Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　He said.

　To outsiders, the two appeared to be incredibly loving at that moment.

　Chapter 267 Theme: Temperature Control, A Song of Ice and Fire

　"Alright, while we still have some time, let's gather some intelligence on our opponents."

　After their tender moment, Bai Yuan steered the conversation back to Wang Qing.

　Although the conversation veered off-topic, as long as the competition continued, Wang Qing would always be an obstacle in the end.

　As one of the preliminary champions of this competition, Liu Xiaotian has been defeated by Chuanlinghua. The remaining one is Wang Qing, whose strength is comparable to Liu Xiaotian's. He is a recognized top-level three-star chef.

　"Ah."

　Hearing Bai Yuan's solemn words, this time Lia stopped fooling around and nodded very seriously before starting to search on her phone.

　As a star young chef in Fujian Province, Wang Qing has participated in many competitions and even appeared on local variety shows. A simple search will yield a large number of information entries.

　"Wang Qing, the strongest inheritor of 'fried dishes' in history, has a unique and outstanding fried cuisine!"

　"A clash of dragons and tigers: Liu Xiaotian versus Wang Qing, who will emerge victorious?!"

　"Wang Qing's classes will teach you how to quickly fry up perfect tempura."

　Wang Qing: I'm not only good at frying vegetables, but I'm also good at other things. Now let me demonstrate how to make a cake!

　The videos have exaggerated titles that make people want to watch them. The earliest of them can be traced back twelve years, and there are also many videos of competitions from that period.

　"Look at his last match."

　Bai Yuan's voice was calm. Under his influence, Liya clicked on the video out of curiosity. It was a video of Wang Qing's first match.

　Because the full video was too long, the creators only selected the essential parts.

　The selection and exchange of ingredients, the exciting moments of preparing the dishes, the instant appearance of the dishes after completion, and the evaluations from the judges.

　This video garnered millions of views, tens of thousands of likes, and overwhelmingly positive comments.

　"It was just a simple dish of salt and pepper mushrooms, yet it shocked the judges. Just how amazing is this guy's skill?!"

　Lia's expression changed from indifference at the beginning to seriousness now.

　Wang Qing's theme in the last competition was mushroom dishes, and the ingredients he chose were very simple: mushrooms and seasonings. He made a simple salt and pepper mushroom dish in five minutes, which directly defeated his opponent's chicken stew with mushrooms, which took two hours to complete.

　"The gap in skill level."

　Although Wang Qing only served salt and pepper mushrooms, he strictly controlled the heat, cooking time, and seasoning. According to his method, this salt and pepper mushroom dish would be no less than a top-grade two-star dish.

　On another level, his opponent's expression changed upon seeing that he was facing Wang Qing; in short, he lost his will to fight.

　When the judges announced the final winner, his expression showed not a trace of surprise or resentment. This guy had already lost psychologically; there was no way he could win.

　Hearing Liya's sentiments, Bai Yuan watched the video again.

　Wang Qing's skillful technique in the video, with his quick five-minute cooking, reveals decades of hard work.

　This allowed him to defeat his opponent with an absolute advantage and achieve final victory, even though the last dish he served was just salt and pepper mushrooms.

　"Is this one of the top young chefs in Fujian Province? Chuan Linghua is really strong to beat Liu Xiaotian, who is his peer!"

　Lia's voice was filled with admiration, but deeper beneath that, there was a hint of excitement.

　"Is it getting exciting? That's good, the stronger the opponent, the more valuable it is to defeat, isn't it?"

　Looking at Liya, who was holding her phone with both hands and looking at her with burning eyes, Bai Yuan smiled.

　That's the right expression—that look of wanting to devour your opponent alive is the key to victory!

　"Ah, it's getting exciting! Although my chef level is a notch lower, if we really put our all into cooking, it's hard to say who will win!"

　"As long as my opponent isn't Boss Bai, even if anyone else defeats me in the end, I'll definitely take a big chunk out of them!"

　"Turn off your phone and put it in your pocket," Leah said half-jokingly.

　Despite being around the same age, she had absolute confidence in her cooking. Even if the other chef was of a higher level, she felt confident she could fight and win. This confidence was the most important thing for her to reach the pinnacle in the future.

　"Then let's go for it, defeat the seeded players, and become the dark horse."

　"Yes, sir!"

　Reaching out, Bai Yuan patted Lia's shoulder, his voice impassioned, his eyes burning with excitement, clearly having immersed himself in the situation.

　Unfortunately, his opponent was too weak; otherwise, he would have loved to win the match and become the champion under the spotlight!

　·

　·

　"The theme of this competition is 'Temperature Game'."

　Looking at the screen, a hint of doubt flashed across the host's face, but he still tried to read out the theme of the day in a calm manner.

　After all, as a host, she must always maintain elegance and poise.

　"Temperature games? What kind of theme is that?"

　"Speaking of which, this year's competition themes are quite novel. In the past, the quarterfinals were mostly about idioms and dishes, but..."

　Aside from the first round, which featured dishes based on Chinese idioms, the rest of the competitions were in formats never before seen in previous years.

　"Indeed, that's why they've brought us so many innovative dishes that we never even imagined before. It's quite interesting, isn't it?"

　"That's right, but the judges still need to explain what this theme actually means."

　A lively discussion erupted as everyone chimed in, the newly emerging topic bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch. Everyone's face was filled with excitement and joy.

　"The core concept of temperature games is to use extreme temperature contrasts to create a taste and texture experience of 'ice and fire'."

　Each contestant will receive 200 yuan as funding for the competition, which they can use to purchase ingredients they deem most suitable for the theme at the market and prepare their dish.

　On the other side, seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Zhang Zhong stood up as usual and spoke to the audience and contestants about the key points of the theme.

　"Temperature, a world of extremes, must we find a balance between them...?"

　Looking at Lia standing on the stage, deep in thought, and hearing Zhang Zhong's interpretation of the theme, Bai Yuan's mind was filled with images of many dishes.

　This topic isn't difficult; in fact, it's quite common in the culinary world.

　A typical example is fried ice cream. Take the frozen ice cream out of the freezer, press a slice of bread on it, brush yogurt on the surface, scoop out the ice cream and place it on top, cover it with another layer of bread, press it into shape with a mold, and then fry it in oil until crispy. This is the simplest way to make fried ice cream.

　Fried ice cream made in this way has a crispy and delicious exterior and a smooth and cold interior, giving people a dual experience of ice and fire.

　Many people at the scene also thought of fried ice cream and excitedly shared it with their companions, trying to show off their extensive knowledge.

　Meanwhile, the two on stage fell into deep thought. As dishes that had advanced to the semi-finals, they certainly couldn't simply serve up a fried ice cream.

　In particular, when Wang Qing saw Liya's eyes, which seemed to be burning with fire, he immediately extinguished any thoughts of slacking off.

　The opponent is not the same one who gave up before the last round even started.

　It's easy to tell from her eyes that this creature is a predatory bird that preys on humans; if one isn't careful, even he could be devoured.

　"As expected, none of those who have reached this point are mediocre."

　The image of the ruthless torture during the making of fried ice cream flashed through Wang Qing's mind. He lowered his head, a smile appearing on his face.

　Then he suddenly looked up, his gaze towards Lia turning completely cold, like a tiger chasing its prey in the jungle, determined not to give up until it achieved its goal.

　"Ice and fire? How interesting."

　It's a pity there wasn't time for pre-treatment, and the budget was extremely limited. Otherwise, using low-temperature aging technology to make the fat translucent and frosty, and then instantly searing the Wagyu beef in a binchotan kiln until caramelized would have been quite good...

　Unable to hear Wang Qing's mutterings, and unaware that she was being stared at with murderous intent, Leah was lost in a mental storm.

　With a clear theme, she already had a basic framework for the dish in her mind, but due to the difficulty in obtaining the ingredients and the need for pre-processing, she ruthlessly eliminated it.

　"No, thinking about it carefully, it seems that preprocessing is not always necessary."

　Wait...maybe!

　Just as Leah was about to give up and try a different approach to her research, a thought flashed through her mind, and her thoughts converged once again, leading her to move in the direction she had envisioned.

　No need for a complete replacement; just replace the pre-processing part with something else!

　Such a thought popped into Leah's mind, and then she came up with several solutions. Although the effect was not as good as low-temperature aging, it was indeed the best result that could be achieved in two hours.

　"Look, Wang Qing has started to take action!"

　Just then, the sound of the audience caught Lia's attention, and she looked at Wang Qing, who was leaving through the contestant's passage.

　"As expected of him, he's always one step ahead!"

　"Go Wang Qing! You're our last line of defense! You have to win the game!!"

　"Damn it, don't put so much pressure on him. No matter what, he's the best!"

　"Wang Qing! Wang Qing!"

　As Wang Qing left, a large number of cheers erupted from the audience, reaching their peak when he waved goodbye. This is what is known as home-field advantage; celebrity chefs receive more attention.

　Listening to the cheers around her, Leah watched all this indifferently. Such glory would also be bestowed upon her when she won the match.

　Food enthusiasts are very straightforward; they support whoever is the best.

　With that thought in mind, Lia also left the competition venue and strode towards the market.

　"That girl has started making her move too."

　"I wonder what kind of dishes she will bring us. I'm looking forward to it."

　"Long golden hair, petite figure, I feel like there must be a very delicate and cute face under the mask."

　"This isn't something you should be concerned about, but I have to say, a girl with that kind of aura is definitely not bad-looking! I really want to see her expression under the mask!"

　Lia's actions also attracted a lot of attention. As the girl who won the first round of the competition, she had accumulated a lot of fans in the previous competition, and everyone showed great enthusiasm for her.

　I don't know if you have

　I haven't heard a single rumor about it.

　Suddenly, someone in the audience spoke up with a mysterious expression.

　"What rumors?"

　Those sitting around him immediately showed curiosity when they heard him say that. After all, it's in the nature of Chinese people to love gossip, and they have to take a bite before making a judgment, no matter how big or small the gossip is.

　"Don't you guys think that girl looks a lot like the talented French chef, Lia, who was active before?"

　The man took out his phone and played a video of Leah from back then. He held it up high so that others could see it. Comparing it to the video of Leah in the drone live stream, he thought they looked very similar, except that she had changed from short hair to long hair!

　"A French chef? How could that be? Why would a French chef come to China?"

　Some people have expressed strong doubts about this.

　"Perhaps they admire Chinese cuisine and came here specifically for this purpose."

　Someone else said, half-jokingly.

　"Then why did you join the world of culinary disasters and become their henchman? Being a French genius chef should be much more impressive than being a member of the culinary disasters world."

　"I'm not too sure about that. Maybe he's got some leverage over me."

　The man speculated, finding it somewhat perplexing as well. If the person on stage truly was Leah, then why would she serve the Dark Cuisine world? He couldn't think of any other reason besides someone having something on her.

　"Maybe it's because the world of 'dark cuisine' is worth it? Not everyone is doing it for personal gain."

　A little girl nearby couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up.

　"Worth it... This is a force I've never even heard of before, so what's the point of whether it's worth it or not? I think she was coerced. If I were her, I definitely wouldn't have joined such an unknown little force without being coerced!"

　The man remained dismissive.

　"We haven't even confirmed their identity yet, so everything you're saying is just your guess, a pointless guess!"

　"Let's focus on the cooking and stop worrying about her identity. So what if she is, or she isn't? You can't possibly make her withdraw from the competition because of that, can you? This is so pointless!"

　As the conversation veered off course, someone stepped forward to confront the man who had started it, guessing what he might say next, and a subtle look of disgust appeared on their face.

　"Exactly, the topic has completely gone astray!"

　Seeing that someone had stepped forward, everyone else on the scene reacted and refocused their attention on the large screen in the sky, watching as Leah headed to a steak shop.

　"Are you planning to make steak? Western food? Speaking of Western food, what dishes combine hot and cold elements? I think Michelin has a dish called Flaming Ice Cream? But she bought steak!"

　"Steak? A perfect blend of hot and cold? I just can't reconcile the two..."

　"That's the difference between us and professional chefs. But 200 yuan probably can't buy a very high-end steak."