Xie Wen turned his gaze toward the sound and saw a fluffy, black little paw rapidly enlarging in his field of vision. He didn't expect that even the paw pads of Sanji Cat were black... This was his first reaction before being kicked away. Truly, it was Sanji Cat; this little flying cat had quite a bit of strength in its legs... This was his first reaction after being kicked away.

"Pfft! Ugh!" Pulling his head out of the sand, Xie Wen spat out the sand in his mouth while dissatisfiedly questioning Sanji Cat, "Why did you kick me? If you didn't want me to roast meat, couldn't you just call out?"

Sanji Cat ignored him entirely and immediately "rescued" the raw meat from the rack. After carefully inspecting it, he murmured with relief, "Fortunately, the ingredients weren’t damaged, meow."

After finishing his self-talk, Sanji Cat turned his head and responded to Xie Wen's question with conviction: "Such good meat, how could you waste it like this, meow! If you hesitated for even a moment, it wouldn't be salvageable, meow!"

"It's not as serious as you say..." Xie Wen crossed his arms and retorted unhappily, "My grilling skills are still decent."

Well, with his title as a "Grill Master," he had a 97.372% chance of grilling the highest level “Grilled Meat G” with the help of a little grilling tune!

However, Sanji Cat looked disdainful. "The meat you hunters roast, no matter how well you do it, it's just edible, meow. Once we set up camp, I'll show you what real delicacies are! So, this piece of meat is confiscated, meow!"

With that, Sanji Cat stuffed the piece of raw meat, which was two sizes larger than his head, to the left side of his body, and with a swish, it disappeared.

It was only then that Xie Wen noticed that at Sanji Cat's waist, there was a paw-shaped bag similar to his own dimensional pouch, just slightly smaller.

Xie Wen: "......"

So it turns out that not only does every hunter have one, but even Ailuro Cats have one each?

He had previously thought it was lucky to have spatial equipment right after crossing over; now it seemed it was just the norm...

Tsk!

The sense of surprise and superiority immediately dropped significantly.

After pouting, Xie Wen finally got back to business: "So, you've already found a suitable place for us to stay?"

"Of course, meow!" Sanji Cat proudly nodded his head. "You can absolutely trust our Ailuro Cats' survival skills in the wild, meow!"

"Mm-mm, you've really worked hard." Xie Wen reached out to rub Sanji Cat's little head.

Xie Wen was quite experienced in dealing with cats. Although Ailuro Cats were different from ordinary cats, at the end of the day, they were still cats.

Being rubbed on the head by Xie Wen's skilled hands, Sanji Cat squinted his eyes comfortably like an ordinary cat and let out a series of purring sounds.

After a satisfying petting session for both sides, Xie Wen followed Sanji Cat deeper into the woods.

As Sanji Cat had said, despite walking, stopping, and winding around the path, they miraculously did not encounter any threatening creatures along the way.

The most dangerous situation was merely hearing the sounds of a large animal passing nearby, but Xie Wen had already hidden away at Sanji Cat's suggestion, not disturbing that unknown creature at all.

Soon, the person and cat arrived at a patch of woods that didn't look much different from the surroundings. Sanji Cat rummaged through a pile of weeds for a bit, revealing a hidden cave.

"This should be the cave of some solitary beast, meow," Sanji Cat explained while leading Xie Wen inside. "But the smell in the cave has faded a lot; there must have been some situation or it has moved away, meow. However, I think the first possibility is more likely because there aren't any particularly powerful creatures nearby, and it’s close to a water source. As long as the original owner of this cave isn’t foolish, they wouldn't move out, meow."

Xie Wen followed him into the cave and found that the interior space was surprisingly spacious, very dry and clean, and there was no strong odor at all; it was nothing like he had imagined it to be dirty or smelly.

"Sanji, you’re amazing!"

Xie Wen picked up Sanji Cat and started to snuggle with him. He was extremely grateful to have an Ailuro Cat by his side right from the start. As for the dog he had been thinking about earlier...

What dog? Is there such a thing in Monster Hunter?

"You’re going crazy, meow! Let go of me, meow!"

Sanji Cat clearly did not appreciate such an overly affectionate approach, swatting at Xie Wen's head with his little paws.

Xie Wen endured Sanji Cat's playful punches for a while longer before reluctantly putting him down, mumbling softly, "What’s the big deal? Rubbing a bit won’t make me lose a piece of meat."

Sanji Cat then disdainfully rubbed his head with his little paw for a while before twisting his body and saying, "I just want to snuggle with the beautiful and smooth-furred big sister Ailuro Cat, meow~"

When he said this, even his cute cat face seemed a bit lewd.

Xie Wen: "......"

Tsk! This character is a bit too realistic.

Thinking of his own Ailuro being a lewd little yellow cat, Xie Wen’s desire to pet cats diminished significantly.

Feeling a bit deflated, he smacked his lips and then touched his slightly empty stomach, changing the subject, "By the way, didn’t you say you were going to show me a trick?"

"Hmph~"

As soon as cooking was mentioned, Sanji Cat immediately returned to his adorable self, proudly lifting his head and saying, "Just wait and see; the dishes I make are definitely so delicious that you'll want to eat your own tongue, meow!"

With that, Sanji Cat dashed out of the cave and quickly cleared a patch of ground not far in front of the cave. Then, he reached into his paw-shaped bag and continuously pulled out various cooking utensils.

Pots, bowls, knives, forks, spatulas—everything one could need was there, and even a large pile of bottles and jars that obviously contained seasonings...

Why the hell do I only have a salted fish sword?!

Seeing all this, Xie Wen immediately felt unbalanced.

It wasn’t that he needed top-notch equipment, but at least give him one of the various hunter weapons, right?

Even if there was nothing else, at least give him a bug-catching stick!

Any basic type would do!

After all, without the翔虫 and the投射器, the only way to fly around in the sky would be with a bug-catching stick.

While Xie Wen was grumbling in his mind, Sanji Cat had already quickly finished cooking the previously confiscated raw meat, even adding some vegetables. It was unclear whether they had been in his bag from the start or if he had gathered them while exploring.

But these questions no longer mattered; Xie Wen’s attention had long been drawn away by the aroma of Sanji Cat’s cooking.

"Island wild vegetable and fruity grilled meat, please enjoy, meow."

Sanji Cat placed the plated grilled meat and a pair of knives and forks in front of Xie Wen, then elegantly bowed.

Eagerly, Xie Wen quickly grabbed the knives and forks and began to feast, while Sanji Cat also pulled out another set of utensils and joined in the meal.

Before long, the two of them had completely devoured the plate of grilled meat. Xie Wen burped and realized that not only had his stamina completely recovered, but he even felt stronger...

It truly was cat food that could boost attributes!

Having a chef cat right from the start was really amazing!