T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 436, Section 435: Not Following the Design Concept
The mushroom people are sticking together with their tribesmen.

Mushroom-eating mice preparing to steal fungi

A giant mountain butterfly passing by.

With the help of the siren, the ingredients on the recipe list were gathered one by one.

Many of them were eye-opening for players.

To save their lives, the mushroom people voluntarily removed part of their caps.

It looks cruel, but according to the recipe, the mushroom people will heal quickly once they return to the mycelial soil laid by their colony.

Jiang Heyi confirmed that the tumor was indeed growing back on the same side after being removed.

The author of the manual had a completely different attitude towards consuming intelligent life forms than towards ordinary monsters.

The mushroom-eating rat's notes are as follows.

"Wash it clean, peel it, remove the head, and remove the internal organs."

"Long-term consumption of aromatic fungi results in a delicious and sweet texture."

"Drying enhances the flavor."

"Mushroom lovers can go wild and catch them—they'll ruin your lovely mushroom farm."

Is it really fresh and sweet?
Under Jiang Heyi's gaze, the siren youth explained, "I heard from the elders who came ashore to play that it is indeed delicious."

Following the instructions, he took out the mouse's clean, white meat, lightly roasted it over a flame, and put it in his mouth.

Players, companions, Jiang Heyi—countless eyes were fixed on him.

"What a wonderful taste..."

"Disgusting?"

“Not really.” The siren youth smacked his lips. “It’s like a freshly made dried fish, without any seasoning, but the flavor has already seeped into its flesh.”

He licked his lips and said, "Delicious!"

"Would you mind if I had two more, Mr. Potato?"
The mushroom-eating mouse in my hand squeaked, seemingly resisting its fate of becoming dried fish.

With a feeble resistance, Jiang Heyi gestured for them to do as they pleased. The sirens, accustomed to eating dried fish, happily continued working, clutching their dried rats.

The scales of the giant mountain butterfly are described as a "natural hallucinogen".

Jiang Heyi rubbed his eyes.

This is definitely a recipe, so how did we end up eating something different all of a sudden?
"High-temperature stir-frying, non-toxic, fresh taste, natural seasoning from the wild."

The author of the recipe has extensive life experience and even specifically wrote down what kind of food to feed the gentle mountain butterfly so that it would obediently let you take its scales.

Why is there another line of small print?
"If you are a cave survival enthusiast, please turn to page 89, where there are alternative cave creatures."

Jiang Heyi thought that the cave survivalist culture was unique to them. Did other worlds also have non-cave-dwelling creatures who liked to live in caves where the sun never shines?
He suddenly had a strange guess.

Could this guy who goes around researching how to cook monsters be someone who doesn't like to interact with outsiders, lives far from civilization, and lives alone?

Before long, the sirens who had been eating the little mice returned with all sorts of delicacies from the mountains and rivers.

On the other side of the seafood section, the seafood ingredients that Jiang Heyi needed were piled up like mountains.

Without him having to say a word, the sirens were more than happy to help carry him away, just to get rid of this plague god as soon as possible.

Back in the main arena, everyone at the boundary between reality and illusion was burping loudly.

Xi Lu set the same upper limit for everyone's food intake, and after a hearty meal, everyone was too full to eat anymore.

"Squid, get to work."

All the ingredients had been pre-treated; all they had to do was cook them.

Seeing that Jiang Heyi had harvested a huge amount of ingredients in a short period of time, his opponent on the other side turned pale.

Just then, the dark elf, who was the captain, returned. She was struggling to carry a bear-shaped monster and stared blankly into the distance.

"It's alright. Although the manual contains cooking guidelines, it's by no means easy to make a dish that works properly with the right heat."

"Senior sister, we still have time!"

"That's right, that's right! For someone with poor cooking skills, no matter how fast they get the ingredients, it's useless. We still have hope!"

"Now that everyone has eaten, let's all go out together."

Arriving at the stove set up by Xi Lu, Jiang Heyi was busy observing his opponent's reaction.

He laughed when he discovered they were hunting in groups.

The sirens, who were forcibly kept to eat "rat snacks," received their orders.

"You don't need to fight them. Just follow them from a distance and interfere with or sabotage whatever they want to do."

Bribed by the rat and a good meal, the six sirens followed without the slightest hesitation, swishing their tails.

At this point, even the most clueless spectators would understand that the outcome was already decided.

With the gluttonous avatar assisting, the opponent at the boundary of reality and illusion is naturally outnumbered.

If they think they can gamble on the boundaries of reality and the boundaries of cooking, and that they're bad at cooking and can still make mistakes while following a recipe, that's a bit of a pipe dream.

Blanch the bamboo shoots to remove their bitter and earthy taste, then drain and set aside.

Use salt to season the chopped mushroom-eating rat.

Given its firm and sweet flesh, only a little salt is needed to highlight its natural flavor without overpowering it.

The Mushroom Man Essence—that's how the recipe names the "meat chunks" that the Mushroom Man voluntarily offered.

Blanch the mushroom essence in boiling water for less than 20 seconds, then roll it in the prepared starch and coat it well.

Deep-fry in hot oil until set.

After processing the three ingredients separately, heat oil in a wok, stir-fry over high heat, and add the mountain butterfly powder.

When you see the blue phosphorescence emitted by the gelatinization of the powder during cooking, it's ready to be taken out of the pot after another 10 seconds.

Make sure to use high heat, and wait 10 seconds after you see the phosphorescence before taking it out of the pan. If you're not confident in your cooking skills, you can extend the time to 30 seconds. "The scales of the mountain butterfly won't kill you, but they will allow you to see many strange things."

"I once watched ingredients sit at the table discussing how to eat me."

Zhong Zemo only glanced at the booklet, and the entire cooking process was completed in one go without any pause.

Enveloped in wisps of smoke, he looked like an immortal.

Her skillful stir-frying technique and confident, composed wok-tossing drew admiration from many players.

"I've always heard that Squid Bro is a great cook, and now I've really learned something new."

"Brother, that's not what it means to be skilled. Without time to hone your skills, you'll end up turning vegetables into Indian roti when you flip the wok. If you don't control it properly, the splattering sauce will make your family scream."

"They didn't try to show off their skills; their simple and unpretentious methods show that this is how they usually cook."

"I feel like Squid Bro is a mammoth master."

"On another note, why did Du Jingwen want a divorce?"

Whenever discussions about the advantages and strengths of squid are held, it's common for players to immediately turn to Du Jingwen.

"The potatoes are good too. Look at him, he cooks porridge in a clay pot with great skill."

Crab roe, clams, red squid, coconut sandworms.

These are the four ingredients Jiang Heyi needs to make crab roe and shellfish congee.

Without the help of sirens, the latter two materials are difficult to obtain.

Red squid themselves have little fighting ability, but they live in the deep sea.

Based on the scene design, the level creators probably wanted players to use certain props within the scene to dive and search.

The appearance of the siren eliminated the interactive part of Jiang Heyi's diving, and the originally disgusting map running was skipped.

The Coconut Sandworm King is a high-level monster active in the coconut grove area on the east side of the aquatic area, possessing formidable combat power.

According to the sirens, to subdue it, one must simultaneously fight the entire sandworm swarm.

If you can't beat them, they can shrink their bodies and hide; they're a type of monster with a mechanical advantage.

The sirens didn't fight; instead, they made the sandworms give them face by offering up some of their flesh and blood to their people.

Those who live in harmony with the sea find it hard to refuse the siren's request.

"Hey, fellow Cantonese, are you there?"

"Who can judge the actions of the Potato Chairman?"

"When the porridge is just starting to boil, add the red squid, which is the hardest ingredient to cook. No problem."

"The porridge has been soaked in water; skim off the foam, and it's fine."

"Crab roe, shellfish, and sandworms are all added at the very end, just before the dish is finished cooking, and you have to stir them while adding them to make sure the porridge doesn't overflow the pot."

"Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder the boundary between the virtual and real worlds is where they live together. So this is how Potato and Squid take care of other people's meals every day."

"So Xiaofei eats so well every day, no wonder she fell for him so quickly."

When a player's satiety level is too high, their movement speed will be greatly reduced, and they will feel lethargic.

The incredibly fresh seafood porridge gave everyone, who were so tired they didn't want to eat anything, a much-needed respite.

A mouthful of porridge, a mouse—the boundary between reality and illusion is wide open, making the spectators' mouths water.

Zhifeng snorted coldly, got up, and left.

Candlelight glanced at Chen Shaoyu beside her and suggested, "It's almost dawn, let's go get something to eat."

Chen Shaoyu asked, puzzled, "She looks really angry, why?"

“I thought you were used to her schizophrenic mood swings,” Candlelight said. “The top 10 guilds in the Three Kingdoms are going to be eliminated. In your words, it’s normal that they can’t hold back.”

"Top 10?!"

"Xiaofeng Mountain is currently ranked 9th in the Three Kingdoms Lands."

"No, each player has two challenge opportunities. How could everyone's challenge opportunities be reset to zero?"

"On the fifth floor of the Tower World, they rushed to the tenth round in one go, triggering the [Deceitful One] that only appears when facing stronger opponents."

Candlelight continued, "This matter is also somewhat related to the boundary between the real and the virtual."

Exploiting loopholes, and then being dominated by the boundary between the virtual and real worlds, players in the Three Kingdoms Land who know the inside story are itching to get out.

Therefore, on the 5th floor, the group organized a charge, striving to reverse the overall situation in one fell swoop.

It was indeed reversed, reversed by the rules of the 5th layer.

Many top guilds suffered heavy losses, forcing many to adopt a more conservative strategy to avoid being eliminated too early.

The plan was good, but then the Chaos Celestial Sphere appeared out of nowhere.

Unpredictable fate dragged the team, who thought they could stabilize the situation by playing it safe, into a vortex.

The amount of food on the virtual-real boundary desktop is decreasing, and the refresh rate is getting slower.

Finally, after the last shrimp dumpling was put into the mouth by the fries, the faint light that was about to refresh on the table stopped.

As Xi Lu entered, she waved to close all the teleportation portals, sending away the siren who had been eating rats along the boundary between reality and illusion.

"I never expected this level of competition to end like this," she laughed. "It's quite memorable."

Jiang Heyi replied sheepishly, "Taking a shortcut, taking a shortcut. If we follow the normal procedure, I feel there would be a lot of room for maneuver and resistance."

"That's definitely the case. The original design was to allow players to compete in different levels by acquiring ingredients, interfering with each other, learning to cook, and fighting against each other."

Xi Lu watched Jiang Heyi and Zhong Zemo.

But you changed all of that.

(End of this chapter)