An assistant chef, gathering courage, stammered, "Um... Mr. Head Chef, could you explain how long this dish can invigorate the blood?"
Zhang Wei asked, "What do you think?"
"This... I..."
"Take a guess."
The assistant chef thought for a long time but dared not speak.
If he said too much, the effect might not be achieved, putting Zhang Wei in an awkward position. If he said too little, it might seem like he was looking down on the head chef.
"It's alright, just say whatever comes to mind."
The assistant chef said, "One day? No, no, no... two days!"
"Are you not considering who prepares the dish and who tastes it?"
"Ah? This... I'm sorry, that was my oversight."
Zhang Wei said to everyone, "You must remember, it varies from person to person!"
"If there's a mistake, it could even kill the person tasting it!"
The assistant chef scratched his head. "That can't be right, can it? We're just chefs, not physicians prescribing remedies."
Zhang Wei shook his head.
He found a Crimson Pepper with a Capture Level of 15 from the ingredients. This pepper wasn't excessively spicy and was quite effective in Sichuan cuisine. When dried and ground into powder, it was a high-grade seasoning.
"Since becoming chefs, you rarely cook for commoners, do you?"
Everyone nodded. Chefs enjoyed high status. Even a humble one-star chef's dish cost hundreds of Baili, far beyond what ordinary people could afford. However, after transmigrating, Zhang Wei had worked as a commoner in the Great Glacier and deeply understood the harm high-grade ingredients could cause to ordinary people. The Ghost Face Mushroom, a mere Level 2 ingredient, caused deaths in the Great Glacier daily. For ordinary people, exquisite food was both a elixir and a poison!
Zhang Wei casually took a sip, and the Crimson Pepper turned into powder.
"Do you know what would happen if an ordinary person ate a Crimson Pepper?"
"Ordinary people... how could they possibly eat such a delicacy..."
"Pay attention to my question!"
"We don't know."
Zhang Wei said, "They would suffer a perforated stomach due to the extreme spiciness, and most likely lose their lives."
"But Gourmet Hunters wouldn't, because our bodies can adapt to higher levels of stimulation and stronger pain."
"To put it another way, if I were to bring out a Hellishly Spicy Beauty with a Capture Level of 45, many of you here would experience symptoms similar to poisoning due to the extreme spiciness, and excessive intake would also be fatal."
The assistant chefs fell into deep thought. This was something they had never considered before.
Zhang Wei spoke again, "Returning to the original question, how long does the effect of this dish last?"
Everyone perked up their ears.
"If Wu Yong were to eat this dish of mine, it would probably last about 4 days."
"For those on the Black List like Hurricane and Qingcheng, it would be no more than 15 hours."
"As for your dishes... I can only estimate that for ordinary soldiers, it should be around 30 hours."
"Furthermore, this state of exhilaration should generally not be maintained for more than three days."
"Wu Yong was being promoted, so I added some extra ingredients."
The duration of Warrior's Blood needed to be considered from both the producer's and the taster's perspectives. This was also why Zhang Wei had spoken so much. If these individuals were to mess around, replicating Warrior's Blood with high-grade ingredients and letting low-level soldiers remain exhilarated for a week, the damage to their bodies would be almost irreversible!
Thunderous applause erupted... Everyone was captivated by Zhang Wei's ingenious concept and meticulous design. To elevate cuisine to such a level truly required dedication! This also implied that those lacking intelligence would struggle as chefs.
"Mr. Great Chef, this state of exhilaration is truly amazing. Is it really only three thousand Baili?"
Zhang Wei shrugged. "Even prolonged engorgement of the corpus cavernosum causes severe pain, let alone other parts."
Everyone: …………
It seemed to make a kind of sense!
"Alright, that's all for today's lesson. Prepare for the second dish."
...
On the other side.
Langgu Yibing, pursuing his victory, had already broken through the enemy lines twice!
Lang Tu glanced at the time. Twenty hours had passed since his separation from Mo Du.
"What's the situation with those remnants in Yicheng?"
"They're holding their ground. Based on the time, the King of Northern Chefs, Zhang Wei, should have arrived! It's rumored he's carrying a large amount of ingredients and supplies. Headquarters has instructed us to resupply from him."
Lang Tu scoffed. "Headquarters? A bunch of military-illiterate morons. Their words are worth less than a fart."
"We've routed three thousand enemies in this battle and captured several hundred low-level camel-beasts. Should we transport them to the rear as usual?"
The low-level cavalry units of the Cloud Country were composed of the strongest among the inferior species, generally around Level 5-7. Their mounts were typically toads, newts, lizards, and crocodiles, with capture levels below 2. Based on their meat yield, transporting them to the rear could fetch 1000-3500 Baili each...
"Slaughter them all and replenish our army's rations. We can't trust this so-called Chef King. Remember, our opponents are not just the enemy, but also foolish allies."
It was evident that Lang Tu had utterly lost faith in the Northern Alliance.
He spread out the map drawn by the scouts. The Fourth Corps of the Cloud Country was about thirty kilometers away. It was this Fourth Corps that had forced Mo Du's forces into a defensive posture for over half a month; they still possessed some strength. However, after two field battles, they had been completely defeated by Langgu Yibing, with a significant loss of personnel, leaving them with few usable troops.
"This time, I will completely annihilate them!"
"Prepare to commence the siege!"
Pegasus scouts soared through the sky. These light cavalry operated in concert, relying on each other, making it impossible for the Fourth Corps to target them. Meanwhile, chaos reigned within the Fourth Corps' camp. Stragglers from the inferior species, disarmed and demoralized, constantly fled back to the barracks.
Scout A took out a telescope from his懷, a product of Progress City. It was rumored to be very expensive and scarce, with only a dozen available in the entire Langgu Yibing.
Scout A said, "These monsters from the Cloud Country have chosen to hold their ground instead of abandoning their camp and fleeing?"
Another replied with a snort, "What a pity. If they had left their camp, it would have been another delightful pursuit. But this is fine too; we'll annihilate them all here."
"There shouldn't be any valuable intel left. Let's head back."
Scout A raised his telescope and observed carefully. "The campfires within the camp are unusual. Not only are there more of them, but they are also very orderly, not like those made by fleeing soldiers."
"Let me check... It is indeed so, but it's only a difference of about a hundred cooking pots, which doesn't prove anything."
"Perhaps there's a fresh contingent hidden inside?"
"Five people per pot, over five hundred fresh troops? Even if there are, they'd be utterly useless in combat, otherwise, they would have allowed the front lines to collapse and be annihilated by more than half?"
"Regardless, we should still transmit the information. The decision on how to proceed will be made by Lang Tu."