Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
What appeared in front of Bu Fang were two choices. Yes, they just emerged out of thin air, but they did not come in the form of physically written words.
Bu Fang had a feeling that this ghostly green woman seemed to be prying into his heart.
With a buzzing sound, two choices emerged, one on either side. What presented to the left were a kitchen knife and a wok—it should represent cooking. To this, Bu Fang naturally was not surprised.
The choice to the right was a graceful figure. It had waving long hair, and the dress it wore seemed to be fluttering in the wind as well. The face was obscured, but without a doubt, it represented a girl.
The nobles watching the scene almost went crazy.
“I can’t believe he managed to come to the third pass!”
“That old fellow actually found a guy who can come to the third pass!”
“What a familiar scene… I wonder what this young man will choose?”
The nobles were chattering noisily. At this moment, Countess Xia Qiu hosted another game. Such an exciting event naturally stimulated the nobles present, and they quickly placed their bets on the energy plate in midair.
“This is an easy choice… He’ll definitely choose the pretty girl!”
“Yes! Surely he will choose the girl. Why would he choose cooking?”
“This bet is meaningless…”
The nobles did not know what to say already. There was no suspense about the results. However, they would not pass up the opportunity to win some quick money—they all placed their bets on the girl.
What was the purpose of that young man braving the Death Pass? Surely he was looking for someone. Why else would he go to all the trouble of entering Void City? And why else would he risk his life to brave the Death Pass?
Most importantly… The one thing the Queen of Curses loathed most in Void City was chefs!
Nethery’s eyes flickered as she watched the image in the fighting fit with an indifferent face.
“Goddess, do you want to place your bet?” the noblewoman said with a smile, looking at Nethery. She seemed to enjoy the scene.
Nethery glanced at her.
Countess Xia Qiu got the hint, and she ordered her maid to bring more chips over.
Nethery took the chips. Without saying a word, she placed them all on cooking.
Countess Xia Qiu paused, and so was the noblewoman and all the nobles present.
“She truly is the Cursed Goddess… She sure knows how to play, and she’s bold. I can’t believe she bet that young man would choose cooking… But I’m afraid she’ll be disappointed later. Who would dare to choose cooking in Void City?”
The noblewoman froze for a moment before chuckling. Then, she placed her bets on the other choice.
For a moment, the betting was lopsided. Only Nethery alone bet that Bu Fang would choose cooking, while the others all bet that he would choose the girl.
“Phew… This is so exciting!”
Many nobles were taking deep breaths. If Bu Fang did choose cooking, it would really accelerate their heartbeats.
Nethery said nothing but just stared at the image nonchalantly. As for why she made the choice, it was purely based on her intuition.
…
“You must not choose cooking!”
The stooped old man’s words still rang in Bu Fang’s ears. He could not understand why the old man had so strongly urged him not to choose cooking. But he understood now. It was a question that would get him killed.
The Queen of Curses loathed cooking. If he chose cooking… he might really provoke her, and he would be faced with all kinds of torture tests. He did not know the consequences of choosing the girl, but it should not be that easy.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Bu Fang looked at the two choices. Foxy and Shrimpy were perched on his shoulders—one covered her mouth with her little paws, while the other one was spitting bubbles.
The corners of Bu Fang’s mouth lifted slightly. The purpose of his trip to Void City was to find Nethery. So, if he had to choose between cooking and the girl… Was there even a need to consider? His choice was, of course… cooking.
Without even thinking, Bu Fang flicked his finger. A stream of energy shot forward and fell on the kitchen knife and wok. As someone who wanted to become the God of Cooking and top the fantasy world’s food chain, how could he not choose cooking?
He had made his choice: Cooking.
Light flickered and engulfed Bu Fang in an instant.
The stooped old man’s eyes glazed, then they were full of gloom. ‘Why do young people nowadays not listen to the elderly?!’ He was somewhat frustrated. ‘He has chosen cooking, and what he will face next is… the most terrifying, tormenting torture. There’s no more hope…’
The old man was despairing. He had sensed an aura of the same source from Bu Fang. But… Bu Fang had disappointed him. Back then, he was so stubborn as well. As a result, he had nothing now.
He had warned Bu Fang, but the latter did not take his words seriously. Now, his dream of entering District C and meeting that person was gone. He had waited ten thousand years for someone like Bu Fang, but in the end, Bu Fang chose cooking…
…
The nobles were stunned. They watched with wide eyes as Bu Fang chose cooking. When energy poured down and shattered the kitchen knife and wok, they felt their hearts twitch, as if what the energy shattered was not the knife and wok but their bets.
For a moment, all the nobles went crazy.
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“What kind of a man is this?!”
“Courting death! This young man is dead!”
“I will not let him go even if he enters District C!”
Never in their wildest dreams did these nobles imagine that Bu Fang would choose cooking. The Queen of Curses was known for her aversion to chefs. Yet, this young man was bold enough to choose cooking!
He was courting death!
Countess Xia Qiu paused, her eyebrows frowning slightly. But the noblewoman was still smiling.
“Aye… The Goddess has defeated us all by guessing the right choice. She’s rich now!” said the noblewoman jokingly.
Nethery still kept a straight face as if what had happened had nothing to do with her.
Countess Xia Qiu, on the other hand, had a complex expression. Looking at the honest man in the image, she seemed to see a man who had come into her life tens of thousands of years ago.
At that time, that man had chosen cooking without hesitation as well, and then was living in regret even today. Was the same thing about to repeat? Whenever the same thing happened again, it was a torment and a blow to her spirit.
…
The scene in front of him changed. Bu Fang found himself in a dark, gloomy place. It was a kitchen. He glanced around and quickly discovered something fishy about it. Yes, it was a kitchen, but it was different from an ordinary kitchen.
The ghostly green figure of the Queen emerged. She sat in midair on an invisible throne, crossed her legs, and looked down on Bu Fang.
“You have chosen cooking, so I will test your cooking skills. If you wish to enter District C, you need to defeat Void City’s chef in terms of cooking skills.” The Queen’s cold voice echoed in the kitchen.
Bu Fang frowned. ‘Sure enough, a cooking competition…’ However, his brows quickly relaxed. He was never afraid when it came to cooking.
“If you win in the cooking battle, you will be allowed to enter District C. If you lose, your soul will be extracted and sealed forever in Void City, and you will become Void City’s slave until the end of time,” said the Queen of Curses.
Bu Fang’s pupils constricted. The price of losing the battle was too cruel. Death was nothing when compared to it. However, since he had already made the choice, he naturally would not flinch.
“I understand,” he said.
A rumbling sound rang out. Then, the kitchen door was opened. A wooden cart slowly rolled through the door and stopped.
A clear sound of footsteps filled the air. Bu Fang turned and looked into the distance. There, a handsome man with his hands clasped behind his back walked slowly into the kitchen. It was a grayish-white figure.
Bu Fang frowned as he looked at the man. A sense of familiarity surfaced in his mind.
Outside the kitchen, the air was filled with a loud commotion. Bu Fang knew the noise. It came from the dull people in District D, who learned that the food distribution was about to begin.
“Subdue these people… Use your cooking skills to subdue them. There are one thousand exiles. Each of you will cook a dish, and whoever attracts the most exiles wins the battle.”
The rule was not complicated, but Bu Fang felt a tremendous amount of pressure. The young man in front of him was proud and confident, emanating an aura that was exactly like his. That gave Bu Fang pause.
‘Is he one of the System’s previous hosts?’ Bu Fang thought to himself.
What Bu Fang did not know was that, outside the kitchen, the stooped old man knelt on the ground with tears trickling down his face. He was weeping, and his voice was filled with heart-wrenching grief that would move anyone who heard it. No one knew what made him so sad.
With a thought, Bu Fang produced the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife and the Black Turtle Constellation Wok. His eyes were filled with an indifferent look. He, too, was confident and proud. This came from his strong confidence in his cooking skills.
Bu Fang looked out of the kitchen. Those fanatical and crazy people had an almost insane fascination with that bizarre cuisine.
The man chuckled and glanced at Bu Fang. Then, he meticulously changed into his chef’s robe and washed himself with clean water. His knife looked like crystal, and his wok looked like glass. It seemed that this man was obsessive about cleanliness.
The cooking competition started. However, as soon as it began, Bu Fang froze. He was somewhat stunned by the man’s movements.
The man reached out his hand, which he had washed, and thrust it into the void. A rumbling sound rang out as a rushing black river appeared in front of him.
It was the river of curses! The river that ringed District D!
The man did not mind getting dirty at all and put his hand into the river. With a splashing sound, his hand was immediately covered with strange insects. They were a kind of disgusting insects living in curses and darkness. One by one, they crawled up the man’s hand.
Bu Fang’s brows furrowed as he watched. ‘Is this guy… cooking?’
The man’s face was expressionless, but his eyes were filled with repulsion and aversion as they looked at the insects. Then, he shook his hand, causing the insects to fall with the black power of curses.
He raised the crystal-like knife with the other hand and made a slash. Black liquid drops kept spilling. Those were the fluids inside the insects. One after another, the insects were cut in half. In just a flash, the man had made tens of thousands of slashes.
Just the knife technique alone had amazed Bu Fang. However, what shocked him even more was yet to come.
The man’s lips parted, revealing an excited smile. As the liquid drops fell into the glass wok, it kept expanding to contain them. The broken insect bodies, dirty curses, and murky juice all mixed together in the glass wok.
With a shake of his hand, the man produced a glinting ladle and thrust it into the wok. A ghostly green flame burned under the wok. As the ladle stirred, the concoction in the wok became murkier and murkier, and the man’s expression became more and more ferocious.
At this moment, the people in District D, who were waiting for food, roared and howled crazily and excitedly.
Bu Fang’s expression changed slightly—he seemed to have thought of something. He looked at the concoction in the glass wok, and his pupils suddenly constricted.
As he watched, the concoction in the wok gradually became sticky, and bits of white stuff were floating in it.
The corner of Bu Fang’s lips twitched, then he lifted a hand to cover his mouth. ‘Dammit… Is this the legendary… Dark cuisine?!’