Culinary Expert

Chapter 6: The Looming Threat

What exactly is going on with these ice cracks? The reward isn’t doubled—it’s increased tenfold. When Bai Xiaobai heard about this reward, he was absolutely thrilled. A tenfold reward meant that completing a beginner’s quest, which normally would have earned him just 1 experience point, would now earn him 10 experience points. Bai Xiaobai thought to himself that he’d eaten about twenty tea eggs before, yet hadn’t found a single one with an ice crack pattern. But as soon as Professor Lin peeled one, an ice crack pattern appeared. Could it have something to do with the person eating them, or does the probability of finding a “Supreme Tea Egg” with an ice crack pattern increase as his cooking skills become more proficient? Since Bai Yuanshan and Professor Lin were right there, Bai Xiaobai couldn’t talk to himself; he’d just have to find a private moment to ask the system later. Bai Yuanshan was so hungry he could’ve eaten a whole cow; he peeled open a Supreme Tea-Egg in just a few quick motions, but he wasn’t so lucky—the egg white only had ordinary brownish-red cracks, not the “Ice Crack” pattern. The tea-flavored egg gave off an incomparably delicate aroma, and Bai Yuanshan, unable to resist, took a bite. Just one bite. Bai Yuanshan’s eyes lit up. How could this tea-flavored egg taste so good? Bai Yuanshan was a rough-and-tumble guy who didn’t know how to describe the deliciousness in his mouth; he just felt it was completely different from any other tea-flavored egg. The egg white was savory and delicious; the sauce on the surface melted bit by bit on his taste buds, delivering an unprecedentedly exquisite flavor. Enclosed within the egg white was a soft, sticky, and silky yolk that melted in his mouth. Both the egg white and the yolk were exceptionally delicious. Bai Yuanshan wolfed it down, wishing he could swallow his tongue along with it. In just two bites, Bai Yuanshan had polished off an entire tea-flavored egg. “Big nephew, how on earth did you make these tea-flavored eggs? They’re so good. Get your uncle two more.” Bai Yuanshan, a burly man who didn’t sweat the small stuff, didn’t care about his image as he licked the remaining fragrant, sticky egg yolk from his lips right in front of Professor Lin. “Uncle, we just sold out—these are the last two.” Bai Xiaobai continued to lie brazenly. Knowing his uncle’s personality, if he found out there were still a few left in the pot in the glass kitchen, he’d definitely use every trick in the book to get his hands on them. “Then make a dozen or so more. I’ll pack them up to take with me later and let my brothers and friends in the business try some.” His uncle had a wide network of contacts, and Bai Xiaobai really wanted to make a few more right away—who knows, it might just help him make a name for himself in the antique world. But now that the system wouldn’t allow takeout, it was a total bummer. “Uncle, maybe next time. I just ran out of ingredients and haven’t restocked yet,” Bai Xiaobai continued to string his uncle along, without even batting an eye. In reality, the system continuously supplied the ingredients for the Supreme Tea-Eggs, so there was absolutely no shortage of ingredients. Bai Yuanshan couldn’t help but complain again, “Hey, nephew, what’s going on? It’s one thing that the store’s stock is low, but how come you haven’t even stocked up on ingredients?” Since there were no ingredients to make them, Bai Yuanshan had no choice but to give up, no matter how much he wanted to eat them. Professor Lin, standing nearby, wasn’t a foodie. Although he found the tea eggs incredibly fragrant, from a professional and artistic perspective, he had to preserve the “Ice Crack” Supreme Tea Eggs he was holding. Bai Xiaobai, on the other hand, didn’t care—they’d already been sold. The 100 yuan was now safely in his account. What he was more concerned about now was how many of the remaining tea eggs in the glass kitchen still had the “ice crack” pattern. If they were all “ice crack” patterns, would the system go crazy and multiply the reward by twenty, or would Xiaobai’s level jump straight to Da Bai’s level? Just thinking about it got him excited. On another note, just as Bai Xiaobai was fantasizing about a massive surge in experience points on the other side, Bai Yuanshan, taking advantage of Professor Lin’s good mood, immediately brought up the difficult task of antique appraisal that he’d been too shy to mention before. Professor Lin, in high spirits, agreed on the spot. After finishing the tea eggs, Bai Yuanshan didn’t linger long; no matter how delicious they were, they wouldn’t fill his stomach. He had to find another restaurant to treat Professor Lin to lunch. Before leaving, Bai Yuanshan pulled out a crisp 100-yuan bill, patted Bai Xiaobai on the shoulder, and said, “Little nephew, you really helped your uncle out today. Next time, I’ll bring some of my brothers from the trade to support your tea eggs. By the way, yesterday was your birthday, but Uncle was too busy to make it back. I’m heading to YN tomorrow, but when I come back in a few months, I’ll get you a piece of raw jade to make up for the birthday gift. “Uncle, make sure to get a really big piece of that jade rough.” “You little rascal, when have I ever shortchanged you?” Bai Yuanshan laughed, flashing a row of white teeth. He then took Professor Lin with him, closed the door of the black car, and sped off in a flash. His uncle had always been a mystery, popping up and disappearing at the drop of a hat. For the past two years, he’d been shuttling between HN and YN—who knew what kind of antique business he was running? Bai Xiaobai had long since gotten used to it. After watching Bai Yuanshan drive away, Bai Xiaobai’s mind was still on the ten-fold experience bonus, so he quickly asked the System. “System, what’s the probability of a ‘Supreme Ice-Crack Pattern Tea Egg’ appearing?” System text appeared: The probability of an “Ice Crack Pattern” Supreme Tea Egg appearing is one in ten thousand. As the Host’s abilities improve, the probability will increase slightly. “One in ten thousand?” Bai Xiaobai was genuinely floored by how low that probability was. He knew exactly what this meant. If he sold thirty Supreme Tea Eggs every day, it would still take nearly a whole year for an Ice Crack pattern to appear just once. Getting one today was a massive stroke of luck—his ancestors must have burned some really good incense. Bai Xiaobai didn’t dare to hope that another Ice Crack pattern would appear anytime soon. The key issue now was the progress of the newbie quest. After all, the tenfold reward bonus for the Ice Crack was contingent on completing the newbie quest. If the newbie quest wasn’t completed on time, the tenfold reward would go down the drain. “By the way, System, what happens if I fail the newbie quest?” Bai Xiaobai suddenly asked. Although he was confident he could complete the newbie quest, what if—just what if—he slipped up? What terrible consequences would follow if he failed to complete it within the specified time? The System’s cold, electronic voice paused for quite a while before responding. [If the beginner’s quest fails, the Host will face corresponding penalties. ] Bai Xiaobai felt a chill run down his spine. “What kind of penalties?” [The System is keeping this confidential for now and cannot disclose it publicly. Host, please do your best to complete the quest. ] Bai Xiaobai counted on his fingers: the deadline for the newbie quest was 8:00 a. m. the day after tomorrow. Subtracting the time spent sleeping at night, there wasn’t actually much time left to make sales. There were only two items left to sell. It was still quite a challenge. The newbie quest was harder than he’d imagined. After his uncle, Bai Yuanshan, left, peace returned to Bai Xiaobai’s shop. It was now a little past 4:00 p. m. This was a slow period in the restaurant industry, and there were practically no customers in the shop. Normally, Bai Xiaobai would be washing and chopping vegetables to prepare ingredients for dinner, but since she wasn’t selling any other dishes right now, she actually had some free time. Just as Bai Xiaobai was idly playing an airplane game in the shop… On the third floor of the Manko Building, 1,111 meters away from Bai Xiaobai’s shop, in the finance department of Tian Teng Company. After finishing her work, Li Lili was browsing the local online forum as usual when she was drawn in by the title of a post. “Exorbitantly priced tea eggs—fifty each. What do you all think?” The post had already been upvoted over 5,000 times, making it the undisputed hot topic on the local forum. Li Lili moved her mouse, clicking through the replies on each page. “Exorbitantly priced tea eggs—50 per egg. What do you all think? Such brazen deception of consumers—I’d say you’d better get ready to shut down for good.” A barely perceptible smile played at the corner of Li Lili’s mouth. After browsing the thread, she closed the tab. In addition to being the head of the marketing department at Tian Teng Company, Li Lili held another identity in private—she was the deputy leader of the online group “Black Strike.” “Black Strike” was a voluntary online group, somewhat akin to amateur journalists, dedicated to providing free services to consumers. Whenever consumers faced illegal harm from unscrupulous merchants, the group would assign members—depending on the severity of the case—to investigate and gather evidence. They would then deal a devastating blow to these unscrupulous merchants, hence the name “Black Strike.” “Black Strike” has numerous members spanning all professional backgrounds. As the group’s deputy leader, Li Lili rarely takes action herself. However, any unscrupulous business she personally targets has, to date, met the same fate: every single one has shut down within a week of her paying a visit. No one knows just how powerful her connections really are. Given this woman’s formidable combat prowess, “Black Strike” members have secretly nicknamed her “Master Exterminator.” It was 6:30 p. m. , and the sweltering heat was gradually subsiding. After Bai Xiaobai moved the “Supreme Tea Eggs”—which had been “escaping the heat” in the kitchen—back to the doorway, she took out the chilled watermelon from the fridge and began eating it with relish. As expected, nothing beats eating icy watermelon to beat the summer heat; Bai Xiaobai’s mouth was full of cool, sweet watermelon juice. Halfway through the watermelon, a digital voice sounded in her head. [Ding-dong, System Reminder: A wave of killing intent is approaching] Killing intent? System, what the heck are you playing at? Bai Xiaobai nearly choked on the large chunk of watermelon he had in his mouth.