Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies Chapter 1263: Oh, you really want to eat it?

Chapter 1263: Are you truly set on eating that?

The culinary creation served by Chef Luodan pulled the gaze of everyone present, locking their attention completely.

Liang Yue, Fatty Xu, and Old You felt themselves thoroughly mesmerized by the fragrant aroma.

Only Zhang Yi harbored a sense of unease.

It was not that his companions were slow to react; rather, Zhang Yi had shielded them so effectively that they had been spared the grim reality of severe famine.

As a result, they were completely oblivious to the nature of this particular scent.

Zhang Yi laid his chopsticks aside, casting a look at Pagyi Gesang that hovered somewhere between a smile and a scowl.

Pagyi Gesang appeared startled for a heartbeat before breaking into a laugh, "My dear guest, you likely don't realize that this dish is the premier delicacy of our Snowy Plateau Region!"

"Even when presenting offerings to the Buddhas and deities, we gather the most refined ingredients to prepare a portion for the Sangha Monastery."

"If not for distinguished guests like yourselves, I would seldom have the opportunity to taste this. The preparation of these ingredients alone demanded six months of cultivation!"

Noticing Zhang Yi’s strange demeanor, Liang Yue and the rest of the group regarded him with growing suspicion.

Liang Yue and Old You, possessing sharper instincts, had already caught wind of something amiss. While their realization was not yet absolute, they followed suit and set their own chopsticks down.

"Jia, is something the matter?"

Liang Yue, seated beside Zhang Yi, whispered the question.

Zhang Yi offered a muted smile, "It is nothing of importance; I simply harbor a distaste for white meat."

Upon hearing this specific phrase, the expressions of Liang Yue and Old You underwent an immediate transformation.

Glancing back at the platter of pale, succulent meat, they were suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea.

They had never imagined that the so-called pinnacle of local delicacies touted by Pagyi Gesang was, in reality, a product of such macabre origins!

Maintaining his composure, Zhang Yi smiled and addressed Pagyi Gesang, "Your esoteric sect’s traditions are indeed distinct. However, while I appreciate the hospitality of the Pagyi Family Head, I believe we shall respectfully decline. My palate is simply not accustomed to such fare."

Zhang Yi crossed his arms, showing no interest in picking up his chopsticks again.

Only Fatty Xu remained bewildered, oblivious to the undercurrents of the conversation.

As a man who lived for food, he still felt a lingering desire for that tantalizingly fragrant dish.

Pagyi Gesang’s face betrayed pure astonishment.

It was evident that he had not served the platter to spite Zhang Yi, but truly believed he was sharing a prized delicacy with an honored guest.

Yet, that exact sincerity was what chilled Zhang Yi to the bone.

It implied that Pagyi Gesang, and quite possibly most of the Snowy Plateau region, viewed this dietary practice as entirely conventional.

Zhang Yi finally grasped the source of his profound discomfort while roaming the Pagyi estate earlier that day.

Luodan, watching Zhang Yi, abruptly bowed in reverence. "Esteemed guest, does my cooking fail to meet your standards? I implore you to be honest. As a chef, failing to satisfy a guest is a grave shortcoming."

Zhang Yi gazed at his devout expression and offered a dismissive wave with a faint smile.

"The fault does not lie with you; I simply cannot reconcile myself with these specific ingredients."

"It is of no consequence. Just as some people in our homeland refuse to eat mutton or cilantro, this has no bearing on your culinary mastery. Please, do not take it to heart."

Fatty Xu remained reluctant to let it go. Driven by his cravings, he pestered Zhang Yi, "Boss, you have foods you refuse to eat too? The scent of this is magnificent. It would be a crime to let it go to waste!"

Zhang Yi turned to Fatty Xu, raised an eyebrow, and said with a cryptic smile, "If you are so inclined, by all means, indulge yourself!"

Fatty Xu was notoriously oblivious to social cues.

Furthermore, the dish had been prepared by a superhuman, which made it inherently alluring.

Unable to resist, Fatty Xu signaled to Luodan: "I would like to try some."

Liang Yue and Old You exchanged frantic, puzzled looks at Zhang Yi, wondering why he permitted this.

They could not know that Zhang Yi was equally speechless.

The hints had been blunt enough for everyone else to identify the dish, yet Fatty Xu remained completely clueless.

Furthermore, Zhang Yi could not explicitly expose the nature of the ingredients while in the presence of Pagyi Gesang.

Luodan placed a serving of meat before Fatty Xu. Seeing the pale, glistening morsel, Fatty Xu’s eyes lit up as he prepared to tuck in.

At this moment, Zhang Yi could no longer remain silent.

"Hold on. You are legitimately going to eat that?"

With the meat inches from his mouth, Fatty Xu paused and peered at Zhang Yi, looking utterly confused.

"Boss, what is the matter?"

Zhang Yi pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "I recall you mentioning you despise eating mutton, right?"

Fatty Xu blinked, "But I do eat mutton!"

Zhang Yi stared intently. "The same kind of mutton we discussed today. Did your village not have a butcher for sheep?"

Upon hearing his question rephrased, the memory of their earlier conversation flashed in Fatty Xu’s mind.

He shuddered visibly, and the piece of meat tumbled from his chopsticks into the bowl.

Fatty Xu’s complexion turned white as he nearly collapsed from his seat, saved only by Old You, who quickly grabbed the back of the chair to steady him.

His jaw went slack as he stared in horror, looking as though he might weep.

He—he had almost consumed that!

Pagyi Gesang furrowed his brow, eyeing the group with a puzzled expression.

After a moment of contemplation, he slapped his own forehead. "It seems your regional dietary customs differ vastly from our own."

Zhang Yi, Liang Yue, and the others could only twitch their mouths in silence.

"Since when did the Snowy Plateau Region adopt such... dietary habits?"

Pagyi Gesang bowed his head and murmured, "I believe it began about two years ago!"

Luodan cast a strange glance toward Zhang Yi’s party before silently removing the food cart and presenting it directly to Pagyi Gesang.

Pagyi Gesang had intended to continue the conversation, but once the platter was placed before him, his restraint vanished.

"Since our guests remain so reserved, I shall finish the entirety of it myself!"

Discarding his utensils, he began tearing into the meat with his hands, shoveling massive portions into his mouth.

Though Zhang Yi and his team had witnessed much in their time, the spectacle before them was so perverse that it provoked a deep, visceral revulsion.

Pagyi Gesang was a faction leader, one of the most formidable authorities in the entire Southwest.

He was no starving peasant; why would he harbor such a fixation on this food?

The thought compelled Zhang Yi to cast an instinctive look at the chef, Luodan.

He refrained from further comment; the peculiar local customs were irrelevant to his mission.

Zhang Yi picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating the other dishes on the table.

Having stared down countless catastrophes, he remained poised and unmoved by the situation.

Liang Yue gazed at Zhang Yi with a look of reverence. As for herself, she could no longer stomach a single bite, her insides roiling with sickness.

Old You and Fatty Xu were slightly more composed.

The former possessed the steely resolve of a seasoned soldier.

The latter was simply thick-skinned; after a brief pause to process the shock, the allure of the remaining food outweighed his horror—it seemed he was truly ravenous.

Soon thereafter, the meal concluded.

Pagyi Gesang possessed a gargantuan appetite, single-handedly devouring the entire platter of meat, leaving his fingers, chin, and garments coated in a layer of grease.

Author's Note