Douluo Continent: Gourmet Prisoner

My name is Lu Xiaoxiao, and I am a nutritionist at Shrek Academy. Not long ago, I became a teacher in the Food Department, responsible for teaching students cooking skills.

After arriving here, the academy provided me with a wealth of ingredients for cooking research, which is a joyful thing for a chef, but I never saw the so-called special ingredients for cooking.

I am very curious about ingredients used in special dishes.

As of today, I'm no longer curious.

The dean of the culinary arts department found me and handed me a glass box filled with jellyfish.

"Xiaoxiao, the jellyfish here are special ingredients for cooking. I'll leave them to you. Someone as talented in cooking as you will definitely be able to figure out a special way to cook them."

I happily accepted the glass box and solemnly assured Elder Xuan, "I will definitely figure out its special cooking method."

"These jellyfish pose a certain risk, so please be careful. If you need anything, come to the Dean of the Culinary Arts Department's office and let me know, and I will help you."

At first, I didn't take it seriously. No matter how dangerous these jellyfish were, could they possibly hurt a Soul Douluo like me?

Then I realized I was wrong, terribly wrong.

Lu Xiaoxiao's Cooking Diary

Day One

clear.

Today is a memorable day! Dean Xuanzi personally came to find me and brought a glass box containing jellyfish—he said that this is the special ingredient that our culinary department has been searching for for a long time!

Looking at the little creatures floating in the box, their transparent bodies gleaming, moving like a group of sea sprites, I was so excited I almost jumped for joy.

Dean Xuan repeatedly warned me that these jellyfish were dangerous and should not be touched directly, as they could discharge electricity and sting.

I agreed verbally, but I didn't really take it seriously. They're just a few jellyfish, right? I'm a Soul Master at the Soul Douluo level, how could they possibly hurt me?

I solemnly assured Dean Xuan that I would definitely research and develop the corresponding cooking method.

Upon returning, I immediately placed the jellyfish in a constant-temperature aquarium and then searched through all the culinary books to see if there were any precedents for handling such an electrified and toxic ingredient.

Unfortunately, nothing was found.

Well then, practice makes perfect!

I put on thick rubber gloves, intending to dissect one first to examine its fleshy structure.

But as I prepared to make my cut, it seemed to sense the danger. The jellyfish's tentacles wrapped around me as if they were alive, and I could feel the sharp stinging even through my rubber gloves—its stingers had actually pierced through the gloves!

A piercing pain spread instantly, and I hurriedly shook it off; my fingertip was already red, swollen, and purple.

The pain was only slightly relieved after taking an antidote pill.

It turns out that the danger Dean Xuan mentioned was indeed real.

Day Three

Overcast

The redness and swelling on my hands haven't subsided yet, and it hurts to the touch, but how could I possibly give up?

Since direct contact won't work, I'll use my soul power to control the tool! I used my soul power to control the knife and carefully tried to cut off the jellyfish's tentacles—Dean Xuan had said that the toxins were mainly in the stingers of the tentacles.

But whenever my soul power got close, it would suddenly release an electric current, directly shattering my soul power and causing the knife to fall to the ground.

After trying more than ten times, the soul power was either dispersed by the electric current or dodged by the jellyfish's agile body.

Finally, I got so angry that I simply used my soul power net to trap a jellyfish and forcibly cut off all of its tentacles.

I thought I was safe once the tentacles were gone, but just as I was about to dissect it, its body suddenly emitted an even stronger electric current, burning out two of my devices!

What's even more frustrating is that the cleaned jellyfish meat, whether eaten raw or heated with soul power, is completely tasteless, just as Dean Xuan had said.

Is the special feature not in the meat?

The fifth day

partly cloudy

I changed my approach.

Since directly processing the flesh is not possible, could it be that we need to extract some kind of substance from its body?

I did some research and found that the essence of some ingredients is not in the meat, but in bodily fluids or glowing glands.

The heads of these rainbow jellyfish glow; that might be the key.

I made a simple extraction device, powered by soul power, to try and remove the glowing tissue from the jellyfish's head.

As a result, I was stung twice more during the process.

The luminescent tissue was extracted; it was a viscous liquid with a faint glow.

I tried adding this liquid to various ingredients, steaming, stir-frying, stewing... I spent the whole day trying different things, but the food either had a faint fishy smell or didn't change at all.

The most outrageous thing was that I mixed the liquid into the porridge and took a sip, and I almost threw up—it was so salty and bitter, a hundred times worse than seawater.

Lying in bed at night, looking at the red marks all over my hands, I suddenly started to question the meaning of life.

The seventh day

(I.e.

Today I tried changing the water temperature.

Since jellyfish live in the sea, are they very sensitive to temperature? Perhaps different water temperatures can stimulate their special energy?

I adjusted the aquarium temperature from room temperature to freezing, and the jellyfish became somewhat listless, but there was still no significant change.

I adjusted the temperature to 40 degrees Celsius, and they started to get restless, discharging electricity at a higher frequency, almost damaging the aquarium's temperature control system.

I also tried adding various seasonings to the water, such as salt, sugar, cooking wine, and spices... but the jellyfish just stayed far away and completely ignored these things.

The hospital director came to see me once. When he saw the ointment on my face and the bandages wrapped around my hands, he couldn't help but laugh for a long time. Then he gave me a few bottles of special antidote pills.

He said, "No rush, take your time. Cooking special ingredients is never something that can be done overnight."

I understand the reasoning, but why do I feel so frustrated when I see those jellyfish swimming leisurely in the water?

Day 10

Sunny turning cloudy

I suddenly had a thought: could it be that we need live jellyfish?

I made a bold attempt: I grabbed a jellyfish and put it directly into my mouth.

As you can imagine, I got stung again. This time, I was stung on the face, and it took me half an hour to recover from the sting.

It still has no taste!

The laboratory floor was littered with the scraps of failed cooking, and my hands and arms were covered with red marks from stings, old wounds piled on top of new ones.

I looked at the jellyfish in the aquarium; they were still beautiful, shimmering with different colors, as if mocking my incompetence.

Day 12

Overcast

Today I did nothing but sit in front of the aquarium and watch the jellyfish all day.

Watching them stretch their bodies, watching them chase the spots of light, watching them gently stroke each other's bodies with their tentacles.

I suddenly realized that these jellyfish never seem to attack their own kind; their electric currents and stingers seem to be targeted only at intruders.

They have a strong ability to cooperate as a group; if one jellyfish is stimulated, the surrounding jellyfish will immediately swarm around it.

The dean once said that when he attacked a jellyfish, he was attacked by a whole group of them.

What if... instead of separating them, I cook them as a group?

The moment the thought crossed my mind, I jumped up.

My hand still aches, but a new flame has been ignited in my heart.

Perhaps I've been wrong all along.

I always think about dismantling and separating them, but I forget that the special thing about some ingredients is precisely their symbiosis.

Let's try this new approach tomorrow!

Day 15

(I.e.

After fifteen days of struggling, I was stung no less than a hundred times, replaced equipment time and time again, and the culinary disasters I made could fill the entire storage room.

But I still haven't found the right way to cook it.

The rain was heavy today, pattering against the lab windows.

I sat in front of the aquarium, looking at the jellyfish inside, and suddenly felt like crying.

Dean Xuan is right; the cooking methods for special ingredients are never something that can be achieved overnight.

It's okay, it's just fifteen days. I can try for another fifteen days, fifty days, a hundred days.

One day, I will definitely be able to unravel the secrets of these jellyfish.

After all, I am Lu Xiaoxiao, a chef from Shrek Academy's culinary department.