Chapter 4
Shadow 1A’s classroom was fully packed in and out . Although it was wintry, all the classroom’s windows were fully opened for good ventilation .
The stall was separated into three specific sections . The first section was the cooking area, and they had torn down the clapboard that was originally there to partition the kitchen from the dining room so the spectators present would be able to observe the live cooking .
There had only been two areas in the beginning, but too many had come upon hearing the news while not everyone wanted to participate . For example, a large group of female students had come purely because of Byriel, and had expressed their willingness to pay the participation fee and immediately forfeit, as long as they were allowed to stay behind in the vendor stall .
And so Liu Yi Chen had immediately divided the third section— the spectating area .
There was a block of seats within the spectating area, the cost of the seats decreasing by each row from the inside to outside, ten minutes per unit, charging them the spectator fees as well as cleaning fees for the site . There was even a viewing gallery drawn on the walkway outside the classroom . If they stayed continuously for twenty minutes, a free packet of wet tissues and plastic bags would be given to them, in case anyone watching the competition felt unwell .
Dongya was dressed in a pure-white butler’s outfit, a black apron tied around his waist . Along with that gentle smile, he gave them the amiable impression of a herbivorous househusband .
Apart from the ingredients and kitchen utensils, what laid on the kitchen countertop were a few tools that shouldn’t be there .
The new batch of challengers were students from Eli Institute . They had heard of the Dmitri students getting beaten by this vendor stall, and this was what had sparked their interest . They wished to use their victory to humiliate the people of Dmitri Institute .
A group of students from Eli Institute entered the stall, and Feng Ping Lan spotted Gerard among them . Gerard was reticent among his companions, but he was clearly the heart of his team .
There was some bustle before they finally chose four representatives to participate in the challenge .
Gerard did not compete, instead he sat in the first row of the spectator seats . Just like the Trials, he fixed his gaze onto Feng Ping Lan from the start to end, as if he was a ravenous wolf waiting for a chance to tyrannize his prey .
However, there was something different from his gaze during the Trials, which was the additional resentment and loathing— After all, Feng Ping Lan had puked all over him during the Trials .
Feng Ping Lan was serving as the timekeeper on the outer side of the spectating area . He smiled at Gerard, waving subtly at Gerard . The glaring look on Gerard’s face became several times more intense .
The participants chose a few ingredients from the ingredient section . Apart from the common vegetables and meat slices, they deliberately chose jams, sticky chili bean sauce, soda, and pudding, to illustrate their courage and willingness to face the challenge .
An uproar of gasps came from the spectators, and the challengers felt immeasurably smug by the attention and worship they received . After choosing their ingredients, the challengers walked leisurely towards the dining table .
Conglong and a few other students, who stood by the dining table, promptly pulled out the chairs respectfully, placing the tableware down .
“The pampered sons of Dmitri must be too laid-back, to suffer food poisoning the moment the food is not to their liking . ” A male student with a crew cut chuckled disapprovingly, “As students from Eli Institute, we were made to survive in an uninhabited island for our upgrading exams, and anything alive would be used to allay our hunger . ”
But the uninhabited island did not have Dongya .
Dongya’s cooking itself was an uninhabited island, with its layered, multilateral and abundant flavors, reenacting a cruel and dark world of savagery on the challengers’ tongues .
When the first person got his second bowl, the hand gripping onto his spoon started shaking uncontrollably, following which the spoon fell into the bowl, both hands flopping to his sides, his will completely gone .
The other participants were unable to endure, collapsing to the ground one after another within ten minutes .
The servers waiting by the side pulled the challengers who were too weak to fight away from their seats and started clearing up the table . Morris pushed the cart over, walking ahead, then, as if they were merely pieces of trash, picked them up to dump into the cart with one hand before sending them out .
This marked the end of the hair-raising match, and the number of victors remained at zero .
The reputation of Dongya’s terrifying cooking rang louder as it traveled, and was even exaggeratedly embellished, so much that rumors of ‘Shadow 1A feeding students uranide made from bombs’ spread . However, the customers who dropped in did not decrease, instead they grew . Not only did the registering teams transform into a long queue, the demand for spectator seats exceeded the supply, and they resorted to assigning numbers .
With such impetus, Shadow 1A quickly earned a huge profit . The rumors also quickly traveled into the ears of the Food Sanitation Team, alerting their supervisor, Cao Ji Xian .
“Shadow 1A has reopened their stall to sell hot pot?”
Cao Ji Xian had been sitting languidly in his office before this, drinking tea as he used his phone to command the operations of the Supernatural Research’s stall, but became enraged when he heard the report from his subordinates .
“Where did they find their ingredients? Didn’t the patrolling team intercept them?”
“The patrolling team has been monitoring the entrance all the while, but we have yet to see them transporting in any ingredients, they might have snuck in during our intervals between work shifts, or climbed over the walls somewhere away from the entrance to smuggle the goods into school…” The lackey reported, trembling in fear .
Cao Ji Xian glanced around, unable to spot his ally . “Where’s Reina? She’s been missing even since we left Shadow 1A, where did she go?”
“She returned to the Drama Research, saying she was going to socialize with Dmitri Institute’s Drama Research students, she just sent someone to inform you that she’s requesting a leave for tonight’s shift . ”
“That guy-obsessed fool…”
Cao Ji Xian cursed lowly, slamming a hand on the table as he stood, “Gather everyone! Get them on duty!”
Cao Ji Xian’s people descended upon Shadow 1A’s vendor stall the second time . This time, they couldn’t crash in with as much grandiosity and aggressiveness as before, because there were a bunch of people gathered outside the stall, some waiting for their numbers to be called out, others purely here to see what the fuss was all about . Without the presence of a unified group, these crowds formed a blockade, obstructing the stall’s entrance .
Cao Ji Xian’s group traversed past the human barricade with much difficulty, and under the crowds’ supercilious looks and clicking of tongues, they came to the entrance .
His face turned ashen the moment he saw the sign board .
Apart from the stall’s name indicated on the sign board, there was a row of tiny words written by the side—
All the tableware, kitchen implements, and ingredients in this shop have passed the Food Sanitation Team’s inspection regulations, customers can rest easy and eat .
Then, the Food Sanitation Team’s regulation booklet was put on display by the side, as if this had been personally endorsed by the Food Sanitation Team .
Cao Ji Xian was boiling with anger .
Preposterous!
He took long strides into the stall, firstly using a loud voice to yell, planning on grabbing everyone’s attention, “Everyone listen! This stall— Ugh! What’s that smell!”
His lofty and majestic opener was cut off by the nausea caused by the odd smell in the room .
Liu Yi Chen lifted her head, and upon spotting Cao Ji Xian, rolled her eyes, but was not surprised by his appearance here .
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She had already anticipated the news travelling over to the Food Sanitation Team, and that they would come looking for trouble a second time .
“Is there something you need?” Liu Yi Chen walked over to Cao Ji Xian with a smile, “Aiya, isn’t this the esteemed supervisor of the Food Sanitation Team? Thank you for showing so much concern for our tiny shop, but if you’re here to eat, you’ll be required to queue up . You can’t abuse your power just because you hold an official position, you know?”
She deliberately distorted Cao Ji Xian’s reason for being here, raising her voice much louder . All customers immediately shot the Food Sanitation Team disgusted looks .
It was a low move, exactly what she had learned from Cao Ji Xian .
“You know I’m not here to eat! Why is your stall open? Where did you smuggle your goods from? Also, what right do you have for saying those things have passed our inspection! This is serious cheating!”
“Smuggling? Do you think you’re inspecting drugs at the customs?” Liu Yi Chen begged to differ, humphing, “The goods in the stall have passed every requirement in the regulation booklet, that’s why it’s written that way . ”
“Impossible! Everything aimed at goods brought into school has been specified in detail, and none of my people saw you bringing any food or utensil in! This has already broken many rules!”
Liu Yi Chen smiled coldly, “Every rule in the Food Sanitation Team’s regulation booklet is aimed at the goods coming from outside the school . As for existing goods within the school grounds, that’s not within your scope of inspection . ”
Thunder came crashing down upon Cao Ji Xian .
“Every implement and ingredient here was acquired from the Home Economics classroom or the central dining hall,” The corners of Liu Yi Chen’s lips curled into a smile, “If you have any questions on health or safety, feel free to detain and do a thorough inspection . ”
The Home Economics classroom was run by the Shadow Academy’s Mei Li-lǎoshī, and the dining hall was backed by the division of general affairs . She was very much looking forward to Cao Ji Xian, with all his bluster and band around his arm, running over to detain the ingredients .
Cao Ji Xian gritted his teeth . He wished to continue rebutting and deliberately creating difficulties for her, but couldn’t think of anything to accuse her of .
“Is there anything else? Esteemed supervisor of the Food Sanitation Team?” Liu Yi Chen crossed her arms, preparing to send him off, “If there is nothing else, I’ll have to ask you to leave . We have business to attend to, we have no time or manpower to waste on receiving you . ”
A slight clamour started to rise among the students around them, hoping for the uninvited guests who had interrupted the competition to hurry up and leave .
Cao Ji Xian glared furiously at Liu Yi Chen, unwillingly swallowing his anger, swallowing down the fact that he had failed once again .
He was about to turn and retreat, when his gaze swept across the rules of the game hanging on the wall, one of the items scuttling into his mind, and an idea struck him .
Cao Ji Xian once again revealed a look of a scoundrel realizing his ambition .
“You guys were supposed to open a restaurant, and it was only a few hours ago that you switched to a challenge game . ”
“Mmhm, that’s right, thanks to a certain someone . So?”
“You might be able to find your ingredients and cookware in school,” Cao Ji Xian pointed at the board, “But where is the prize for those who’ve beaten the challenge? Would you be able to find a prize sufficient to award the winners in such a short time? Don’t you tell me you bought the prize from the central dining hall . ”
Liu Yi Chen’s face twitched slightly, but kept her composure, “We’re not you, we won’t do that sort of thing . The winners will definitely receive prizes worth their value!”
“Then, why isn’t the prize made known to the public?”
“To preserve the element of mystery!” Liu Yi Chen had exploded, “It’s a marketing gimmick! Do you understand what marketing means? Do you study business? Are you done being a jerk? Would you please get out?”
“Who’s to say you aren’t deliberately sabotaging the participants to get out of awarding the prize!”
“We’ve weighted the food each challenger team left behind, even if no one managed to beat the challenge, the team who ate the most would be automatically counted as the winners!”
“Who knows, you could have deliberately snagged a team to collude with!” Cao Ji Xian continued to pursue vigorously, “Besides, why aren’t you guys eating the food? Is it because you know the food has been sabotaged, so you don’t dare to eat it?”
“Because we’re the organizers!”
Okay, enough was enough!
Liu Yi Chen drew out a cursed card branded in runes, intending to summon her giant hammer . Morris hurriedly reached out to stop her, pulling her to the side .
Feng Ping Lan took the opportunity to place himself between the two of them . He smilingly spoke to mediate, “The Food Sanitation Team’s supervisor is just doing his duty, having more misgivings than the others is to be expected . ”
Cao Ji Xian humphed, “That’s sensible of you . ”
“And I guess the best option to solve this is to send someone from Shadow 1A to try out the food, this should be enough to convince the supervisor, am I right?” Feng Ping Lan proposed .
In truth, what he had just suggested did not have any direct connection to what Cao Ji Xian had just called into question . But he knew that Cao Ji Xian would only hear the things he wanted to hear, so even if none of this was logically related, it would be accepted .
Cao Ji Xian pretended to think for a moment, then nodded, “Your suggestion is very constructive . ”
Feng Ping Lan smiled, “Then, please wait for a few moments, and we’ll send out a representative—”
“Wait a minute, I’ll choose your representative . To prevent you guys from conspiring with each other . ”
Feng Ping Lan paused for a moment, “Alright, who will the supervisor choose, then?”
A gloating smile lifted onto Cao Ji Xian’s face, “You . ”
Feng Ping Lan feigned distress as he hesitated for a moment, finally agreeing a little reluctantly, “Alright . ”
He had already foreseen that Cao Ji Xian would pick him, and he had been planning on eating either way, but if he had been the one to suggest it, Cao Ji Xian might become overly suspicious, deliberately refraining from choosing him .
“I’ll eat Dongya’s cooking . ”
“Wait . ” Cao Ji Xian suddenly interrupted .
“Is there anything else?”
“One is not enough,” Cao Ji Xian continued to give his scoundrelly smile, “Your rules state that each challenger team has to have at least three people, so you’ll have to send out three people at least, to make things fair . ”
“Don’t push your luck!” Liu Yi Chen rebuked angrily .
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Feng Ping Lan hadn’t expected him to make such a request, but due to the circumstances, he could only accept .
“Then, who do you pick?”
Cao Ji Xian’s gaze swept across the students on the scene, pointing at Kaido, “You!” Then he shifted over to Igor, “And you!”
All of them were members of the Society Research .
He had been planning on choosing Liu Yi Chen, but their class was currently being taught by Yerde, so he did not dare to pick her .
Su Li Wan did not have much of a presence; he would let her off the hook . As for that eccentric fatty Zong Yu, he had a feeling that this was a person who would willingly wolf down that frightening cooking, so he’d skip over him .
Feng Ping Lan took in a deep breath, “Okay . ”
Just when Cao Ji Xian was about to lift his lips into an overjoyed, victorious smile, Feng Ping Lan spoke up once more at a speed that was neither too fast nor too slow, chucking out a stun grenade .
“It’s pretty clear that our esteemed supervisor is very diligent about understanding Shadow 1A’s vendor stall . However, trying to completely understand a stall by solely acting as a non-participant has a likeness to attempting an ineffective solution . So—” Feng Ping Lan spoke smilingly, “Esteemed Supervisor, why don’t you participate in the challenge too?”
Cao Ji Xian stared blankly at him, and before he could answer, a bout of cheering came from the spectator seats .
As the president of Supernatural Research, one of the biggest clubs, he had become somewhat of a minor celebrity in Shadow Academy; due to his conduct, there were many who hated his guts .
“I refuse!”
“But, what are going to do if the esteemed supervisor suspects us of cheating, provided that we finish eating our food? Simply eating the same thing and conducting the competition in an equal position might be able to dispel your doubts, and it will make the entire process much more fair and balanced . ”
Feng Ping Lan faced the audience, “However, we might have to inconvenience everyone into watching this unforeseen investigation process, are the students present willing to accept this temporary alteration?”
“No problem!”
“That’s a great idea!”
Everyone clapped in unanimous agreement . Even the students that were seated at the dining table, halfway through their meals forfeited spontaneously, retreating to one side to give up their seats .
Cao Ji Xian had meant to find an excuse not to do it, but the people’s expectations were hard to violate . If he refused, the public opinion would turn in favor of Shadow 1A . It was impossible to stop halfway; he could only accept .
“Then, apart from the supervisor, who will be the other two participants?”
Cao Ji Xian turned his head, planning to seize two members of the Food Sanitation Team to accompany him, but only when he turned his head did he discover that all his lackeys had secretly run off the moment they sensed something off about the situation .
“Is there only the supervisor?”
“The supervisor is wise and brilliant indeed, I guess going against three people all alone should be no problem for him . ” Liu Yi Chen taunted in a sharp voice, waiting for Cao Ji Xian to dig his own grave .
”I will become his teammate . ”
Suddenly, a figure stood up from the spectator seats .
It was Gerard .
Feng Ping Lan was a little astonished, he did not understand what Gerard’s goal was in intervening .
“Then, we’re short of one—”
“And me!”
A delicate shout came from the outer viewing stand, then, a tender and lovely figure crossed the human barricade, coming to the front .
When Kaido took a look at who had come, he let out a clear, low curse .
“I am Kano Chiharu, from Narumi Garden Academy . ” Chiharu gave her name, standing in the empty spot beside Cao Ji Xian, “I want to participate too . ”
Faced with these two teammates who had emerged suddenly, Cao Ji Xian froze for a few seconds . However, upon realizing that this was advantageous for him, his loftiness was immediately boosted .
“I didn’t think I would find like-minded companions wherever I go, willing to follow my philosophy . ”
“There’s a rancid fellow among the seafood…” Zong Yu, who stood in a corner, muttered quietly .
Faint snickering traveled from the seats .
“That’s enough chit-chatting . ” Liu Yi Chen humphed coldly, “We have enough participants, let’s start . Do both teams want to choose their ingredients?”
“I think they should be chosen by the audience . ” Feng Ping Lan spoke with a smile, “There will be no disputes this way, am I right, Esteemed Supervisor?”
Another outcry of jubilation traveled from the crowds; Cao Ji Xian could only accept .
Kaido glared viciously at Cao Ji Xian, then turned his head to grumble to Feng Ping Lan in a low voice, “Back at home, our way of dealing with the intruding stray dogs who behaved atrociously was to drive them out, and not allow them into the house to defecate all over the place . ”
Feng Ping Lan forced a smile, “Sorry, I didn’t think he would choose you guys . ”
Two steady claps could be felt on his shoulder, and he turned to see Igor looking at him .
“We are a team . ”
“Hm? So?”
“We should assume responsibility together . ” Igor spoke calmly .
The students from the cleaning team quickly removed the food on the table, replacing it with clean bowls and plates, then rearranged the tables into rows facing each other of three versus three .
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The six people took their seats, one after another .
The battle between Shadow 1A and the Food Sanitation Team, betting on their dignity and stomachs, had just started .
There were three people seated on each side, Gerard, Cao Ji Xian, and Chiharu, as well as Feng Ping Lan, Igor, and Kaido .
“I didn’t think Gerard would be interested in this competition as well . ” Feng Ping Lan took the initiative to start the conversation, “Are you working at Eli’s vendor stall? Do I get a discount if I give them your name? Hahaha!”
“My target is you . ”
“This! Are you permitted to make such an unexpected confession? So you entered this competition so you could gain close contact with me? Gosh, Gerard, are you a CEO? You’re so overbearing!”
“You humiliated me during the Trials . ” Gerard spoke coldly, interrupting Feng Ping Lan’s fanboyish delusions .
Feng Ping Lan was stunned, “So it was to gain revenge…” He scratched his head, very puzzled, “But, wouldn’t you suffer a lot from doing this?”
Was there a need to throw yourself into the fire just to retaliate? He couldn’t understand .
“I don’t care . I am used to the pain, and I much prefer watching others suffer…” A cruel and tyrannical smile twisted upon Gerard’s face, “You are worth tormenting . ”
“Oh, Gerard . ” Feng Ping Lan placed both hands on his cheeks, “Such a sweet talker you are . Hehehe…”
Gerard did not smile .
It was exactly this attitude, that constantly smiling, constantly happy-go-lucky expression, that frustrated him .
At the start, he had only regarded Feng Ping Lan as a crackpot fool, but his observation in these past few days had proven this not to be true .
Feng Ping Lan was much more unpredictable, much more difficult to read, so much so that—
He could detect similar qualities to himself on Feng Ping Lan .
He could jump into the fire for the reasons of retaliation and boredom; Feng Ping Lan would jump into the fire for other people .
This competition was the result of Feng Ping Lan’s machinations, he could tell, that the other was planning on undertaking everything . This sort of opinionated hypocrite made him sick .
But he had also discovered, in terms of their unscrupulousness, there were unexpected similarities between the two of them .
He wanted to tear down that hypocritical mask; he also desired to know what he would truly look like under that carefree smile .
On the other side, Chiharu was dead set on staring at Kaido, but Kaido was completely ignoring her, his head cast to the side to gaze at the wall .
“Hey! Don’t ignore me!” Chiharu yelled, “Do you regret it? If you hadn’t had such a nasty attitude, I wouldn’t be provoking you . Although you are one of the clan’s people, the Kano Family holds a place in the clan, so, you’d better not look down on me . ”
“I’ve never looked down on you . ” Kaido spoke maliciously, “I don’t even want to look at you . ” Saying this, he moved his gaze away once again .
Cao Ji Xian sat facing Igor . He was unfamiliar with Igor, because Igor was rather law-abiding and subdued . He had a much greater impression on Ivan . Ivan’s size was considered thin and small among the Contracts, but apparently, he would always make the enemies who underestimated him suffer many losses during the Shadow Academy’s melee fights between demons .
At the moment, Igor sat looking at him with a calm and collected look, without a trace of emotion in his eyes . This caused Cao Ji Xian to become slightly awkward instead, not knowing how to respond to him .
“If I remember correctly, you used to be a member of the Magic Research, am I right?” Cao Ji Xian pretended that it was a great pity, giving a sigh, “If you hadn’t gone astray, running off to the Society Research, you might be among the club cadre by now, not reduced to such a plight . You ought to choose your teammates carefully, Igor . ”
Igor looked quietly at Cao Ji Xian, then responded honestly with an, “Mm . ”
Fullstop, end of the conversation .
Cao Ji Xian furrowed his eyebrows . He didn’t know how to follow-up with such a response, and could only switch his target to his own teammates .
“Why, to have the honor of receiving the valuable assistance of both Narumi Garden Academy and Eli Institute, it’s as if I am a tiger who has grown wings! We’ll be sure to gain an easy win—”
“Who would want to become your wings?! Stop acting like the leader, I’m not your subordinate!” After getting rebuked by Kaido, Chiharu was unable to vent her pent-up anger, and started firing at Cao Ji Xian .
“Uh, that wasn’t what I meant, Student Chiharu—”
“Do we know each other? Who permitted you to address me by my name!” Chiharu glared at Cao Ji Xian, humphed, turning her head away .
Cao Ji Xian turned to glance at Gerard, preparing to beg for some consolation from his other teammate, but before he could open his mouth, Gerard beat him to it, “The reason why I am sitting here is purely out of my own personal reasons . It has nothing to do with you . You are just a stepping stone . ”
Cao Ji Xian gave a hollow laugh, sulkily righting his body and shutting up .
He should have carefully chosen his teammates…
After adding up the audiences’ votes, Liu Yi Chen arranged each one of the chosen ingredients and handed them over to Dongya .
As the ones eating were not themselves, everyone had chosen a bunch of random ingredients, one which couldn’t possibly be assembled into an ordinary meal .
With that said, any ingredient that passed through Dongya’s hands wouldn’t possibly be made into an ordinary meal either way .
Firstly, Dongya washed all the ingredients, placing all the meat and vegetables in the water to give it a rinse . He then placed the meat onto the chopping board, not to start chopping them up, but to start attentively combing along the grain of the meat using a bristle brush .
Then, he picked up a lint roller and started to clean up the corn silk and furs of the pea pods . He even used sandpaper to grind and polish the fingernails of the pig feet . Lastly, he picked up a hair dryer, drying off every piece of food, and placed each of them onto a shiny plate .
Next was the cutting .
Dongya gracefully picked up a knife, taking out an unpeeled bamboo shoot, waving it to cut it into pieces, but the thick skin made it hard to cut .
Dongya glanced down at his knife, shaking his head before placing it to the side . Then, he took out a pair of giant gardening shears from the kitchen counter .
“Wait!” Seeing this, Chiharu couldn’t stand it anymore . “Why are you using gardening shears?!”
“These are used to cut plants – bamboo shoots are also plants, so I believe that they can be used . ”
“There are many more kitchen utensils to use, why aren’t you using them?”
“I rarely cook, so I’m partial to using the tools I am familiar with, this will make it much easier . ” Dongya smiled, “Don’t worry, all the tools have been thoroughly washed, you do not need to be concerned about the grime on it . ”
“But—”
The spectators started to boo .
“None of the previous teams complained about this!”
“Narumi Garden Academy isn’t as great as I thought!”
Chiharu immediately fell silent, no longer speaking out .
Dongya placed all the solid foods, such as the fish, meat, vegetables, pudding, lozenges, onto the chopping board to cut into pieces .
After chopping up each ingredient he pushed them into the corner of the chopping board, arranging each one of them neatly, not placing them in other containers . When he was finished cutting everything that could be cut, the chopping board was filled with various bits of colorful food, rich and diverse, like an impressionism painting .
Next, with an excellent sense of balance, Dongya carried the chopping board with a massive and varied mountain piled up on it, picking up an auxiliary tool with his other hand—
“Isn’t that window scraper?!” This time, it was Cao Ji Xian’s turn to cry out .
“Oh, that’s right, I exchanged them for bonus points . Although it’s a freebie, it’s really handy to use!”
Dongya smiled, then, as if proving his words to be true, placed the scraper on the edge of the cutting board and pushed it forwards . In an instant, the entire surface of colorful ingredients slid into the pot, with not a single scrap remaining on the snow-white chopping board, as spotlessly white as new .
“Just look at how clean it is! This way, none of the ingredients’ essence will be missed . ”
The six seated at the table turned as pale as the chopping board .
Then, Dongya placed the pot directly onto the stove over a small flame .
“Wait a minute! Isn’t this a hot pot? Why aren’t you adding water?! Are you trying to burn it?!”
“Of course not . ” Dongya explained smilingly, “I will use something else to replace the soup, this will make the taste much richer, not diluted . ”
Every type of liquid— the pastes, beverages, oil, including the essences used in cake were poured into the pot . Soon enough, the water level increased, and the ingredients in the pot sank under that muddled broth .
Next, he increased the heat .
As it heated, Dongya stirred in a few lumps of flour paste, even using a mosquito swatter to sauté a few pieces of chewing gum, then throwing it into the pot— Apparently, it was done to create a much varied texture .
He then tore open a few packets of braised snacks, tea bags, pouring them directly into the pot— Apparently, it was to increase the depth of the flavor .
Next, he picked up a piece of unskinned sugar cane, sticking it into the pot, and started to stir .
Ten minutes later, the things in the pot started boiling, a few thick and opaque bubbles swelling on the surface of the soup, the unidentifiable scraps and lumps churning along with it .
The warm, strong and cryptic odor diffused into every corner in waves . At the same time, the amount of sales for masks and vomit bags doubled .
Dongya placed the sugar cane down, turning down the heat to a small flame to keep it hot .
A great success .
The Creator of the world of dark cuisine had once again invented a new world, and new dominion .
The spectating students gazed at that pot, whispering amongst themselves .
“Don’t you think that pot of soup is much worse than the previous teams?”
“That chef isn’t making concessions just because his own people are competing! No, it’s even intensified, to make the competition just and fair, so that no fault can be found!”
“To sacrifice loyalty for the sake of righteousness, the students of Shadow 1A… are just too brutal!”
The students shot Dongya looks of reverence and fear, “What a truly formidable man…”
Dongya picked up the ramen bowls, filling six of them, with an equal amount of soup and bits of food in each bowl, considerably impartial .
He personally carried each of the six bowls over to the table, letting the students choose for themselves so as to avoid a dispute .
“Thanks, Dongya . ” Feng Ping Lan thanked Dongya with a smile .
Dongya returned a distressed, bitter smile . “Sorry… I did my best . ”
He had put much more effort into this dish than any of the previous matches . He had done his best to make the food taste a little better, to make this a little easier on Feng Ping Lan and the others .
But unbeknownst to him, his efforts had instead turned this dish into something much more fatal .
“I can tell . ” Feng Ping Lan gazed at the bowl before him, uneasily swallowing a mouthful of saliva, but still smiled in praise, “You‘ve worked hard! You’re really amazing!”
Dongya gave him a warm smile, retreating to one side .
Liu Yi Chen picked up the timer, pressing down, and it let out two tiny electronic sounds .
“The competition starts now . ”