Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 482 - 481: Hunting Plan

Chapter 482: Chapter 481: Hunting Plan

From the competitive event area in Zone A, Xia Yu took a taxi back to the Ookura Mountain Villa.

As soon as he entered, Xia Yu saw a heap of delivery boxes, large and small, stacked by the entrance. A maid bowed and said, "Chef Xia, these packages were just delivered by the Black Cat courier service."

"Mmm, lend a hand!"

Xia Yu called to the maid, and Eriina, who had returned with him, also stepped forward, and together they moved the packages outside Xia Yu’s bedroom, stacking them in the corridor.

"Did you buy all this stuff online?"

Eriina was surprised, but Xia Yu didn’t have the time to entertain her. He took out a box cutter and opened the packages one after the other. In no time, the floor was filled with various colors of hiking and mountain climbing equipment.

There were brand-new anoraks, one in yellow, one in green. These were essential for activities in harsh outdoor conditions, providing wind protection, waterproofing, and warmth against the cold, so even if it wasn’t autumn but the dead of winter, Xia Yu could move freely on Hokkaido’s snowy rivers wearing the anoraks.

Of course, in addition to clothes, there were canvas mountain trousers, touted to never wear out. Xia Yu had done his homework when purchasing this outdoor equipment.

Next were small pieces of equipment that could not be overlooked, such as a sharp outdoor knife, indispensable in many places, such as a lighter, an LED flashlight, a military water bottle, and a waterproof backpack.

Watching Xia Yu busy himself with organizing the outdoor equipment, Eriina was completely baffled.

"You bought so much outdoor gear, are you going to..."

"That’s right!"

Xia Yu handed over the sorted clothes to the villa maid to wash and dry, while he packed the other small items into his backpack.

Bang, he opened the bedroom door, and as Eriina followed him into the room, she saw that there was already a regional map spread out on the table in front of him. Xia Yu took out another competition schedule chart—

October 1st: Far Moon Team vs French Academy Team.

...

October 8th: Yangquan Restaurant Team vs Orlando Academy Team.

...

Starting from the 8th, after the round of 16 knockouts ends, there is a seven-day break, and on October 16th, the half-zone quarterfinal knockouts begin.

And.

The advancement route clearly marked on the schedule sheet showed that the winner of the first match on the 1st would have their quarterfinal knockout match scheduled for October 20th, which is the last match of this phase.

So, from today, the 1st, until the 20th, the Far Moon Team didn’t need to appear.

This was too long a period, and Xia Yu did not want to idle away in the villa, as continuously studying culinary arts would drive him crazy.

"It should be in this area..."

Eriina listened to Xia Yu muttering to himself, her gaze followed his movements. After examining the competition schedule chart, Xia Yu buried his head in the Map of Hokkaido’s mountainous area on the tabletop, biting the end of a pencil. He pointed at the city circles in the northeast of Hokkaido, "First to Asahikawa, then to seek out the exact location of the Chuyun Shrine. Once the shrine is found, we can roughly define the area."

With a pencil, he drew a large circle over Hokkaido’s second-largest city.

Xia Yu dragged his suitcase, which he had brought from Tokyo, from the entrance to the back.

Click!

He pushed aside the clothes, and at the very bottom of the suitcase was an old wooden box. Xia Yu picked it up and placed it on the table. When he opened the box, there was only a well-preserved Jade Ruyi and a rough hand-drawn map.

Nearly half a year had passed, and the ink on the paper had long since dried.

Islands and hills appeared abstract due to the brushwork of the painting. Xia Yu, holding the map, compared it to the detailed map of Hokkaido on the desk. After a long time, he shook his head, "Looks like I have to make an on-site inspection after all!"

With that, he put away the map, along with the wooden box, into his mountain backpack, and Xia Yu continued to immerse himself in his work.

"Explain clearly to me!"

After watching for a long while, Eriina finally lost her last bit of patience. Annoyed, she stepped forward and snatched the clothing Xia Yu was organizing, "Are you planning a long journey, a mountain climb?"

"Ever heard of a Gourmet Hunter?"

Xia Yu turned around, grinning, "I’m just planning to take a real turn as a Gourmet Hunter!"

"Oh—"

With a drawn-out intonation, Eriina eyed him with suspicion. "Just by yourself? Do you have wilderness survival skills? The wilderness is dangerous. You might as well not go. Recently, there have been severe invasions by fantasy species. Hokkaido’s primitive forests are a disaster area. The news has mentioned more than once that mountain climbing teams mysteriously disappear in the mountains, without a trace of their bones left..."

Her words were as assertive as ever, and though she wasn’t directly mocking him, her skepticism was clear.

Hearing Eriina use the news to scare him, Xia Yu couldn’t help but laugh. "Eriina, this unusual way of showing concern really isn’t for everyone."

"C-concern?"

Her cheeks instantly flushed red.

"Could you, um, return what you took from me?"

Xia Yu pointed it out.

Eriina let out a sound of surprise and, upon closer inspection, realized what she had snatched from Xia Yu’s hands was actually a pair of underwear. Her cheeks blazed even hotter, and her body wavered slightly, as if she was about to faint from embarrassment.

...

At ten o’clock at night.

The Far Moon Contest Team returned triumphantly, winning by the score Xia Yu had predicted: three to zero, a crushing victory!

The group was enjoying a leisurely post-competition late-night snack in the villa’s grand hall.

The television was on, and no matter how many channels were switched, there were immediate news broadcasts of the Far Moon Team’s victory over the France Team, particularly commenting on the first match that had everyone talking.

"Let’s stick to this channel."

Zhu Qing put down the remote as the screen showed a loop of close-ups of dishes, specifically the moment when Xia Yu presented his dish.

Xia Yu cleared his throat, set down his dessert fork, having already polished off a plate of sweets. As all eyes turned to him, he took a sip of tea and slowly said, "I will be away for some time and return on the 19th."

"Back to Tokyo?"

Dojima Yin glanced at Eriina, who was uncharacteristically silent.

"No." Xia Yu chuckled, "I guess I’m about to become a real Gourmet Hunter."

"Huh?!"

Suddenly, the looks from Zhu Qing, Dojima Yin, Tiqie Zongwei, and Roland Chapele all changed.

"Chief, remember the Chiyoda Shrine assessment? The Chiyoda gave me a map. Half a year has passed, and it’s time for me to hunt the first Fantasy Ingredient of my life," Xia Yu said.

"You haven’t gone through combat training or firearms training; you can’t go."

Dojima Yin shook his head and spoke gravely, "In the past couple of years, things haven’t been right. Food Mercenaries have been dying in droves, and the IGO has suspended the chefs’ collective training. Otherwise, you would have received IGO’s notice to report to the military camp when you passed the Chiyoda Shrine assessment."

"I can fight, and as for firearms, well, I can learn on the fly!"

Xia Yu was resolute, and nothing would change his plan.

"Fight?"

Dojima Yin stood up, "Alright then, come with me; let’s see your skills!"

Xia Yu followed Dojima Yin to the villa’s indoor dojo.

The dojo was enclosed on all sides except for the door; there were no windows. When the lights were turned on, the wooden floor slightly reflected the light.

The two took off their shoes and were left in their socks.

Dojima Yin undid his suit jacket and tossed it aside, unbuttoning a few buttons of his shirt. Xia Yu remained in his casual daytime attire.

The others gathered around the edge of the mat.

"He really knows martial arts?" Eriina, seeing the calm and composed youth facing off against Dojima Yin, said in surprise.

"Their skill levels should be at the same tier."

Zhu Qing spoke softly, "The difference is between those who have been tempered by real combat and those who haven’t..."