Even with Zhang Wei's protection, human greed could not be stopped.
The pyramid-like exploitation was also happening in the North.
Countless commoners and the poor failed in their scramble for food and became displaced...
And the judges for this competition were not those in tuxedos, but these sallow-faced disaster victims!
As the preliminaries began, Zhang Wei's venue was quite rudimentary.
The host was a familiar face, Sheng Tarou from the Kingdom of Healing!
At this moment, Sheng Tarou held a lantern and enthusiastically announced to the crowd below: "This lantern is called the Flower of Happiness, the latest product from the Kingdom of Healing."
"It can receive the sounds of happiness emitted by people after they have eaten their fill, and leave a mark in its pistil."
"It is based on quantity. Even the strongest individual can only leave one mark, thereby ensuring that the beneficiaries will be the most impoverished refugees."
"Also, don't try to cheat. The marks left by the Flower of Happiness are equivalent to photography and videography, and we have professional means to conduct spot checks."
Just then, a local contestant asked: "As long as they are disaster victims, right? It seems there's no way to distinguish if they are from the North."
"They don't have to be from the North!"
"As long as they are disaster victims, we will extend a helping hand!"
What a bizarre judging method!
Next, it was Zhang Wei's turn to speak: "Within the next month, the person who rescues the most disaster victims will win the competition."
"Furthermore, I have thirty selection slots, meaning the top thirty in quantity will suffice. However, we will not announce the scores of other contestants before the final day."
It's a bit like a bid.
Everyone gets only one chance.
This forces everyone to go all out.
The number of contestants was unimaginable, far exceeding the North's Chef Competition, and all the contestants looked quite capable.
Among them, there were hundreds of chefs from the North, but they only accounted for thirty percent.
"Most of the contestants are quite old. The life-extending ability of Food Cells is truly powerful."
"They have emerged from unknown corners, all striving to participate in the Food Festival."
The Food Festival is the highest-level culinary competition globally. The top 100 are known as the Top 100, an honor beyond imagination.
Kurama's Food Journal is a byproduct of the Food Festival and belongs to the same organization as the festival's initiators, hence its immense power. Kurama himself had once ranked among the Top 100.
Although it was only in one edition, it was enough to prove his strength.
The judging criterion for a ten-star chef is to have ranked among the Top 100 in the Food Festival.
However, among them were smart individuals who immediately questioned: "This type of competition is less a test of culinary skill and more a test of financial strength! I don't believe such rules can reflect a fair competition of cooking."
Zhang Wei pointed to the Food Bank and said: "Financial strength? I never said that. You will have to prepare your own ingredients!"
"The Food Bank contains countless exquisite delicacies, each of extremely high quality. I now announce that the first floor of the Food Bank will serve as the basic ingredients provided for the competition, feel free to use them!"
The first floor consists of Tier 1 ingredients. However, because they are all of perfect quality, their true grades are never publicly disclosed.
Furthermore, Zhang Wei does not prohibit bringing one's own ingredients. If one doesn't want to use those from the Food Bank, they are welcome to bring their own. Amassing a vast quantity of ingredients is also a form of skill.
Zhang Wei continued: "The direction of this test is to precisely identify people in need of food, quickly process them through cooking. Stamina and resistance to fatigue, I believe these three points are all qualities a chef should possess!"