Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup

After recording the video for the Second Generation "Freud" with "Skinner", Lin Yu left the bar with the [Team-up Card] he had obtained from the Second Generation "Freud".

"It's really never a moment's peace... Besides the 'Director' needing to carry out the task of 'Order,' the 'Psychology Society' is also dragging 'Schreiber' to the Mist Island Realm."

"Fortunately, at least there was a day's interval, and the Second Generation 'Freud' happened to be scheduled for 'Tuesday,' which is essentially equivalent to merging with the 'Weekly Instance.'"

"However... the 'Trial' presented by this Second Generation 'Freud' is unlikely to be simple."

"Fortunately, I was planning to go to both the Barren Realm and the Mist Island Realm with some people anyway... Now that someone has come to me, it saves me a lot of trouble."

Lin Yu thought to himself.

He now has a feeling that he has just finished the Main Line quest, and then a new exclamation mark appears on the Map to indicate that there are new side quests to advance.

But Lin Yu... didn't really want to rest either.

Having tasks to do, and most of them that help improve one's skills, is a good thing no matter how you look at it.

Lin Yu has become increasingly aware that his time is far less than he imagined.

Although Lin Yu knew that, objectively speaking, his progress in improving his strength and Divine Rank was already fast enough.

But that's still not enough.

That's far from enough.

Schreiber's features faded from Lin Yu's face, and then...

It resembles the "Zhu Ming" dynasty.

She arrived at the house of the "God of Cookery of Cookery".

The house is still the same house; even after several days and Typhoon, nothing has changed.

Some of the Spice Plants that were originally planted in the yard were moved into the house, pots and all.

The exterior walls even look newer than before because of the rain.

But seeing this house...

Lin Yu felt a bit lonely.

Just like the recent Group Chat of the "Freedom Alliance".

Ever since Old Zhou informed the others about "Magician" Qianhuan, the usually lively Group Chat has become unusually quiet these past few days.

It seems that no one knows how to react to this news.

Lin Yu knocked on the door of the "God of Cookery".

A moment later, the "God of Cookery" appeared at the door.

The Master Chef, who always seemed so lazy, now had bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn't rested in a long time.

He saw Lin Yu standing at the door and looked at "Zhu Ming," and his expression relaxed slightly.

"It's you," Zhu Ming. "... You're still in Shenzhen?"

Lin Yu nodded slightly.

"Well, some things have been held up here, so I haven't left yet... I'm about to leave today, so I came to see you."

The God of Cookery opened the door. "Come in and have a seat."

Lin Yu entered the God of God of Cookery's house, and the God of Cookery picked up two takeout bags and threw them outside the door.

"They all went back the day before yesterday," said "Fishing Man," adding that he needed to speed up the development of "Heart Domain," and "Comedian" went to his child's place... Then Old Zhou said he was going to the Prison Mountain Realm.

"I don't know where Xiao Yun went."

"Everyone... well, everyone's pretty busy. I'm actually quite busy too. I've been thinking about what I can do," the God of Cookery said, tidying up the messy table, his words somewhat disjointed. "I didn't cook yesterday. Would you like something to eat? I can make you... I was just thinking of making something since I didn't cook yesterday."

Lin Yu looked at the God of Cookery and sighed, "You should rest... I'll make you something."

He stepped forward and patted the God of Cookery on the shoulder.

Without waiting for the God of Cookery's objection, Lin Yu rolled up his sleeves, took out a Hair Tie from his pocket, and tied his hair up.

Do you have spare ribs? Where's the casserole?

The God of Cookery originally intended to refuse Lin Yu, but the words that were on the tip of his tongue ultimately turned into...

"The casserole dish is on top of the rack next to the oven, and the ribs are in the refrigerator's crisper drawer."

Under the somewhat surprised gaze of the God of Cookery, Lin Yu skillfully blanched and pan-fried the ribs, then transferred them to a clay pot to stew.

Then, Lin Yu took a lotus root from the vegetable shelf, washed it, cut it into chunks, rubbed it with salt to remove excess moisture, and soaked it in an iron basin.

The water in the clay pot had boiled, and steam was gushing out from the Spiracles.

When the time was right, Lin Yu put the lotus root into the pot, added a small spoonful of salt, and turned the heat to low to simmer.

Although Lin Yu knew he was pressed for time, he still spent nearly two hours stewing a pot of pork rib soup here.

When the time was up, Lin Yu took the casserole down, took two bowls, and filled one for the God of Cookery and one for himself.

"After you drink the soup, get a good night's sleep and rest."

Being so anxious that you stay up all night won't change anything.

The God of Cookery silently stared at the soup in the bowl and said in a low voice, "This should be my responsibility."

"It's not always your responsibility, although you are indeed good at this," Lin Yu, holding his bowl and slowly sipping his soup. "Try it."

As Lin Yu spoke, the God of Cookery took a bite.

"It's very fresh... and very well made."

"Is this a soup that's commonly made in Jiang City?"

Lin Yu nodded. "Well, my family taught me... well, you could say they taught me. I just drank a lot and watched my family do it a lot, and that's how I learned."

"Your ingredients are all so good. There's no real skill involved in making soup; if the ingredients are good and the pot is good, it won't taste bad."

As Lin Yu spoke, the God of Cookery whispered.

"But adding too much salt, or undercooking or overcooking, will still make a difference... It all comes down to the cooking time and temperature."

"But compared to the precise control of 'heat' in Stir-Frying, I think simmering soup just requires patience. After all, the time difference is measured in 'hours,' which allows for a high margin of error," Lin Yu said slowly. "Unless you forget, it's quite difficult to burn the soup."

The God of Cookery nodded. "That's true... Are you trying to impart some life philosophy to me through the 'soup-making' analogy?"

Lin Yu sighed, "Didn't I already tell you this from the beginning—besides, don't you understand this principle?"

"That's true," the God of Cookery sighed, "I just... I don't know how to get stronger."

"Chen Le will be able to open his 'Heart Domain' next, Old Zhou can continue to hone his physique, you have just advanced to the 'Tier 3', Yu Yang also needs to undergo the 'Tier 3' Trial, Xiao Yun can collect more 'Entities', Meng Meng has actually touched the threshold of the 'Heart Domain'... Old Zhuo and Old Wu, both at the 'Tier 4', also have Authority to search for them."

"I don't know what to do next, I have no clue about the 'Heart Domain'... but I feel like I have to do something..."

"To be honest... I'm actually very scared, but I don't even know what I'm scared of."

Lin Yu looked at the God of Cookery and said, "I understand you, but... you don't need to become stronger right away."

"Actually, after advancing to the 'Tier 3,' and especially after interacting with the 'Tier 4' more and more, seeing their opened 'Heart Domain,' I actually had a feeling."

The God of Cookery asked Lin Yu, somewhat puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Well... how should I put it? Although each 'Tier 4' character unlocks their 'Heart Domain' differently, and their 'Heart Domain' are also different," Lin Yu said, carefully choosing his words, "But... ultimately, the 'Heart Domain,' as a 'Tier 4' character, is actually the same as the [Item] obtained during the previous 'Tier Advancement, and even the' Profession's we initially acquired."

"This is all about the 'Death game' certification, an extension of the 'self'."

"So, if I had to use my 'intuition'—I feel that you, God of Cookery, and 'Heart Domain' have never been far apart."

"Or rather, all of us in the 'Freedom Alliance' are actually not far removed from the 'Heart Domain'."

"Because almost everyone has the same 'thing' they're passionate about, a 'domain' that allows us to completely immerse ourselves in it."

"Although I am also far from the 'Heart Domain'... I suspect that it might be one of the necessary conditions for opening the 'Heart Domain'."

"So... why not look inward," Lin Yu tapped the casserole dish with his knuckles, "Just do what you do best, God of Cookery. Don't think about 'opening up' your 'Heart Domain,' just simply... do what you're good at and what you like."

Even if you don't become stronger, simply cooking delicious food for everyone as usual is still 'helping'—that won't change.

Food is valuable at all times.

As Lin Yu spoke, the God of Cookery scooped a piece of pork rib from the bowl and put it in his mouth.

He chewed the ribs slowly, seemingly lost in thought.

And in that moment of silence...

"Bang!"

A loud crash came from the backyard gate.

Lin Yu and the God of Cookery turned around and saw a wet figure wearing Black Dress.

Xiao Yun dropped the umbrella, which was mostly torn apart, and went into the God of Cookery's house.

Her face was paler than usual, even tinged with a faint bluish tinge, and her lips were somewhat grayish.

"Ah, Zhu Ming, you're here too... That's great, saves me the trouble of looking for you."

As Xiao Yun spoke, she took two bags out of her bosom.

One of them, which was larger and looked heavy, was still oozing blood. Xiao Yun handed it over to the God of Cookery.

The God of Cookery looked at the bag, got up and put it in the kitchen sink, then took out a soup bowl and ladled a bowl of pork rib soup for Xiao Yun.

The smaller one was tucked into Lin Yu's arms by Xiao Yun.

What's in these two bags?

Lin Yu stood up and asked Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun Yunduan took a sip of the pork rib soup. The warm broth made her look a little healthier, and her cheeks became rosier.

"I went to the Prison Mountain Realm these past two days... I originally wanted to find Qianhuan's body, and that 'Gambler'... but I didn't find them, sorry."

"However, I found the corpse of that Demon Ancestor —part of it, or rather, his remains."

"I took away the parts I could use, and then... I removed the parts I didn't want, the still-fresh parts, and you can use them as 'ingredients', God of Cookery."

"Besides, I also have no use for his 'Inner Core,' so I'll give it to you," Zhu Ming. "It contains Soul Fragment and Residual Consciousness; I guess you might find it useful."

At this point, under the astonished gazes of Lin Yu and the God of Cookery, Xiao Yun raised the soup bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

"Delicious! Much better than your previous pork rib soup. Your skills have improved in just two days. You're a God of Cookery genius!"

As Xiao Yun spoke, the God of Cookery took the soup bowl, ladled out another bowl, and sighed.

"This was... made by Zhu Ming."

After a moment, the God of Cookery spoke in a muffled voice.

"It tastes good, but it can't be that much better than mine, can it?"

Xiao Yun looked at the God of Cookery and said, "Actually, I guessed it. This Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup looks like it's made in Jiang City style, and your hands look very dry, while Zhu Ming's hands look like they've been repeatedly wet... So, I said that on purpose."

As she spoke, Xiao Yun finished the second bowl of pork rib soup, along with the lotus root and pork ribs.

"I was just hungry, and... well, you didn't seem to be doing well, so I was just kidding."