Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Time passed, and the day of the Super Chef Examination drew closer.

On the day before the examination, Haruto arrived at Yangquan Restaurant early in the morning as usual.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Mao and Meili talking with an unfamiliar young woman.

Her features bore a noticeable resemblance to Mao’s, while her eyes carried a gentle warmth. She was Liu Keling, Mao’s older sister, who had traveled all the way from Sichuan.

When Mao saw Haruto approaching, he immediately pulled him over and introduced the two of them.

"Haruto-san, this is my sister, Liu Keling! Sis, this is Haruto-san, the chef I’ve been telling you about. He’s incredibly good!"

"Nice to meet you. I’m Haruto."

Haruto greeted her with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too. I’m Mao’s older sister. He’s mentioned you before, and I’ve heard you’ve been looking after him quite a bit lately. Thank you."

Keling smiled in return, though she could not help studying Haruto with some curiosity.

She had not expected the astonishing chef Mao kept talking about to be so young.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Haruto started toward the kitchen.

Then, after only a couple of steps, he suddenly remembered something and stopped.

His eyes swept across Yangquan’s rear courtyard.

It was spacious, with flowers and greenery planted throughout the corners. Several large flower beds were overflowing with lush plants.

Haruto changed direction and walked toward one of them.

Sure enough, half-hidden among the plants was a black stone.

He reached down and picked it up.

The stone was surprisingly heavy. Its surface felt smooth and almost warm beneath his fingers rather than carrying the cold hardness of ordinary rock, and its texture was distinctly unusual.

Haruto scraped off a tiny amount of powder with his fingernail and touched it to his tongue.

As expected, the alkaline flavor was mild and rounded, without the harsh bitterness of ordinary cooking alkali. There was even a faint sweetness lingering afterward.

Once swallowed, it left behind the slightest trace of a grassy, herbal aroma.

Haruto examined the stone with considerable curiosity.

It was actually composed of penghui ash, a naturally alkaline material traditionally used in noodle making.

Ordinary alkaline water could never achieve what this particular stone could. Just a few drops of water boiled from it were enough to give dough extraordinary toughness and elasticity without requiring any additional water.

The alkaline solution produced by this penghui stone was simply on a completely different level from ordinary culinary alkali.

Still, considering that it was something Master Pai had left behind—and that this world had no shortage of extraordinary culinary materials—Haruto could accept that it possessed unusual properties.

"Huh? Isn’t that the rock I threw away yesterday?"

Meili noticed what he was holding and walked over with a puzzled expression, tilting her head as she looked at the black stone in Haruto’s hand.

The penghui stone had been inside one of Keling’s bags when she arrived the previous day.

Since it was so heavy, Meili had assumed it was useless and tossed it into the flower bed.

Haruto turned toward her, his expression unusually serious.

"Meili, this isn’t just some ordinary rock. It’s actually something very valuable."

"Huh? That black thing?"

Meili stared at the completely unremarkable stone.

"What could you possibly use it for?"

No matter how she looked at it, it still seemed like nothing more than a useless lump of rock.

Mao and Keling had also come over by then.

The moment Mao saw what Haruto was holding, realization immediately dawned on him.

"That stone is really useful!"

"If you boil it in water, the alkaline water it produces can be added to dough. It makes noodles incredibly springy and chewy."

"My mom used to prepare alkaline water from it whenever she made noodles."

Meili looked from Mao to the black stone in Haruto’s hand, still finding the idea difficult to believe.

Something that looked that ordinary could actually be used to make noodles?

Even so, she trusted Mao.

She stuck out her tongue sheepishly and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Mao! I thought it was just some useless rock, so I tossed it into the flower bed without thinking..."

"It’s fine, it’s fine."

Mao scratched his head with a relieved smile.

"At least it didn’t actually get thrown away."

He was a little exasperated, but the important thing was that they had recovered it.

Meili suddenly turned toward Haruto.

"Wait, Haruto-san. How did you know the stone was over there?"

Haruto had not even been at Yangquan when she threw it into the flower bed.

"This?"

Haruto gave a vague smile.

"Call it a chef’s instinct for ingredients."

He offered no further explanation.

Fortunately, nobody pressed him on it.

The group chatted as they headed into the kitchen together.

Once inside, Mao brought over a hammer and split the penghui stone cleanly in half.

Then he picked up one half and held it out to Haruto.

"Haruto-san, you can have this."

Haruto looked at the half-stone in Mao’s hands and smiled.

This was something Master Pai had left behind.

It clearly carried considerable sentimental value for Mao.

Yet the boy had split it in half and offered part of it to Haruto without the slightest hesitation.

Haruto saw no reason to put on a show of refusing.

He simply accepted it.

"I’ve been really curious about this stuff anyway, so I’ll gladly take it."

Haruto spent one final day at Yangquan Restaurant.

...

Early the next morning, while the sky was only beginning to brighten, Haruto set out with Mao and Meili for the Culinary Arena on the outskirts of Guangzhou.

That was where the upcoming Super Chef Examination would be held.

Outside the arena, renowned chefs from every corner of Lingnan had gathered.

The air itself seemed tense with competition.

After all, this examination would determine whether they could earn the coveted title of Super Chef.

Haruto looked across the crowd and recognized quite a few familiar faces.

Many were chefs he had already faced while challenging famous restaurants throughout Lingnan.

A number of them recognized Haruto as well, and their expressions immediately became wary.

"Traveling Chef Haruto? He’s taking the Super Chef Examination too?!"

"This is bad. The competition just got even tougher!"

"I heard he has all sorts of incredible ingredients. If he uses those during the examination..."

Beside Haruto, Mao looked around at all the gathered chefs with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.

Then a thick arm suddenly reached out from behind.

A large hand grabbed Mao by the back of his collar and lifted him straight off the ground.

Mao yelped in surprise, his arms and legs flailing in midair.

"Get lost, kid! This isn’t a place for little brats like you!"

The man holding him was Wang Hu, a broad, heavily built chef with a thick face and an impatient scowl.

He was already preparing to casually toss Mao aside when another hand shot out and clamped around his wrist like an iron vise.

Wang Hu immediately felt an overwhelming force crush down on him.

No matter how hard he struggled, he could not move his arm even slightly.

His face quickly turned red with effort.

"Putting your hands on strangers for no reason."

Haruto held Wang Hu’s wrist, his face expressionless.

"That’s pretty poor behavior."

He was not about to stand by and let someone bully Mao in front of him.

As the pressure around his wrist grew strong enough to feel as though his bones might crack, Wang Hu’s expression changed completely.

Any arrogance vanished at once.

He hurriedly released Mao and apologized repeatedly.

"Sorry! Sorry! My mistake!"

The moment Mao was free, Haruto released Wang Hu as well.

They were about to enter the Super Chef Examination, after all.

This was hardly the time to start a real fight.

Wang Hu immediately pulled his hand back and rubbed his aching wrist.

He cast Haruto a cautious glance and no longer showed the slightest hint of his earlier arrogance, quietly moving off to one side.

After that little incident, Wang Hu behaved himself considerably better.

Still, as he looked around at all the chefs preparing for the examination, he could not resist talking to himself.

"Looks like this year’s competition is going to be brutal!"

"There’s Xiao Han from Dongjiang Restaurant. Built like an ox, and nobody can match his strength. Definitely not someone to underestimate."

"And Witch Zhilin—the only female chef taking the examination this time."

"Then there’s Xiao Dan, head chef of Banlin Restaurant. They say his ability rivals even Master Zhou Yu of Yangquan. He’s one of the favorites to take the top spot."

Wang Hu looked around again, apparently searching for someone.

"Come to think of it, I heard Master Zhou Yu’s top disciple from Yangquan is taking the examination too."

"They say he’s a newcomer, but a genuine young genius. Even Master Zhou Yu is full of praise for him."

The moment Mao realized Wang Hu was talking about him, he completely forgot the unpleasant encounter from a moment ago.

He immediately sidled closer with an eager expression.

"What’s Master Zhou Yu’s disciple supposed to be like?"

Mao was genuinely curious to know what kind of person outsiders imagined him to be.

Meili moved closer as well, already struggling not to laugh.

Wang Hu answered with complete confidence.

"If Master Zhou Yu thinks that highly of him, then he’s obviously got to be an even bigger, tougher man than Xiao Han!"

Mao and Meili stared at him blankly for a second.

Then both burst out laughing.

Haruto could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising either.

His imagination had already supplied the image of Mao transformed into some enormous, muscle-bound brute even bigger than Xiao Han.

The thought was ridiculous enough that it nearly made him laugh aloud.

Wang Hu stared at the three of them in complete confusion, having no idea what was so funny.

Then something in the crowd caught his eye, and he immediately forgot about them.

"Ah! There’s another one!"

"That’s the mysterious chef—the genius Fei!"

Haruto followed Wang Hu’s gaze.

Standing quietly among the crowd was Lan Feihong.

His presence was cool and aloof, and even surrounded by countless other competitors, he was impossible to overlook.

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