After successfully dismantling the Silver Lion Armor and extracting the soft-bodied creatures hidden within its crevices, the mystery of how the animated armor moved was finally solved.
However, compared to that, Bai Mo was far more curious about how the animated armor would taste.
These soft-bodied creatures looked remarkably similar to oysters.
Within just a few minutes, Bai Mo had already come up with three or four different recipes in his head.
Meanwhile, Lai Ousi, who had long been eager to taste the animated armor, happily waved the two leg greaves he was holding—
"Hey, hey, Senxi, Bai, even though we can't eat the armor itself, these soft-bodied creatures are definitely edible!"
Before Bai Mo could respond, Maruxier, who had been silently listening, finally couldn't hold back anymore: "Hah?! How can you just casually decide to eat something so unknown and dubious?!"
"Don't worry, don't worry, Maruxier," Lai Ousi said dismissively. "All food was once unknown before someone tried it. We need to be adventurous!"
"Exactly!" Bai Mo agreed. "After all, who knows how the first person to eat crabs ever got the idea?"
"I also think these creatures are worth trying to cook," Senxi nodded. "Indeed, maybe I can make a soup with detoxifying herbs and spices. Or perhaps stir-fry them? Grilling might work too!"
"Then, Senxi, you handle the soup, stir-fry, and steaming—I'll take care of the grilling. I've got a few ideas for that!"
"Nooo!" Maruxier threw the gauntlet she was holding onto the ground. "What if these things are poisonous?! We'll die, won't we?!"
"Maruxier, generally speaking, creatures with thick shells like these aren't poisonous," Lai Ousi said, now fully immersed in his monster-gourmet enthusiasm. "And didn't Senxi say he'd cook them with detoxifying herbs? It'll be fine!"
Seeing that reasoning with Lai Ousi was hopeless, Maruxier turned to the others for help—only to find Senxi already preparing to start cooking, while Baili was busy dismantling the animated armor.
"Don't look at me!" Qierchake shrugged helplessly. "None of us know how to cook, and besides, isn't there someone willing to taste-test first?"
"...That's actually a fair point." Maruxier finally calmed down.
In this team, three members were already willing to eat monsters.
Qierchake didn't care either, as long as it wasn't poisonous.
It seemed like she was the only one still stubbornly refusing to eat monsters.
But when she thought about it—from the first time they had Walking Mushroom-boiled Giant Scorpion—hadn't she eaten quite a lot of monster dishes already?
...Come to think of it, she really didn't have any grounds to oppose Lai Ousi and the others anymore.
With that realization, Maruxier sat down in a daze, clutching her staff.
There was no going back. Everything was beyond saving now...
Bai Mo, unaware of Maruxier's inner turmoil, had already finished dissecting the Silver Lion Armor and discovered that the soft-bodied creatures inside varied in size.
The larger ones were about the size of two fingers, while the smaller ones were barely the length of a knuckle.
This meant they needed to be sorted.
He selected five of the largest "armor-oysters"—since these oyster-like creatures came from armor, calling them "Armor-Oysters" seemed fitting. It wasn't like they were some kind of "Armor Emperors," after all.
Five big ones would be grilled directly. He prepared a garlic sauce and spooned it generously over them—Dish One: Garlic-Grilled Armor-Oysters.
For the second dish, he picked medium-sized Armor-Oysters, removed the meat, and blanched them briefly in boiling water.
Then, he mixed a dipping sauce with chili peppers, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, and wasabi, squeezing in half a lemon before tossing in the blanched oyster meat.
Dish Two: Dressed Armor-Oysters—done!
The third dish used eggs from the Snake-Tailed Chicken, flour, salt, pepper, and water to make a batter. The larger Armor-Oysters were coated in the batter and deep-fried slowly in olive oil obtained from the trap zone earlier.
Dish Three: Crispy Fried Armor-Oysters—complete!
Finally, for the fourth dish, he picked out thumb-sized Armor-Oysters, drained them, and mixed them with a spoonful of flour.
After rinsing off the impurities, he drained them again and added another spoonful of flour (tapioca starch would have been better, but Bai Mo didn't have any).
Then, he sprinkled in white pepper, a few drops of fish sauce, a pinch of chicken bouillon, and some salt.
After mixing thoroughly, he added chopped scallions and stirred again.
He heated a pan with lard (preferred over vegetable or olive oil for its richness) and poured in the Armor-Oyster mixture, frying it over high heat.
Once the edges began to crisp, he drizzled beaten Snake-Tailed Chicken eggs around the sides.
He repeatedly ladled hot oil over the top, flipping it once the oysters were half-cooked and continuing to fry until golden brown.
Dish Four: Modified Chaoshan-Style Oyster Omelette—done!
The smell alone was enough to make any nearby child drool.
Bai Mo instinctively glanced at Maruxier, who was visibly swallowing hard.
Originally, he had wanted to make a fifth dish—Butter-Pan-Fried Armor-Oysters—but he had run out of ingredients.
Between Bai Mo's four dishes and Senxi's three, they had nearly exhausted all the Armor-Oysters from the Silver Lion Armor.
Thus, Bai Mo had no choice but to save his ideas for next time.
Now, laid out before the group were six different dishes—each with its own distinct cooking method: pan-fried, stir-fried, boiled, deep-fried, grilled, stewed, and steamed.
The rich aromas in the air made Lai Ousi involuntarily gulp.
"So... which one should we try first?"
"You can start with my grilled Armor-Oysters—they're best eaten hot. Then try my oyster omelette, which also needs to be eaten fresh!"
Following Bai Mo's suggestion, Lai Ousi eagerly picked up a garlic-grilled Armor-Oyster.
As he did, Maruxier and the other two watched intently.
After all, someone had to be the taste-tester—and who better than Lai Ousi, who had dreamed of eating animated armor for so long?
Not that Lai Ousi minded.
After inhaling the fragrant aroma of garlic and chili, he popped the entire thing into his mouth.
"Mmm—hot, but delicious! The garlic and chili blend perfectly with the Armor-Oyster's natural umami. It's amazing!"
"And the texture is so tender, with a light, unique fragrance. Is that their natural flavor? So good!"
After finishing the garlic-grilled version, Lai Ousi then cut a piece of the oyster omelette and took a bite.
Crisp!
The satisfying crunch echoed in his mouth.
"Incredible! The batter is crispy, the outside golden and the inside tender, creating a perfect contrast with the softness of the Armor-Oysters. It absorbs all the savory juices, making every bite rich and flavorful. This is even better than just grilling!"
"Wait—" Lai Ousi grabbed the leftover garlic-chili sauce from the grilled oysters and slathered it onto his omelette before taking another bite.
"Mmm~! This is even better!"
"I might prefer stronger flavors, but this is absolutely perfect!"
Watching Lai Ousi devour the dishes with gusto, Maruxier—who had been hesitating—found herself swallowing hard again.
Before she knew it, her hand had already reached for the oyster omelette.
There was no turning back now.
----------
T/N:
Access 30 chapters in advance on my Patreon:patreon.com/multiversalfeast [Images Included]
You'll also get 5 extra chapters just for being a free member!