"The competition is nearing its end, and the only remaining contestant, Mo Bai, has finally awakened from his slumber and stood up!" Seeing this, Kasuga Yanagi was in tears. Nearly half an hour had passed since the previous chef submitted their dish, and that half-hour had been forcibly turned into an awkward chat session between the three judges and her.
It was a no-brainer that the viewership ratings had dropped off a cliff!
Kasuga Yanagi could just imagine the constipated look on her balding boss's face as he watched the live broadcast.
It's an unwritten, ironclad rule that no one is to disturb a chef while they are cooking.
Even if Mo Bai slept until the very end, she would have to keep broadcasting until the very end.
She was very thankful Mo Bai didn't choose to do something so deranged.
"Contestant Mo Bai is walking towards the on-site staff. What kind of side ingredients will he choose, and what kind of dish will he make?"
"Judge Colson, what are your thoughts?" When it came to cuisine, Takagaki Kaede was a complete novice. The miko's scoring had terrified Kasuga Yanagi, so among the three, the most reliable one left was the big, bald, sunglasses-wearing man, Colson.
"With 40 minutes left, there's actually more than enough time to make any dish," Colson said, pushing up the sunglasses on his face. "However, I'm guessing contestant Mo Bai will make sashimi."
"Sashimi? But his fish…" Just as Kasuga Yanagi was about to press further, a staff member brought over an aluminum alloy canister.
"Liquid nitrogen?!" As a well-informed host, Kasuga Yanagi vaguely recognized the true nature of the canister's contents. "Contestant Mo Bai has requested liquid nitrogen from the staff!"
"And besides that, there's also white liquor, pork, green onions, and ginger?" Kasuga Yanagi was filled with doubt; she couldn't fathom how such a combination could become a dish.
"To be more precise, it's brandy, pork tenderloin, scallions, and young ginger." Colson glanced at the camera and accurately named the specific ingredients.
But he was also puzzled. The liquid nitrogen could be understood as a way to chill the fish meat.
But what about the other ingredients?
Scallions and young ginger as a garnish, pork tenderloin paired with Leopard Coral Grouper, and brandy as a drink?
Just thinking of such a bizarre combination made Colson want to slap himself across the face.
As all eyes in the venue focused on Mo Bai, everyone was surprised to find that after boiling a pot of water... he seemed to... have stopped again!?
"Mr. Colson?" Kasuga Yanagi could only turn to Colson for help.
"I cannot disclose the specific details, but the choice contestant Mo Bai is making right now is undoubtedly the correct one." Colson glanced at his watch. There were still 15 minutes left until the optimal aging time Chiba Eda had mentioned. "To make a dish with these ingredients in the remaining 25 minutes? That's a bit tight."
As time ticked by, the score for the Leopard Coral Grouper on the cutting board officially broke the 95-point barrier.
"Pour the liquid nitrogen."
"Oh." The staff member froze for a moment before realizing what was said, quickly opening the liquid nitrogen canister as a cold, white mist poured into the prepared basin.
"Here you go!" With a flash of cold light, System Sprite & Cleaver Spirit Xiao Bai was tossed into the basin filled with liquid nitrogen.
"Awooo~" Xiao Bai let out a howl.
Instantly switching to a -196°C environment... the bracing shock was simply indescribable.
"With 27 minutes left in the Group A competition, contestant Mo Bai has made another astonishing move—he threw his kitchen knife into the liquid nitrogen!"
In a maid café somewhere in Akihabara, a sunny young man in a white shirt and jeans stood up, along with a robust, elderly man with a graying beard, dressed in a Zhongshan suit.
"Young Master, this is…" the old man blurted out in pitch-perfect Mandarin.
"Shh, let's keep watching." The young man's leisurely and relaxed posture, with one leg crossed over the other, was gone. He was now sitting upright, seriously raising a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture.
On the television, Kasuga Yanagi's unsettled exclamations continued.
"Surely contestant Mo Bai doesn't intend to prepare his dish using a kitchen knife that's been frozen in liquid nitrogen?"
"Your gloves." A staff member quickly handed over a pair of thick, cryogenic gloves.
"No need." Under the dumbfounded gazes of the crowd, Mo Bai reached directly into the liquid nitrogen and pulled out Xiao Bai. The handle felt not the least bit cold in his hand. "How's it feel?"
"S-s-so d-d-damn bracing," Xiao Bai said, shivering as he spoke.
With one hand pressing down on the Leopard Coral Grouper, which was growing more vibrant red on the cutting board, and the other gripping Cleaver Spirit Xiao Bai, Mo Bai silently waited for the aging timer to hit zero.
"Contestant Mo Bai chose to grab the kitchen knife with his bare hands!!!" Kasuga Yanagi had long been stunned speechless.
"If a human body comes into contact with liquid nitrogen for a short time, it's not a problem. This is because a liquid doesn't wet a hot surface; it just forms a vapor layer over it. In other words, when a liquid encounters an extremely hot object, it will turn into an insulating layer of protective gas."
"This phenomenon is called the Leidenfrost effect," Colson said with deep respect. "However, this doesn't apply to solid objects. If an ordinary person were to grasp a kitchen knife that had been submerged in liquid nitrogen, their palm would likely suffer immediate frostbite—a severe frostbite that would tear off skin and flesh when they let go."
"That's right." Chiba Eda took over, her eyes filled with the same reverence one would have for a hero. "The determination to complete his dish even if it means getting frostbite on the right hand a chef relies on to survive... Contestant Mo Bai is without a doubt a true chef!"
Takagaki Kaede covered her mouth with both hands, staring in disbelief at the young man standing tall in the center of the arena.
In the shopping district of Chiba City, the drink Gokou Ruri was holding slipped from her hand, drenching her shoes.
In a hotel near Akihabara, Sagisawa Fumika and her group were rushing about frantically.
And at the center of everyone's attention, Mo Bai muttered to himself. "Damn! Why do I feel like everyone's staring at me?"
"I just closed my eyes to look cool, that's all. Am I really that handsome?"
"It's scaring me so much I don't even dare to open my eyes."
"Cut the crap! Just watch the timer!" Xiao Bai, disgusted by Mo Bai's narcissism, roared and dragged the latter, who had gone completely off-script, back on track.
The timer hit zero, and the Leopard Coral Grouper on the cutting board instantly underwent a heaven-and-earth-shattering change.
[Ingredient: Fully Aged Leopard Coral Grouper]
[Ingredient Quality: 97 (97)]
[Evaluation: After a near-perfect first aging, and despite a minor incident during the second aging, no real harm was done. This is the moment the Leopard Coral Grouper is at its absolute peak quality. Go for it without hesitation! Young man!]
"Host!"
"Understood!"
Before anyone could react, two flashes of chilling blade light appeared in an instant!
Tiny, bright red fish scales fluttered down like snowflakes.
Looking again, the Leopard Coral Grouper had been completely stripped of its vibrant red coat, leaving only its tender pink flesh.
"De-scaled in a single stroke?!!" All three judges on the panel shot to their feet. "What masterful knife work!"
Mo Bai didn't care how many people he had shocked; 25 minutes was, frankly, a very tight schedule.
What he was making was no ordinary sashimi.
The eye-popping performance continued. The blade flashed again, and the main bone was pulled from the fish's flesh.
He adjusted the angle and made another diagonal cut, removing the long spines from the belly.
Adjusting the direction of the fish meat once more, snow-white slices as thin as a cicada's wing fluttered through the air, landing in a pre-chilled black-glazed porcelain dish to the side.
Against the dark background, a grand, snow-white Queen of the Night flower leisurely bloomed.
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