Food Wars: Starting with Equipping the Greedy Wolf Pot

"Seriously? We're just starting like this?"

"We're doomed! Two hours isn't enough time. I don't even know what ingredients we can use." Upon hearing the rules announced by Mizuhara Fuyumi, the students in the entire research group panicked.

“River, that’s right, river.”

"Chef Mizuhara just said there's a river outside, so as long as we can catch fish, there won't be any problem."

"The forest... there should be wild vegetables in the forest, right?"

"It's early summer in June now, and there are plenty of fresh wild vegetables that are at their best for consumption."

……

“Rinda, we’ll be rivals in this challenge,” Xiang Ji said to Kobayashi Rinda.

"What bad luck."

"If I had known that Mizuhara-senpai's assignment would have these kinds of rules, I wouldn't have teamed up with Xiang Ji-kun." Kobayashi Ryudai revealed her sharp fangs, looking like a hunting leopard.

"But Xiang Ji-kun, don't think I'll give up so easily. I don't want to drop out of school and leave Totsuki. I still have a promise with Si Ke."

“Gentian, what you said is exactly what I’ve been wanting to see. I’ve wanted to try your cooking for a long time.”

After Tsukasa Eishi and the others moved into the Polaris Dormitory, Xiang Ji had quite a few exchanges with Tsukasa Eishi, and even Akane Kubo Momo had sparred with him several times.

Rindou Kobayashi is the only one who has never participated in a food battle.

Whenever Xiang Ji approaches Kobayashi Ryudou for a food battle, Kobayashi Ryudou either drags out Tsukasa Eishi or Kurokiba Ryo, and then they eat like crazy as judges.

Now that there's a rare opportunity to have a food battle with Kobayashi Ryudou, how could Xiang Ji not be looking forward to it?

As for the claim that defeating Kobayashi Ryudou would cause her to drop out of Totsuki Academy?

Fuyumi Mizuhara never said that losing a food battle would mean being eliminated; she only said that the teammate she chose was the opponent in the food battle.

Even if we take a step back and assume that the person who loses the Food War in the competition will actually be eliminated by Totsuki Academy, Xiang Ji will not hold back.

Chapter 89 The Frog Effect, Kobayashi Rindou's Duck-Catching

"The croaker effect".

“Aquatic anchovies are led by the strongest member of their group. Wherever the leader swims, the other anchovies follow.”

"When given the freedom to choose teammates, people usually choose to team up with the stronger players."

“Blindly following the strong will only make people gradually lose their competitive spirit and ambition. Neither Totsuki nor my restaurant needs such people,” Mizuhara Fuyumi murmured as she squatted on the chair.

"At the same time, in such unexpected and sudden situations, people often become unprepared, their brains start to panic, their vision narrows, and they are unable to process the information around them."

"If anyone can calm down now, they should notice that although I just announced that their chosen teammates would be their opponents, the requirement for passing the challenge is not to defeat their opponents in cooking."

"Instead, I will present dishes that satisfy me within the allotted time."

"Those who can't see the core requirements of the task may do something foolish under the dual pressure of time and ingredients."

“My restaurant doesn’t need idiots like that.”

"And similarly, an idiot who can't even handle this kind of idiot has no right to step into my restaurant."

“The unexpected accidents that happen in the restaurant’s kitchen every day are far more brutal than any of the tasks I’ve assigned.” Mizuhara Fuyumi coldly watched the students scrambling for fishing rods, sickles, and other tools.

……

"Damn it, I can't catch any fish at all! Are there even any fish here?"

"Damn it, so noisy."

"You've scared all the fish away."

"Huh? What did you say? You want to fight, buddy?"

"I caught one! I caught one! I caught a fish, it's a sweetfish."

The stream area at the project site was bustling with people; most of the Totsuki Academy students from the project team had gathered there.

……

"This wild vegetable is Angelica pubescens. I remember it can be used to make tempura, but oh dear, it doesn't have flour."

"Damn it, I saw it first."

"Who cares about you! I reached out and picked this Angelica pubescens first, and you, you idiot, just stood there watching."

"Bear bamboo shoots? Where did you find them, Da Shi?"

"Why should I tell you, buddy? We're opponents now."

"Damn it, Yokoyama, you bastard."

Although the number of Far Moon students in the forest area is not as large as that in the stream area, it is still very lively.

……

Gaa gaa gaa~

Gaa gaa gaa~

A series of panicked cries echoed across the grasslands of the plains, yellowish-brown feathers scattered, and then a robust duck was choked to death.

Goga is a premium meat specially bred in Japan, made from wild ducks, domestic ducks, and hybrid breeds. Goga meat is firm, low in fat, and has a flavor far superior to that of ordinary domestic ducks.

"The duck meat is very firm. You're the one."

"Now I should go back to the kitchen and start cooking." Kobayashi Ryudou then picked up the clumsy duck upside down and walked back towards the kitchen.

"I just don't know what ingredients Xiang Jijun will find, or what kind of dish he will make. It's really something to look forward to."

Although Fuyumi Mizuhara's task required students to find ingredients, which would be a difficult problem for many people, Ryudou Kobayashi did not think that such a simple test could be enough to stump Xiang Ji.

……

"Hiss hiss hiss, what's that? A pair of ducks?"

"So there was actually a type of ingredient called 'Heya' in the venue? Damn it, how come I didn't think of that?" some students said unwillingly.

"You should just forget about it."

“Even if you do find a duck, you have no idea how to prepare it. It’s a live duck!” some students said dejectedly.

……

"Uh-huh, huh-ya?"

"Now, finally, we have a student with a broader perspective and a less narrow mindset?" Mizuhara Fuyumi's gaze finally changed.

"The ingredients you can find in the fields are not limited to fish and wild vegetables. In the plains and forests, there are also common livestock and poultry such as goats, ducks, and chickens."

“Students with limited perspectives don’t even think about them.” Mizuhara Fuyumi’s gaze slowly swept over the students in the classroom, whose expressions were shifting between light and shadow.

"In addition, how to properly handle live goats and ducks is also a challenge for these students."

"So, can you handle the situation with the 'Hambo'?" Mizuhara Fuyumi's gaze fell on Kobayashi Ryudai.

Ryudai Kobayashi, carrying the ham-duck to the counter, reached for a pre-prepared butcher knife from the kitchen knife rack and swiftly and cleanly slashed the ham-duck's neck.

Slaughtering and bleeding.

Soaking and hot water to remove hair.

Cleanse internal organs.

When packing up the ducks, Kobayashi Ryudai's movements were as sharp as a professional butcher's.

Rintou Kobayashi is most skilled at cooking with all kinds of rare ingredients, and he also likes to hunt rare animals himself. Preparing a duck is nothing out of the ordinary for Rintou Kobayashi.

Upon seeing Kobayashi Ryudou's method of preparing the okonomi, Mizuhara Fuyumi's eyes lit up instantly.

Such clean knife skills! Kobayashi Ryudou's knife skills in preparing the duck were incredibly pleasing to the eye.

During the years that Mizuhara Fuyumi served as a guest lecturer at the Totsukijuku Research Institute, she only saw two students who could rival Kobayashi Ryudou in terms of knife skills.

Even Fuyumi Mizuhara was amazed by Ryudai Kobayashi's knife skills, let alone the other students.

……

"When did Kobayashi Rindou's knife skills become so terrifying?"

"Isn't that a bit too much? Even if it were Tsukasa Eishi, who ranked first in the entrance exam, his knife skills would probably only be this good, right?"

"Tsk tsk tsk~ Just who is this unlucky guy who ended up in a team with Kobayashi Rindou?"

"Who could possibly be a match for Rindou Kobayashi, especially since she even managed to find ingredients like braised duck?"

"I remember who Kobayashi Rindou's teammate was; he was that arrogant transfer student at the opening ceremony."

"A transfer student? Is it the one named Xiang Ji?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"And I've heard that his knife skills are also amazing, and some people even call him the Net-Cutting Demon."

"A Net-cutting Demon? Even if a transfer student has amazing knife skills, can he compare to Kobayashi Rindou?"

"Don't underestimate this Xiang Ji. I've heard that he won a food war against the Chinese Cuisine Research Association."

"What's the big deal? I've heard about it too, but none of the seniors from the Chinese Cuisine Research Association have made a move. The one who's going to fight in the food war is just a kid from the third year of junior high."

"He only beat a kid from junior high school. How strong can he really be?"

……

The discussions in the research room had no effect on Kobayashi Ryudou in the slightest; these voices were simply not worth his attention.

"Huhuhu~"

"Although my knife skills are much faster at preparing duck pieces than before, they are still far inferior to those of Xiang Ji-jun," Kobayashi Ryudai slowly exhaled.

"If it were Xiang Jijun, he could probably handle the duck in just a few seconds."

Chapter 90: The Lamb Slaying the Green Dragon; Onions and Garlic are Spices.

Since moving into Totsuki Academy with Eishi Tsukasa, Ryudou Kobayashi hasn't just been eating all the time.

Kobayashi Ryudai never missed a single one of Xiang Ji's knife skills training sessions.

After undergoing special training from Xiang Ji during this period, Kobayashi Ryudai's knife skills have undergone a significant transformation compared to when he started school.

Not only Kobayashi Ryudou, but also Tsukasa Eishi and Isshiki Satoshi's swordsmanship has improved under Xiang Ji's special training.

But Kobayashi Ryudai's swordsmanship has undoubtedly undergone the greatest transformation; Kobayashi Ryudai's talent is undeniable.

Apart from Tsukasa Eishi and Isshiki Satoshi, who are also monsters, their progress is no less than that of Kobayashi Ryudou.

The remaining people, even Momo Akanekubo, who is also one of the future Totsuki Ten, cannot catch up with them in this respect, let alone Yoshino Yuuki and the others whose talents are obviously much weaker.

Just as Xing Su was admiring Kobayashi Ryudai's knife skills, the door to the cooking classroom was suddenly pushed open.

Immediately afterwards, a tall figure slowly appeared in the eyes of the students in the cooking classroom.

The students in the cooking class immediately focused their attention on Xiang Ji, who had just entered the room, or more precisely, on the ingredient that Xiang Ji was carrying on his shoulder.

……

"Those are processed lambs? How is that possible?"

"Where did he find the slaughtered lamb? Did he have someone deliver it to him?"

"He cheated, he must have cheated."

"That's right, he must have cheated, otherwise where did he get the lamb from?"

……

Upon seeing the whole lamb that Xiang Ji brought back, all the students except Kobayashi Rinten shouted loudly, somewhat losing their composure.

They worked hard all day, only to bring back one or two pitifully small river fish or a few handfuls of wild vegetables that looked like water spinach.

But Xiang Ji, on the other hand, brought back a whole lamb, and it was all taken care of. How could they not be on the defensive?

"All of you, be quiet. He didn't cheat," Mizuhara Fuyumi's voice rang out coldly.

"Outside the area, there are livestock that the resort raises exclusively, including goats and black pigs. If you are able, you can catch them now."

After hearing what Fuyumi Mizuhara said, the students in the cooking class quietly shut their mouths.