Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

On average, only two or three out of ten people can pass this test. Of course, you guys are working alongside Boss Bai, so you're definitely not comparable to those good-for-nothings. I'm sure you can all pass...

When she spoke of her excitement, the corners of Lia's mouth turned up slightly, clearly eager to see Erina Nakiri and the others suffer a setback.

"Alright, let's go back and rest no matter what."

After a long day of travel, even Bai Yuan was a little tired. Seeing that Liya was still talking non-stop, he went up and put his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm not done yet."

"We can talk about it tomorrow. We're already here, we can't just run away halfway."

Bai Yuan laughed as he pushed Liya away. Seeing this, the others breathed a sigh of relief and quickened their pace to follow.

"Is this the headquarters of the Dark Cuisine World? And it's actually inside a cave..."

Erina Nakiri's voice was tinged with a hint of emotion, clearly not expecting the so-called dark cuisine world to be so primitive.

"It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that we lived in a cave, since there was a whole different world inside. Almost half of the mountain was hollowed out and reinforced with steel bars."

As Bai Yuan arrived at the cave entrance, a high-tech iron gate appeared before him. He pressed his fingerprint, and the gate slowly opened.

Upon seeing this, Bai Yuan slightly turned his body to perfectly display the scene inside.

Young apprentices were tossing woks, while experienced chefs instructed them, and older ones were drinking tea. The hall, though meant to be a reception area, was filled with a strong sense of everyday life.

"The leader is back? The leader is back!"

The base gate opened, and someone subconsciously glanced at the entrance. Then, upon seeing Bai Yuan and the others standing at the gate, they immediately let out an excited shout.

In an instant, everyone present put down what they were doing and turned to look at him. Then they stood up and walked over to him.

"Hello, Chief."

The deafening noise startled Erina Nakiri and the others, causing them to take several steps back. Once they regained their senses, they shrank behind Shirai Ayumi, somewhat puzzled as to why everyone was so easily startled.

"Hello everyone, there's really no need for such a grand ceremony. I'm just back for a visit. Let's all go about our own business."

Bai Yuan was also startled, but quickly recovered and then showed a helpless expression.

These things have somehow become part of their corporate culture, and every time he comes back, this kind of scene plays out.

The key point is that no one forced them; it was all voluntary. They said it would make them feel at ease.

"Yes!"

After hearing Bai Yuan's words, the crowd that had gathered around him gradually dispersed to do their own things. However, some people would occasionally steal glances at him out of the corner of their eyes. Most of these people were newcomers who had just joined the dark cuisine world and were therefore full of curiosity about him.

"Let me take you to my room first. It's a duplex with a kitchen. It can accommodate eleven people, although it's a bit cramped."

As the leader of the dark cuisine world, Bai Yuan's room is naturally the largest. Pushing open the door and walking in, there is a living room, a master bedroom and three guest bedrooms.

The living room connects to the kitchen and the toilet.

There is a toilet in the master bedroom.

"There might not be enough rooms for tonight, who wants to sleep with me?"

Looking around the scene, there were only four rooms to sleep eleven people, and how to allocate them became a problem.

"I want to come along!"

"Hisako and I will go with you."

Alice Nakiri waved her little hands and shouted, but before she could finish speaking, Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto's voices rang out.

"Then let's have three people."

Bai Yuan clearly had experience in handling this situation, and waved for the three of them to come over.

"Megumi, Ryoko, let's all go together."

Yoshino Yuuki turned to look at Tadokoro Megumi and Sakaki Ryoko, her words of affirmation despite being an invitation.

"Ah."

"Let's go together then, perfect for a sisterly chat tonight!"

"Oh!"

Megumi Tadokoro and Ryoko Sakaki didn't seem surprised at all, and nodded as they followed her into a room.

“I have a house next door, so I won’t squeeze in with you.”

Lia then left the villa.

Mito Ikumi, Hojo Miyoko, and Huangmei exchanged glances, and then Huangmei spoke up: "Um... I also have a room here, so you two can stay in the other two rooms."

"I want the one on the left."

"Then I'll take the one on the right."

Watching Huang Mei's departing figure, Mito Ikumi and Hojo Miyoko each chose a room.

In this way, all four rooms now have owners.

The next day.

Looking at the three people sleeping soundly on the bed, Bai Yuan quietly changed his clothes, then took out the clothes he hadn't worn from his suitcase and stuffed them into his backpack.

"Are you so anxious?"

Just as Bai Yuan was working hard, a familiar voice rang out behind him. Turning around, he saw it was Nakiri Alice, whose expression was complicated.

"Yeah, I can't wait. I stayed up all night looking forward to it."

Bai Yuan spoke truthfully without stopping packing his luggage.

Ever since Mo Ben said those things to him two days ago, he has been looking forward to dueling with masters and wants to become a Dragon Chef in the shortest possible time.

The reason is quite simple: he felt he had reached a plateau, and no matter how he cooked, he couldn't make any significant progress.

The last time this kind of problem occurred was more than ten years ago, when he directly set up a challenge in the dark cuisine world, betting all his assets, including himself, and inviting all chefs below the rank of Lin to compete against him.

As for why he was ranked below Chef Lin, it was mainly because he had only just touched the edge of the Special Grade at that time. Facing strong opponents was stressful, but because there was hope of victory, he could overcome the pressure and improve. Stronger opponents could crush him in every aspect, and competing with them would be pure self-torture. Bai Yuan wasn't really stupid.

Now, perhaps we can recreate that scene.

He summoned chefs from all over the world to help him until his strength truly surpassed that of a Dragon Chef.

"I'm glad you've made your decision. Alice respects your decision unconditionally. Have a safe journey."

Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Bai Yuan looked at her with some surprise. He thought she would say something, or even try to see if they could go together, but she didn't.

She simply stepped forward gently to straighten his clothes, looking into his eyes with deep affection.

"Well, then I'm leaving."

Bai Yuan had no intention of staying for breakfast.

Since you've decided to set off, you need to be determined to leave everything behind. Instead of worrying about this and that, you might as well bring your family along.

"Bye-Bye..."

Watching Bai Yuan's figure disappear from sight, Nakiri Alice stretched and then crawled into bed to enjoy a nap.

As a light drowsiness crept in, she quickly fell asleep.

Because I was up very late yesterday, I woke up again at noon. It wasn't that I woke up naturally, but because Lia was sitting on me and I couldn't breathe.

"It's so late and you're still sleeping. If this were deep in the mountains or in the forest, you'd probably be carried off by wild animals by now."

Sitting on Nakiri Alice's lap, Lia looked at the sleepy-eyed girl and her voice was full of sarcastic remarks.

"Isn't this my room? Let me sleep a little longer..."

She raised her hand and yawned, her face showing a hint of drowsiness, clearly not wanting to get up so early.

"The sun's already high in the sky and you're still not up? Today we're having a lesson on wilderness survival skills. If you don't listen, and you get into trouble in the wilderness and are eliminated, don't blame me for not warning you."

Looking at Alice Nakiri lying down again, a hint of helplessness appeared on Lia's face. Then, she deliberately put on a serious expression and spoke solemnly.

"Elimination? Forget it. Where's the classroom? Take me there."

Upon hearing Lia's words, Alice Nakiri shuddered, then leaped up to sit up, her face showing a hint of urgency.

As the matriarch of the dark cuisine world, she didn't want to be eliminated for no reason. If she did, Bai Yuan would definitely laugh at her when he returned, and she might also be looked down upon by the others in the dark cuisine world. She couldn't bear such consequences.

"It would have been better if it had been this way."

Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Lia chuckled, a hint of disdain appearing in her eyes.

"Damn it, we've been taken advantage of!"

Feeling Lia's gaze, Alice Nakiri felt inexplicably annoyed, and her round little face couldn't help but pout.

"Get up!"

"You're Bai Yuan? The guy Elder Mo introduced?"

In a high-end Western restaurant, head chef Rob Sean looked at the man carrying a kitchen utensil box in front of him and, thinking of the letter that Moben had sent a while ago, already had the answer in his heart.

"That's right, I am Bai Yuan. When can the competition begin? Or do I need to go through some kind of trial first?"

Looking at the prepared man in front of him, Bai Yuan gently put down the kitchenware box in his hand. This was his first stop, but the timing seemed to be not very good. It was lunchtime, and the other party's restaurant was full of customers, so there was no time for him to compete.

“I don’t have many rules here. Since you’ve challenged me, I’ll accept. The place is right here. The ingredients are in the kitchen. We’ll make steaks with the same ingredients and then let the customers judge. We’ll see who serves the best steak.”

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Rob Sean shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't have so many rules here. He had pots and ingredients, so they could just start fighting and finish quickly without delaying each other's meals.

"The rules are simple. Okay, that's settled!"

Upon hearing Rob Sean's words, Bai Yuan nodded slightly, and then, led by him, headed straight for the kitchen.

"Speaking of which, why were you sitting at the restaurant entrance? It felt like you knew I was coming all along."

Thinking that he had met Rob Sean outside, Bai Yuan's voice held a hint of curiosity.

"The kitchen was too stuffy, so I came out to cool off."

Rob Sean could not possibly say that he came specifically for Bai Yuan. The reason he stayed outside was simply to wait for him. Ever since he learned that a powerful figure who wanted to prove himself as a Dragon Chef would pass by his restaurant and challenge him, he had been so excited that he couldn't sleep.

Now, the opportunity to realize your dream is right in front of you.

Fighting against a super strong opponent is also an experience and a growth opportunity for him.

"I see."

Bai Yuan didn't completely believe Rob Sean's words. After all, there's no such thing as a coincidence in this world. He had just arrived at the store when the other party called out his name. It was hard for him to believe that there hadn't been any preparation at all.