Chapter 115

Is this really the same person?

Rosaliya had no idea that the woman who had previously been so cold and ruthless, even saying strange things to hurt Rosaliya, was now so gentle and warm.

Just like that person who has been buried in the dust of memory and can never come back.

"Mother?!"

Chapter 144 Delicious Cake

Home, mother.

It has long since passed since the catastrophe known as Honkai.

Loneliness, helplessness, worry, and fear are what accompany you most often.

Even if another person appears in your life and you're willing to call her "Mom," how can this Mom compare to that first Mom?

Cocolia is a very gentle and kind person.

But this person is not kind.

Ultimately, she could not possess the kindness and care of a true mother, nor could she be as selfless. Her gentle yet intense warmth and powerful light brought comfort and hope to these children mired in loneliness and despair.

But they are unwilling to get too close.

But this older sister named Cecilia is different from Mother Cocolia.

Even though I know she and that terrifying-looking Mei are the same person, they're just different! You can tell just from a smile or a touch on the head.

She is different.

Her gentleness, her warmth, her sunshine were enough to awaken those emotions and words that had almost become unreal.

Mother!

Rosaliya secretly watched Cecilia, gazing at her back. That tall, strong figure seemed like a shield they could rely on, a source of protection and comfort.

There's simply no way I can connect with that person named MEI.

"A teacher's private tutoring?" Rosaliya temporarily abandoned this association; if they couldn't connect the dots, they should just move on. Getting to know someone new was a good idea too.

"Does this place exist?" Rosaliya asked curiously. "When the teacher comes, doesn't he eat with everyone?"

"But we're not getting enough to eat," Cecilia said. "Even though they say a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home."

Unfortunately, this principle doesn't apply very well to Raven.

"Raven also have a large appetite."

"Besides, she'd be too embarrassed to compete with you for it."

Just like Saiyans are not only incredibly strong in battle, but also have an enormous appetite. Raven aren't Saiyans, but their appetites are still considerable. They aren't as terrifying as Saiyans, but they still eat a lot.

"They are mercenaries after all," Cecilia said. "When you begin your formal training..."

"Your appetite will also start to increase."

Valkyrie who are good at fighting also tend to have a large appetite. For example, Himeko is a regular at the restaurant. She eats a lot and frequently.

Take Kiana for example; although she's not a regular at the restaurant, she always keeps a variety of snacks on hand.

Shenzhou tablets also tend to prefer high-calorie foods.

So the Raven is no exception.

She can eat the amount of food that several children could eat by herself.

"Get special treatment." Rosaliya said with a hint of disdain, "Doesn't that seem a bit hypocritical? On the surface, you're just like everyone else, but in reality, it's not like that at all."

"You're overthinking it," Cecilia corrected. "Overall, Raven is a pretty good guy."

"She's not the kind of person who says one thing and does another; she eats so much."

"It's because she needs so much."

Although Cecilia didn't particularly like Raven, who had used violence to kidnap her—enough to warrant a grudge—she had also observed that Raven wasn't as bad as she had initially thought.

Just like in some movies, some bad people are considered bad because they are portrayed as such.

It's simply because of different stances or different organizations they serve.

So even though Cecilia doesn't particularly like this person, she won't do anything too outrageous or ruin his reputation.

"We can use her little kitchen," Cecilia said. "To make some cakes."

Raven's Little Kitchen was just a small facility in her personal office. It's like how some bosses set up beds... ahem... private bars in their offices.

Raven also tinker with their own little things.

For example, a small kitchen.

Cecilia went in once; after all, she liked to wander into places others wouldn't let her in when she had nothing better to do. The same applied to Raven's office.

However, the security level here is very high, and children cannot go in.

Rosaliya can't be dismantled yet.

Unfortunately, this place is practically useless for MEI.

Inside are Raven's equipment room, intelligence room, and weapons room, while the rest looks like a regular office. In addition to work, there's also a place for relaxation.

So there's a private kitchenette inside.

The contents are not primarily finished products; while there are some, they are mostly semi-finished products or raw materials.

There are finished products available.

Only...

"Ptooey! This tastes awful!" Rosaliya said, licking her lips. "This strawberry cake is terrible."

It looked like a strawberry cake Raven had made herself and kept in the fridge. But it didn't actually taste very good. Cecilia took it out and tried it.

It really didn't taste very good; it wasn't baked properly and wasn't sweet enough.

Plus, it seems to have been in the refrigerator for a while now.

The strawberries on top weren't fresh at all.

So it doesn't taste good at all.

Rosaliya didn't like it, Liliya didn't want to eat the cake either.

"Let me see the other materials." Cecilia rolled up her sleeves and opened the refrigerator and the cabinet where the materials were stored. "Let me see what's good to work with here."

"Can Cecilia do it?" Liliya asked, tilting her head.

"Yes," Cecilia said. "It's just so-so. It's not great, but it's acceptable."

"Hmm... I learned it from my master before..."

"Master..."

"The Mess Hall Squad?"

Cecilia seemed to be lost in memories again, perhaps of the little bit she had learned in the Mess Hall Squad. Chinese cuisine was the mainstream, but she wasn't completely clueless about Western food.

The class monitor seems to be able to make things like bread, cakes, and egg tarts.

The Mess Hall Squad learned some things, but how much did they actually learn?

I don't know, I've forgotten.

After I graduated, I think I studied it professionally out of interest or something? I've forgotten.

But I do do some of those things.

I can't say for sure about the cooking skills, but at least it should taste good... I think!

"There's quite a lot of stuff," Cecilia said after looking around. "There's even pasta. We can make some pasta. Hmm, hamburger patties?"

"Oh! I want to eat! I want to eat! I want to eat spaghetti!" Rosaliya exclaimed immediately.

"Liliya wants a hamburger," Liliya said. "A hamburger and cake."

"That's hamburger patty," Cecilia said. "Okay."

Anyway, I'm not worried about not being able to finish the food, and I'm not concerned about my growth.

Judging solely from their appetite after fusing with Honkai Beast, these two definitely have a large appetite.

With these ingredients, Cecilia wasn't worried. She remembered receiving a cookbook before leaving the Hyperion, which allowed her to practice.

So it probably won't taste too bad.

Probably not.

Moreover...

'I have a feeling that system is up to something.' Cecilia was absolutely certain that this system was definitely not like it seemed, where things were always going wrong and Xia Yingchun was always around.

The system will definitely find a way to cause trouble.

The system might be right; it can't affect reality, but it can affect her.

So I decided to make some desserts for Liliya and Rosaliya.

The system will definitely not stand idly by anymore.

Cecilia didn't intend to make anything too complicated; she preferred something simpler. Pasta, for example—the noodles were already prepared and just needed to be cooked.

You don't need to start pressing the materials yourself.

The problem lies in preparing the brine, or what we call the topping.

Cecilia needs to make this herself; the most common toppings are probably tomatoes or black pepper beef. Cecilia decides to make a tomato topping.

Hamburger patties are made with ground beef, onions, carrots, and other ingredients.

As for the cake.

Cecilia plans to make blueberry cake and cherry cake.

Can Cecilia do all of these things well? That's not necessarily true. There are some things that Cecilia only knows how to do but has never actually tried.

This was my first time doing it.

Cecilia looked at the two expectant little eyes.

Do it.

Now let's see how the system actually affects us.

System...

Of course the system will be affected! It's like that saying, "When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss makes a disgusted sound"... Well, that's right, the abyss is also gazing into you.

When Cecilia decided to test the system quietly, the system was also struggling and hesitant.

To do it or not to do it?

What the system wants most is for the transmigrator to not be too diligent and to rely on others as much as possible. What it least wants to see is for the transmigrator to do things on their own without relying on it.

If the transmigrator doesn't rely on the system, then the system has no reason to exist.

But now the system realizes that it seems to have done something not so good.

Li Pu was able to draw the character MEI.

It can't control what Li Pu gets in the gacha, but it can modify the probabilities. These probabilities aren't like the numbers of gold-tier skins, SSRs, or five-star high-level cards in some games' gacha pools.

Instead, it adjusts the lottery drawer's luck each time.

Simply put, it can transform you into an African, European, Asian, or Martian when you participate in a lottery.

The system was tampered with when Li Pu drew MEI.

This increased his chances of drawing good characters.

I just wanted to see how lucky this guy could be, but I ended up planting the seeds of my own misfortune.

The most powerful brain in Honkai!