novelraw Chapter 106: Crying Cat Head
Chapter 106: Crying Cat Head
Click clack click clack!
“It’s time to show my real skills.”
Chen Qi put on his apron and started chopping vegetables.
Each chop was swift, precise, and fierce. In less than ten minutes, enough ingredients for twenty servings were neatly placed into bowls.
Immediately after, Chen Qi began heating the wok, adding seasonings, and stir-frying.
A secret technique—wok flipping with one hand!
Under the blazing fire, every stir felt like dancing notes, his movements incredibly skillful.
The aroma was already wafting through the air.
Plating.
Finally, he used his dark skill to blend the Soul Seasoning into a sauce and poured it over!In an instant, the scent of meat and vegetables seemed like the goddess of cuisine gracefully dancing in the fire, beckoning everyone.
The nearby craftsmen drooled uncontrollably.
Even An, who was focused on reading, couldn’t help but sniff the air!
This was the complete version of supernatural gourmet cooking, combined with the power of Soul Seasoning!
Chen Qi worked smoothly, cooking multiple dishes consecutively.
Braised abalone, strawberry jam bread, potato sauce roasted beef ribs, vegetable soup, egg pudding, giant lobster, stir-fried pork...
The once-empty table was instantly filled to the brim.
The overlapping aromas grew even richer!
Unable to resist, the dwarf craftsman was the first to say:
“Everyone, I’m a rough guy and don’t care about table manners, so I’ll start eating first.”
“Me too!”
...
“Take your time eating.”
Chen Qi smiled. It was quite fulfilling that people wanted to eat the dishes he made.
After days of practice, his skills were now vastly improved!
The dwarf craftsman ate a chunk of beef rib with potato sauce, his cheeks glowing with obsession.
Delicious, truly delicious!
He admired Chen Qi:
“Little brother, you’re amazing—not only can you cook tasty food, but you can also clear the No. 8 Train.”
Everyone cheered.
“Yeah, does little brother have a chef rating? I heard there’s a chef competition in Moonstone City, and winners can get top-tier ingredients. You should totally enter.”
“The chef competition is still over a month away. I’ll try to participate when I have time.”
Chen Qi didn’t waste time chatting and started cooking the last supernatural ingredient dish.
Even though his physique was far beyond ordinary people, the Celestial Firebird ingredient still provided a considerable boost.
Therefore, he decided to unleash his full culinary prowess!
Devil peppers and Celestial Firebird!
Amid the fierce fire, a dish perfectly took shape!
[You have cooked Spicy Devil Pepper Celestial Firebird (Extra Spicy Version), gained 150 spirit points!]
An’s blue eyes flashed with a faint red glow as she looked at the final dish.
The dish was covered in chili peppers.
No, it was more accurate to say the chili peppers were covered with a tiny bit of food!
Next, which dish would she eat?
An looked up and fixed Chen Qi with eyes like a ragdoll cat, calmly saying:
“Shouldn’t you add some sugar?”
“No need!”
Chen Qi smiled coldly, sprinkling some chili powder with Soul Seasoning, and professionally explained:
“This supernatural ingredient has a fire attribute and perfectly matches the devil peppers. The spicier it is, the more it activates the ingredient’s own power!”
An couldn’t argue and softly said:
“Indeed, supernatural power always comes at a price...”
Not a problem, just a dish. An shakily picked up a chopstick, grabbed a chicken leg, and ate it.
“It should be okay...”
Chen Qi tried it too.
The next second, their tongues burst into flames!
Intense! Chen Qi reacted quickly, taking a sip of water.
Though it was quite spicy, overall the taste was still good.
He was holding up well!
Chen Qi curiously asked:
“How is it?”
“Not bad. I can handle spicy food well, plus I’ve trained for fire resistance...”
At this moment, An had turned into a white, teary-eyed cat head.
To be precise, a burning, teary-eyed cat head.
Spice and supernatural power exploded on their taste buds!
“Wuwuwu...”
With a thud!
Usually calm, she rolled on the ground repeatedly.
This was the price of absorbing supernatural power!
Chen Qi held back laughter.
Moments later, a prompt appeared before his eyes.
[You consumed the supernatural ingredient Celestial Firebird, physique +3, gained minor burn resistance.]
Now, Ghostfire Oil had become an important weapon coating for Chen Qi.
Minor burn resistance was a pretty good attribute bonus.
Also, the meat of the Celestial Firebird was really quite good.
If it weren’t for the devil peppers, it would be a very nice dish.
Deliciousness and pain coexisting in one dish.
The two came back to their senses and began eating the normal dishes.
She had lost her composure... An calmed down, blushed, wiped the tears from her eyes, and sat back on the small chair.
An was born into a commoner family and paid great attention to etiquette to avoid being looked down upon at Royal University.
She never expected that her years of etiquette would be defeated by a single dish.
Fortunately, the other dishes were truly delicious!
“Delicious.”
An happily ate a piece of fruit pudding and asked, “By the way, Qi, who commissioned you to go to No. 8 Train? Was it that Navy Admiral Old White Seagull?”
“!”
Chen Qi was shocked that she knew about this.
“Yes, after finishing the meal, I’m going back to Moonstone City to the Navy office to find Old White Seagull and complete the commission.”
An curiously asked:
“What’s the commission about? Could it be a second-tier profession card?”
Though incredible, in An’s spiritual vision, Chen Qi already fully possessed the strength to advance to the second tier!
You guessed it too accurately... Chen Qi nodded:
“Yes, a Lamp Phase profession card...”
Lamp Phase! An was stunned.
In Beiguo, aside from The Press, there was also the Beiguo Meteorological Bureau, but almost no large Lamp Phase organizations.
Even in these two exclusive organizations, profession cards were scarce.
Many elders with enough qualifications and strength had waited ten years without receiving the promised promotion cards.
The White Tower Federation, which managed the origin-level hunter organization Lighthouse, had no plans to recruit outsiders in this era.
Even at Beiguo Royal University, Lamp Phase was relatively unpopular.
As a novice mentor, An had hardly seen a Lamp Phase profession card:
“Are you sure? Lamp Phase organizations are very rare. Also, to maintain the Lamp Phase principles means you can’t live a peaceful life.”
Unlike the first choice, the affinity of a second-tier profession card was crucial.
It was like choosing a major in college.
Though 《The Path of Supernatural》 recorded that choosing the wrong affinity still had some ways to compensate,
the cost of compensation was prohibitively expensive and beyond what an ordinary person could bear.
Chen Qi gave a bitter smile.
In An’s eyes, choosing Lamp Phase meant a bleak future and difficulty living a peaceful life.
Yet the heart’s desire was affinity.
Sometimes, a person’s chosen affinity ignored the future.
Moreover, in Chen Qi’s view, the world was on the brink of destruction, and the era of peace was ending.
In such times, only those who kept advancing could reach the peak.
Peace? What is that? Fighting and adventure were the true way!
Lamp Phase was a pretty good choice.
From Chen Qi’s perspective, it was one of the best choices.
He looked up at the faintly glowing moon:
“This world is huge. I want to see more.”
Not satisfied with peaceful life? An recalled many legends of the sea: “Is that so...”
In fact, her intuition told her Lamp Phase was indeed a good choice.
Lamp Phase was both explorer and guide.
In An’s memory, there were many legendary Lamp Phase elites.
It was said that the Ice Witch’s profession card was a legendary Ice Lamp Phase profession card.
Lamp Phase supernaturals were not weak.
Due to lack of support from supernatural organizations, the biggest difficulty on the Lamp Phase path was advancement.
But under the Dimensional Tide, personal advancement no longer depended on supernatural organizations or noble favors but on one’s own strength.
Under the Dimensional Tide, anything was possible.
Even without joining supernatural organizations, unimaginable monsters could be born, like the legendary Deep Sea Hunters.
A good choice, An shifted the topic and asked:
“By the way, Qi, can you give me a ride later? I happen to be going to Moonstone City.”
Chen Qi curiously asked: “Going to Moonstone City? For what?”
An patted her empty pocket:
“Do you know about the Navy’s recent major operation?”
Chen Qi asked in confusion:
“The Navy’s major operation?”
An explained: “According to the Meteorological Bureau’s findings in the Sea of Rifts,
at the Forbidden Sea area called Sea Monster Gorge, many dimensional rifts have appeared. This sea area, because of the siren songs, has caused many powerful warriors to fall, meaning that besides the rifts themselves, many sunken relics attract countless adventurers.”
An gazed toward the distant sea:
“I’m planning to go to Sea Monster Gorge and earn a little money.”
“Sea Monster Gorge?”
Chen Qi took out a sea chart from his Backpack Card.
Sea Monster Gorge was located beyond the nearshore, in the farther Sea of Rifts.
He remembered from the game forums that it was also a place with many dungeons.
But it was also home to many dangerous sea beasts.
The most famous were the humanoid sea monsters.
The siren song was a powerful mental attack, strong enough to cause people to kill each other!
An continued:
“My personal strength isn’t enough to pass through the dangerous Sea Monster Gorge, so I plan to go to the Navy office in Moonstone City to hitch a ride on the Navy’s ships.
My magic should be quite helpful.”
“Teacher An, your magic could easily take out fifty cannons.”
Chen Qi said, simultaneously assessing his own strength.
With his current power, he should be able to safely set foot in the Sea of Rifts.
An leaned closer and softly said: “Also, according to the latest White Pigeon newspaper report, the Witch might be heading to Sea Monster Gorge.”
“You think I won’t run into the Witch? Although the chance is low, witches are always mysterious and unpredictable.”
An finished a whole piece of fruit pudding.
The dwarf craftsman eating nearby suddenly said:
“Better pray you don’t meet her. If either of you run into the Flower Witch, there might not even be a corpse left, just scraps in her alchemy pot.”
Witches were terrifying.
From the life-cherishing dwarf craftsman’s perspective, he’d rather never encounter these powerful beings, whether good or bad.
“Mm...”
An was silent for a moment, then nodded and raised her cup to Chen Qi:
“Let’s hope neither of us meets the Witch, and we both live well. Cheers!”
I’ve already been targeted by the Witch, Chen Qi bitterly smiled inside, raising his cup:
“Yeah, here’s to living!”
Bang!
Amid the crowd’s cheers, the cups clinked crisply!
Unknowingly, night deepened.
The feast on the table was wiped clean; even the plates were licked spotless.
Chen Qi returned to his small houseboat and fell asleep.
The next noon.
“Qi!”
On the dock, An had changed into a convenient white shirt and pants, holding a wooden staff taller than her, waving at him.
She stepped briskly and boarded Chen Qi’s small boat.
“It’s time to collect the reward.”
Chen Qi started the small houseboat and headed toward Moonstone City.