Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 559 - 558: The ’Do Not Use’ Dish

Chapter 559: Chapter 558: The ’Do Not Use’ Dish

"Demon... has been satisfied!"

Tiqie Ji’s heart still thrummed with residual fear.

He lifted his bared right arm, the skin an unhealthy pallor, bloodless, like the limb of a corpse hanging in a morgue.

Quietly setting down his left-hand suitcase, Tiqie Ji opened it, took out an intact black overcoat to cover his right arm, and found a new leather glove to put on. Only then did he visibly breathe a sigh of relief, his gaze complexly fixed on his right arm.

"It hasn’t come out in a long time!"

Tiqie Ji said.

"Can you be more specific about demonization?" Xia Yu asked curiously, looking at him.

Tiqie Ji’s transformation just now was frightening. He suddenly remembered that he, too, had awakened Gourmet Cells and wondered if he might lose control and rampage like Tiqie Ji one day.

Thinking of Ghost Father’s arm that swelled like the corpora cavernosa, transforming into a serpent-like Qilin limb, sent a chill down Xia Yu’s spine.

"You have Gourmet Cells and you don’t know what the so-called ’Demon’ is?"

Tiqie Ji was astonished.

Zhu Qing walked over: "For those with Gourmet Cells, this thing is a tool for cooking, but also a demon lurking within!"

"I know that!"

Xia Yu laughed, "You need to use it as well as fight against it."

"Rumor has it, losing control of Gourmet Cells will devour the host... is this what demonization is?"

"What causes Gourmet Cells to lose control then?"

Upon hearing this,

Tiqie Ji casually said, "It’s the situation just now. Your dish contained an overly rich, active Gourmet Cells. When I ate it, the cells inside my body felt a threat of being destroyed, so they awoke..."

"Why do you say that it was satisfied?"

Ghost Father’s eyes held complexity.

"Because, your dish posed a threat to it, yet it allowed the Demon to become stronger!"

"The Food Dominator Lin Chef strengthens the cells within by eating, which in reality is also cultivating that terrifying demon..." Ghost Father chuckled lowly, "Every time the Demon awakes, every time it’s satisfied, it means an increase in strength!"

Having said that,

Tiqie Ji clenched his right fist tightly.

"It has indeed become stronger!" There was a trace of joy in his voice, as well as fear. Overwhelmingly powerful Gourmet Cells were not good news for the Food Dominator Lin Chef. Especially when the strength of the Gourmet Cells surpassed one’s rank, it meant a dramatic increase in the risk of loss of control, or ’demonization’.

Turning his head to meet the unfamiliar eyes of Eriina, Tiqie Ji’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression became cold.

"It is me!"

"Even if it leads to demonization, it is still me!"

Murmuring to himself, Tiqie Ji’s gaze was resolute: "In order to become stronger, I will not give up my Gourmet Cells!"

Tiqie Ji picked up his suitcase and stepped out of the kitchen. He paused at the doorway,

"Does this fried rice have a name?"

"Uh, I haven’t really thought of a name for this impromptu dish..."

"I’ll give you two words then!"

"Not necessary!"

Leaving a cryptic evaluation behind, Tiqie Ji quickly left the villa.

At the villa’s gate, in the street beyond the surrounding wall, in a dark corner where no street lights shone, plop, Tiqie Ji suddenly fell to his knees and sat on the ground, taking in deep breaths of fresh air.

"To think it could willingly awaken the demon inside of me!"

His entire body broke out in cold sweat. The wind blew, and the middle-aged man shivered, his face drained of the composure seen inside the villa, filled with unspeakable fear.

"Why!"

"Gem Meat," "Five-headed Bird Egg"... They’re clearly not my Resonance Ingredients, so why could they awaken the demon inside me and satisfy it, making it stronger?!"

Hand propped on the ground, Tiqie Ji mumbled disconsolately.

"No!"

"I must report to my superiors!"

After a long pause without a clue, Tiqie Ji clenched his teeth, took out his phone, and scrolled through his contacts. His gaze skipped over the number of his immediate superior, Lei Zhe, and fixated on the secretary of the Gourmet Society’s leader. His expression changed several times as the image of his angelic daughter flashed through his mind. Then, with a sigh, he put his phone back into his coat pocket.

He knew what would happen to that young man if he reported up.

That kind of dish could potentially shatter the common knowledge of the Gourmet Society chefs, revolutionize the power system, and cause a storm in the Dark Food World.

After all, bridging the ’Resonance Bridge’ and enhancing the foreign gourmet cells (Demon) in such an unfathomable way was something Tiqie Ji never dared to imagine before.

Slowly standing up and looking back at the villa in the light, Tiqie Ji said, "Wait for me to return!"

...

Not to be used?

As Tiqie Ji left, everyone crowded around the cooking counter.

"He ate it all up!"

The pot was empty, not even a single grain of rice left.

Zhu Qing cradled a porcelain bowl while savoring the last half-bowl of fried rice, smacking his lips and attracting envious and jealous looks from everyone.

"Instructor Xia, come with us—"

Dojima Yin patted the young chef on the shoulder, snapping the deep-in-thought young chef back to reality.

Saito Chiyokuro wore a serious expression.

The three walked out of the kitchen to have a conversation in another soundproof room.

After closing the door, Dojima Yin asked, "Instructor Xia, what do you think of your own dish?"

Unexpectedly, Xia Yu spread his hands and said, "I’ve classified it as a Food Tyrant Forbidden Dish. Because during the cooking process, I didn’t imbue the dish with any Chef’s Heart Mark. It’s very pure!"

"What about the grade?" Dojima Yin gazed intently at him.

"Probably... the standard of a special-grade Forbidden Ingredient..."

The tone was not quite certain.

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro exchanged speechless looks.

"Do you think a special-grade Forbidden Dish could be insufficient to cause Tiqie Ji’s ’Demonization’?"

"Although I’m not a Food Tyrant Chef, I spent some time in the United States and worked with many Food Tyrant Chefs in the kitchens of luxury hotels. Therefore, I’m quite familiar with this group. According to accurate intelligence, Tiqie Ji’s gourmet cell strength is A; to put it simply, a special-grade Forbidden Dish shouldn’t be able to cause his cells to go out of control!" Saito Chiyokuro slowly said.

"Ah!"

Xia Yu was surprised himself.

"Could it be of Lin Chef level?"

"Who knows..." Dojima Yin shrugged, "unless a Food Dominator Lin Chef personally tastes and appraises it."

Xia Yu’s heart thumped.

Could it be that the Golden Frame Burst Flame caused some kind of transformation in the Forbidden Ingredients?

The fried rice that night was indeed improvisational; he had never had any recipe drafts before and decided on a whim to use ’Gem Meat’ and ’Five-headed Bird Egg’ for practice. The result was astonishing.

"We asked you to come here to caution you: do not casually cook similar dishes and serve them to Food Tyrant Chefs," Dojima Yin said.

"Oh?"

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow.

"This could bring danger upon you!" Saito Chiyokuro added, without going into detail.

Danger?

Thinking of Tiqie Ji’s parting words and the seemingly cryptic warning of ’not to be used,’ Xia Yu vaguely understood something.

Every time the Demon awakened, it was accompanied by a rise in cellular strength.

Doesn’t that mean...

Thump!

His heart skipped a beat, and Xia Yu dared not think any further, murmuring to himself, "It really is frightening! What if the Gourmet Society people find out and they capture me, forcing me to cook every day?!"

"Right!"

With a sudden slap of his hand, Xia Yu, half laughing and half crying, said:

"I haven’t even tasted my own dish!"