Poised and Ready

Poised and Ready

Jiang Hao boarded a flight to Hong Kong. On the plane, he opened the system panel. His mission progress had now reached 99%; he was only a final sliver away from completing it, and his goal was within sight.

He hoped this cooking competition would allow him to achieve that goal and complete the mission.

As he entered the competition hall, Jiang Hao swept his gaze around. Nearly all the titans of Hong Kong's food industry had gathered here. Many people were greeting one another and chatting, yet not a single person acknowledged him. His reputation in Hong Kong's culinary world was utterly rotten. He was the very definition of friendless.

Jiang Hao did not care. Just as he was about to head to his table, he suddenly spotted a familiar face. Delighted, he immediately walked over.

"Xiaoqiu, weren't you in the mainland?" Jiang Hao asked the delicate-looking young woman.

Xiaoqiu blinked her large eyes and looked at Jiang Hao with a smile. "Surprised? I heard you were competing today, so I secretly came back to support you."

Jiang Hao smiled. "Thank you. If you hadn't come, I probably wouldn't have had even one supporter. I'm surrounded by enemies here."

The competition began. The host was the famous Xue Jiayan, who spoke into her microphone. "A total of eight restaurants are competing in this year's Hong Kong Gourmet Competition. Eight great chefs will face off on the same stage, and they will surely bring us the finest Chinese cuisine."

"Chef Tang Niu from Da Kuai Le Group, the current God of Cookery; Chef Dai from Da Long Feng Restaurant; Chef Yang from the Imperial Kitchen; and Chef Liao from Man Han Lou."

As she introduced the chefs, the crowd gave warm applause for every name. "And the final contestant is Chef Stephen Chow from the Pissing Beef Balls Food Company."

The entire venue fell silent. No one applauded.

For a moment, the atmosphere was extremely awkward.

Jiang Hao scanned the room. Chef Dai glared at him venomously, still hating him to the bone. Chef Yang's expression was equally unfriendly. Tang Niu wore a mocking grin. He had called Stephen Chow here today precisely to trample on and humiliate him. As for everyone else, none of them thought much of Stephen Chow either, so no one applauded for him.

Clap, clap, clap!

A burst of applause rang out, startlingly abrupt. Everyone turned to look and found a young woman clapping hard. Zhen Xiaoqiu applauded as she shouted, "Stephen Chow, keep it up! You're the best!"

Jiang Hao nodded at Xiaoqiu.

Xiaoqiu was Jiang Hao's only supporter in the venue.

"Alright, I now declare the competition open. The time limit is two hours," the host announced.

At the signal, the chefs got busy. The host introduced their dishes. "Chef Dai of Da Long Feng Restaurant is making Honey Glazed Bear Paw. A black bear's front paw is grilled, then steamed together with natural honeycomb. The honey flows into the bear paw—truly creative."

"Chef Yang of the Imperial Kitchen is making Green Dragon Stirring the Sea. The main ingredient is the highly venomous bamboo pit viper, shredded into strips and steamed over medium heat for about an hour. It is then combined with civet meat, shredded shiitake mushrooms, fish maw, wood ear mushrooms, and other ingredients to create a supreme thick soup."

"Oh, Chef Tang Niu is making Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a most classic dish. Abalone, sea cucumber, fish lips, yak-hide gelatin, king oyster mushrooms, tendon, flower mushrooms, cuttlefish, dried scallops, quail eggs, and more are simmered with stock and Shaoxing wine over a low flame. Only then can the flavor truly become rich and mellow."

"Chef Liao of Man Han Lou is making Soup-filled Yellow Croaker. Chef Zhang of Li De is making Steamed Coral Trout."

When she reached Jiang Hao's table, the host froze. Jiang Hao stood there with his eyes closed and his hands tucked beneath his arms, while the table was completely empty.

"Chef Chow, why haven't you started cooking?" the host asked in surprise.

Jiang Hao opened his eyes. "Poised and ready."

"But the competition has a time limit."

"There's enough time."

Tang Niu glanced at Jiang Hao and said disdainfully, "You don't know how to cook, do you? You're afraid of embarrassing yourself on the spot, so you don't dare make a move."

Jiang Hao ignored him.

Time ticked away, but Jiang Hao remained still. Meanwhile, the other chefs' dishes came out one after another. "Chef Liao of Man Han Lou's Soup-filled Yellow Croaker is ready. Judges, please taste it."

Several judges stepped forward, picked up their chopsticks, and began tasting. At that moment, Jiang Hao moved as well. He walked over, squeezed in beside the judges, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and started tasting it himself.

The venue erupted in an uproar.

"Huh? Stephen Chow isn't cooking his own dish, so why is he eating the other chefs' dishes? He isn't a judge," someone asked in confusion.

Someone familiar with the situation explained, "When Tang Niu aggressively invited Stephen Chow to join the Gourmet Competition, Stephen Chow made a condition: he had to be allowed to taste the other chefs' dishes. The organizing committee agreed."

"Oh, so that's how it is. But what does he mean by tasting them?"

"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't trust the judges' final verdict. After all, his reputation in the culinary world is far too rotten now."

"Heh, he brought that on himself."

No matter what others said, Jiang Hao picked up a bite of food and placed it in his mouth. It tasted exquisite. He closed his eyes and waited for several seconds, but the system gave him no prompt. That final bit of mission progress had not moved at all, leaving Jiang Hao somewhat disappointed.

He frowned and shook his head, looking thoroughly disappointed.

Seeing Jiang Hao's expression, Chef Liao assumed Jiang Hao found his dish lacking. Irritated, he asked, "What is it, Chef Chow? Are you dissatisfied with my dish?"

"Heh, I'm not a competition judge, so I won't comment on it. Of course, if you insist, I can offer a few remarks," Jiang Hao said with a smile.

Remembering Jiang Hao's venomous tongue, Chef Liao immediately fell silent.

If Jiang Hao commented, he probably would not say anything kind. It was better not to let him speak.

"No need."

Jiang Hao returned to his spot and resumed his pose.

After that, the other chefs' dishes came out in succession. Every time Jiang Hao tasted one, he frowned and shook his head, making those chefs uncomfortable. Yet no one dared provoke him by asking him to evaluate their dishes.

What they did not know was that Jiang Hao only shook his head because his mission progress had not increased at all. Obtaining that final bit of mission progress was truly difficult.

Finally, Tang Niu's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was ready. Once it was served, the judges tasted it again. They kept nodding after eating it, praising the dish as truly authentic. Jiang Hao stepped forward to taste it, but Tang Niu blocked his path.

"Stephen Chow, stop putting on an act. You're here to compete, not to judge. We're still waiting for your dish," Tang Niu said.

"What are you so anxious about? There's still time." Jiang Hao pointed at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes remained before the end.

Tang Niu snorted and stopped paying attention to him.

Jiang Hao ate several bites of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, yet still shook his head. The disappointment on his face deepened. He had tasted all seven chefs' dishes, but the system still had not collected any mission progress. Why was that final bit so difficult to obtain?

Seeing him shake his head, Tang Niu felt deeply displeased. "Stephen Chow, what do you mean by constantly shaking your head? Are you saying my dish isn't tasty?"

"What? Do you want me to evaluate it?" Jiang Hao looked at Tang Niu.