For a moment, he experienced what level of proficiency could truly be called genius.

The so-called Tiancheng talent was precisely to describe this terrifying nature and ability that no one could imitate or reach, right?

Merely holding a knife was enough to instill the fear of the slaughterhouse in anyone.

He finally understood how those three corpses in the rest room were created, and those odd looks people gave him—the thick wariness was clearly directed at Luo Xian beside him.

And he had sat for a full hour next to a sleeping Godzilla. He had lived through 3,600 seconds at the brink of death.

Huai Shi swallowed hard, making an effort to divert his gaze, and focused on moving all the tools that Raven had prepared for him from his toolbox.

He laid out sieves, measuring cups, reaction vessels, strainers, pipettes, and syringes. Then came the larger items: a compact water bath pot, a lightweight Alchemy Centrifuge, a complete set of extraction and purification equipment, and a thermos filled with liquid ammonia, as well as an array of various raw materials. This was the culinary equipment he had to rely on. More like alchemical apparatus than cooking tools, though.

"What kind of chef is this!" A man draped in a tattered cloak and covered in facial sores glanced up, barely holding back a sneer. "With so much equipment, are you here to perform tricks or to cook!"

He looked at Huai Shi with disdain. "Do you really think the judges have never seen Alchemy before!"

For a moment, even the judges couldn't help but frown.

Huai Shi casually opened the material box supplied by the organizers, yanked out a three-meter-long squid covered in barbs, and slammed it onto the table.

Hearing the man's words, Huai Shi glanced up.

"You've clearly seen nothing of the world," he said, flipping his middle finger. "Ever heard of 'molecular gastronomy'?"

"..."

Not just the critic and the judges, but even the audience were dumbfounded.

Freaking molecular gastronomy. How novel! After so many years in the dark culinary world, with all kinds of cuisines, this was the first time anyone was attempting molecular gastronomy.

The critic, whose face was covered in faux sores, nearly had a piece of them fall off in shock. He quickly caught himself, re-affixed his fake sores, then just laughed scornfully and turned his gaze away.

「The competition continued.」

But the current contest was entirely different from the one just a short while ago, not only in atmosphere but also in the ingredients and the other chefs' cooking methods.

Without even needing to examine it closely, as soon as Huai Shi scooped out the insides of that squid, he realized that there was hardly a single part of it safe for normal consumption. With his rudimentary Alchemy skills, he could ascertain that every part of this thing was laced with a potent poison, deadly enough to kill. He also noted the other chefs' cooking methods, their bizarre seasonings, and the pungent odors rising from their pots. The flames illuminated the cold, sinister grins on their faces.

It was like they were considering how to poison the food rather than actually making anything edible!

Only Luo Xian diligently chopped vegetables, tended to her pot, and then cut the sauerkraut seasonings she had brought herself. Was she really planning to make a pot of... sauerkraut fish?

Although casting watchful eyes around him, Huai Shi's hands didn't pause for a second as he grasped the kitchen knife, disemboweled the squid, and then rapidly minced it.

Immediately after, he heard the sudden sound of whooshing air near his ear.

Without hesitation, Huai Shi raised the blade in his hand, slicing forward. Only after he had cut the incoming barb out of thin air did he raise his head and look towards its source—the Scarface Man.

The Scarface Man was holding a barb-covered fish, looking at Huai Shi with feigned innocence. "Sorry, my mistake, my mistake. You alright?"

"Ah, I'm fine," Huai Shi replied, offering a wry smile. "Just an accident, right?"

His hands kept moving. He picked up the tongs, reached into the material box, yanked out a strange-looking snake, and violently smashed it on the chopping block. As Huai Shi spoke, his blade came down, chopping off the snake's head.

The bizarre snake head flew up, still hissing venomously with its mouth open wide, ready to bite.

By sheer coincidence, it flew towards the Scarface Man.

"Oh, my hand slipped..."

As Huai Shi spoke in an apologetic tone, the Scarface Man scrambled to dodge. The snake head drew an arc through the air, landing squarely in his boiling soup pot. A foul stench immediately arose from the previously creamy bone broth. All his prior work was lost.

The Scarface Man's expression contorted for a moment as if he wanted to lash out, but he didn't rush forward. Instead, his face twitched, and he resentfully averted his eyes.

Clearly, under the judges' watch, interference between contestants was considered acceptable. In fact, the audience seemed to enjoy seeing the contestants engage in these silent, deadly struggles. However, directly attacking another contestant would be a foul.

Huai Shi's eyebrows raised slightly. I think I get it now. Yet he said nothing and kept diligently preparing his dish.

After dealing with the squid, next up were the peppers. Huai Shi picked the Demon Peppers from America directly from the ingredients provided by the organizers—peppers so spicy they could actually kill, rumored to be cultivated by Border Variants. The ones provided by the organizers were undoubtedly top grade.

As soon as Huai Shi chopped down with his knife, his eyes started tearing up. The choking, terrifying scent spread instantaneously, almost enveloping the entire competition area and shrouding everyone in an aroma akin to burning. After a flurry of chopping, Huai Shi quickly sealed the devilish things in a bag.

Next came ginger, pepper... a bunch of intensely flavored ingredients were poured into the bowl, which suddenly turned into a miniature Hell, swirling with all kinds of unsettling colors.

The contestants nearby were dumbfounded.

Goddamn molecular gastronomy... this is molecular Sichuan cuisine, right?!

Just then, Huai Shi's vision went dark. He began to struggle to breathe, coughing violently.

A wave of sour and bitter scents surged through the air, enveloping the surroundings. All the contestants' actions came to a halt as a sense of dizziness and haziness began to creep into their consciousness.

Poison!

When Huai Shi suddenly looked up, he saw the Scarface Man smirking at him, and the thick stew bubbling in the Iron Pot before him, emitting an ominous hue. The terrifying scent, comparable to poison gas, was emanating from it. Putting aside how dreadful the stew itself was, the residual toxins alone made several contestants quickly collapse, foaming at the mouth. They were swiftly dragged away after losing the ability to compete.

In a flash, the number of participants was reduced by more than half. Only six were left.

"Sorry, the aroma might be a bit strong," the Scarface Man commented as he scooped up a spoonful of the thick soup and sniffed it carefully. He then raised his head with a mocking smile. "I hope it hasn't caused you any inconvenience?"

"Not at all, not at all," Huai Shi maintained his smile. Though it was concealed by the mask, his eyes showed neither blame nor dissatisfaction. "Later on, my dish's scent might also be quite strong... please be understanding."

Saying so, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an Injection Gun. He aimed it at his neck and pulled the trigger. In an instant, a potent Antidote was injected into his arteries, rapidly circulating throughout his body.

Watching Huai Shi's stubborn defiance, the Scarface Man snorted coldly and withdrew his gaze. Let's see how long he can last in my toxic fog.

BOOM!

In front of Raving Hunt, the stove erupted with a blaze, and countless flies flew out, dispersing into a dark cloud. Then another contestant lifted the lid of their pot, and innumerable screaming ghosts rushed out, frantically darting in every direction.

With the Scarface Man leading the way, the competition arena descended into chaos. The audience, however, shouted excitedly, loudly cheering for their favored competitors, as if they couldn't wait for someone to pull out a knife and kill a couple of rivals.

Amidst the tumultuous struggle, Huai Shi appeared to be in a world of his own. The Fire of Apocalypse flickered over his kitchen knife, slicing through approaching flies, ghosts, and phantoms. He then tossed the knife aside and focused on stirring his finely chopped spices.

Soon, he placed the evenly mixed spices on the stove. A thread of Alchemy Fire flowed silently from his fingertips, mingling with the blue flame. Then, Huai Shi dropped the kitchen knife and made a beckoning gesture.

The moment the Cross Spear materialized, Luo Xian seemed to have sensed something, looking up at Huai Shi with a slight raise in the corner of her eye. The shadow of the spear blade was hidden beneath Huai Shi's palm. From the partially materialized spear blade, droplets of sticky Dragon Blood fell, merging into the spices and silently blossoming into pure white Iris flowers.

But soon enough, the Iris flowers too were chopped up. Mixed with the other spices and stirred by Huai Shi, they gradually disappeared from sight. Only their fragrant aroma, intensified by the Alchemy Fire, spread thread by thread, stealthily seeping into the chaotic scents of the arena and diffusing outwards.

Enjoying your AoE attacks, are we? Huai Shi smiled. Now, it's my turn.

He increased the Firepower under his control, drawing out more of the floral scent from the Dragon Blood. The sweet floral aroma was so distinct amidst the countless rancid and pungent odors that when the delicate, sweet fragrance wafted to their noses, all the contestants paused for a moment. Immediately, an irresistible weariness and drowsiness washed over them.

This was especially true for the Scarface Man, whom Huai Shi was "paying special attention" to. Eighty percent of the fragrance, subtly guided by Huai Shi, drifted towards the man. He staggered, collapsing onto his stove, and began to convulse violently. Half of his face was charred by the stove fire, looking utterly hideous.

When he managed to turn his head with difficulty, he saw the pink pig-head mask smiling at him.

"Feeling unwell?" Huai Shi looked at him with concern. "Remember to see a doctor, okay?"

After the charred sores peeled off, what was revealed underneath was fair skin and a rather beautiful side profile. Realizing her disguise had shattered, she clumsily climbed up from the stove and pulled her tattered cloak over her face. Her gaze towards Huai Shi was full of coldness and rage.

"You look quite nice, Auntie," Huai Shi whistled. "Your skincare is so effective, one can't even tell you're over forty..."

CRACK!

It was unclear whether it was the sound of teeth grinding forcefully or a kitchen knife shattering.

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