Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 131 The Shortcut to Getting High-Ranking Stars, Are You in a Hurry to Leave Work? (3K First Update)
[1-star theme: Stir-fried, deep-fried, radish, peanuts.]

[2-Star Theme: Sichuan Cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine, Quick and Easy Dishes, Braised Dishes.]

Looking at the themes that appeared on the eight doors, all 200 contestants began to think.

Previously, whenever the host explained the rules, there would be hidden test points beyond the question stem, so everyone has gotten used to it now.

At this moment, everyone is trying to find the hidden information they need from the host's explanation of the rules.
Xia Ming didn't start thinking right away. Instead, he looked around a few times and saw four stars on the other people's bracelets before he started muttering to himself.

"There are currently 8 doors and 200 contestants. Assuming each contestant has 4 stars, there are a total of 800 stars in the entire competition."

"Although we don't know how many stars the first place gets according to the rules, in order to ensure the elimination rate, there should be 3 to 4 players who don't get any rewards for every 10 players who make it in."

"If the elimination rate is higher, there might be a situation where half of the teams don't receive any rewards."

"Under normal circumstances, all rewards will be tilted towards the top. For example, if it is a one-star gate and 10 people enter, then the total number of stars is 10."

"Assuming the distribution of 10 people is 322111, then 4 players will suffer losses."

"If it's 42211, then 5 players will suffer losses."

"If it's 4321, then 6 players will suffer losses."

"Similarly, the two-star gate doubles in value."

Simple numbers are just guesses; what Xia Ming is thinking about right now is how to get more stars under such a high degree of randomness.

Since he had already seen the screen on the side, it was obvious that this screen was used to count the total number of stars for the contestants.

"Forget it, we don't know how the competition's AI will control the rewards for the time being. It might generate new stars or swallow some of them."

Xia Ming neither liked nor could he predict things that were too random. All he could do was find a way to maximize his gains as quickly as possible.

Just as he was pondering, the two doors for "stir-fry" and "deep-fry" suddenly lit up, and the contestants looked at each other in surprise.

"Wasn't it supposed to light up all eight doors at once?"

"That's good, the split will be more obvious, and it will be less likely to encounter star players."

"Where is the advantage? Such brightness will slow down the game, making it even harder to slack off!"

"From what you're saying, you want to avoid the war altogether?"

"No way! How could that be? Don't talk nonsense!"

Putting aside the contestants' concerns, the two questions were relatively simple for those who advanced.

The problem is that most of them haven't fully considered the rules yet, and many players don't want to rush in.

Of course, there are observers who don't want to rush in, and there are also more radical pioneers who are more straightforward in their views.

"I can't solve the math problems, but judging from the current situation, the stronger ones will definitely stay until later!"

"You can estimate probabilities, but you can't predict people's hearts. Instead of getting bogged down in that, just choose what you're good at!"

"Since we'll be eliminated anyway if we stay, we might as well go in before the contestants ahead of us realize what's happening!"

"I just want to advance. The star players ahead of me want fame, so they will definitely choose the two-star gate. I don't care, I'll just go for it."

In the blink of an eye, you could see that there were more participants on the two doors.

[The Gate of Speculation: 13 people]

[Bomb Gate: 9 people]

Looking at the numbers on the door, Xia Ming's mind raced.

"Choosing a one-star gate or a two-star gate doesn't really make any difference to me."

"But if the doors open in turns, then there is a solution—however, we need to confirm that first."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Ming quietly pressed the "stir-fry" mark on his bracelet and then looked up.

At this moment, there are already 17 people in [Fry Gate]. It seems that since everyone is not very familiar with the rules, most of them have chosen to start by testing the waters with the most basic 1-star level.

Of course, some people were also secretly observing Xia Ming. After seeing him move his arm, some of the players who were originally considering selecting him quietly gave up their ideas.

While they don't expect to win first place, they also don't want a dominant force on their field.

As for the other top-ranked players, they each have their own dilemmas at this moment.

People like Sun Xingyao, Shuai Qixing, Guan Chongyun, and Chen Sui look down on the One-Star Sect because they believe that the Two-Star Sect is definitely more profitable than the One-Star Sect.

Qiao Ruoning, Bai Heng, and Han Tianyan wanted to observe the situation further before making a decision.
He He felt that, comparatively speaking, her stir-frying skills were not outstanding, so she chose deep-frying.

Upon seeing the peanuts and radishes, Zhu Wuneng naturally had no reason to choose to fry or deep-fry them, and calmly stood aside to wait.

Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and in the end, a total of 45 contestants chose to participate in the competition.

[The Gate of Speculation: 31 people]

[Bomb Gate: 14 people]

This result surprised many viewers in the live stream.

Why did everyone participate? Shouldn't we have checked on the other participants' performances first?

[I feel that many people chose to experiment, only knowing that the basic rules are actually very unfriendly to the players. Testing with one star at this point is reasonable.] [Many people engaged in a psychological game; they thought most star players would choose the two-star gate, so they wanted to exploit this information gap.]

Speaking of which, have you seen the newly released official list of celebrity contestants? There are 64 celebrity contestants, and Xia Ming is ranked first!

[I saw it, and it feels so real. Xia Ming should be ranked first, but isn't He He's overall ranking of 18 a bit low?]

It seems He He's understanding of dim sum is not as deep as her knowledge of other cuisines; she passed the dim sum test both times.

Just as speculated in the live stream, the rules are still a mystery to the players.

Many people only have a general understanding and are unclear about the specifics.
Although we can wait, we are all in competition with each other, so it's hard to find someone who will selflessly share their information once they've entered the system.

Therefore, rather than waiting until time runs out, most people choose to give it a try with 1 star.

From most players' perspective, the pass rate should be at least 50%, so this 1 star isn't entirely wasted; they might even be able to earn it back.

As the two doors opened, the contestants rushed in.

Soon, everyone discovered some of the stronger competitors inside the two doors.

[The Gate of Speculation: Xia Ming, Li Yuan, Qin Liansi]

[The Gate of Explosion: He He]

When they saw Xia Ming and Li Yuan enter the Gate of Speculation at the same time, the other ordinary contestants of the Gate of Speculation felt as if the sky had fallen.
On the other hand, seeing that there was only one He He on the other side of the Gate of Explosions, the players' mentality improved a lot.

As the contestants entered the arena in a quick 1 minute, everyone soon saw the kitchen behind the door.

At this moment, five judges were already seated in the kitchen, and each of them had an identical set of ingredients placed in front of their respective stoves.

The whiteboard behind them clearly explained the rules of the [Speculation Gate] single game.
[All contestants have 25 minutes to prepare a dish of "shredded pork with green peppers" using the ingredients they have. After each dish is finished, the judges will give a score within one minute. The final ranking will be calculated based on the total scores from the five judges, either after all contestants have finished or after the time limit has expired.]

The basic rules are displayed on the whiteboard, while the AI ​​display screen next to it shows the rules for the rewards of this round.

[There were 31 participants in this round, with a total of 31 stars.]

1th Place: 7 stars

2th Place: 5 stars

3th Place: 4 stars

4th Place: 3 stars

5th Place: 2 stars

[Rankings 6th-15th: 1 star]

[Ranked 15th and below: 0 stars]

Stars are tallied after each match.

Looking at the rules on the screen, Xia Ming raised an eyebrow.

Just as he expected, the organizers did not distribute stars, but instead allowed them to circulate among the contestants.

"In that case, it's indeed possible to achieve seamless transitions by accelerating the pace of a single match."

A fleeting thought flashed through his mind about the time. He activated his Blood Eyes to observe for a moment, then strode directly to the stove closest to the judges.

Without wasting a moment, he took out the Bloodthirsty Beast from the box and began processing the ingredients in front of him.
Li Yuan, who was standing to the side, originally wanted to say hello to Xia Ming, but found that he had already walked over and started!

"Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

Shaking his head, Li Yuan didn't disturb them further and went to the stove he had chosen.
Stir-fried green peppers with pork is a very common dish, simple, convenient, and with a complex flavor.
Of course, such a simple dish will not be difficult for any of the contestants.

Therefore, with all other materials being the same, the organizers made a slight distinction in the meat in front of each person.

On Li Yuan's stove was a piece of "pork shoulder" because he personally disliked the texture of "pure lean meat" shredded pork with green peppers and preferred the meat to have more fat.

Taking out his knife, Li Yuan first cut off both ends of the green pepper, then slit the pepper, laid it on the cutting board, and then used a side knife to remove the chili membrane inside the pepper.

Next, place the green bell peppers with the inside facing up and the outside facing down, and cut them into even, thin strips. Then, process some red chili peppers in a similar way, cutting them into strips and setting them aside. Start cutting the meat.

Because he chose plum blossom-shaped slices, Li Yuan made a horizontal cut from below to slice the meat into thin strips, and then quickly cut them into thin shreds.
Li Yuan added salt to the water and slowly rubbed the shredded meat, thinking about the marinating process that would follow.
But before he could even stir his hands in the salt water a few times, he smelled the aroma of fat and oil colliding.
"?"

A question mark appeared slightly above Li Yuan's head. He looked up to find the source of the smell, only to suddenly realize that Xia Ming's shredded meat had already been put into the pot.

"???? No, buddy, you..."

Just as he was momentarily stunned, he saw Xia Ming raise his hand and swish the pot. The oil and shredded meat in the pot quickly and thoroughly combined. The fatty meat released oil when heated, while the lean meat absorbed oil.

With the two fully combined, Xia Ming dropped the garlic slices in his hand into the pot, and then began to stir-fry with his eyes closed.

The moment the aroma in the nasal cavity reaches the standard, the green and red bell pepper strips on the side are instantly put into the wok and stir-fried over high heat until fragrant. Just as the green bell peppers soften, a handful of soy sauce is poured directly into the wok.

Then, he was seen in the front row, in front of the five judges, starting to toss the wok. As the green peppers and shredded pork tumbled in the wok, an exquisite aroma of soy sauce, oil, and chili peppers burst forth.

Upon smelling the aroma, the contestants looked up in disbelief. At that moment, most of them were still marinating the shredded meat, and some who were slower were even cutting it into strips.
But Xia Ming had already started plating.
When a plate of fragrant "shrimp and green pepper stir-fried pork in dark soy sauce" was placed in front of the judges, everyone in the live stream and among the contestants was stunned.
Li Yuan looked up in disbelief, staring blankly at the large "18 minutes and 49 seconds" on the AI ​​ranking list.
"No. It only took 6 minutes and 11 seconds from cutting and preparing to stir-frying and serving?"

"Are you rushing to leave work???"

(End of this chapter)