Elf: Seriously? You only get a cheat code when you're about to die?

Chapter 88 Delicious Fish Balls

Back at Observatory 1, Ange and Piper found that the two doctors and researchers were still working, truly working day and night.

"Let's cook," Angie said to Pipa.

"Yes, I'll help." Pipa nodded.

"Wait a minute," Ange suddenly said, then summoned Snorlax, Diancie, and Lizard from their home.

Pipa was stunned by what he saw.

Anja explained to him, "This is a special ability of mine that allows me to summon my Pokémon to my side."

Piper suppressed his shock and nodded slightly. Although people with special abilities were rare, he had heard of them before.

"Gang~ Gang~" Master, you're so slow, I've been waiting for you for so long.

Upon seeing Anja, the little Snorlax rushed into his arms and expressed its longing for him.

"Snorlax!"

Pipa ran over happily.

"Gang~"

Munchlax released Ange and then warmly hugged Piper. Piper was a little overwhelmed by Munchlax's enthusiasm, so he released Godfather to cover up his emotions.

Anjie smiled as he looked at the little Munchlax; he liked Munchlax so well at expressing its emotions.

So cute.

"Let's start cooking. We got some great ingredients today, you're all in for a treat." With that, Anjie took out kitchen utensils, a dining table, seasonings, and other items from her system inventory.

Upon hearing this, Snorlax and Lizard's faces immediately lit up with anticipation.

Because the observation station is a research institution, Anjie and his team cooked their meal on the lawn outside.

The weather is fine and sunny in the upper part of Zone Zero today, perfect for a picnic.

Anjie said to the Shifty Lizard, "Shifty Lizard, could you please cook a pot of vegetable soup?" As he spoke, he took out the vegetables he needed and handed them to the Shifty Lizard.

"Chirp~~"

Without hesitation, the lizard gave Anjie a thumbs up and then got to work.

Anjie then said to the two charcoal servants, "Charcoal servants, please tend the fire."

"Clatter~"

"Clatter~"

The two charcoal servants readily agreed.

The crybaby Tan Xiaoshi squatted under the iron rack beneath the soup pot, his body erupting in red flames, and the water in the pot soon began to gurgle and boil.

"Chirp~ Chirp~" Keep the fire small, keep the fire small.

Upon hearing this, the crybaby Tan Xiaoshi quickly adjusted the flames on his body.

"Chirp~" Well done!

The lizard gave it a thumbs up.

"Clatter~~"

The crybaby Tan Xiaoshi smiled shyly.

Anja: "Snorlax, start cooking the rice first, then come and help me."

"Gang~"

Little Snorlax nodded and started getting busy too.

As for Tianxi and Pipa, they couldn't help with cooking, they could only help carry water and wash vegetables.

The well-behaved Charcoal Servant squatted under the rice cooker, his whole body enveloped in flames, and soon the aroma of rice wafted out of the pot.

While the rice was simmering aside, Snorlax came over to Angel and helped him.

Since both of the charcoal servants were busy, Anjie decided to make fish balls first.

Each piece of the cod's fat was quite large. Anjie took them out and placed them on the cutting board. The snow-white fish meat trembled gently, it was so fresh and tender.

"Snorlax, come on, let's get started."

"Gang~"

With a cheer, the little Snorlax ran to Anja's side and stood next to it. The two of them picked up a piece of fish and a kitchen knife at the same time.

The first step was to process the fish. The master and apprentice first used a knife to cut the fish into small pieces, and then chopped it finely until the meat was minced.

The flesh of the cod is boneless; fish bones are the skeleton of a fish, and the cod certainly wouldn't get rid of its own skeleton.

The step of chopping meat could have been done with a machine, but Anjie didn't bring one with him while they were out, so he had to chop it by hand. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal for the master and apprentice.

The second step is to marinate the fish.

Anja: "Little Snorlax, you learn from me."

"Gang~~"

The little Snorlax nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, the lizard and Pipa also came over. Seeing this, Ange said to them, "You come along too."

"Chirp~~"

The lizard cheered and immediately went to help.

Piper hesitated before asking, "May I?"

Anjie laughed and said, "There's no such thing as 'can' or 'can't.' It's just cooking. So what if you fail? It's not a big deal."

"Hmm!" Pipa laughed and nodded vigorously, then got to work with Angie.

As for watching the fire, that's left to Diancie.

Although it can't cook, it's naturally good at watching over a fire, having been exposed to it all day long.

Because it was Pipa's first time cooking, Angie described it in great detail.

"Come on, let's add some salt to the chopped fish. You know how much 'something' is, right?"

"Gang~"

"Chirp~"

Snorlax and Lizard nodded at the same time.

Pipa: ()?

Anjie continued, "Then add cooking wine, pepper, ginger, and so on."

Next, they used their hands, which were wearing disposable plastic gloves, to thoroughly stir the fish meat, allowing the chopped fish to fully blend with the seasonings.

"We can also add some starch and egg white. Starch can increase the stickiness of the fish balls, while egg white can make the fish balls smoother."

Pipa nodded thoughtfully.

After a while, the two Charcoal Servants finished their work, and Anjie asked them to help boil a pot of water over a small fire.

"Be careful, use a low flame," he instructed the two charcoal servants.

"Clatter~"

"Clatter~"

The two charcoal servants nodded.

The final step is to make the fish balls.

"Come on, everyone, follow my lead," Ange said to Snorlax, Ember, and Piper.

Both of them, one person and two Pokémon, looked at Anjie upon hearing this.

As Anjie spoke, she demonstrated for them, "We do it like this... like this... and then like this..."

Anjie grabbed a handful of marinated fish meat, squeezed it between her thumb and forefinger, and then used a small spoon to scoop out the squeezed-out portion, thus forming a fish ball.

Use a spoon to put the fish balls into hot water and cook them until done.

"When the fish balls float to the surface, they are ready."

Snorlax, Lizard, and Pipa all nodded at the same time, mimicking Ange's actions by squeezing fish balls with their hands.

Splat~~

The little Snorlax was so strong that it sent a ball of fish flying.

"Chirp~ Chirp~~" Hahaha~~ Snorlax, you're so lame!

The lizard loudly mocked the little Snorlax.

"Gang~ Gang~" Are you better than me?

The little Snorlax looked unconvinced.

"Chirp~ Chirp~" Of course! I'm handsome and awesome!

"The lizard said confidently."

As it spoke, it recalled Ange's actions and absorbed the experience of the little Snorlax, but in the end, the fish meat it scooped into the spoon didn't even take shape.

"Gang~ Gang~ Gang~" Hahaha~~ You're even dumber!

This time it was Snorlax's turn to loudly mock the lizard.

After mocking each other, the two Pokémon simultaneously looked at Piper.

"It's your turn now."

"Chirp~" It's your turn.

Piper held the fish meat, feeling a little nervous, but miraculously, he succeeded on his first try.

"I did it!" Pipa exclaimed in surprise.

Wow, that's amazing!

"Chirp~" Cool!

Snorlax and Lizard praised him repeatedly.

Anjie said, "Quick, put it in hot water."

"Um."

Papa put the fish ball into the water and watched it slowly float up in the boiling water, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Having learned from their first failure, Munchlax and Lizard quickly succeeded in making fish balls.

With the combined efforts of the master, apprentices, and Papa, fish balls were quickly cooked.

Then Anjie and his two apprentices divided the work.

Anjay then used fish balls to make food, while the lizard stir-fried some vegetables, and the little Snorlax used the fish meat of the light cod to make some other delicacies.

As time went by, Anjie used fish balls to make spicy saliva fish balls, crispy fried fish balls, and tomato sauce fish balls; Little Snorlax used fish meat to make braised fish, steamed fish, and boiled fish; and the variegated lizard used vegetables to make hot and sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers, and stir-fried mushrooms, using the same mushrooms that Fragrant Pig found today.

Inside the observatory, Dr. Orin and Dr. Fortu were still busy, and Rachel was learning alongside them.

Suddenly, Rachel gently twitched the tip of his nose, and a fragrance lingered around it.

"Dr. Orin, Dr. Fortu, can you smell any fragrance?" he asked.

"aroma?"

The two PhDs were taken aback.

"Is there?"

Raquel sniffed carefully again, then said firmly, "Yes!"

Suddenly, he remembered something and exclaimed with delight, "I know! It must be His Highness cooking!"

"Cooking?" Dr. Orin and Futu exchanged a glance. They checked the time—wow, it's already this late!

It would have been better if they hadn't mentioned it, because as soon as they did, all three of them started to rumble in their stomachs. This sound seemed to trigger a chain reaction, and the stomachs of the other researchers also started to rumble.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Dr. Orin said, "It's time for lunch. Has today's food been served?"

One researcher shook his head. "It should be a while longer."

At this moment, Rachel pulled Dr. Orin and Futu outside, saying, "His Highness must have already prepared something delicious for us."

The two doctors couldn't dissuade Rachel, so they had no choice but to follow him outside. The closer they got to the door, the stronger the fragrance became.

Because the observatory is very well sealed, even if the aroma of Anjie's dishes is very strong, it is difficult for others working inside to smell it. Only Rakel, who has a keen sense of smell and is familiar with Anjie's cooking, can faintly smell it.

Once outside, Rachel and the two doctors were immediately filled with various fragrances.

"Dad, Mom!"

Seeing the two doctors come out, Piper happily ran to their side.

The two doctors were astonished to see the tables and chairs set up on the grass and the table full of food, while Rachel ran straight to Angel's side.

He was as excited as a puppy begging for food, circling around Anjie.

*(*)* "Your Highness, Your Highness, there's so much delicious food!"

Anjie patted his head and said, "Go and call everyone at the observation station out for dinner."

"Yay!" Raquel cheered and ran into the observation station.

Dr. Orin and Dr. Fortu led Piper to Angel's side.

Dr. Orin asked incredulously, "Angel, you did all this?"

Angie replied with a smile, "Not only that, Pipa helped too."

Dr. Orin: "Really?"

As they spoke, the two doctors looked at their son, their eyes filled with surprise.

"I only helped with a small thing," Pipa said shyly in a low voice.

Dr. Orin hugged her son and said happily, "Son, you're amazing!"

Dr. Futu patted Pipa's head and said, "Our Pipa has finally grown up."

Angie added, "Papa has a real talent for cooking!"

Pipa blushed even more after being praised.

A short while later, the other researchers were called out by Rachel. When they saw the table full of delicious food, they showed the same expression as the two doctors when they came out.

"Let's eat!" Anjie announced.

Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around the table and eagerly began to eat. Anjie's culinary skills instantly won over everyone.

Dr. Orin exclaimed, "Now I know why Nasir always wanted to invest in you!"

In fact, Anjie herself was also quite amazed by the fish meat of the light cod; it was indeed as delicious as the legend had it.

Boiled fish is tender and juicy, melting in your mouth; fish balls are bouncy and smooth, firm and chewy; steamed fish is fragrant and delicious, rich but not greasy... No matter how it is cooked, the meat of the light cod is extremely delicious!

Unsurprisingly, everyone ate until they were stuffed after lunch.

Dr. Futu collapsed onto the grass, rubbing his stomach repeatedly. "That felt so good!"

Dr. Orin added, "Yes, it's been so long since I've eaten this much!"

Seeing everyone's lazy appearance, Anjie smiled and helped Tianxi clear the dishes.

At that moment, a person in uniform descended from the sky riding a Steel Raven, with a huge box clutched at its feet.

After landing, the person looked at the doctor and researchers who had already eaten and asked with a bewildered expression, "You guys... have already eaten?"

This was the person who usually delivered meals to the doctoral students.

Dr. Orin said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ata, we're all full. We've made you come all this way for nothing."

Ata asked hesitantly, "What should we do with all the food I brought?"

Upon hearing this, An Jie said, "Why don't you leave it to me?"

The light cod hadn't eaten yet.

Ata didn't recognize Angel. He looked at the two doctors, and only after they nodded at him did he agree, "Alright."

He left the large box of food behind and rode away on his Armored Raven.

Ange said to Diancie, "Dianci, the cleaning is up to you. Snorlax, Shaymin, and I will go feed the Light Cod."

"Yes, don't worry." Tianxi nodded.

Upon hearing this, the doctor and researchers immediately got up to help Diancie.

Then Angel and Munchlax carried the large box toward the pool, with Lizard following behind, carrying the food Angel had originally prepared for the Light Cod.

Upon reaching the poolside, Anjie clapped her hands and shouted, "Everyone, come out for dinner!"

As Anjie's voice faded, one after another, the light cod surfaced from the bottom of the water, and everyone scrambled to swim to the edge of the pool.

Anjie quickly clapped her hands and shouted, "Line up! If you don't line up, you won't get any food!"

"Feeding~~"

At this moment, the leader of the slender cod called out, and the previously chaotic slender cod instantly quieted down and obediently swam to the back to line up.

Upon seeing this, Anjie praised the leader of the Light Cod, "Excellent, very much the demeanor of a leader!"

"Feeding~"

The leader of the Light Cod narrowed its crescent-shaped eyes and opened its blood-red maw, waiting for Ange to feed it.

Anjie said, "Okay, okay, I'm coming!"

As he spoke, he dumped a large bowl of rice and stir-fried vegetables into the mouth of the Light Cod leader.

Ooh ma~ Ooh ma~

The leader of the light cod immediately began to chew quickly.

"Is it good?" Anjie asked.

"Hee-ru~ Hee-ru~"

The Light Cod leader happily spun around in the water, splashing water all over Ange.

"You bastard..."

Anjie continued to feed it.

The light cod are large, so their appetite is naturally large. Anjie already had to put in a lot of effort just to feed the leader of the light cod.

The Snorlax and the Eclipta are also helping to feed the other slender cod.

It took the master and his two apprentices nearly an hour to finish feeding all the light cod.

After eating their fill, the cod swam contentedly in the water.

After a while, Tianxi and Pipa also came to the pool.

Anjie asked, "Is everything packed up?"

Tianxi nodded.

Then Angie asked Piper, "Did the doctor and the others go back to work?"

Pipa: "Hmm~"

Anjie couldn't help but say, "That must have been really hard work!"

Then Anjie and the others sat by the pool and chatted.

The mastiff godfather, with his eyes half-closed, was perched on Pipa's lap.

Anjie had two fragrant pigs lying on either side of her, dozing off after eating and drinking their fill, with a soft, squishy little Snorlax leaning against her back.

Diancie teased the two Charcoal Squires, while the Shattered Lizard jumped into the pool, rode on the back of the Light Cod leader, and played in the water with the Light Cods.

(End of this chapter)