Monster Cook

"Based on the current situation, if we can identify every ingredient in this porridge, we can leave alive!"

Lin Baici looked over the others.

The more than ninety tourists in Xiangji Kitchen had not suffered any physical harm. Even if they felt unwell, it was only from fright and overeating.

"No shit, even an idiot can see that!"

The Old Man snapped, "The key is that this porridge is such a mess. Other than the chef, who knows what ingredients were used?"

"Only the God of Gluttony could taste them all!"

A three- or four-year-old Little Girl sitting across from Jin Yingzhen added in a sweet, childish voice. She wore a little dress and looked adorable.

The Old Man's eyes shifted as another malicious idea came to him. He lowered his voice as though revealing a secret he did not want anyone else to know. "Actually, we can guess!"

Hearing that, the Little Girl looked at Jin Yingzhen and began shaking her head.

"Right! Aren't there only a few ingredients in Eight-Treasure Porridge?"

Brother Gu's eyes lit up.

"Heh heh!"

Lin Baici looked at the Old Man with undisguised mockery.

"W-what? Am I wrong?"

The Old Man felt guilty.

"Baici, what is it?"

Sima Mu was rather straightforward and did not understand why Lin Baici was acting that way.

"If we guess, how many tries will it take to get it right?"

Lin Baici looked toward the kitchen. "I don't think that cook will tolerate a diner guessing over and over until they get it right!"

"That's true!"

Brother Gu had thought they had found a way out, but it would not work. He was deeply disappointed.

"If we guess wrong, we won't get killed, right? At worst, we'll just be trapped here?"

Hua Yueyu looked around. Thankfully, she did not see any corpses.

"You should ask this Old Man!"

Lin Baici sneered.

"W-why ask me?"

The Old Man's gaze darted around.

"You told us to guess the ingredients because you wanted to use us to eliminate wrong answers!"

Hua Yueyu was clever and had also thought of that possibility.

"What?"

Sima Mu was both shocked and furious as he glared at the Old Man across from him.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

The Old Man had been exposed and flew into a rage from embarrassment, but he still stubbornly argued. "I was only worried there might be a limit on the Number of People who can survive, so I quietly told you to keep others from overhearing. I never expected you to mistake good intentions for ill will and falsely accuse me!"

"Who are you trying to fool?"

Hua Yueyu cursed. "With so many people here, I refuse to believe no one has tried guessing the recipe!"

"Uh..."

The Old Man's expression froze.

Why did this damn couple think so fast?

There was no way to fool them!

In fact, someone had tried guessing. After failing three times, the cook had chopped off his head.

"My heart was set upon the bright moon, yet the bright moon shines upon the gutter!"

The Old Man was thick-skinned and did not feel embarrassed at all.

"Looks like we'll have to sneak into the kitchen and check the rice jar!"

Old Aunt offered a suggestion.

"Who's going?"

Sima Mu swept his gaze over everyone.

Obviously, the ingredients used in the fragrant porridge had to be in the kitchen. But the question was, who would take that risk?

Everyone fell silent.

That cook was like a homicidal maniac, making people instinctively wary of her.

"I'll go!"

Jin Yingzhen took a deep breath.

She could not keep relying on Oppa Lin. She had to prove her worth and become a woman fit to be his teammate.

"Brother Gu, Miss Jin has guts. Aren't you going with her?"

Sima Mu provoked him.

"Why don't you go?"

Brother Gu wiped his Canon Camera. He did not want to take the risk!

"How am I supposed to do anything with one hand?"

Sima Mu waved his bandaged left hand. "I'm afraid I'll mess up and make everyone lose this one chance to peek into the kitchen!"

"I can help hold the cook back!"

The Old Man suddenly interjected. "But after you get the information, you have to share it with me!"

"Don't trust him. This rotten old man is bad news!"

Hua Yueyu had noticed that the Old Man kept sneaking glances at her, which annoyed her greatly.

"Enough, listen to Baici!"

Old Aunt thought to herself that Lin Baici had the final say here!

The cook came out.

The entire Dining Hall instantly fell silent. No one dared speak. They all lowered their heads, terrified of drawing the cook's attention.

The cook looked around, then walked up to the Plaid-Shirt Youth and asked with a smile, "Honored guest, do you know what Ingredients were used in this bowl of porridge?"

"This is a rare chance. Hurry into the kitchen!"

The Old Man urged, "I'll definitely help hold the cook back!"

He was anxious because he had already drunk two bowls of porridge. The cook could come for him at any moment.

"I'll go!"

Jin Yingzhen hunched over and was just about to leave her stool when Lin Baici pressed her back down.

"Big sister, don't move!"

The Little Girl who had been leaning against her mother's chest suddenly cried out anxiously, "Earlier, a big brother left his stool, and that terrifying Cook Monster immediately came for him!"

"Later, he couldn't answer the cook's question and got his head chopped off!"

The Little Girl had seen it with her own eyes. That big brother had tried to beat the cook to death, but with just one slash, she had chopped off his head like she was cutting a tomato.

The blood sprayed incredibly high, like a fountain.

Jin Yingzhen's face went pale at those words. She quickly lowered herself back down, then gave Lin Baici a grateful look.

"Oppa, thank you!"

If Lin Baici had not acted so quickly, she would already have left her stool.

When the Old Man saw Jin Yingzhen backing down, he was so angry he nearly spat blood. He shot the Little Girl a vicious glare and cursed inwardly.

You dead brat, who asked you to blabber?

"Thank you, little sister!"

Jin Yingzhen thanked her.

"You're welcome!"

The Little Girl gave her a sweet smile.

"Even if she hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have let you go!"

Lin Baici looked at the people sharing his table. "With so many people here, I refuse to believe no one has thought about going into the kitchen. So why hasn't anyone gone?"

"Why?"

Old Aunt blurted out.

"Because it's dangerous!"

What made Lin Baici unhappy was that the people at his table clearly knew this, yet did not say anything. They simply hoped someone else would try it.

If the person who went died, it had nothing to do with them. But if they succeeded, everyone would have a better chance of leaving this Dining Hall alive.

"Damn, why didn't I think of that?"

Brother Gu slapped his forehead hard. He had been blaming himself and feeling frustrated over his cowardice, never realizing that Lin Baici had known from the start that the plan would not work.

"Then what do we do?"

Old Aunt was uneasy. "We can't really rely on guessing, can we?"

"We could pray that the next wave of tourists drawn in by the fragrance includes a five-star chef!"

Sima Mu had no other ideas.

"A chef won't do. It has to be the God of Gluttony!"

The Little Girl's eyes shone. If it were the God of Gluttony, one sip would surely reveal every ingredient in the porridge, maybe even which spring the water had come from!

That was how it happened on TV.

While Hua Yueyu thought of a solution, she looked toward Lin Baici and saw him studying the cook with a calm expression.

He looked like a diner leisurely enjoying afternoon tea, not some pitiful soul who might die from Rule Pollution the next moment.

Hua Yueyu turned to observe the others. Everyone in the hall was tense, frightened, and terrified. They kept their heads lowered, afraid of meeting the cook's eyes.

Only Lin Baici

was completely composed.

What kind of nerves did he have?

How could he remain so calm in a crisis?

It was a pity her phone did not work. Otherwise, she really wanted to take a picture of Lin Baici at this moment.

After listening to the Plaid-Shirt Youth finish listing the ingredients, the cook shook her head in disappointment.

"Wrong!"

"Let me think some more!"

The Plaid-Shirt Youth racked his brains, but he had already used up all three chances.

The cook drew her knife.

Swish!

The sharp cleaver left a silver streak as it slashed across the Plaid-Shirt Youth's neck.

Thud!

His head fell off, and dark red blood shot into the air.

Xiangji Kitchen immediately erupted in commotion.

After killing him, the cook rubbed the cleaver against the corpse's clothes to wipe off the blood, tucked it behind her waist, then picked up the youth's head in one hand and lifted his body with the other before walking into the kitchen.

Less than ten seconds later, the cook came out again carrying a bucket and a Cloth, then wiped the blood clean from the floor.

After finishing all that, the cook raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then headed toward the kitchen.

As she passed a young woman, the woman was so nervous that she accidentally knocked over her bowl.

Some porridge spilled out.

The cook's expression immediately darkened with anger.

"What a waste of food!"

"I didn't mean to—"

Before the young woman could finish, the cleaver chopped off her head.

Thud!

Her head landed on the table and rolled once.

Hiss!

Everyone sucked in a breath. They lowered their heads even further, practically stuffing them into their crotches.

They were terrified!

Old Aunt trembled and instinctively grabbed Lin Baici's arm.

Jin Yingzhen turned her head and saw that Lin Baici had not panicked.

That reassured her considerably.

The cook crouched down and began wiping the floor. "You've all been drinking porridge for quite some time. Once I'm done with my work, I'll begin asking questions. Those who cannot answer will become firewood for my porridge!"

Everyone's hearts instantly clenched.

The Old Man sitting diagonally across from Lin Baici grew angrier the more he thought about it. He had only come to burn incense and make a wish for a long life and sudden wealth.

How had he ended up in this mess?

Had he known, wouldn't it have been better to get a foot massage?

The cook stood up, looked around, and walked toward Lin Baici's side.

The tourists at several tables instantly went numb. They began praying to every god and Buddha they could think of, begging not to be chosen by the cook.

"S-she seems to be coming for us!"

Old Aunt was so scared that she began to cry.

The Old Man lowered his head, pretending to drink porridge while secretly watching the cook. But their gazes still met, making his entire body shudder.

"It's over!"

At that moment, vicious courage surged in the Old Man. He suddenly stretched out his foot and kicked the leg of the stool the Little Girl was sitting on.

Ah!

Little Girl landed hard on her butt.

"What are you doing?"

Hua Yueyu, filled with righteous indignation, shouted at the sight.

Old Man acted as though he hadn't heard.

Cook stopped in front of Little Girl.

"Little guest, tell me, do you know what kinds of beans are in the congee?"

Cook crouched down and stroked Little Girl's head.

"I... I..."

Little Girl panicked and looked at her mother.

"Please, save her!"

Little Girl's Mother was desperate. She kept pleading under her breath, begging everyone.

There was nothing anyone could do.

Lin Baici tightened his grip on Pine Torch with his right hand.

He stared at Cook and lifted the congee with his left hand, taking a sip.

The rice was sweet, soft, and glutinous, its fragrance overflowing.

It really was good congee.

Jin Yingzhen and Hua Yueyu noticed Lin Baici's action at the same time. They were both afraid and awed.

"Oppa, let's chop it together!"

Jin Yingzhen's moral standards wouldn't allow her to watch a little girl die right in front of her without doing anything.

"Let's do it!"

Hua Yueyu grabbed the edge of the table with both hands, ready to flip it over.

"Brother Lin, hold steady!"

Sima Mu urged.

Sister Xiao Li shot the guy a contemptuous look when she heard that.

The atmosphere in the Dining Hall was oppressive.

Just when everyone thought Little Girl was doomed, they suddenly saw Big Male Student at her table pick up his large bowl and take a sip of congee.

"Good congee!"

Big Male Student praised it. With a thud, he set the huge bowl on the table, then called out to the murderous Cook...

"Another bowl!"