants, but even street-side restaurants are generous with their portions. Even the simplest baked mussels or clam chowder come in a big bowl full of seafood, filled with flavor.

What Shiller regretted was the lack of seafood rice. Gotham’s seafood rice is also a specialty. Since some small seafood isn’t valuable, fishermen crush these whole, shell included, cooking them with spices to extract the essence. They strain out all solids, leaving only the broth, creating a unique Gotham seafood sauce, mixed with tomato juice to cook rice, then topped with mussels and clams, sprinkled with a thin layer of chili powder, a signature local delicacy.

However, as an appetizer, there was also a seafood platter. Smoked salmon slices were arranged in a floral shape, surrounded by a circle of scallop ham spicy sausage, followed by a herbal crab meat salad, and on the outer layer was rocket.

Shiller had seen similar dishes in Gotham, which essentially involves putting a pile of seafood on a plate. The side dishes depend majorly on what was caught that day. It was his favorite dish of the event, having a strong local flavor.

Within New York cuisine, the corned beef and cheese sandwich and the dessert heavy cheesecake are the most popular. As for the Manhattan shake, not many people liked it.

The so-called Manhattan shake is actually just a shake sold in the Manhattan area, characterized by a few notable traits: thick, smooth, and sweet.

After the already richly flavored dishes, with umami, aroma, and spiciness, another cup of thick and sweet shake would lead most people to seek water halfway through. They’d rather drink ice water than this shake.

Of course, the main reason was the no-drinking policy. America doesn’t really have a taboo against eating seafood with alcohol; Carter was mainly concerned about someone getting drunk. If superheroes did not have drinking problems, half of the fights could be avoided.

Fortunately, the guests today were well-behaved, with no cases of alcohol addiction. Characters like Iron Man, some of the different universe’s Natashas, and those famous drunkards didn’t show up.

The only bit of trouble was that Venom had quite the appetite. Essentially, it was a symbiont clearing out the seafood tanks. Luckily, the Atlantean nearby was quick; if he had been a bit slower, there’d only be fish bones left now.

Indeed, Venom eats seafood without the shells, spits out fish bones, only eats the crab meat, and with arugula, he eats just the leaves and not the stems, chewing and spitting them out. Shiller just wanted to study which universe’s fastidious ghost this was, only to see the face of Eddie from the Movie Universe.

No wonder they were bickering at the hotel entrance again. It must have been Eddie wanting to take the elevator, and Venom refusing.

Visibly, Eddie was wrestling with Venom once more, and one could faintly hear, "Are you here for an eating contest? Stop eating!" "They didn’t stop me!" "That’s because they don’t know you!" "Apologize! Quickly apologize!" being said.

After lunch, it was the hottest time of the day. They didn’t go out but stayed in the food stall to chat, waiting for the heat to pass before they started to walk slowly along the beach.

By this time, the drowsiness from digesting the food had passed. The sun began to set, the sand felt warm, and the sea no longer reflected bright light but became a cradle for the sunset. Walking along the long beach, they saw the lighthouse standing in the distance.

Shiller had never seen Gotham’s lighthouse so clearly before because the sea in Gotham was always foggy, and the lighthouse was always faintly visible. Only when the weather was exceptionally good and the visibility very high could he catch a glimpse from afar. It was only today that he realized the lighthouse had red and white stripes; he had always thought it was solid red.

The reason he could recognize it as Gotham’s lighthouse was that there were no lighthouses here in New York. New York’s lighthouse is further north and looks different.

After strolling on the beach for a while, working off some food, Carter chatted with them one by one, asking about the arrangements and opinions on the food. Shiller also gave some suggestions, but from what Carter implied, it seemed like there was no such seafood dish in this universe’s Gotham, though they had something similar that was more like a Spanish style. Shiller gave him a recipe, and Carter decided to find a chef to try it out.

However, Shiller was also curious about how they removed the seafood pollution. Carter said: "When we first merged, our tests showed that there was indeed some heavy metal contamination, but we rectified the chemical plants and brought in Atlanteans for deep pollution cleanup. It’s fine now."

"Was it only heavy metal pollution?"

"Yes. We also asked a mage to take a look, and they all said there wasn’t much of a problem. Do you think there’s something amiss, Professor?"

Shiller shook his head, thinking it might be because Zero Earth’s intensity was relatively low, so Gotham’s pollution wasn’t that serious, or perhaps it had been diluted after the merger, giving the seafood a pass.

But if that’s the case, why did the seafood grow so large? This is obviously a mutation in body type. Shiller expressed his doubts. Carter said: "The Atlanteans did it. Arthur and Namor somehow created a marine farm in the Atlantic, where they can raise fish that humans cannot, and each one is raised fat and big."

"Indeed." Peter, who was walking ahead, turned back and said, "Today’s salmon is absurdly plump, as if it hasn’t swum much since it was born."

Shiller hadn’t tried the smoked salmon, but recalling how the salmon looked, it did seem paler, which meant more fat. He wished he had tasted it.

"Initially, they were selling it at a higher price, but later the two fell out somehow and split into two operations. To compete commercially, each one made their offerings bigger and cheaper than the other, naturally benefiting humans."

Shiller understood. It was obvious that Arthur and Namor’s personalities couldn’t get along, mainly because Namor’s temperament wasn’t very good and he had a tendency to backstab. It’s fortunate they both governed the Seven Seas without clashing; how could they cooperate?

However, their competition indeed benefited the human race. The seafood wasn’t just large, but its meat quality remained consistent, and its fresh flavor was undiminished, which was remarkable. If there was truly no pollution, then Forward York City would absolutely be a paradise for seafood lovers worldwide. Just the plump and tender lobsters could attract many gourmets.

Most visitors from the otherworld gave rather high praise, especially regarding the food. Of course, there were also some New Yorkers who wanted a heavier proportion of New York cuisine, as many New York classic foods hadn’t made it to the table, like various cured meats, smoked meats, and the most classic American barbecue platters.

After walking along the beach for a while, they saw a yacht approaching, stopping by the jetty at the end point. People boarded the yacht and began selecting their preferred fishing gear for some night fishing at sea.

Shiller hesitated a bit but still picked the sturdiest looking fishing rod. Thor chuckled and said, "Professor, I didn’t expect you to like it so rough. Looks like you want to catch a big fish."

"You don’t understand," Shiller said with some concern, "It’s fine if I don’t catch anything, but if I do, the rod better be tough enough."

"Are you worried about breaking the line? In that case, you should choose something with good flexibility, and increase the line’s weight capacity..." Thor said.

Shiller shook his head and asked, "Did you bring Mjölnir?"

"What?" Thor asked, "What’s that got to do with Mjölnir?"

Shiller looked at the sea and said, "You’ll find out soon enough."