Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"stare..."

Thinking of this, Alice Nakiri stared at Erina Nakiri with a resentful look, as if she wanted to frighten her and make her sincerely repent.

However, this was impossible. Erina Nakiri ignored her completely and turned her gaze to Hisako Shinoto beside her: "Let's go for a walk, Hisako."

"Yes, Erina-sama."

Having received Erina Nakiri's order, Hisako Shinoto nodded slightly and then followed behind her.

Because the match was held in the morning, it's only 10 a.m. now that the match has ended. The players who didn't make it to the quarterfinals are still competing outside this afternoon.

Those who qualify for the quarterfinals will begin their matches tomorrow, with one match per day and a maximum of two matches per day, played in the morning and afternoon.

If all goes well, the first place can be decided in three days.

"Count me in too."

Huang Mei noticed that everyone in the room was busy with their own things, and she was the only one who was extremely idle, which gave her a slightly strange feeling.

Seeing that Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto were about to leave, he hurriedly quickened his pace to follow them. Soon, only Shirabuchi, Ria, Ikumi Mito, and Miyoko Hojo remained in the house.

"Boss Bai, are you busy this afternoon? If not, keep me company!"

Looking at Bai Yuan standing there, Liya appeared beside him at some point, grabbed his arm, and said excitedly, her heart filled with anticipation.

"I'm free this afternoon, but what do you want from me...?"

Bai Yuan was puzzled, then looked at Liya and naturally touched her head, asking her why she had come to see him.

"So you're saying they gave me the evening, but could I have some time in the afternoon? I got 99 points, and I put in a lot of effort for that!"

Lia pressed her head close to Bai Yuan's ear, her voice soft and sweet, accompanied by a fragrance that made his heart race and stirred strange emotions within him.

"Sure, are you looking for a date? This island is a tourist hotspot, the scenery is really nice. Just tell me where you want to go, I'll go with you."

Feeling the tingling sensation coming from his ear, Bai Yuan also became a little distracted. He then scratched his head and awkwardly asked Liya where they were going for their date.

"The location for our date... let me think about it... how about your bed?"

Hearing Bai Yuan's words, Liya realized that he had misunderstood her. However, it was still a little embarrassing for a girl to say such things directly, so she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I see, is this what you wanted? Okay, I'll grant your wish."

Upon hearing Liya's words, Bai Yuan blushed. Realizing that he had misunderstood, he reached out and picked her up.

Without hesitation, he strode towards his room.

"Wow, that's so sudden!"

With her feet off the ground, the sudden feeling of weightlessness made Lia instinctively hug Bai Yuan's neck and bury her head in his chest.

"Isn't this what you've always wanted?"

Upon hearing Liya's words, Bai Yuan's mind stirred, and he couldn't help but retort.

"That's true, but people will still be startled by such a sudden situation."

Lia gently lifted her head from Bai Yuan's embrace, wrapped one arm around his neck, and drew circles on his chest with the other, her heart filled with sweet anticipation, hoping he would do something for her.

As Lia was carried into the room by Bai Yuan, only Mito Ikumi and Hojo Miyoko remained in the spacious living room. The two looked at each other, their expressions showing a hint of helplessness.

"What about the two of us?"

"Since I've got nothing else to do, I might as well go out for a walk."

"Alright, I want to watch the matches outside. Maybe it will help us in the upcoming matches. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be a duo."

"I think so too. After all, our strength is at the bottom here. We definitely have no chance if we fight alone. No matter how many rounds it is, it will never be our turn."

With four people competing and lacking coordination, the only possibility is that the remaining two players are either temporarily filling in for the four-person team.

"I need to hurry up and become stronger. This feeling of being useless is so annoying."

"I know that without you telling me!"

Miyoko Hojo and Yuuki Yoshino chatted back and forth, and soon decided on their itinerary: to go out and watch other teams' matches.

Their strength is not particularly high; Mito Ikumi barely managed to get 91 points in this assessment.

Hojo Miyoko, having received instruction from Hakubuchi since childhood, did not go astray on her culinary path, thus earning a slightly higher score of 93.

Although it's only a two-point difference, those two points represent the most significant distinction between a near-specialist and a specialist.

Chapter 410 Becoming Famous in the Dark Cuisine World, Back Massage

Hojo Miyoko's strength is considered average among Hakubuchi's harem members, while Mito Ikumi is truly at the bottom, on par with Yoshino Yuuki and Sakaki Ryoko.

It's not fair to say she's bad; after all, even if she's the weakest character in the harem, she's still a top-tier figure outside the harem and is highly sought after.

It's just that their presence is weaker compared to other more talented individuals who shine in the crowd.

This isn't the team's fault, it's hers. She's too weak, which is why she's so invisible. It doesn't matter whether she's on the team or not.

This feeling is really unpleasant.

She wanted to try.

I want to be the most dazzling presence beside Bai Yuan!

Even if she can't, she doesn't want to be someone who holds others back; that's the kind of person she hates the most! She hates even more the possibility of becoming that kind of person.

"Speaking of which, I wonder how strong the other eight finalists are? I feel like we might still have a chance to play, so let's give it our all and win."

"That's what I think too. As long as we get to play, we'll give it our all. I don't believe we're any worse than them. What they can do, we can do too!"

"You're right. Our culinary skills, honed from childhood, are second to none!"

Leaving the house, Hojo Miyoko looked up at the ceiling, her voice tinged with a hint of emotion.

Although there is a certain gap in talent, under Bai Yuan's tutelage, the gap between them and other academy geniuses is actually very small, and they are not entirely invincible.

"Should we go and gather intelligence?"

Mito Ikumi tilted her head and asked in confusion.

"Erina and the others are on their way to gather intelligence, so let's ignore those guys."

Go watch the competition below. All the players here are top students from various schools, and quite a few are stronger than us. It would be good if we could learn something from it.

Upon hearing Mito Ikumi's words, Hojo Miyoko waved her hand and took the elevator downstairs.

As the weakest group among the participants, they must learn more, do more, and enrich themselves to become stronger, so as not to appear useless.

"You have a point."

During their conversation, the two had already come out of the tower.

However, because it was still early, the competition venue for the cooking competition was still under construction.

These competition arenas are set up around the eight directions of the tower, with a total of eight cooking stations, allowing eight teams of contestants to compete simultaneously. Spectators can choose which ones they prefer to watch.

"Have you heard? Huge news! A perfect scorer has emerged from the seventh division."

Just as Yoshino Yuuki and Hojo Miyoko emerged from the tower and arrived in the outside world, they saw a crowd discussing what had happened in the Seventh Division.

Out of curiosity about what they were talking about, they quietly moved closer.

"I heard that the dark horse seems to be a master from Totsuki Academy. Someone saw him heading to the Totsuki Academy camp after the competition."

"What kind of school is Totsuki Academy? I don't really remember it..."

Hearing what the person next to him said, the man looked puzzled. He had never heard of the so-called Totsuki Academy. Because of its poor academic performance, the school's reputation was only known in a small circle, and not many people knew about it.

Of course, this is relative. For people working in the culinary industry in China, the name Totsuki Culinary Academy is still quite memorable.

"It's Japan's largest culinary academy, but because it's not ranked highly in the world, not many of its graduates are very successful, so it doesn't receive much attention from the public. It's normal that you haven't heard of it."

Faced with the man's confusion, the onlooker on the other side, as if he had expected it, spoke up to explain that he had also learned about Totsuki Academy after making inquiries from various sources.

"Come on, the information you have is outdated. I have the latest news. Those students are not from Totsuki Academy at all. Do you remember the Fujian Youth Chef Competition a few months ago?"

Not far away, a girl overheard the three people's conversation and couldn't help but speak up.

Because the incident of a perfect scorer appearing in the morning caused such a stir, many netizens took videos and posted them online. Then, sharp-eyed netizens noticed something amiss in the videos and compared them with videos from the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition, ultimately drawing a conclusion.

The contestants who participated in the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition are the same group of people who frequently achieved high scores in the seventh competition area.

"I remember when that dark cuisine world suddenly appeared and took away three of the top four spots in the Youth Chef Competition with its absolute strength."

It's fair to say this year has been the darkest year for the Fujian Youth Chef Competition, with local talents failing to achieve good results. What does this have to do with the current situation?

Thinking of the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition, countless people's faces showed expressions of reminiscence. Some realized what it meant, while others still looked blank and asked.

"Of course there is a connection. After the video of this competition was uploaded online, people immediately identified the people who shone in the college exchange competition as the same contestants who won the top prizes in the youth chef competition at that time."

Seeing the puzzled look on the person in front of her, the girl who had given the warning earlier spoke up.

As a whiz at surfing the internet, she gets information very quickly, which is the main reason why she got the news before others.

"You mean those who participated in this competition and got high scores are the same group of people who won the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition back then?"

"Then aren't they all members of the Dark Cooking World?! What right does this Dark Cooking World have to participate in the school-based exchange competition...?"

The man didn't completely believe the woman; instead, he took out his phone and went online to check.

He then came across a large number of video bloggers analyzing the connection between the perfect scorer in the school exchange competition and the champion of the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition.

And that is their conclusion.

Aside from wearing a mask, they look exactly the same!

By comparing their appearance, demeanor, and tone of voice, it's safe to say that, except for someone who is blind, no one would fail to see that they are the same person!

The man roared inwardly.

It seems that the one that was showing off its power in the seventh division was not Totsuki Academy at all, but the legendary Dark Cuisine World!

"Bingo, you got it right."

So this competition wasn't about Totsuki Academy displaying their prowess on the field at all, but rather the Dark Cooking World—who knows where this force came from!

With a quick snap of her fingers, the girl shared her insights.

Mito Ikumi and Hojo Miyoko, who were listening in the back, couldn't help but applaud when they heard the conversation, especially the girl.

If she hadn't explained it here, it would probably have taken these people a long time to realize they were from the Dark Cuisine world.

That way, all the fame would be gained by Totsuki.