Are There Still More Variables?

Putting all that aside, in reality, no normal person would entrust her with making instant noodles, right?

"... Can't you do these three things: put in the noodles, pour in the water, add the seasoning packet?"

"It's still doable."

Mei took a deep breath.

—Suddenly I felt an immense sense of trust.

"I'll show you my skills!"

"..."

Wait a minute, Liu Bai suddenly felt that the determination on Mei's face was a bit ominous.

——

"Huh—!? Boss, are you doing some kind of maggot observation?"

Vilvie stared in horror at the maggots wriggling in Liu Bai's bowl.

How disgusting...

A huge bunch of maggots wriggled around... Waaah!

This scene reminded Vilvie of a food product she had seen online that claimed to "remove parasites" when she was bored.

Doctors often pull out a long, thin, disgusting parasite from behind the patient after administering medication.

Liu Bai is now... like someone who has collected a whole bowl of parasites.

[God-Slaying Cuisine: Infinite Worms (Food)]

[Upon consumption, life regeneration increases by 100,000%. The regeneration process will manifest as maggots, temporarily transforming the individual's life nature into that of an ordinary insect. The duration depends on mental resistance.]

It really is... God-Slaying Cuisine with incredible effects.

Although the side effects are also terrible—the maggot form is hard to comment on.

But transforming into a normal insect... isn't that forcibly lowering its ranking? It can even artificially create special attacks.

... However, 100,000%, which is a thousand times the natural regenerative power, shouldn't it be impossible to kill even if a weakness appears? It's not like it's a transformation technique like turning into a sheep.

But if the goal isn't to kill...

If the scenario were set up so that Otto was subjected to the binding force, wouldn't it be surprisingly effective to forcibly break his life slot?

"... Wait a minute, is this Mei's new dish?"

Vilvie probably sensed the murderous aura emanating from Mei and immediately changed her words.

Although this change of heart offered no comfort whatsoever.

"... It seems I've disappointed you, Vilvie."

Mei smiled.

"No, no, no... I'm not disappointed at all..."

Because there was no expectation at all.

Conductor Vill-V, true to her name, was quite adept at social interaction.

Even if Mei knew what Vilvie's hidden meaning was, she could only pretend not to understand it, so as not to humiliate herself.

"... I'll make another one, and this time it definitely won't turn out like this again!"

Mei glanced at the instant noodles in front of her, which looked normal but were a bit soggy.

When it came to late night snacks and dignity, M Geng Ei decisively chose dignity instead of letting Liu Bai go alone or Weiwei do it for her.

She wanted to prove that she was perfectly capable of making normal food!

"Mei can make noodles like this... I'd say she has extraordinary talent?"

Liu Bai poked at the extremely disgusting noodles in the bowl.

Although it's not a real bug, poking it makes it wriggle faster.

At this level, what's the difference between it and a real insect?

"He is indeed exceptionally talented."

Vilvie nodded in agreement, "Here's some top-secret information: it seems that the degree of variation in Miss Mei's dishes is determined by both her culinary skills and her dedication."

"...What's the meaning?"

Liu Bai was stunned for a moment.

"What I mean is that Mei's current situation is either a blessing from God or a real curse from God."

"If God only grants this kind of food, then we might as well get a different God."

Liu Bai also made a comment.

"I think so... This is simply the malice of the world."

Vilvie nodded repeatedly.

"The more effort you put in, the weirder the things you make become... Hmm, actually it's pretty cool, right? And maybe it's not the malice we imagine? Maybe 'Mei's normal things are also terrible. God couldn't stand it and blessed these things so that they're at least somewhat useful.'"

Vilvie was clearly a little excited—although if Mei heard this, she might tear Vilvie apart.

—That's quite an unusual perspective.

"... Wait a minute, where did this conclusion come from? Why haven't I received any similar messages?"

Having recovered somewhat, Liu Bai was slightly puzzled by this new information.

"Because Dr. Mobius himself was not sure if such a ridiculous conclusion was true, but according to the observation results, it seemed that this was the only possible outcome, so Dr. Mobius had not yet written a report."

"... Ah, is this a serious topic?"

Liu Bai was somewhat surprised.

As for Mobius not writing a good report... it should be Danzhu who didn't write it, right?

"I guess so. This is something that, apart from you, is enough to shatter someone's worldview."

Vilvie glanced at Liu Bai.

"Just shift the Honkai to Honkai."

Liu Bai immediately replied, "Anyway, when in doubt, it's always perfectly fine to pin the blame on the Honkai."

"... Wow, you're really bad."

Vilvie immediately understood Liu Bai's meaning and couldn't help but reveal a mischievous smile.

Believe it or not, Honkai is actually a good excuse to shift blame.

"By the way, does Mei know about this?"

After exchanging a smile, Liu Bai asked the most important question.

"Not yet."

Vilvie shook her head. "How should I put it... I guess it's because we're afraid Mei's Dao Heart will collapse?"

"The more effort you put into a dish, the more indescribable it becomes"—this fact would absolutely break Mei's resolve.

After all... becoming a master chef should be Mei's second most important goal in life.

If she knew that she could only make fast food without any emotion for the rest of her life... Vilvie thought it would be terrible just thinking about it from her own perspective.

It's like how the harder she tries to improve her magic, the worse it gets; it's absolutely despair-inducing.

Mei's real goal was to become an excellent scholar—which was then snatched away by Mobius without any hesitation.

"Boss, do you want to try and create some kind of miracle with Mei?"

411

Chapter 411 Are there still variables?

"...Miracle?"

Liu Bai was stunned for a moment, then his expression became somewhat strange.

"Vilvie, the miracle you're talking about... it's not going to turn Mei into a real culinary god, is it?"

Liu Bai's gaze turned strange.

That's not hard to understand.

Of course!

"That way I can really slap Mobius in the face!" Vilvie exclaimed with excitement.

"... May I ask, what is your impression of Mobius?"

"A reliable elder".

After a moment's Vilvie replied, "And the old woman who always has a sour face."

"It sounds like there's some personal grudge going on."

Liu Bai rolled her eyes, completely disregarding Vilvie's suggestion.

Although it's the real world, the existence of "code" here is undeniable.

Liu Bai himself is the best example.

And without a doubt, Mei possesses a "mechanism" deliberately written in its "code".

It's like any food that's made with care will end up being turned into "God-Slaying Cuisine," a kind of evil god-like dish.

Instead of reversing the code... we should encourage Mei to develop an automatic rice cooker.

"Ah! I've got an idea!"

Suddenly, Vilvie slapped her forehead. "How about Mei and Mei switch identities?"

"... If Mei hears this joke, you're in for it."

Liu Bai rolled her eyes.

Clearly, Vilvie was making a joke about the homophony between "Mei" and "Mei".

"Boss, you have absolutely no sense of humor."

Vilvie was slightly dissatisfied with Liu Bai's attitude, but she could understand that Liu Bai might not be in a good mood at this time.

It's too late now, after all.

"A sense of humor..."

Liu Bai suddenly thought of something and looked at Vilvie with a hint of pity.

If Liu Bai's Remembrance hadn't deteriorated, in the original timeline, Vilvie's humor was so great that Mei would often seize upon her and relentlessly criticize her regarding funding and design issues.

"Ah... everyone's here too."

Qingque walked listlessly into the lounge.

"Do you have hot water? I'd like to make some instant noodles."

"Mei took the hot water."

"Vilvie replied."

"..."

Liu Bai fell silent again.

Well... he could accept Qingque's dark circles.

But... this person must be working overtime!

Qingque's dark circles from working overtime are simply unacceptable!

Is the world going to end tomorrow?

... Well, not really.