Global awakening! My Kamen Rider identity has been exposed!

Chapter 26 Cooking Routine

Although he was only one step away from touching upon the memories related to the "Nuclear Explosion Kick," Jiang Lan decisively pressed the pause button on his memory exploration. Immersed in several fragmented memory segments, coupled with over twenty hours of uninterrupted live streaming, even with his superhuman resilience, his brain had already issued a strong warning of fatigue. The soreness from prolonged nerve tension surged like a tide, his temples throbbed, and even his vision became slightly blurred.

With a soft "click," Jiang Lan reached out and unfastened the connection clips on his memory helmet, then pressed the activation button on the hibernation pod. The pale blue pod door slowly rose, letting in cool air that dispelled some of the stuffiness. He glanced at the personal clock on the wall; the hands pointed to 9:10 PM, the time when most people would be looking for a late-night snack.

The moment he stepped out of the hibernation pod, a churning hunger instantly overwhelmed his senses. While hibernation maintained basic bodily functions and mitigated physical discomfort, it couldn't completely block out the feeling of hunger. Jiang Lan subconsciously raised a hand to press his shrunken, empty stomach; an untimely rumbling sound rang out. He gave a helpless smile, silently making up his mind:

First, fill your stomach, then get a good night's sleep, and continue exploring that crucial memory once you've recovered your energy.

At that moment, a soft notification sound came from the computer terminal. Jiang Lan clicked on it and saw that his account balance had increased by four million Federal Credits. This number was enough to make him slightly shocked—you should know that in this Federal world, even if an ordinary citizen worked diligently for decades, their total salary might not reach this figure.

He amassed such a huge fortune after only one day of live-streaming his memory exploration. Jiang Lan stared at the numbers on the screen, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes. In this world, exploring past life memories was indeed a shortcut that could completely rewrite one's destiny.

After quickly tidying his slightly disheveled clothes, Jiang Lan pushed open his bedroom door, intending to go to the kitchen to see if there were any ingredients ready. He was starving, his stomach practically sticking to his back, and he didn't have the energy to go out and find food; anything to tide him over would be best. But as soon as he stepped out of the door, a pungent, burnt smell wafted through the air, followed by a sudden, tearful scream—a soft, delicate voice that was unmistakably Izzy's.

Jiang Lan's brows furrowed instantly, a hint of doubt flashing through his mind: What happened? Without further hesitation, he quickened his pace, rushing towards the kitchen following the sound and the burning smell. Just as he reached the kitchen doorway, the scene before him stunned him. Thick black smoke, carrying the acrid smell, filled the entire space, reducing visibility to less than two meters. The range hood whirred futilely, emitting a buzzing sound, but it couldn't dispel the pervasive smoke; the entire kitchen resembled a runaway alchemy room.

In the corner, Iz stood "fully armed," arms crossed in front of her, two frying pans stacked together in front of her face, her shoulders trembling slightly, her cheeks smeared with soot, her eyes filled with terror. Meanwhile, in front of the stove, Xia Muhua held a spatula, her back ramrod straight, confidently stirring a dark, sticky "unidentified object" in the pan. The object had an eerie, charred sheen, and tiny sparks occasionally flew up.

"Xiaohua, do you even know how to cook?!" Iz, hiding in the corner, trembled, her voice trembling with obvious sobs. "If it really doesn't work, let's just eat out! Mom's not home, and if she comes back and sees the kitchen like this, I'm definitely going to get yelled at!"

Xia Muhua waved her hand without turning her head, her tone confident: "Don't worry! The fried rice I made is just a little dark in color, but the taste is definitely fine!" As she spoke, she glanced down at the "results" in the pan, and added with a slightly less confident tone, "It should be—still edible, right? Apart from being a little dark, it still smells quite good." Her face still wore a confident smile, clearly showing an inexplicable obsession with her cooking skills.

Jiang Lan stood at the door, having roughly pieced together the situation. It seemed that Izzy's parents had made a last-minute decision to go on a trip this morning, leaving her alone at home. Bored, Izzy had called her best friend, Xia Muhua, over for company. As for himself, he had been staying home these past few days, immersed in memory exploration and live streaming, and hadn't seen them much.

Soon, Xia Muhua poured her "perfect creation" into a white porcelain plate. The so-called fried rice had completely turned into a charred lump, its edges slightly brittle, resembling a pile of finely broken coal. "Iz, come and try it!" she exclaimed excitedly, waving the plate at Iz in the corner. "Try it and see if it's good!"

Iz hesitantly put down the frying pan and cautiously walked out from the corner. Her gaze fell on the burnt fried rice on the plate, her face full of resistance. In her heart, she thought to herself: This thing looks scarier than poison. Will it kill me if I eat it? But when she looked up at Natsume, she met the other's expectant gaze. The eyes were bright and sparkling, like a child waiting for praise, silently saying, "Praise me."

"Try it—" Natsume Hana handed the plate to Izu, her voice full of anticipation. "I spent a long time making this, especially for you."

Iz awkwardly tugged at the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile, her small hands trembling slightly as she picked up her chopsticks. She desperately wanted to refuse, but she was afraid her refusal would hurt Xia Muhua's feelings. After a moment of hesitation, she silently encouraged herself: "Just one bite, I shouldn't die—" Then, she gently picked up a small, relatively "normal" piece of charred egg with her chopsticks, closed her eyes, and put it in her mouth.

One bite, and the salty taste exploded instantly, followed by a strong burnt flavor. The bitterness shot straight to the top of her head, irritating her taste buds and almost making her gag. Iz frowned tightly, enduring the discomfort in her throat, and said with difficulty to the expectant Natsume, "Natsume, you did a great job—but next time, let's go out to eat."

Receiving Iz's "praise," Natsuki Hana's face lit up with delight. Just as she was about to say something more, she caught a glimpse of Jiang Lan standing at the kitchen doorway. "Jiang Lan?" She paused, then smiled somewhat sheepishly. "You've come at a bad time; I didn't make your share. But it's okay, I can share some with you. My cooking is amazing!"

Upon hearing this, Izzy abruptly turned to look at Jiang Lan, her eyes wide, desperately trying to signal him with her eyes—a desperate warning to run! Her fried rice was practically poisonous! Jiang Lan naturally understood Izzy's meaning. He looked at the plate of "coal briquette fried rice" in Xia Muhua's hand, a helpless smile flashing across his eyes: He really hadn't expected that the dignified Akilela could make such a horrifyingly dark dish. Didn't she realize that what she was frying wasn't rice at all, but a pile of coal?

"You should keep this coal for yourself," Jiang Lan said calmly. "I'm not worthy of it." With that, he walked straight into the kitchen, ignoring Xia Muhua's astonished expression, and opened the refrigerator to select ingredients.

Upon hearing the words "coal ball," Xia Muhua froze on the spot, then her face flushed with anger: Was he mocking her fried rice? Although it was a bit dark in color, it didn't deserve to be called a coal ball! That was too much! "Jiang Lan, what do you mean?" She angrily snatched the chopsticks from Iz's hand, picked up a piece of "fried rice," and put it in her mouth, wanting to prove her cooking skills.

But after just one bite, Xia Muhua's face instantly turned from red to white, then she scrunched up, letting out a suppressed gagging sound, and hurriedly spat what was in her mouth into the nearby trash can. The salty, burnt, and bitter taste almost made her "die on the spot." "This—this is so awful?" Xia Muhua stared wide-eyed at her "creation" on the plate, clearly unable to accept that her cooking skills were so terrible.

"Little Flower, you did a great job. Please don't do it again next time—" Izzy patted her chest with lingering fear. That bite had almost poisoned her to death, and she still felt nauseous thinking about it.

"Let's eat what I made," Jiang Lan's voice rang out at the opportune moment. He had already picked up some fresh ingredients and began to skillfully prepare them. He recalled that when he first transmigrated to this Federation world, he was all alone and helpless. It was Izzy who had offered him a helping hand, helping him get acquainted with the environment and handle his identity procedures. She had also often taken care of his daily needs. Now that Izzy had almost been poisoned by his best friend's "disastrous cooking," he naturally had no reason to stand by and watch her suffer. Besides, he had originally planned to cook to fill his stomach anyway; it was just a matter of having a couple more pairs of chopsticks.

Upon hearing Jiang Lan's words, Izzy's eyes instantly lit up with anticipation, and her earlier fear and nausea seemed to dissipate considerably. Xia Muhua stood to the side, watching Jiang Lan's busy figure at the stove—his movements were calm and skilled, and the somewhat aloof and cold image she had previously held in her mind suddenly seemed much more imposing.

Neither Izzy nor Natsume knew what kind of identity was hidden behind the man in front of them, who was wearing an apron and cooking seriously in the kitchen.