Parasite, flesh mutation, and the formation of a complete organism—all within two minutes.
The threat it released made every hair on Yi Chen's body stand on end. The plants inside him surged wildly as well. Without weapons and with his abilities weakened, his chances of dealing with this thing were extremely low.
But...
There was one rule Yi Chen silently engraved in his heart.
He did not turn around or assume any defensive stance. Instead, he continued focusing on eating, perfectly cutting away the sticky egg membrane and sending it into his mouth.
Soft and silky, with juices splattering everywhere, it had a strong biological stench. But as long as he endured it, he could feel a surging energy flood his entire body.
The Monstrous Larva's tearing abdominal maw was just about to bite Yi Chen's body apart from behind when—
Smack!
A massive hammer far beyond standard size came crashing straight down, striking the Monstrous Larva with Dimensional Reduction and crushing it into a meat patty.
The one who had acted was the head chef.
A metal ring resembling a nose ring pierced through his cheeks and hung beneath his jaw. Strange symbols were engraved across its surface, and a hideous black-iron mask covered the front of his face.
"Thank you, Chef."
"Mm." The reply came from beneath the mask, accompanied by a heavy snort. Yet it gave Yi Chen a sense of familiarity.
At the orphanage before his death, Yi Chen had not hated everyone there. He had maintained good relations with some of them, such as Li Hong, the head chef in charge of the Internal Canteen.
All the food he made helped the orphans' bodies grow. Only the taste and appearance changed according to his mood that day.
Regardless of what the food was, Yi Chen