Chapter 7

"There's something wrong with this Lingxi Five Poultry Soup!"

The broth was rich and fragrant, almost perfect in taste.

But... something felt off.

The selection of ingredients, the knife skills, the seasonings, and the heat control were all top-notch. What could possibly be wrong?

Unable to contain his curiosity, Zhang Wei widened the gap in the pot lid and peered inside with the weak light of a kerosene lamp.

He took several sips, savoring the flavors in his mind.

"It's the proportions!"

Zhang Wei looked at the Soul of Soup with a shocked expression.

"How could a chef of such caliber make such a basic mistake!"

A complex dish is not about following a recipe to the letter.

The ingredients are not always the same, such as the five rare birds used this time.

Their gender, weight, and fat content vary.

Vegetables also differ in terms of rainfall, soil fertility, sunlight duration, and harvest time.

Every individual is unique.

Even within the same species, there are subtle differences.

"In the past four days, the Soul of Soup seems to have never tasted the soup in the pot."

"His confident demeanor suggests he has prepared this soup many times..."

"Is it carelessness... or has he never paid attention to this aspect?"

"Not only tasting, but even the seasonings are strictly measured..."

The recipe calls for three grams of salt, and he measures it with a measuring cup, like a chemistry experiment.

Doing so will always keep him an outsider.

Culinary skills must be applied flexibly!

"What a pity, such top-notch ingredients cannot be transformed into a perfect dish! It's such a waste, these ingredients have spirits, they would cry, wouldn't they?"

"This soup... might still be salvageable."

Thinking this, Zhang Wei's instinct as a chef could no longer be suppressed.

Having been in this world for over two months, he hadn't cooked a single dish.

It was like a smoker quitting, a gambler cutting off his hand, or a netizen losing internet access—painful. The thought of the soup still having room for improvement made Zhang Wei unable to control himself.

He rummaged through the kitchen, tasting over a hundred seasonings one by one.

"The red salt, somewhat similar to Himalayan rock salt..."

"This flavor should be cane sugar..."

"Honey... can't tell the variety, some kind of tree honey."

"Nutmeg, black cardamom..."

"The fragrance of tangerine peel powder..."

"Cough, cough, cough... Damn, what a spicy mustard!"

...

...

Apart from salt, sugar, and vinegar, the other seasonings were vastly different from those in his previous life, or rather, completely different.

Zhang Wei could only categorize them based on their taste characteristics and calculate the effects of adding them.

"Damn, it's impossible to familiarize myself with over a hundred seasonings and immediately use them to their full potential in just six hours!"

With a determined heart, Zhang Wei flipped his hand and stored all the seasonings in the Hall of Treasures!

The time flow inside and outside the hall was ten times faster, more than enough.

...

...

The Soul of Soup suddenly woke up, checking his pocket watch.

"It's already been six hours! Damn... still, it's all right, no delay."

"This damn assistant almost messed up my work!"

The Soul of Soup stormed over to the soup pot. At this moment, Zhang Wei had collapsed on the ground, with fresh blood trickling down!

The kitchen looked as if it had been ransacked, with all the bottles and jars disappearing.

The Soul of Soup was startled, avoiding Zhang Wei and rushing to the Lingxi Five Poultry Soup.

"Phew~ Thank goodness, my soup is fine."

"Huh, everything else was stolen, but only my soup is safe?"

Although he was relieved, something still felt off.

The Soul of Soup called the guards while completing the final steps of reducing the heat.

Finally, he remembered Zhang Wei on the ground.

"He's still breathing! He can be saved!"

Soon, a burly man with a commanding presence entered the room, greeted by many guards.

"Salutations, Lord Wu Yong!"

"What's the situation?"

The Soul of Soup quickly explained: "This morning, I woke up to find the kitchen ransacked, and my assistant was injured, his condition unknown!"

Wu Yong was puzzled: "A theft inside the Ice Plateau?"

Ordinary people from the Ice Plateau couldn't reach the upper levels, and the upper-level leaders had status and wouldn't resort to theft.

Besides, the soup was for the enjoyment of the upper levels, so why would they steal it?

"Wait, the soup is fine?"

"Exactly."

Wu Yong was shocked; the most precious thing in the kitchen was the Lingxi Five Poultry Soup... how could it be fine?

Could it be...

"Poisoned?"

The Soul of Soup let out a mournful cry, scooping a spoonful of soup and swallowing it with a face full of anger and sorrow.

Clang...

The spoon fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

"Quick, save him, induce vomiting! You guys, hurry and call a doctor!"

Wu Yong inwardly cursed, is the soup maker's brain not working?

"Everyone, stop!"

The Soul of Soup stopped everyone, his expression extremely conflicted.

Anger... confusion... shame...

"My soup... is fine, quickly serve it to the returning ministers. I heard some of them are severely injured; this soup can help them recover."

"This..."

The Soul of Soup continued: "Lord Wu, don't publicize this. I will replenish the lost seasonings and ingredients, and you can act as if nothing happened."

Since the Soul of Soup said so, Wu Yong couldn't publicize it.

Even Zhang Wei, who had just regained consciousness, was warned by the Soul of Soup and promised a substantial confidentiality fee.

The medical staff clearly didn't want to waste time on a common laborer, so they gave Zhang Wei some cheap medicine and sent him away.

Ice Plateau Core Area

A huge dining table was set with an abundance of food, and the actual rulers of the Ice Plateau were all present.

Above their heads was the food display window—the Century Ice Pillar.

The weakest, the Personnel Management Minister Odin and the Resource Distribution Minister Roger, sat at the end of the table.

The Security Minister Wu Yong was seated in the front row.

Above the eight ministers were four Food Investigators, mainly responsible for leading teams to capture rare animals. Two Regenerators, two Nutritionists, and the strongest President—Xifeng.

At this moment, everyone except Wu Yong, Odin, and Roger was injured.

Clearly, the target of this hunt was so strong that the entire association had to mobilize.

"Thank you all for your hard work. Fortunately, there were no casualties."

"President Xifeng, please start the meal... the injured can't hold on much longer." Despite the scratches, everyone still had the spirit to joke.

Xifeng, unconcerned, smiled and said: "I won't waste words. To reward you, I specially asked the Soul of Soup to prepare his signature dish."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they exclaimed excitedly: "Lingxi Five Poultry Soup?"

"I've heard of it, but it's hard to come by."

"I was fortunate to taste it once; the flavor is truly rare."

"Ha, our association has explored many dangerous places in the human world and enjoyed countless rare ingredients, yet we still look so poor."

"Ah, after all, the soul of cooking is the chef; having ingredients alone is not enough."

Security Minister Wu Yong said: "Hehe, President Xifeng and Master Soul of Soup have known each other for many years; I'm sure you've had your share."

Xifeng proudly said: "Of course, the ingredients for the Lingxi Five Poultry Soup are extremely rare. Without me, how could he gather them? Since I put in the effort, how could I not get my share of the soup?"

"Here it comes, here it comes!"

Under the expectant gazes of everyone, a large sand pot was pushed in.

Beneath the pot, a small flame from an alcohol gel kept it warm even under the Century Ice Pillar.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

The intense aroma made their stomachs growl one after another.