CHAPTER 586: CHAPTER 585: THE GRAND FINALE OF THE SPECIAL CHEF COMPETITION

The dish presented by Li Quan was Flame Potstickers.

And unexpectedly, Kogawa Shinyiro ultimately served up a plate of pan-fried dumplings.

Including the first round’s Chinese fried noodles, the second round’s Jianbing Guozi, and this round’s snacks, the Sapporo finals unexpectedly revolved around Chinese cuisine, leaving the event organizers’ emotions probably quite complicated at this moment.

"Let’s go—"

After the two chefs presented their dishes, and before the judging began, a competing team got up and left from the guest area.

The camera panned over.

These people, in the frame, were all draped in black Crane Robes with Qilin patterns, these traditional ancient-style coats, resembling a conspicuous team uniform.

There were seven people, the same number as the White Jade Building Team, five special chefs, and two Lin Giants.

Dojima Yin looked at the TV screen with trepidation.

"That is the Eight-faced Tower Team!"

Staring at the unremarkable-looking leader among them, Dojima Yin said, "This man is Lin Miao, the head of the Five Mysterious Snakes, and in the assessment of Shinyiro and myself, he is in no way inferior to Li Quan."

"If the Eight-faced Building Owner hadn’t withdrawn from the competition, the group B finals would definitely have been a difficult and intense battle."

Xia Yu was also curiously observing this group.

Without a doubt, the ’Eight-faced Tower Team’ essentially represented the Chinese Dark World.

Outside the Chinese circle, the so-called Dark Chefs are actually a group of people who use Forbidden Ingredients and food cells for illegitimate activities, with the ’Food Dominator’ being one of them. However, compared to some extreme organizations, the internationally somewhat reputable ’Food Dominator’ can be said to save face, otherwise, the event organizers would not let their team compete.

But the Dark Chefs from Mainland China are a different story altogether compared to those infamously evil chefs internationally.

Put simply, one group is heart-driven and idealistic, while the other relies on ingredients and power to destroy.

Over the years, the Chinese Dark World has not been stagnant.

As Zhu Qing mentioned, in previous years, Mainland China also experienced a craze for Food Dominator Chefs, giving rise to many outstanding figures. However, those who rode the tide too arrogantly incurred the wrath of the top boss and met with deadly disasters, causing their slowly gathering power to crumble. It’s undeniable, though, that from the past to the present, schools of the Food Dominators existed in Mainland China, only they became more low-key.

To be honest, if given the chance, Xia Yu wouldn’t mind crossing swords with the Dark Chefs from Mainland China, to learn a thing or two.

He had a strong premonition.

The challenge, in the form of a courtesy, was coming soon.

Xia Yu was already contemplating which recipes to use to greet the Dark World.

After all, when it came down to it, he had many aspects that belonged to the Dark World.

Culinary skills, kitchenware.

And many ancient recipes branded with his personal touch.

...

The third round of judging was underway.

The Eight-faced Tower Team had withdrawn early.

The two Lin Giants from the White Jade Building Team, Lan Chuhai and Xue Feichen, exchanged glances, both feeling helpless.

"Li Quan, this stubborn bull!"

Xue Feichen cursed under his breath, "We warned him repeatedly before it started not to use ’Bursting Flame’, to avoid attracting too much attention! Yet, he insisted on serving a dish with flame at its core, isn’t that just asking for trouble?"

Lan Chuhai sighed and looked toward the judging panel.

At that moment, Li Quan was eagerly watching the five judges who had just tasted his ’Flame Potstickers.’

But Li Quan’s heart was slowly sinking.

The judges remained impassive, their faces revealing no emotion, even after biting into a large portion of the potstickers.

Li Han stopped playing the mobile game, looked up, and his eyes showed deep complexity.

"Wiped out completely... lost indeed!"

He clenched his fists, a surge of unwillingness flashed in his eyes, but thinking of that lonely and high-minded ’meaning’, he swallowed his fear. When he looked at his uncle again, his eyes were full of admiration and emotion.

"Uncle Quan, I’m truly impressed with you!"

He shouted loudly and gave a thumbs-up to the head chef onstage.

Hearing this, Li Quan looked over, with only bitterness on his face.

Li Han understood the multitude of emotions within that bitter expression.

This wasn’t a private contest, but an international competition stage. The Li uncle and nephew both stepped up and were defeated on the ’Bursting Flame’ dish. At this point, the Chinese Cuisine World was probably stirring a storm.

In any case, it seemed that the Li Family gains from the Sapporo competition would only be negative energy.

"No way!"

"Completely lacking the power to move me!"

"Not enough! The flame isn’t enough!"

The five judges successively put down their chopsticks.

"Then, try my pan-fried dumplings—" Saito Chiyokuro stepped forward.

This man, in international competitions, still wore that tight black tank top, not a chef’s uniform, just draped with a large apron, his long red hair lending him a mature charm.

"Pan-fried dumplings?"

With her hand propping up her cheek, Andrea looked listless, the very image of a late-stage anorexia patient. Her cold gaze swept to Saito Chiyokuro’s pan-fried dumplings, her words equally frosty, "If it’s another dish that heavily relies on ’fire’ for cooking, using ’fire’ as the soul of the dish, I might as well not eat it. I’ll abstain from voting on this one!"

IGO research authority Luther was using a white handkerchief to wipe the grease from his lips, apparently also unwilling to taste.

Hearing this, the chefs in the audience who understood the meaning behind Andrea’s words all had complex expressions on their faces.

Indeed!

After the ’Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles’ set the bar high, the path was blocked, and any subsequent dishes centered around ’flame’ were doomed to plummet into an abyss.

"Eat and all will be revealed!"

Saito Chiyokuro said flatly.

"Then... let’s have a taste!"

Adelaide picked up the chopsticks and grabbed a pan-fried dumpling.

Flame Potstickers, pan-fried dumplings, though both are skin-wrapped fillings, they significantly differ in appearance and cooking methods.

After sniffing the aroma, Adelaide’s eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth to swallow the delicate dumpling whole!

"Gag!"

She jolted suddenly, causing the table and chairs to rattle.

The audience stared, dumbfounded, at the British young man who clutched his throat as if he were a drowning victim at death’s door, all wearing faces of sheer bewilderment.

Coughing, retching!

But Adelaide clenched the dumpling in her mouth tightly; even though her face swelled to a purple hue and her hands gripped her throat as if she couldn’t breathe, she continued to chew, saliva uncontrollably dripping like raindrops!

"He, he, he—"

Finally, swallowing the food, Adelaide appeared to lose all strength, collapsing limply into the chair.

Witnessing this scene.

"I’ll try it too!"

Chief Judge Kogawa Shinyiro also picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth.

Boom!

Despite being mentally prepared, Kogawa Shinyiro was still shocked, jumping to his feet like he’d encountered a snake, his chopsticks falling to the floor.

"Shu-, Shura!"

With cold sweat on his forehead, Kogawa Shinyiro called out unconsciously.

Sta, who had somehow also popped a dumpling into his mouth, pressed down firmly with his palm to keep his metal mask from falling off his face, and said in a low tone, "It’s like a hand has burst through my stomach, pierced my esophagus, and reached into my mouth, forcefully prying it open... an irresistible force!"

Hiss!

All that talk of solitary nobility, of an emperor above all others in the world of gourmet memories, was shattered by a devilish hand, veins bulging, with a single punch!

The sealed appetite was suddenly ripped wide open.

"Rough, direct essence of food!"

"’Shura’..."

"Is this your culinary aesthetic?"

Quickly, the five judges regained their composure, all staring at Saito Chiyokuro with dread.

"My apologies for the roughness—"

The man known as Shura just smiled faintly.

Seeing this, Dojima Yin back backstage slapped his thigh.

"This guy, he’s really challenging you!"

He glanced at Xia Yu and said, "Chiyokuro actually hates his own aesthetic. If he didn’t, allowing it to run wild, he would have become a Lin Chef by now instead of the half-baked figure he is today."

"To face you across the void, he’s finally laid all his cards on the table. You should feel proud, kid!"