"A draw."
Sensing the tense atmosphere around him, Gin Dojima muttered to himself for a moment before announcing the final verdict of this match. The expressions of the onlookers changed drastically upon hearing his words.
"A draw? How can that be!"
"Although Okabe's sashimi tastes good and his use of spices is incisive and vivid, Adana utilized the deliciousness of the spices themselves to create a top-tier dish that fully displays the flavors of various ingredients on the island!"
A tall and strong man with his arms crossed over his chest spoke up. He was Sequence 37, Somei Saito, who excelled in cooking various fish dishes. At this moment, he wore an equally puzzled expression.
"I don't think so. Student Okabe is the one who utilized spices to the extreme. To construct a dish with such unique flavor using only three types of spices is extremely rare!"
Akira Hayama stood beside Somei Saito and immediately refuted him upon hearing his words. When it came to the use of spices, there was still a considerable gap between Adana and Okabe.
Okabe had truly utilized every bit of spice to the extreme, allowing them to reach the optimal solution within a single dish.
Adana, on the other hand, had prepared a secret formula in advance. Although the flavor was rich, because it was not 'adapted to local conditions,' its adaptability to the local ingredients was average, and she failed to fully display the deliciousness of the native ingredients.
At least, in front of him, a spice expert, such a combination was obviously unqualified. In other words, Adana was restricted by the curry secret formula she prepared in advance; she shouldn't have only this much strength.
Aside from Somei Saito and Akira Hayama, others also launched into intense discussions regarding the outcome between the two.
Some believed that Okabe utilized the ingredients properly, thus being slightly superior. Others believed that Adana brought secret spices, and the flavor layers of her cuisine far exceeded Okabe's.
Everyone expressed their own opinions, and no one was convinced by the other. Everyone was outputting their own viewpoints, turning the originally peaceful scene suddenly into a debating competition.
"Actually, none of you are wrong. If we talk about the final presented taste, Adana's Island Breeze Mixed Curry is undoubtedly superior."
"The coordination between the curry flavor and the bee pupae is perfect. The long stewing process allowed the bee pupae to fully absorb the rich aroma of the curry, exploding the instant one bites down."
Gin Dojima watched everything happening before him with a calm expression, listening to the debate between supporters of both sides. He only spoke up after they had tired each other out.
"Then why is it a draw?"
"Yeah, in cooking, isn't it that whoever tastes better wins the victory?"
"There wouldn't be any shady dealings, right..."
As Gin Dojima's voice fell, intense discussion erupted around him once again. The voices of Adana's supporters rose a few decibels, and the gazes they used to look at him were filled with even more doubt.
" conventionally speaking, that is the case. But we are in a residential training camp. The standard for scoring is a comprehensive judgment of 'Survival Adaptability' and 'Deliciousness'."
"Adana's cuisine is excellent. She used curry to perfectly display the flavor of the island's ingredients; this point is beyond doubt."
"But Okabe's cuisine is equally delicious, and he truly achieved the feat of displaying the characteristics of every single ingredient. This is the best interpretation of 'Survival Adaptability'."
Facing everyone's doubts, Gin Dojima looked at the two portions of cuisine on the table that he had already finished eating. Immediately, he put down the spoon in his hand and explained simply.
In other words, between Okabe and Adana, one had a dish with stronger 'Survival Adaptability,' and the other had a dish with higher 'Deliciousness.' Both possessed their own advantages.
Under these circumstances, awarding victory to either person would be unfair to the other, so Gin Dojima decided to announce that this match was a draw.
"This..."
"If we go by the assessment's judgment standards, this duel is indeed hard to call."
"However, it's really amazing! Should I say, as expected of the powerhouses in the top ten of the Sequence? In just a short afternoon, they managed to achieve this degree from scratch!"
"Who says it isn't..."
After Gin Dojima's well-founded analysis landed, the surroundings fell into a brief silence for an instant. Subsequently, everyone tacitly stopped mentioning who was strong or weak, and instead shifted to praising the strength of the two.
Humans naturally worship the strong, not to mention that the two of them had brought a wonderful duel, adding a bit of fun to this dull and tedious island life. If every day could be like now, their pressure would also be much less.
"Okabe, what do we do now?"
Hearing the final evaluation given by Gin Dojima, both teams fell into silence. Takumi Aldini looked at Okabe, a helpless expression appearing on his face.
He originally thought that serving a dish of this level would definitely defeat the opponent easily, but he didn't expect such a dramatic thing as a draw to occur.
They had agreed that whoever won tonight would obtain the usage rights to the middle section of the river, but now that both sides drew, the two teams couldn't possibly share one river, right?
Although it wasn't impossible, they had to live here for a full month. The river resources were limited and could not accommodate two teams. Rather than moving frequently later on, it was better for only one team to settle in from the start.
"Since it's a draw today, let's find a chance to compete again tomorrow. Surely, not every duel will end in a draw!"
Soma Yukihira voiced his thoughts. At this moment, a raging fire burned in his eyes; clearly, he couldn't wait to go all out. After all, he hadn't helped much in today's competition, only being responsible for roasting the Mountain Litsea dry and then crushing it into powder with a stone—menial work that anyone could do...
But he couldn't blame Okabe for leaving them out in the cold. Previously, the proposals he and Takumi made were indeed inferior to Okabe's Smoke-Fire Seared Aromatic Sashimi. They had already competed individually at the camp, and no one could win against this guy before them. The opponent's creativity was overwhelmingly strong.
"They seem to be discussing it too. Let's see what their thoughts are."
Facing Takumi and Soma Yukihira's inquiries, Okabe didn't answer immediately. Instead, he cast his gaze onto Adana and the others who were discussing not far away.
Coincidentally, the other side also stopped talking. Unknown what they discussed, Adana's expression became quite ugly. Subsequently, she grabbed Cato's ponytail and dragged him as she strode toward his direction.
In the blink of an eye, she arrived in front of him.
"Adana, I beg you, be gentle!"
"Our team doesn't need a despicable guy like you. Apologize to them for me!"
Watching this scene unfold before him, a subtle look flashed through Okabe's eyes. He didn't quite understand what the two were doing. Fortunately, Adana spoke up the next second.
"Okabe, I heard our people went to find you today? And were shouted back by you with a spear?"
"That's right. In the afternoon, this person and another tall, thin man infiltrated our camp, wanting to steal the ingredients we worked hard to obtain. Unfortunately, his luck was bad. He was discovered by me in the water in time, and subsequently, I scared him off with a stone spear."
Facing the inquiry, Okabe nodded slightly. However, a touch of surprise rose in his heart. Looking at Adana's angry appearance, it was very likely that this ponytail man had acted without her permission. Of course, the possibility of it being an act wasn't nonexistent.
But regardless, the other party had taken the initiative to admit the mistake, so there was no need for him to hold onto it relentlessly. One more friend was always better than one more enemy.
"I'll say sorry on his behalf right here. Stealing the ingredients you worked hard to obtain was not my intention. From the start, what I thought about was how to defeat you in a frontal confrontation."
As she spoke, Adana pressed Cato's head down heavily, almost making contact with the dirt. Thanks to the good flexibility of his waist, he managed to avoid kneeling on the ground.
"Admitting defeat? Could it be you failed?"
There was a bit more playfulness in Okabe's voice. He could feel that this fellow before him was sincere.
"That's right, we failed. You are stronger than I thought and qualified to occupy that fertile place."
Seeing the smile surfacing in Okabe's eyes, Adana, who was apologizing, first froze for a moment, then nodded solemnly, looking at him as she spoke seriously.
"The taste of my cuisine in this match today was better, mainly relying on the spices I carried with me. If I didn't have these spices, I'm afraid I would be inferior to you in all aspects."
Looking at Okabe, Adana's gaze was complex. She originally thought the opponent was a greenhouse flower who grew up in a 'kitchen where everything is available,' but she didn't expect him to be this strong in the wild as well.
Despite being unable to immediately find the ingredients he needed on the island, he could adapt to changes and perfectly display the deliciousness of the found ingredients. This required an extremely deep understanding of the ingredients themselves.
This youth revealing a pure smile before her must have put in effort behind the scenes that ordinary people could not imagine; otherwise, he could not reach this level.
"Sequence 1, the reputation is well-deserved."
She said a sentence in an extremely small voice, but it was still heard by Okabe.
"It's not that Sequence 1's reputation is well-deserved; I was able to succeed thanks to the team behind me. Everyone proposed some suggestions more or less. Although some weren't adopted, there were those that were. It was by pooling our wisdom that such a dish was formed."
Okabe opened his mouth to explain. Although his contribution to this dish was huge, he couldn't deny the contributions of others. It was everyone's hard work that allowed this Smoke-Fire Seared Aromatic Sashimi to achieve success.
"So that's how it is... I probably know the gap between us now. I've learned from you."
Hearing Okabe's words, Adana was stunned for a moment. The image of him defending his teammates surfaced in her mind. A look of realization appeared on her face, and subsequently, she bowed to him again. Along with her, Cato beside her hit his head on the ground once more.
"See you around, Sequence 1. I hope the next time we meet, you can serve even better cuisine. If it's a competition, I won't lose again!"
Lifting her head to look at Okabe, Adana revealed a smile from the bottom of her heart. This was the first time she smiled in front of him. Subsequently, she turned her back and waved her hand, leaving very casually.
"Is it a girl again? The opponent showed you a sincere smile, you know. Okabe-kun, you are truly an out-and-out arsonist of hearts."
Alice Nakiri was standing by Okabe's side at some unknown time, watching the departing Adana with him. Seeing that he hadn't withdrawn his gaze for a long time, she teased him.
"You guy, don't always think in that direction, okay? I think you really went to Northern Europe and got completely led astray by the people there."
Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Okabe withdrew his line of sight to look at her. Seeing her winking and making faces, he couldn't help but raise his hand and knock on her head.
"Wu, that hurts! Too much! Just because I saw no one was talking to you and came over to say a few words, you knocked on my head!"
As the knuckles landed, Alice Nakiri covered her head and squatted on the ground, shouting exaggeratedly. Instantly, she caused the few people standing beside Okabe to look over.
"Stop acting, I didn't even use force."
Looking at Alice Nakiri covering her head and shouting pain, Okabe couldn't help but sweat a little. He hadn't used any strength in that strike just now; it shouldn't hurt that much.
"No way, I want compensation for mental damage!"
Alice Nakiri covered her head, but the gaze she used to look at Okabe revealed slyness. Subsequently, she started making a scene to demand compensation.
"Fine, fine, just say what you want."
Seeing this situation, Okabe was also somewhat helpless, finally understanding her thoughts in his heart.
"I want to taste the cuisine you made just now. You guys still have extra ingredients, right? If not, it doesn't matter if I taste it tomorrow~"
Seeing Okabe compromise, Alice Nakiri very naturally lowered her hands from her head, a simple and honest, gluttonous smile appearing on her face.
She had actually set her sights on Okabe's Smoke-Fire Seared Aromatic Sashimi long ago. It was just that the atmosphere wasn't right, so she waited in place.
Now that his opponent had voluntarily admitted defeat and given the agreed territory to him, Okabe's mood was naturally good. It was exactly the perfect time for her to rip him off.
"I also want to taste it—what is special about this dish rated at 97 points."
On the other side, Erina Nakiri also walked over, her voice carrying curiosity. After the evaluation ended, Gin Dojima gave him and Adana a high score of 97.
Although it didn't reach full marks, it was currently the highest score.
Third place was the team led by Sequence 8, Davil, who obtained 94 points. Looking at it this way, their score today was actually considered relatively lower.
Tiny Tōtsuki really had hidden tigers and crouching dragons!
This was the thought in Erina Nakiri's heart.
Seeing Erina Nakiri look at him, Okabe looked in her direction. Seeing the scoreboard behind her, his name was sitting high at the top of the list.
Adana followed closely behind.
Further below were Davil and Erina Nakiri.
It was worth mentioning that the scoreboard only displayed the student with the highest sequence number in the team. In the case of identical scores, the ranking with the higher sequence number would be relatively higher.
"Is it only the few of us..."
Looking at the rankings on the list, Okabe muttered to himself.
Up to now, only three of the top ten sequences had appeared; the remaining seven hadn't come on stage yet. Although there was still some time until dinner ended, this was too slow...
"Look quickly, look quickly, I recognize him! Sequence 2, Li Yan. He brought his team back!"
"Daoist?"
"That's right. I heard he came from a very ancient Daoist temple in Huaxia. He started learning cooking at three, and mastered wok tossing and stir-frying at five. Super amazing!"
A commotion rang out in the crowd, and everyone's gazes were cast in unison toward the direction of the island entrance.
They saw a youth wearing a azure Daoist robe with his hair in a Daoist bun walking over slowly. His figure was lean, his steps light. Following behind him were three men and a young girl. One of the more robust men was holding a stone pot in his hands.
This was not a stone pot brought from a suitcase, but a crude stone pot polished from stone on the spot, containing their cuisine for today.
At the same time, several more figures arrived.
He was wearing a set of black tight-fitting clothes, looking very pretentious.
However, his appearance did not spark much discussion because he was usually very low-key at school. His teammates were all found temporarily, and almost no one had much interaction with him.
Sequence 4, Luo Gen.
The young man held a bowl of ramen in his hands. The followers behind him held the ingredients for the parts they were respectively responsible for, following behind him, preparing to assemble the ramen after it was brought to the judging panel.
____
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