The Holy Son of the Culinary World

"Okay, let's go."

Seeing that there was really no way to get any more information out of the water ghost, Huo Yunzhi waved her hand to signal that it could leave.

The water ghost sank to the surface of the sea with great joy.

Huo Yunzhi shook her head, used the red ribbon to disperse the water vapor on the sea surface, and turned back to Chen Baicha and Zhao Lei to cut down trees and make a raft together.

———Three hours later———

"Let's go, let's go to the Darkest Abyss."

Holding a compass, Huo Yunzhi stood at the front of the raft and used her Qi Sea perception to take in every detail within a radius of several miles.

Four hours later, they finally spotted an island in the boundless sea.

It was a wild island, with rock walls stretching for kilometers like a giant shield planted in the sea, protecting the entire island from the relentless sea winds.

The seawater at the edge of the island rhythmically crashes against the rock walls, then breaks into countless bubbles.

After Huo Yunzhi and the other two moored their raft on the beach, they went ashore on the island.

It took the three of them a full hour to walk around the entire island with a compass.

No matter how they changed their orientation, the compass needle always pointed to the exact center of the island.

"Looks like this is the place. Let's start setting up the electric fence, making sure the location is as concealed as possible."

"no problem."

Chen Baicha broke off a few tree branches, rubbed them vigorously in his hands, and then threw them into the air.

The branches quickly swelled into large trees, and many forks sprouted at the ends. The forks, trailing long branches, flew to all directions of the island, and upon landing, they blended into their surroundings.

Huo Yunzhi opened her Qi Sea perception and clearly saw the thin electric arcs connecting the trees, which ordinary people could not see at all.

"Although it looks a lot like a wooden utility pole from the last century, it can be used for both offense and defense, but... it doesn't look like an electric grid, it's more like..."

"What is it?" Chen Baicha took everything concerning herself very seriously.

"Like a battle formation."

Upon seeing the electric grid pattern that Huo Yunzhi had drawn on the beach, Zhao Lei answered without hesitation.

"Hey, you know what, there is a bit of that." Chen Baicha also noticed, squatting down to touch the drawing Huo Yunzhi made.

"Whatever it is, there will be plenty of time to investigate after the dungeon is finished. You've worked hard."

Chen Baicha stood up and patted the sand off her clothes: "Not at all, these are just insignificant little skills. It's good enough if they can help you without causing you any trouble."

Huo Yunzhi warily destroyed all the drawings she had made with her foot: "It's not time to start yet, let's find a place to rest first."

"Then we can go there." Zhao Lei pointed to a location that was far from the center and not very close to the beach. "It's too conspicuous for us to live or set up camp here. Anyone who gets close will notice us."

Huo Yunzhi nodded in agreement: "Moreover, we don't know how the Abyss of Darkness will be opened. If the opening location is blown away, we might be able to ascend to heaven in both physical and biological terms if we are in the center."

"You usually look sickly and not very talkative, but you're quite the expert when it comes to hiding and being vigilant."

"And they were also very lucky."

Huo Yunzhi could never forget how Zhao Lei perfectly found his seat in the vast sea of ​​benches at the Ghost Theater.

Of course, this praise vanished the moment Zhao Lei threw the watermelon into the pot to cook.

watermelon?

Huo Yunzhi looked at the fish still simmering in the pot: "Add watermelon?"

"Hmm." Zhao Lei nodded, then threw bananas, glutinous rice balls, mung beans, and sweet potato noodles into the pot.

In a pot of colorful fish soup that looked more and more like boiled swill, the grayish-white fish eyes shone eerily in the steam.

"This fish died unjustly," Chen Baicha concluded.

Then, Chen Baicha put one hand on her hip and pointed at Zhao Lei, giving him a ten-minute lecture.

The story concludes with the line, "If you were thrown into the world of MasterChef Ninja, you'd be a saint among the dark culinary masters."

Zhao Lei initially wanted to argue back, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise and could only listen to the lecture obediently. After Chen Baicha finally finished criticizing him, he pouted with a slightly aggrieved expression.

"But it adds 20 points to your maximum health."

"What's the use of health! Health... what's the limit to health?"

"yes!"

"But then again," Huo Yunzhi immediately pressed down on the pot of fish soup, "it's still very..."

"However, this is a temporary increase and will only last for a maximum of 36 hours."

A pot of fish soup that defies description, temporarily increasing the maximum health value.

Huo Yunzhi and Chen Baicha's expressions changed repeatedly.

It's such a difficult decision.

But soon, the two of them each served themselves a bowl of fish soup and put it in their mouths without any expression.

The fish soup looked rather strange, so it probably didn't taste very good either.

The addition of mung beans and glutinous rice balls already makes it a flavor that not everyone can accept, let alone with watermelon and bananas.

Suppressing her nausea, Huo Yunzhi ate two bites and opened her personal panel. She saw that her health value had increased by 20, followed by parentheses indicating that the remaining time was 35:59:50.

After confirming that it had taken effect, Chen Baicha did not hesitate to pour fish soup into the pan and start grilling the fish.

Zhao Lei originally intended to help, and even swore that he would definitely make normal grilled fish this time.

But Chen Baicha clearly no longer trusts him.

"Stay away. If you dare come near us before the fish is cooked, you won't get any fish to eat."

After the fish was grilled, Chen Baicha placed it on an iron plate.

Huo Yunzhi craned her neck to look.

The fish skin is golden brown and crispy, topped with plenty of minced garlic and green and red peppers.

Zhao Lei swallowed hard, took out chopsticks from his backpack, and gently picked up a piece.

The tender white fish meat, steaming hot, and filled everyone's noses with a fresh, spicy aroma.

"Your cooking skills are amazing!" Huo Yunzhi exclaimed in surprise.

"When I was in college, I worked part-time at a grilled fish restaurant for a while."

With a normal meal, Chen Baicha's mood improved significantly. She told Huo Yunzhi many unpleasant things she had encountered in college because of her name, and her perfect solutions.

After dinner, the three of them agreed to take turns resting to ensure they were all in top condition before entering rest mode.

It's 10 p.m.

Chen Baicha, who was still sleeping, suddenly opened her eyes.

She lifted the tent flap and looked at Huo Yunzhi, who was on night watch: "We just received feedback from the power grid."

"Someone's coming?" Huo Yunzhi stood up warily and looked out at the sea.

"No, the sea surface is not moving. It is the island itself that is shaking. The intervals are very regular, and each shaking lasts about three seconds."

Zhao Lei, still half-asleep, poked his head out and asked, "The Abyss of Darkness has opened?"

"It shouldn't be there yet." Huo Yunzhi stared at the center of the island. "Put everything away first. Bai Cha, keep an eye on things and let us know if anything happens."