Chapter 1

In this world, a person's name is often inversely proportional to their experiences. Those named Fugui are usually very poor, those named Meili can scare people to death, and those named Taiping have probably never had a peaceful life...

So, this well explains why Lin Taiping, just after completing his resignation procedures, inexplicably found himself transported to another world, and his mind suddenly filled with a strange language.

Three minutes later, on a desolate island surrounded by blue waves, he looked up at the snowflakes dancing in the sky and finally confirmed two pieces of bad news—one bad and one worse—

The bad news was that he was now standing in a bamboo grove, tied up like a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake, and if he didn't find a way to warm up soon, he would soon turn into a human popsicle.

The worse news was that just a few centimeters away, dozens of towering, fierce-looking minotaurs were enthusiastically searching his backpack, their eyes glowing green with madness, making one suspect they had contracted mad cow disease.

"Minotaurs? Dark races?" Lin Taiping suddenly felt like crying. He could now confirm that even after being transported, his luck was still as strong as ever.

However, he only felt like crying for a moment. His nerves, honed by years of dealing with various troubles, quickly calmed him down.

Alright, alright, if he could encounter a group of robbers while withdrawing money from the bank, then encountering a group of minotaurs who loved to rob after being transported didn't seem so hard to accept. It was like playing a real-life version of World of Warcraft, except there was no way to drop equipment.

In fact, just as he had seen in the game, these minotaurs were all as massive as small mountains, with fierce, menacing bull heads, sharp, knife-like horns, and well-developed upper bodies. They were armed with large totem poles, and their nostrils were spewing white steam...

Worse still, these guys seemed to have been hungry for a long time, so they were shoving anything they found in the backpack into their mouths, including cell phones, wallets, folders, documents, laptops, and even a counterfeit iPhone 4, which the minotaur chief named Turu ate.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, it's not even tasty!" After just a few chews, Chief Turu frowned and spat out a few cell phone parts, "I told you, why is there only half an apple on this thing? It must be because everyone who ate it before found it too hard to swallow."

At this moment, the spirit of Mr. Jobs in heaven was directly moved to tears.

In fact, Lin Taiping was already in tears, especially when he saw the minotaurs, after gnawing through the entire backpack, suddenly turn their heads to look at him in unison.

"Uh..." Feeling a chill run down his spine, Lin Taiping couldn't help but shiver, "Hey, just a question, are you guys related to ogres?"

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, you're the one related to ogres, and your whole family is related to ogres." As if insulted, Turu immediately spewed white steam in anger, "Human, do you think our great and brave minotaur race is a lowly creature like an ogre? We were just thinking..."

What they were thinking didn't need to be said, because dozens of minotaur eyes were already fixed on his jeans, and the way they were swallowing saliva suggested they were ready to pounce at any moment.

"Wait!" Lin Taiping couldn't help but shout, even though he was trembling inside, "You can't eat this, it's my last pair... I mean, if you want to find food, I'm happy to help!"

Thanks to this last sentence, the minotaurs, who were already charging, suddenly came to a halt. Turu, with a strange look on his face, opened his eyes wide, as if hearing something unbelievable, "Human, you just said you can help us find food?"

"Exactly!" To prevent himself from becoming a naked human, Lin Taiping nodded frantically, "Give me a few minutes, and I can find a lot of food, enough to make you all burp."

Really? The dozens of minotaurs swallowed their saliva in unison but couldn't help but look at each other. Hmm, it sounds good, but can this ordinary-looking human really find any food?

After all, it was the cold winter, and the island was too desolate. Everything that could be eaten had already been eaten, and even things that couldn't be eaten had been eaten. In such a situation, finding sufficient food would be a miracle, let alone a small piece of bread.

"Give it a try, you won't lose anything." Lin Taiping answered seriously, adding, "Besides, would the great and brave minotaur race be afraid of a human hurting you?"

"Of course not!" Turu immediately puffed out his chest proudly, his horns glowing gold, "Our great and brave minotaur race is never afraid of humans, of course, except for annoying mages."

Saying this, he proudly waved his hoof and easily broke the ropes. However, for safety, a few minotaurs still stuck close to Lin Taiping, fearing he might suddenly do something strange.

"Don't worry, I really like minotaurs, especially when they attract aggro in dungeons." Lin Taiping chatted casually, moving his numb wrists and observing the surroundings.

As he saw, this snow-covered island was particularly desolate, surrounded by barren fields. Only the bamboo grove where he was now, even in winter, remained lush and green, with hundreds of bamboo stalks rustling in the sea breeze, and bamboo leaves occasionally falling.

So, although he claimed to help the minotaurs find food, there was really nothing here. The nearby sea was calm with no fish, the wilderness was full of rocks and sand, and only the bamboo grove... Hmm? Bamboo grove?

Seemingly thinking of something, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and walked around the bamboo grove a few times. The bamboo grove was growing well, and it was winter, so...

"I've already tried, this thing is so hard to eat." Seeing him circling the bamboo, Turu couldn't help but sigh, "The bamboo joints are so hard they break your teeth, and the leaves are so bitter they taste like paper. Honestly, I'd rather eat paper."

Recalling the miserable experience of eating bamboo, a group of minotaurs felt their stomachs churn. By the Dark God, if this human dares to suggest eating bamboo, we will beat him into a pig's head.

"Don't worry, I won't make you eat bamboo." Lin Taiping picked up a long, flat stone, squatted next to a large bamboo stalk, and started digging a hole, grunting with effort.

Speechless, the dozens of minotaurs looked at each other, and Turu couldn't help but open his eyes wide. By the Dark God, what is this human doing? Is he planning to dig up a bunch of earthworms... Well, to be honest, those things don't taste good either.

As they muttered, Lin Taiping was already sweating, almost digging up the entire area within a few meters. However, unfortunately, even though the bamboo was almost swaying, the hole only contained earthworms and soil.

"None at all?" Rubbing his numb legs, he changed to another spot and continued digging, but it turned out his luck was still bad, and this time there weren't even earthworms.

"Human, what are you doing?" Turu finally couldn't stand it, spewing white steam in anger, "Listen, if you're fooling us, we'll bury you in the hole you dug!"

"Don't worry, don't worry." Lin Taiping waved his hand without turning around, changing to another spot and continuing to dig, "Give me a little more time, damn it, I don't believe my luck is so bad... Uh?"

Bang! In the middle of his complaint, the stone seemed to hit something, and he couldn't help but pause. When he saw the faint yellow-brown color in the soil, he immediately exclaimed with joy and dug frantically.

A moment later, the object hidden in the soil was finally exposed to the air. The dozens of minotaurs, full of curiosity, couldn't help but stretch their necks and stare at the mysterious object—

Under the yellow mud, it seemed to be a conical plant part, wrapped in a yellow-brown shell, weighing at least several dozen pounds... Wait, could this be the legendary food?

"Exactly, this is called winter bamboo shoot." Lin Taiping tightly hugged the bamboo shoot, almost wanting to kiss it, "It's a delicacy from the bamboo grove. Just put it in a fire to cook, then remove the shell and slice it thin, and you can..."

Crunch! While he was still explaining, Turu had already snatched the bamboo shoot, not even wiping off the mud, and bit into it with the shell still on.

However, the next moment, after just a few chews, he suddenly started trembling with a face like it had been trampled by a hundred rhinos, "Ugh, ugh, ugh, this thing is so hard to eat... Damn! Human, are you fooling us?"

In an instant, the dozens of minotaurs were furious, their muscular hooves cracking, ready to pounce and beat the human into a cripple at the chief's command.

What could he say? Lin Taiping wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and could only innocently spread his hands, "Please, I already said this thing can only be eaten when cooked. It's your fault for not listening to me."

"Cough, cough, well..." The dozens of minotaurs looked at each other, unusually blushing, while Turu still stared with half-disbelieving eyes, "So, if we cook this, we can definitely eat it?"

"Definitely, and it will taste great." Lin Taiping smiled, showing eight white, shiny teeth.

"Really?" Turu widened his eyes again, as if trying to kill him with his gaze.

"Really!" Lin Taiping nodded firmly, "However, there's still one problem. I need a kitchen knife, cooking utensils, and seasonings... Uh?"

Bang! Before he could finish, Turu let out a strange cry, excitedly waving his totem pole and charging out like he was on a high, shouting along the way, "Kitchen knife! Big pot! Seasonings!"

Very powerful, watching the bamboo grove being trampled and the dust rising, Lin Taiping could only look up at the sky speechlessly—

Alright, I have to admit, the power of food is indeed infinite!