After securing tableware she was satisfied with, Yun Luohe started doing trial runs of the dishes she would present tomorrow.She had to taste them herself first. After all, she had scarcely made any of these before; not only did she not know exactly how they would taste, she also wasn’t clear on what special effects some of them might trigger.@ All the best reads are on Jinjiang Literature CityAfter a night of tweaks, Yun Luohe finally settled on a rough menu.Come morning on Day 25, Yun Luohe, as usual, led the Spider Legion to sweep the insect surge.[The Chef’s Master Tournament finals are about to begin. Contestants, please proceed to the reef’s edge and await the yacht…][Today’s Chef’s Master Tournament will be publicly livestreamed. Players can watch the competition via the stream, and each player will have one chance to place a guess. Correct guesses will receive a random materials reward.]…The notice repeated three times. Yun Luohe halted and hurriedly checked her backpack to make sure every ingredient was packed.She hadn’t expected a new gameplay wrinkle for the finals.Opening the light-screen, she saw she also had one bidding chance.The bidding channel wasn’t open yet. When it did, she would bid—on herself.At 10:30, Yun Luohe boarded the yacht.The finals venue had been carefully set up on the open-view upper deck. Three open kitchen stations fanned out in an arc.Five judges sat at the panel—Peach, Vivira, Captain Hilco, Old Xu, and Liya were already in their seats.The theme for the finals was “The Taste of Happiness.” The rules were simple, which only makes it harder to execute well.Time limit: three hours. Each of the three contestants must prepare one dish per judge—five dishes total—that best embodies “happiness” while matching each judge’s personal preferences.This was the first time Yun Luohe had met the other two contestants; everyone sized each other up.Zhao Chujian was a man in his thirties with fair skin and not particularly tall.Lu Lian looked quite young, twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a healthy flaxen tan and a very good figure.After the match started, every player could ask each judge one question unrelated to cooking.The time used for questioning counted against the three-hour limit.Once Yun Luohe finished her questions, she hurried back to her station to begin prepping ingredients.The other two were still questioning.She simply started first.Yun Luohe planned to present her first dish to Captain Hilco.He was, after all, her first prospective resident.Giving him first honors was only proper, and besides, the dish for Captain Hilco was most suitable to begin with.She drew from her Portable Preservation Ring the massive Bluefin tuna she had stored a moment ago.The live Bluefin still twitched when she brought it out.Gasps rippled through the onlookers.Viewers watching the stream burst into praise.“Damn, she’s breaking down the fish live? That thing is huge.”“Whoa! A gold-quality king fish! Bluefin tuna!”“Yun Luohe’s coming in hot. I’m tempted to bet on her to win.”“Chill—match just started. It’s only one fish. No need to call it so early.”Zhao Chujian was clearly rattled by the spectacle, but he quickly recovered, turned toward the judges, and, to Peach—the last judge he hadn’t asked—offered a smile: “What’s the most unforgettable taste from your childhood?”Once he got the answer, he sprinted back to his station and began cooking.Lu Lian glanced at the orchids embroidered on the hem of Vivira’s skirt, then, thoughtful, asked: “Which flower is your favorite?”—On Yun Luohe’s side, she had already started on the tuna.Gripping a custom obsidian long knife, she rode the grain of the belly, first taking off the fattiest otoro and slicing it into 3-centimeter thin slices.The fat marbling on each slice was perfectly even. She cut the chutoro into fine strips,marinated it with her own rice wine, and hacked the fish head and bones into large chunks to throw into a stockpot that had just come to a boil.She added shrimp shells, clams, garlic leaves, and scallions to the broth.Only then did Zhao Chujian finally begin.He chose a high-grade beef and pan-seared it in the cooking pot Peach had gifted him.Lu Lian opened with dessert.She mixed osmanthus honey into rice flour, kneaded it to a smooth dough, pressed orchid shapes with a mold, wrapped them in lotus leaves, and set them into the steamer.By the time Lu Lian brought her dessert to Peach, Yun Luohe had finished the dish for Captain Hilco.She took out the prepared service ware.The otoro sashimi sat on a black plate scattered with speckles like ink splatter, setting off the color of the fish; mint leaves, lemon wedges, and a dab of wasabi nestled alongside.She torched the chutoro, then rolled it into flower rosettes, glazed it with sauce, and plated it on a matching plate.The fish-head broth went into a covered soup tureen.Three courses.“Opening with a big move, huh?”“Doing a fish in three ways is fine, but if even one component falls short, points get docked. Though——if she nails all three, that could score sky high.”“Only if all three land does it really showcase her level.”Chat in the live channel surged nonstop.Yun Luohe set the plates before Captain Hilco and briefly explained the order of tasting—sashimi first, then soup, then the seared middle belly.Hilco had been itching to dig in; the moment he saw that fish he got excited, and now he just wanted to grab the chopsticks and start.“Alright then, let me try.”He picked up a slice of sashimi, touched it to wasabi, swept it once through soy sauce, and the moment it hit his tongue, his eyes lit up.“Delicious—like the fat is blooming across my tongue.”He didn’t stop until he’d had three slices.He ladled a bowl from the tureen. The milky broth breathed a rich aroma.…Meanwhile, Zhao Chujian was plating a “gold-brick abalone in reduction” for Old Xu, wrapping the abalone in gold leaf and flooding it with thick abalone jus; the plate itself was gemstone—pure extravagance.But Old Xu frowned, seeming not to care for it.Seeing this, Yun Luohe accelerated the dish for Old Xu.She brushed charcoal-grilled ribs with durian-honey sweet-potato purée. The ribs were cut into even bite-sized pieces, a half durian-honey sweet potato roasted to dripping sat beside them, and the pedestal hoisting the meat was made of chocolate—a volcano of molten chocolate.The heavy flavors layered together into a surprising harmony. Each ingredient’s character stood distinct without clashing—an intensely rich mouthfeel. One bite and juices burst; the “lava” base pressed them back down; the sweet potato’s sweetness perfectly rounded the chocolate’s bitterness, while the chocolate kept the sweet potato from cloying—each propping the other up.“Master Xu, this dish is called Volcanic Charcoal-Grilled Ribs.”“Mhm. It eats heavy.”The words weren’t exactly glowing—But Yun Luohe saw Old Xu’s favorability tick upward. Where his bar had been hollow, some color filled in.Lu Lian’s dish for Old Xu was mushroom stew with stone-ear, using a fungus with a distinct mineral note.Flakes of stone-ear, looking like little rocks, drifted in the soup.Old Xu sipped once and said nothing.With half the time gone, Yun Luohe started on Vivira’s dish.She used golden lotus root and several rare honeys she’d collected, including the new nectar from yesterday, soaked with Moonlight Dew. After simmering the lotus slices, she tinted them a pale pink.For the filling she set a carefully tuned, transparent osmanthus-honey gel, then strewn a few edible petals.The dish didn’t just look dreamlike; the taste was clean, carrying a delicate floral fragrance.Vivira’s eyes sparkled the moment she saw it.After a bite, her favorability jumped by a lot.Satisfied, Yun Luohe returned to her station.Half an hour later, she slid cocoa red-bean puffs into the oven.The pastry wrapped three layers of filling: an outer layer of red-bean paste, a middle of crisp cocoa shards, and, at the core, a lava custard cooked down from coconut-crab roe.It was a new formula she’d devised yesterday.When they came out, she set the puffs on a pretty dessert plate and filigreed caramel sauce into patterns.Peach loved sweets and had eaten her way through every kind of dessert under the sun, but Yun Luohe was confident this one would absolutely wow her.There was a chance it could tank, of course—maybe Peach loved pure sweetness and nothing else.But in this puff, sweetness braided with cocoa’s slight bitterness; as it went down, a mellow finish unfolded, followed by a lick of savory-sweet.Watching Peach expectantly, she saw her pick one up, sniff it, and, at the bite, the lava custard spilled.“Mmm! What a distinctive taste—fun.”Peach ate one, thought a moment, then tried another.Zhao Chujian followed with his dish for Peach: a golden bird’s-nest tart crowned with three tiers of cream and smothered in sugar pearls.Peach took one bite and exclaimed, “So sweet—so good.”Live channel:“Hard to tell! Which dessert does Peach like more?”“Seems like Zhao Chujian’s, but she only took one bite—she ate two of Yun Luohe’s.”“I’m betting Zhao Chujian—looks like he’s got the edge!”“I believe in Yun Luohe. She’s placed first every time. She won’t let me down now!”“Same—Yun Luohe yyds! I’m picking Yun Luohe and not changing.”—After returning the plate to her station, the soup for Liya was ready. When she’d chatted with Liya just now, she’d asked about her recent sleep and traded a few words, catching the herbal scent on her.So she decisively chose medicinal mushroom chicken soup.She stewed matsutake and morels with an old hen, and added herbs grown by Si Qi.The broth was clear and bright, the aroma soothing; she served it in a celadon bowl.Liya lifted a spoonful—herbs’ bitterness completely tempered by the mushrooms’ umami, leaving a gentle sweetness in its wake.She paused ever so slightly, then slowly finished the bowl and smiled. “This will calm the mind and replenish qi. You were thoughtful.”Favorability shot up—by a lot!Looks like she’d called it right, Yun Luohe thought.At the three-hour mark, the judges began scoring.No discussion required—each judge simply scored each contestant’s food.The system would then average their scores, and the highest total would take the championship.Scoring didn’t take long.So the system announced results almost immediately; no suspense, no games.No sooner had the time elapsed than Peach proclaimed: “The champion is Yun Luohe.”Peach raised the trophy and walked to Yun Luohe. “Your food gave me new inspiration. Dessert isn’t necessarily about chasing sweetness. The best dishes surprise you, make you want to keep eating, and fill you with satisfaction.”System chimes rang one after another.[Congratulations to player Yun Luohe for winning the Chef’s Master Tournament finals. Rewards: Meteorite-Core Wok (Legendary cookware); Top-Tier Ingredients Pack; Cooking skill proficiency +2000; complete S-grade Chef’s Master Tournament cookbook; Peach Favorability +20.]All five judges rose together.Captain Hilco: “There’s still some tuna left, isn’t there? Save me some. I’ll pay top price to trade for it.”Yun Luohe smiled. “No problem. I can cook it for you personally, if you like.”Captain Hilco: “Hahahaha! Deal—see you tomorrow.”Old Xu: “Not bad. Next time, I can forge you a weapon that suits you.”Yun Luohe, delighted: “Great. I’ll get the materials ready.”Old Xu nodded, satisfied.Peach ran up to Yun Luohe. “That puff—I want more. Let’s workshop desserts together next time!!”Yun Luohe: “Sure! You’re welcome on my island anytime.”Vivira: “If you need any honey next time, come to me. I’ve got quite a stash put away.”Liya: “These are a few medicinal herbs—consider it a return gift. Thank you for the dish. I should sleep very well tonight.”…Back on Leisure Cloud Isle, Yun Luohe checked her mail. Her self-bet reward had arrived:A bag of bear-shaped cookies.Her chat kept pinging—friends flooding in to congratulate her on taking first place.District 2’s chat channel boiled over.“My bidding reward was one big steamed bun. Anyone luck out worse than me?”“Mine was actually good—Buddha Jumps Over the Wall!”“I got a seafood platter!”“Bottom line: Yun Luohe brought glory to District 2 again—so爽! Pretty sure our whole D2 guessed right, yeah?”“Hahaha of course. Who wouldn’t bet on Yun Luohe? She’s the light of District 2!”“Did she just say ‘my island’? Did her reef upgrade so it’s an island now?”“I heard after Level 9 the reef becomes an island. Looks like that’s true.”“Seems so. We need to hurry up and level.”“Why do I feel like Yun Luohe and Captain Hilco have a great rapport? When Hilco came to me he was all scowls—zero friendly.”By evening, Captain Hilco’s house was finished.Yun Luohe inspected it—no issues. All that remained was tomorrow’s walkthrough with Hilco.She pulled out the rewards to view their details.[Legendary cookware: forged from the core of an extraterrestrial meteor.Special effects: heats evenly and extremely fast, instantly sealing in moisture and umami. Even delicate leafy greens won’t discolor easily when stir-fried in the wok.Innate Stardust Purification removes residual impurities or minor toxins from ingredients and can process mutated ingredients.Innate wok-hei imbues dishes with a warming, heart-comforting quality.][Top-Tier Ingredients Pack: contains five ultra-rare ingredients, each with a unique attribute.][Complete S-grade Chef’s Master Tournament Cookbook: includes every S-grade-quality recipe from the entire tournament.]These rewards were indeed excellent—especially the favorability gains with five NPCs via the match. That was the key—laying a foundation to draw even more NPCs to settle on her island.Right now, Yun Luohe ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) only wanted a good night’s rest—and to greet tomorrow.

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