"Everyone, this is the conference room where we usually hold our meetings. All our shareholders are already present."
Caenis gestured toward a pair of double doors.
Aventurine and Jade exchanged a glance before Aventurine asked in a carefree, almost provocative tone, "All the shareholders are inside? They're not just some nobodies without actual shares filling seats, right?"
"Please rest assured—you are all distinguished guests. The shareholders' meeting is at full attendance!"
Hearing this, Sunday and the other three exchanged subtle looks.
"Wait a moment!" Sunday suddenly clutched his stomach, his face contorted in discomfort. "Sorry… sorry, I suddenly feel unwell."
His acting was quite convincing—clearly in pain, yet his eyes still carried a stubborn resolve.
Jade asked with concern from the side, "Did you skip breakfast? Is that why your stomach is acting up?"
"Probably. I didn't sleep at all last night preparing for today's contract discussions, and this morning I only had a cup of coffee." Sunday struggled to keep his pained expression under control.
The moment "coffee" was mentioned, Jade, Aventurine, and Topaz snapped to attention and asked in unison, "It wasn't Himeko's coffee, was it?"
Sunday didn't reply—just silently nodded.
Inside Aventurine's mind, ten thousand alpacas stampeded.
As expected of Hoyoverse's boldest man—no wonder his acting felt so real. He went all-in and outplayed fate by half a move!
In the eyes of Jade and the other two, Sunday's image instantly grew much taller… much taller.
Jade sighed helplessly. "Since you drank Himeko's coffee, I think I'd better take you to the hospital to get your stomach pumped. Otherwise, this could turn fatal."
Seeing this, Caenis panicked slightly. After all, she knew the two great legends of Hoyoverse Interactive City.
One: Never casually visit Hoyoverse—you'll get eaten.
Two: Never drink coffee at a Himeko café—you might die!
The most critical issue: did this mean the deal was falling through?
With all the hotel executives present, if something happened now, she'd have a hard time explaining it.
At that moment, Caenis's mind raced. "Mr. Sunday needs medical attention. How about I personally escort Mr. Sunday to get checked out first? The three of you can proceed with discussions with the shareholders?"
Jade shook her head. "That won't do. You're also a board member. If you're absent, the share percentage might not be sufficient, and the contract could fail."
"Don't worry—I only hold 30%. It won't affect your proceedings at all."
Jade still looked slightly conflicted. "But…"
Sunday saw through her hesitation and spoke up. "It's fine. I've already fully authorized Topaz. She can represent me."
"Exactly, don't worry." Aventurine jumped in, turning to Sunday. "Just go get checked out in peace. The three of us will handle everything."
"Mm…" Sweat already covered Sunday's forehead. With a resolute gaze, he looked at the three as if saying: Tell Su Chen—I'm the boldest man in Hoyoverse!
Finally, with Caenis supporting him, Sunday left the area.
Once the two were gone, Jade, Aventurine, and Topaz exchanged wicked smiles.
"Let's go. Time to do what we do best."
——
The sun set, and night fell.
On a brightly lit ship along the riverbank—the venue for the God of Cooking Competition—lights still blazed.
At this moment, Kiana curiously looked around, gripping the rope in her hand. "Acheron-neesan, look—there are so many people here!"
A white rope was tied around Acheron's wrist, with the other end secured to Kiana's wrist.
With so many people around and the risk of getting separated, Su Chen had instructed Kiana to find a way to keep Acheron from wandering off.
Right now, Su Chen genuinely had no time to deal with such trivial matters.
"It really is beautiful. It gives off a strangely familiar feeling."
"Have you been here before, Acheron-neesan?"
"Maybe I have."
"Ki-bao!" Hyacine, dressed in a sailor uniform with white thigh-highs, came running over to the two.
"Hyacine! Why are you here?" Kiana happily grabbed Hyacine's hand.
After several days of constant interaction, the two had built a deep revolutionary friendship.
"Ms. Aglaea asked me to come meet you. By the way, Su Chen didn't come with you?"
"The boss went who-knows-where. He was just here a minute ago—said he was going to look for some 'shrunken Elysia.' Whatever. He won't get lost."
"Shrunken Elysia?" Hyacine scratched her head. She felt like she'd heard Teacher Na mention something like that before—but what did "shrunken" mean?
"Alright! Hyacine, hurry and take us around some more."
"Mm—but Ki-bao, why did you say 'us'?" Hyacine blinked at Kiana.
Kiana gave a helpless smile. "Haven't you noticed Acheron-neesan standing right next to me?"
Hyacine shook her head. "Nope."
"Sigh, how is that possible? Look!" Kiana raised her right hand—but the white rope was gone.
She looked at her wrist, then all around. The next moment, she clutched her head and screamed, "Aaaahhh!!!! Acheron-neesan got lost again!!"
——
In the contestants' preparation area.
Su Chen looked at the three participants. "Have you decided who will be the head chef?"
Phainon thought for a moment. "I think Castorice should be head chef, Mydei sous-chef. I'll just handle prep and chopping for them."
"Deliverer, that's not your line. You should be sous-chef. I wouldn't trust you with chopping anyway." Mydei leaned against the wall and spoke slowly.
"I don't think I'm suited to be head chef." Castorice glanced at her gloved hands. "It should be Phainon."
"Here's what we'll do. There's a preliminary round and a final. Decide among yourselves. Only you truly know your own strengths." Su Chen turned to Phainon. "Anaxagoras had a message for you."
"Me?" Phainon pointed at himself.
Su Chen nodded and stepped outside. Phainon followed closely.
"Partner, go ahead—what did Teacher Anaxagoras say to me?"
Su Chen paused, choosing his words carefully. "After eating your egg fried rice that day, he told me to tell you: your egg fried rice passes. You may now try learning other dishes."
"Huh?" A spark lit up in Phainon's eyes. "Really? He actually said that? But why are you only telling me now?"
"Because there was a second half. His evaluation was: it merely passes."
Phainon let out a quiet sigh. "As expected… Getting his praise is still too difficult."
"But honestly, I don't think there's any issue. I once heard a saying that really stuck with me. Want to hear it?"
"Mm-hmm, tell me, partner."
"Master even the simplest technique to perfection, and it becomes an ultimate move. Just like your egg fried rice—only knowing one thing isn't your weakness; it's your strength. I believe no one in the world understands egg fried rice better than you.
I've always believed the most expensive things are free, and the hardest things are the simplest."
Su Chen patted Phainon's shoulder. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. We don't believe in you because you're the Deliverer —we believe you are the Deliverer because we believe in you!"
"But what if you just happen to believe… and I just happen not to be?"
"Then believe next time."
With that, Su Chen didn't wait for Phainon's reply and walked away from the preparation area without looking back.
Phainon stood alone, stunned in place.
...
"Ring ring ring…"
Su Chen picked up his phone. "Nicole, what's up?"
Nicole's voice came through the receiver. "Boss, we've picked up Sister Kallen. Can we go eat a feast now?"
Su Chen didn't hesitate. "Not yet. Not everyone's here. I'm sending you four locations. Pick up Silver Wolf from the arcade, Kafka from the coat shop, and Blade from the repair shop."
"Huh? Won't that overload us?"
"Then figure something out—like buying a bus or something."
"Got it, Boss~ Anby, head to Auto City. We're swapping vehicles first."
——
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Representatives from various hotels and restaurants had already arrived at the front desk and were ready.
At this moment, Owlbert—wearing a snowy owl headpiece—took the stage.
"Welcome everyone to the new season of the God of Cooking Competition! Here, we will select the most outstanding chef from among the finest hotels to claim the title of God of Cooking!"
"Now please give a round of applause for our judges!
First—Veritas Ratio, actor of Dr. Ratio in the Honkai: Star Rail web drama, university professor with 52 academic degrees—one of which is in culinary arts! Applause please!"
Ratio walked to the front expressionlessly, gave a slight bow, and took his seat at the judges' table.
"Next—please welcome our second judge: teacher from Arbor Court Academy, Mr. A… A… Anaxa… sagoras! Not only is he proficient in management and alchemy, but he also possesses profound expertise in culinary arts."
Anaxagoras gave a cold snort toward the audience and sat beside Ratio.
Finally, the third judge. Owlbert glanced at the introduction card and spoke with clear disdain. "As for the third—Random Passerby, just take your seat."
"Hey! I'm me! I was the God of Cooking last season—aren't you even going to introduce my name, Tang Niu?"
A round, pot-bellied man waddled to the front, ready to argue with Owlbert.
"Foolish."
Ratio and Anaxagoras spoke in perfect unison.
Suddenly the two glanced at each other.
Out of courtesy, Ratio spoke first. "I am Veritas Ratio—a mere ordinary man."
"I am Anaxagoras—utterly bored, forced to taste the cuisine of ordinary men."
Ratio smiled without showing teeth, staring straight at Anaxagoras.
Anaxagoras paid it no mind. "I was referring to the frantic chefs down there—and the pot-bellied man shameless enough to sit at the same table as me, Tang Niu."
"But I distinctly heard you imply that I should be included among them."
"Actually, what I meant was…" Anaxagoras paused for thought. "How about you go down and cook something yourself? I'll score you."
"Have you ever seen a judge personally cook?"
"You're about to."
Ratio and Anaxagoras both curved their lips in unison, staring at each other without another word.
Just then.
Tang Niu squeezed onto the judges' bench. "Move over, let me squeeze in, squeeze in."
He kept shifting, gradually compressing the already limited space between Ratio and Anaxagoras.
"Enough, enough—finally enough room for me to sit."
"Mr. Tang, the judges' table was preset with five seats. Yet with your arrival, the two of us suddenly feel cramped. Do you see the problem?" Anaxagoras asked with furrowed brows.
"What problem?"
"Sigh… I told you—sometimes I still have to explain to fools what foolishness is. What's the point of telling him?" Ratio added from the side.
"Oh?" Anaxagoras turned to Ratio. "So Professor Ratio, how would you instruct him? Just call him a filthy stupid pig outright? But that would insult the name of pigs."
"You only need to prove that pigs are smarter than him."
...
Down in the audience.
Hyacine stared wide-eyed at the judges' table. "Wow—what are Teacher Anaxagoras and Professor Ratio doing?"
"They seem to be at odds, yet they're clearly insulting someone through each other. The pity is—the target doesn't even realize it." Aglaea sighed helplessly.
Hyacine nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Kiana—who looked completely unbothered beside her. "Ki-bao, did you find Acheron-neesan? How come you don't seem worried at all?"
"It's fine." Kiana curved her lips into a confident smile. "I just called the boss. He said it's okay if she gets lost. Sometimes the harder you look, the less you find. If you relax, she might just show up on her own.
So the boss told me to chill and do whatever."
"You're way too relaxed. Aren't you worried something might happen to Acheron-neesan?"
"Acheron-neesan is super strong. Honestly, I'm more worried about whoever runs into her."
"Oh… so that's how it is?"
Suddenly, Owlbert's voice rang from the stage again. "The God of Cooking Competition—officially begins!"
——
At the same time.
Su Chen wandered alone through the ship's corridors.
Suddenly, at a corner, a familiar figure appeared—holding the fully articulated 3D-printed Earthbeast toy.
"I finished your thing. Why did you ask me to meet here?"
"Jane, thanks for your hard work." Su Chen took the Earthbeast and examined it closely. "The details are great. The coloring is perfect too. I asked to meet here because I'm waiting for someone."
Jane gave him a knowing, experienced look. "I see. So the person you're waiting for isn't me? Then who is it?"
"Maybe the one waiting… is me, right?♪"