Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 134 Things are not good. A group is formed to interrupt the snowball effect. Qian Youdao is under strong pressure. (3K First Update)
Regardless of what Li Yuan thought, Xia Ming's path to racking up points continued.

He originally had 4 stars, used 1 star to sign up for the [Gate of Speculation], and then because he left too early, the Gate of Speculation did not settle his score.

He used 2 stars in the "Quick Cooking Gate" competition, but the results hadn't been settled yet, so he only had 1 star in his hand during the competition.

When he came out of the passage, Xia Ming thought he would have to wait a while before the results were settled, after all, the match time in the [Gate of Stir-fry] was 25 minutes, and he only spent 17 minutes from beginning to end.

Unexpectedly, the stars on my bracelet refreshed as soon as I reached the door.

[Xia Ming's First "Gate of Speculation" Results: First Place Awarded 7 Stars]

It was only after obtaining these 7 stars that Xia Ming managed to register at the [Chicken Ding Theme Gate] at the last minute.

At this moment, after registering, Xia Ming has a total of 6 stars in his hand.

Li Yuan got second place in the "Frying Gate" competition, so he got 5 stars. He had 3 stars left after registering, so he had 8 stars when he returned to the middle.

After signing up for the [Chicken Noodles Theme Gate] just like Xia Ming, his star count also reached 6.

But Li Yuan knew in his heart that he now had only 6, and that was truly all he had left.

Xia Ming's current 6 stars are temporary. Although he doesn't know how good the rewards for the two-star gate will be, getting at least 6 stars is definitely not a problem.

Although Xia Ming and Li Yuan are currently tied for first place, it won't be long before Xia Ming surpasses him once his reward is distributed.

As for Qin Liansi, who currently has the second most stars, she signed up for the eggplant exam, thus avoiding the two of them.

Just as he was considering how to deal with Xia Ming's somewhat rogue strategy, the test question from the "Chicken Ding Theme Gate" was also released.

Looking at the words "Kung Pao Chicken" written on the whiteboard, Li Yuan felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Damn it, he caught up again!"

Thirteen minutes later, Xia Ming silently left the [Chicken Ding Theme Gate], leaving Li Yuan behind with a headache!
At this moment, he also received the reward for the "Quick Cooking Gate" three minutes ago. The first place winner gets 10 stars, and instantly, his star count reached 16.

Han Tianyan had just come out from the Sichuan cuisine area. He thought that with 9 stars and a total of 11 stars, he had already secured first place. But when he looked up and saw the 16 stars marked behind Xia Ming, he was completely dumbfounded.

"No, it's already started! The game has only been going on for 31 minutes, where did 16 come from?"

"It can't be that a one-star sect gave out 13 rewards in one go!"

Sensing something was wrong, Han Tianyan quickly began to think about the competition rules. Just then, he noticed Xia Ming walking out of the exit after the competition.

Upon seeing this, he instantly understood what was going on!
"No wonder this guy's stars are increasing so fast, he's turning the game into a speedrun!"

He took a deep breath and quickly thought of a solution.
At this moment, Xia Ming ignored the others, glanced at the two doors in front of him, and decided to wait after finding that they were not very compatible with his idea of ​​getting points.

Then he looked around and saw that the screen of a previous one-star gate was now completely black, and he frowned!

According to his calculations, this was already the third time the door had been opened.

"Two doors will open every 3 minutes. Assuming the game starts with 0 minutes, the time allotted for the first round of eight doors would be 3 minutes, 6 minutes, 9 minutes, and 12 minutes."

"Then when I came out a second time, I was still able to get two-star questions, and the doors that lit up with 15 or 18 points were still one-star, which means the rules haven't changed."

"That's 21 points. The 24-point opening is still 2 stars, just like before, 4 fans with 1 star and 4 fans with 2 stars."

But now, he discovers that the one-star gate that originally belonged to 27 points has been completely extinguished.

In other words, there are now only 7 gates left in the stadium.

"This also means that the rules mentioned at the beginning were incomplete."

Xia Ming had actually suspected from the beginning that the rules were incomplete, after all, there was one rule when they were first announced.
The description states that "every hour, the player must enter a door, otherwise they will be judged as passive and will have 1 star deducted! This deduction doubles every hour thereafter."

At the time, it might not have seemed so reasonable, but considering the current situation, this rule does indeed have hidden problems.

Never underestimate human nature; upon closer examination of this rule, you'll find that there is an extreme situation.
Imagine there's a contestant who has absolutely no shame and refuses to even enter through a door, choosing instead to wait patiently on the sidelines.

According to the rules, he can stay at the scene for a maximum of 3 hours.

You should know that, based on the current situation, 3 hours is more than enough time for half of the people present to be eliminated!

He absolutely refused to believe that the higher-ups would issue such an unreasonable rule.
"Since it wasn't mentioned from the beginning that the number of doors would decrease, it's highly likely that the initial description of the negative aspects wasn't complete either!"

According to Xia Ming's thinking, this so-called negative rule is very likely to be used specifically to block those self-righteous chefs.

It's important to understand that the Chefs Association is looking for future talent, and basic character is also a crucial factor in evaluating potential talent.

If someone is afraid of and avoids even the assessment they themselves have signed up for, and just wants to fish in troubled waters, then there is no need for the culinary association to train such a person.

In his view, if you really wait on the sidelines for an hour, you're more likely to be eliminated than have a star deducted.

It's important to understand that in a competitive sport, it's incredibly naive for a player to think they can win without a fight.

"Leaving aside the speculators, the remaining players also face significant challenges!"

The fact that a door is now blocked means that there will be fewer and fewer options available in the future.

If the deductions are made from low to high, it is very likely that after several rounds, there will be no more one-star gates.

At that time, there will probably be all two-star gates, or there might be three-star or even four-star gates.

"Just like the shrinking poison circle in online games, the production team is gradually compressing the contestants' choices and activity range." "If a contestant doesn't get enough stars before all the doors become two stars, then the contestant with only one star left will face the fate of waiting to die."

"If you look at it this way, the rule above seems to be designed for this kind of person."

Of course, Xia Ming did all this not to determine in advance which round the competition would end.

This is just from the perspective of an ordinary player, thinking about the choices most people might make after discovering this situation.

Actually, for him, the more rounds he plays, the greater his advantage becomes.
You see, he's snowballing now. As long as he can hold tickets to two or three doors at the same time, he can keep rolling like this.

The longer the competition lasts, the greater the gap between him and the other contestants will become!

"Unless, among this group of people, there suddenly appears a player who plays the same way as me, is proficient in all skill sets, and has a higher win rate than me, they will have absolutely no way to stop me!"

At least for now, there doesn't seem to be such a player among the crowd.

While Xia Ming was pondering and waiting for the next topic,

Han Tianyan quickly searched for other contestants in the crowd.

What Xia Ming could think of, he could naturally think of as well.
Because Xia Ming's snowball is already rolling fast, from Han Tianyan's perspective, it's impossible for one person to disrupt Xia Ming's snowballing plan.

However, if there is a group of people who are willing to make an attempt, Han Tianyan believes that this situation is not unbreakable.

He first found Bai Heng and Zhu Wuneng.

After listening to Han Tianyan's account, Zhu Wuneng frowned slightly.

"Benefactor Xia Ming appears to be a man of talent and ability, yet he seeks out loopholes in the rules, acts unconventionally, and does not behave like a proper person."

"Now that I know the situation, I naturally cannot stand idly by. If you don't mind that I am not good at eating meat, I am willing to help Benefactor Xia Ming return to the righteous path!"

Bai Heng frowned slightly as she listened to Zhu Wuneng's words. Her sixth sense was always very accurate, and she always felt that this monk was not as honest as he seemed.

As for Xia Ming, Bai Heng believed that there was nothing wrong with using the rules.

Since the rule-makers didn't intervene, it's tantamount to condoning his behavior.

However, just because the rules are in order doesn't mean she won't take action.

She has her pride too! She can't just stand by and watch Xia Ming keep racking up points above her.
Seeing that the two had agreed, Han Tianyan then approached He He, Shuai Qixing, and Fang Xu.
After some persuasion, they all quickly accepted Han Tianyan's proposal, although He He had made it clear beforehand.

"You've seen Xia Ming's abilities. I'm only confident when it comes to specific topics! I won't choose a topic that doesn't fit."

After Han Tianyan agreed with this, he tried to win over Qiao Ruoning, but Qiao Ruoning refused him outright.

"I'm absolutely neutral, don't drag me into this!"

Han Tianyan let it go, after all, in his eyes, Qiao Ruoning didn't actually have the ability to fight Xia Ming one-on-one.

So he turned around and approached Zheng Zeqian again.

When Zheng Zeqian heard that Xia Ming was boosting his score, his eyes widened immediately!
"How could such a thing happen! It's utterly outrageous!"

Just when Han Tianyan thought he had persuaded him, Zheng Zeqian unexpectedly leaned to the side.

"But I can't beat him! You guys were holding back, but I wasn't."

Han Tianyan's eye twitched, and he gave him a meaningful look, but time was of the essence now, and Xia Ming could come in at any time. He didn't have time to play this game of probing.

Just as Han Tianyan turned to leave, Zheng Zeqian called him back.

"I can't, but I do know someone who can."

Han Tianyan stopped and glanced back at him.

"How to say?"

"Go find Qian Youdao, he should perfectly fit your requirements!"

Upon hearing Zheng Zeqian's words, Han Tianyan chuckled.

"Qian Youdao and Xia Ming are friends~ Wouldn't I have just made a fool of myself by going there?"

Zheng Zeqian shook his head.

"That's not how it is~ Qian Youdao doesn't care about friends during competitions!"

In his eyes, there are only opponents weaker than him and opponents stronger than him.

"Remember, he gets stronger when facing tough opponents, don't be fooled by his scores in the first few rounds!"

"If he really unleashes his power, he'll be far stronger than you think!"

Just then, Qian Youdao, who had just come out of the competition room, looked at Xia Ming's star count on the screen, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled.

"So that's the solution method? No wonder you're the person I've chosen!"

"Hahaha~hahaha~"

With each soft laugh, Qian Youdao's demeanor sharpened. The immense pressure from Xia Ming caused his blood to surge, and the fighting spirit in his eyes grew ever more pronounced.
Just as his demeanor began to change, Han Tianyan silently appeared behind him.
(End of this chapter)