"What's going on? What's going on?"
Chu Xiang ran over from a distance, panting, and her head spun seeing the two clearly defined groups.
She was assigned to be the representative, which meant taking responsibility. If the two sides clashed, she would be the one suffering the most.
"Everyone, let's talk things through properly. Why the drawn swords?"
Chu Xiang sidled up to Haru and whispered, "My ancestor, what happened this time?"
"I just want to know, why was this backpack in the Speaker's room!"
Chu Xiang looked, and said with a hint of embarrassment, "This backpack..."
The onlookers chimed in, "What about this backpack?"
"This backpack indeed belongs to Haru. He's been carrying it since he arrived in Progress City, for seven or eight years. He only lost it a few months ago."
All eyes then turned to Mo Du.
As the Speaker of the Northern Government, the highest authority, would she steal things?
More and more people gathered around. Mo Du sighed.
"What you want to ask, is who was the chef that defeated you, right?"
Haru nodded.
The crowd erupted in discussion!
Haru was actually defeated by a chef?
For chefs, physical attributes were merely supplementary to their culinary skills. Even with a high cell level, it was just false combat power.
Although Haru wasn't ranked very high on the Black List, he was a mercenary specializing in combat, a recognized powerhouse!
How could someone of this caliber be defeated by a mere chef?
Unless...
That chef's cell level had reached a point where it could disregard all techniques!
Mo Du said, "I have a question as well, which you must answer first!"
"Speak!"
"On the day you were defeated, what mission were you carrying out?"
Chu Xiang was horrified!
Haru pushed Chu Xiang aside and said, "To the Great Glacier, to assassinate Bruce and Mo Du! As for the employer, I cannot reveal that!"
"Now it's your turn to answer me!"
"The person who defeated you is the current King of Chefs in the North! The head chef of Wine and Beauties – Zhang Wei!"
It was him!
Haru closed his eyes, feeling the distance between them widening!
Zhang Wei's performance that day, and his epic battle with Lou Ming, had already become a beautiful legend in the North.
That Soul of Flavor had been recorded in countless lists and encyclopedias.
With Zhang Wei's current fame, even the Ten Prodigies of the North or the top ten on the Black List would consider it an honor to be his partner!
A carrier pigeon flew in from afar.
Chu Xiang caught it and opened it, immediately interrupting the conversation, "Does anyone know Wolfgang?"
"Who in the North doesn't know Wolfgang?"
"I mean, someone who knows him *very, very* well!"
"What's wrong?"
Chu Xiang said, "Just now, we received major intelligence. A group of wanderers appeared outside the camp, and their leader claims to be Wolfgang. He says he knows the specific location of the captives!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go take a look!"
"I've known Wolfgang for twenty years. I'd recognize him even if he turned to ashes!"
"Bring the Skin Doll. No one can use disguise techniques in front of it!"
...
...
Zhang Wei didn't know that the large bird he had casually taken down that day had brought such crucial intelligence to the Northern Allied Forces.
Meanwhile, Zhang Wei's eyes were captivated by the countless treasures within the Mortal Shedding Immortal Palace.
[Detected storable ingredients: Honey Pineapple... Crispy Celery... Bouncy Pods...]
The outer perimeter had low capture levels, typically between 1-6.
However, considering the geographical advantage, in the human world, they could sell for ingredients priced at level 10-15.
Furthermore, these fruits and vegetables grew in the Land of Clouds, and their quality was excellent. Buying them wouldn't be a loss.
And for Zhang Wei, the biggest benefit was the quantity. The ingredients on the outer perimeter were often in hundreds or thousands of plants, allowing him to compress the replication time to just one day.
The remaining quantity could also improve the size and quality of the ingredients.
"There are about twenty types of fruits and vegetables in the entire outer perimeter. I've never been this unrestrained!"
"Ever since I left the Century Collection Association, there have been very few basic ingredients to store."
For Zhang Wei, low-level ingredients still had development value. There were no trash ingredients, only trash chefs.
As long as they were combined flexibly, they could showcase a deliciousness no less than high-level ingredients.
[Detected storable ingredients: Vinegar Apple...]
[Capture Level: 8]
[Description: The interior is filled with high-quality homemade apple cider vinegar, which is an excellent appetizer.]
Zhang Wei casually picked one, brought it to his mouth, and crushed it.
Pale yellow apple cider vinegar entered his mouth, with a hint of sweetness accompanied by the fragrance of apples.
"The acidity of the vinegar is only 1-2, so the taste is very mild. It's a good drink. But if used as a seasoning, it needs to be between 5-9."
Wine and vinegar originate from the same source. Fermentation makes vinegar, which naturally has an alcohol content.
However, high-proof vinegar is more difficult to swallow than equivalent spirits.
But then again, who would drink high-proof vinegar for no reason...
---
[Detected storable ingredients: Salad Soybeans]
[Capture Level: 10]
[Description: A type of soybean with very high oil content and sufficient protein. Using the leaching method to extract oil will yield a large amount of salad oil. Using the hot pressing method will yield a dark yellow soybean oil.]
"This is also quite good. I'm currently lacking replicable cooking oil."
"I know about the leaching method, but what kind of solvent is it?"
According to Zhang Wei's memory, the leaching method involves using a solvent to soak and crush the soybeans, completely breaking down the oil within. Then, using the principle that the solvent's boiling point is lower than the oil's, high temperatures are used to evaporate the solvent, yielding cooking oil.
All soybean oil and salad oil on the market are produced using the leaching method. The biggest advantage of the leaching method is not the taste, but its thorough extraction.
The hot pressing method can extract at most 65% of the oil, while the leaching method can obtain over 93% of the oil from soybeans.
This difference in yield makes it impossible for merchants to choose otherwise.
However, in Shokugeki no Soma, Zhang Wei often encountered cooking oil produced by the hot pressing method.
For some traditional chefs, the leaching method is trash.
"No matter the method, the quality of the oil should be excellent."
"I'll study the oil extraction techniques these few days..."
"Damn it!"
"As a chef, there are too many skills to master!"
...
Crane City Chain Burger Joint
The lobby manager stood at the entrance, looking puzzled and saying, "Strange, the boss has been gone for a whole day, why hasn't he returned yet? What exactly happened?"
"Manager, you don't know yet?"
"How?"
"The Mortal Shedding Immortal Palace declared martial law today and is completely cut off from the outside world. They also purchased a large batch of burgers from our shop today!"
"Then the boss..."
"Could it be that the boss... went in with the martial law?"
The lobby manager shouted angrily, "That's ridiculous!"
Since the mysterious disappearance of the Octopus Head Chef, the burger joint's credibility had taken a fatal blow, and it was barely holding onto its title as Crane City's number one.
If not for the arrival of two highly skilled wandering chefs a few days ago, the shop would have collapsed.
Now, Boss Crab is stuck inside the Mortal Shedding Immortal Palace...
Just thinking about it gives me a headache!
"Manager, what should we do?"
The lobby manager said helplessly, "Now we can only rely on those two wandering chefs. It's a shame that none of the chefs in the shop can carry the load. By the way, what are they doing now?"
"I heard they're in the back kitchen researching new burger recipes."
"Nonsense!"
The manager said angrily, "The Octopus Head Chef has been immersed in burgers for decades. How can his recipes be changed so easily?"
"No, I have to go see!"
The lobby manager, filled with indignation, stormed into the back kitchen.
As soon as he entered, he heard a cheerful laugh, "Oh, Manager, come quickly and try my new flavor!"
"I've given it a name, and I think everyone will love it!"
"It's called the Delicious Crab Burger!"