Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 558 - 557: The World Is Vast and I Want to See It (Part 2)

Chapter 558: Chapter 557: The World Is Vast and I Want to See It (Part 2)

"Is this a top-notch fried rice, different from ’Gold and Jade’?"

Tiqie Eriina looked at the rice on the spoon, a hint of flame flickering in her eyes.

Without much inspection, she opened her mouth and ate a spoonful.

This time, with Zhu Qing’s high-energy warning, Eriina was mentally prepared, but the moment the rice entered her mouth, her tongue felt as if it had stretched into the mouth of a volcano, and the terrifying heat instantly swept through her entire body via the ’Divine Tongue’.

"Boom"

Her scalp exploded.

There was no pain because Eriina was already swaying, her mind hazily transported to a magnificent Flame World she was familiar with.

The boy had told her more than once about the power of flame.

"Roar—"

With the roar of a dragon, Eriina looked up, a smile in her eyes.

There was a familiar Red Dragon in the sky, flapping its flesh wings, its body wrapped in flames that seemed to burn the void, its scales the color of fire, delicately scattered across its form.

In the distance, a great volcano was awakening, erupting.

Volcanic ash made the sky hazy, with fine rocks occasionally falling to the ground.

Walking barefoot on the scorching volcanic ground, her white feet stepped on each stone. The sensation of burning was there, but Eriina felt no pain, instead, her eyes showed enjoyment.

Like a pilgrim, she climbed the mountain trail and stopped at the edge of the volcano’s mouth.

Suddenly, a bridge of flame formed over the volcano’s mouth, stretching high and far, extending from one end to the other in the sky, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed to span the magnificent world. The girl stood on the bridge, taking in the world’s scenery.

After a while.

Opening her moist eyes, Eriina stared blankly at the boy.

"The world of cooking is vast and spectacular, isn’t it?" the boy said. This was his response to Eriina, just like before, he depicted a fantasy world to the girl through food.

"Yes, it is vast and spectacular indeed!"

Eriina looked down, then suddenly raised her head and said, "But won’t it be lonely to walk on the bridge alone, admiring the scenery?"

Xia Yu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Then let’s go together, as companions."

"Mhm."

A soft nasal sound.

Companions, huh? Not as a teacher. The girl’s mood inexplicably soared. She took her bowl and turned her back to taste the fried rice in a corner of the kitchen.

Sen Tian Makoto also swallowed the fried rice and woke up.

In that magnificent world woven by flames, she too was a walker on the bridge, but her pace was a step behind Eriina’s, which is why, back in reality, Sen Tian Makoto had a look of frustration and unwillingness on her face.

"Ah, I’ve been surpassed again without realizing it! I will catch up to you very soon!"

She muttered to herself.

"Yu, you’ll be waiting for us somewhere on the bridge, right?" Sen Tian Makoto suddenly asked.

Xia Yu shrugged and said, "At a conservative estimate, I’ll still be here for half a year. In that half year, you’ll need to catch up."

Another girl left with her bowl.

"Help yourselves."

Xia Yu stepped back, pointing to the bowls and spoons on the kitchen counter.

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro stepped forward.

The friends and family had all dispersed, and finally, it was the turn of Tang Yuqiong and Tiqie Ji, the two visitors.

Tang Yuqiong said with a complex expression, "How come I feel that in just a week, you’ve become even more formidable!"

"Try it first," Xia Yu smiled, "take as much as you like. However, this hospitality isn’t without cost. In return, later you’ll have to have a proper talk with me about Li Han."

"Li Han, huh? Indeed, he’s a formidable opponent you must be careful of," Tang Yuqiong said.

Tang Yuqiong stepped back.

Xia Yu faced Tiqie Ji.

"A fried rice that rivals ’Gold and Jade’?" Tiqie Ji looked at the rice in the pan.

"In my opinion, it can compete," Xia Yu said, "Gold and Jade represents ’Food Justice’ and ’Food Dominator’ too, which makes it seem mixed. But the fried rice now is very pure!"

"Pure?" Tiqie Ji’s gaze intensified.

"Yes, the purity that remains after being scorched by flames. Actually, I’m most looking forward to your reaction," Xia Yu said with a smile appearing on his lips.

Tiqie Ji was silent, taking a clean bowl and spoon herself and scooped up some rice.

"In terms of appearance, ’Gold and Jade’ wins!"

Casting a cool glance at the grains of rice scooped up, Tiqie Ji commented, "However, even without one of the main ingredients, ’Stellar Rice’, using ordinary rice and still achieving such appearance, you should be quite proud of yourself."

After speaking, she swallowed the rice in one gulp.

Crack!

The spoon hit the ground and shattered, as Tiqie Ji’s entire pale face suddenly showed bulging veins.

"What’s going on..."

The rice felt like a ball of fire entering the mouth, but that was not the only problem—the egg coating and meat dices in the fried rice seemingly came to life in an instant, and under the control of a mysterious will, Tiqie Ji’s eyes widened to see a five-headed bird no bigger than a Pikachu and a mammoth beast with long fangs, both giving him a ferocious stare and charging towards him. The background turned into a desolate world.

Whoosh—

In an instant, the five-headed bird and the mammoth beast shattered in the flames.

Just as Tiqie Ji was about to sigh with relief.

Suddenly, the veins on his face spread to his arms, and the middle-aged man propped his hands on the countertop, panting heavily.

"Ah! No!"

Tiqie Ji cried out in panic.

With a "pop," the leather black glove on his right hand burst open, and his entire right arm swelled as if it were an engorged sponge, quickly becoming as thick as a thigh.

His hand was even more horrifying, as big as a fan with veins on it twisting like little snakes.

At the same time, the man’s hair began to grow longer.

"What’s going on!"

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro were horrified.

Other family and friends also watched in shock at Ghost Father’s transformation from not too far away.

Tiqie Helinai covered her mouth, her eyes showing strangeness, she couldn’t recognize her father who had transformed so drastically.

"Stay away from him—"

At the entrance, Zhu Qing propped herself on the door frame and gasped as she shouted.

Seemingly also aware of the reason behind Tiqie Ji’s transformation, Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro’s expressions changed significantly, pulling everyone else back.

But Xia Yu remained standing still.

The husky, heavy breathing was clearly audible in the kitchen.

Amidst the wildly growing black hair, a pair of terrifyingly greedy eyes appeared.

The swollen right arm was raised high up.

"Eat it!"

The young man suddenly said, "No one is competing with you; it’s all yours!"

"All, all mine?!"

The evil voice softened a bit, clearly more attracted to the food. In a flash, the thick serpentine arm reached out to the pot of rice, disregarding the young man.

Drip, drip—

Drops of water sprinkled onto the countertop.

That was saliva dripping from some mouth.

From Xia Yu’s angle, he could just make out a snake’s mouth on the fan-sized black hand, its fangs gleaming coldly.

"Is this Tiqie Ji’s ’Demon Hand’?" Xia Yu’s face shook; this was the first time he had seen someone else’s ’Gourmet Cell’ form.

Swallowing sound!

A potful of fried rice just disappeared into the snake-bodied right arm.

"Gurgle~"

A satisfied sigh.

"I am very satisfied!"

It sounded like Tiqie Ji was speaking, but the pitch was too eerie, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.

After speaking, Tiqie Ji’s hair returned to normal, and that engorged right arm quickly shrank, soon hanging at his side like the arm of a normal person, the shirt and coat sleeves ripped into shreds.

Thump, thump, thump...

The very first moment he came to his senses, Tiqie Ji stared at Xia Yu in fright and staggered back, but in his panic, he fell to the ground with a thump.

"You, you actually awakened my Gourmet Demon!" he said incredulously.

"Hm, Gourmet Demon?"

Xia Yu’s eyes flashed, "Isn’t that just your Gourmet Cell form?"

"Don’t joke around!"

Tiqie Ji roared with a contorted face: "The Gourmet Cell form is me controlling my own body, but just now, my body was taken over by another will, that was demonization!"

Amidst the roaring, Ghost Father’s forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"I almost couldn’t come back!"

He said with lingering fear, then his gaze swept over the now-empty pot on the countertop, and with a shocked look in his eyes, he added: "Fortunately, you satisfied the other me!"