Lin the Hungry One

The enormous Xiangji Kitchen Dining Hall fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

All ninety-three tourists trapped here turned to look at Lin Baici.

This guy had actually taken the initiative to provoke that Cook.

Had he gone mad?

Everyone had already witnessed how terrifying that Cook, with arms thick enough for horses to gallop across, was. Beheading people was as easy for her as cutting watermelons.

But when their gazes fell on the Little Girl trembling like a frightened quail, they all sighed.

They understood that this Big Male Student was trying to save her.

"Oppa!"

Jin Yingzhen stood up, ready to face this alongside Lin Baici.

Seeing that even a foreign girl was so fearless, Hua Yueyu refused to be outdone and immediately rose as well.

"Brother Lin, let's take her on!"

Hua Yueyu shouted.

It was like playing a game. Whether they won or lost was another matter, but they could not lose in momentum. They had to charge in first.

The Cook turned and sized up Lin Baici. "You want another bowl?"

Lin Baici had originally intended to draw the Cook's attention, then take a gamble with the Pine Torch. But after he drank that mouthful of porridge, the God of Gluttony spoke.

[Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, and Happiness Porridge, carefully blended from twenty-eight ingredients including red dates, goji berries, longan, angelica root, lotus seeds, white fungus...]

[After nine steps and fifteen hours of slow simmering over low heat, the porridge is complete!]

[Once cooked, its fragrance drifts for miles, detectable ten li away!]

[Drink this porridge to cast away worries, lift your spirits, nourish your life, and prolong your years!]

Three simple sentences perfectly displayed the bearing of a god-tier foodie.

Lin Baici immediately changed his strategy.

"Such good porridge would be wasted on me alone. More people should get to taste it!"

Lin Baici smiled faintly.

The Old Man rolled his eyes, thinking it would be best if Lin Baici drank it all himself.

"No. You said you wanted another bowl, so you have to drink it!"

The Cook strode forward on two legs as thick as stone pillars and reached Lin Baici in three steps. Lowering her head, she glared down at him viciously.

"If you can't drink it, I'll pry open your mouth and pour it down your throat!"

"Go get the porridge!"

Lin Baici sat down, projecting an imposing, unruffled presence.

The Cook left.

"My Brother Lin, at a time like this, you're still trying to act cool?"

Sima Mu gave a bitter smile. "You really don't take your own life seriously!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

The Little Girl's Mother held her daughter and repeatedly thanked Lin Baici.

"Oppa, you looked so cool when you faced that monster Cook!"

Jin Yingzhen's eyes were full of admiration.

"Mm!"

Hua Yueyu nodded eagerly.

"Even if he looks as cool as a tyrannosaurus, he's still going to die!"

The Old Man gloated. This felt good. At least that annoying guy would die before him.

"Big Brother..."

The Little Girl knew that this handsome Big Brother had caught the Cook's attention because of her, so she blamed herself.

"Don't be afraid. We'll be out soon!"

Lin Baici smiled freely, gentle and bright like March sunlight, warming the heart.

The Cook came striding over with a bowl of porridge and planted herself directly in front of Lin Baici.

"Drink!"

Her left hand was already poised to pry open Lin Baici's mouth.

"Can I leave after I finish this porridge?"

Lin Baici took the huge bowl.

It was a little hot.

"No!"

The Cook stared at Lin Baici. "My porridge is given only to kindred spirits. If you are not a kindred spirit, then you must pay for drinking it!"

"How much?"

Jin Yingzhen cut in.

Pay money?

You should've said so earlier.

That was the one thing I never lacked.

"A life!"

The Cook's clear words sent a shiver through everyone.

"How do you count as a kindred spirit?"

Hua Yueyu pressed.

"Name how many Ingredients are in this porridge!"

The Cook swept a sideways glance across the crowd, pulled the kitchen knife from behind her waist, and pointed it at Lin Baici. "Starting with him, I'll ask each of you one by one. Anyone who can't answer will be used as firewood to cook porridge!"

Quite a few men secretly exchanged looks.

Rather than sit and wait for death, they might as well give it a try!

Drinking porridge and guessing the Ingredients?

Even a gourmet would be helpless.

"Speak!"

The Cook urged.

"Glutinous rice, black rice, yellow rice, sorghum, red beans, mung beans, kidney beans, lily bulbs, white fungus, lotus seeds, angelica root, goji berries, red dates, longan, rock sugar..."

Lin Baici's voice was bright and firm, every word ringing clearly.

Among the Ingredients he listed were beans, grains, and medicinal herbs...

They were all common Ingredients, but once they were cooked into a pot of porridge, it was absolutely impossible to taste every one of them.

"Did he just guess randomly?"

"Obviously. He's just trying a desperate gamble."

"You've got to be kidding. If he guessed right, it'd be more ridiculous than winning a lottery jackpot."

The tourists murmured among themselves, but compared to the more than twenty people before him who had guessed Ingredients, Lin Baici was far too calm while listing the names.

"Twenty-eight!"

The Little Girl counted along. Once Lin Baici finished, she immediately looked at the Cook.

"That's all of them!"

Lin Baici smiled faintly.

Thank goodness for Eidetic Memory. If he had not obtained that Divine Grace earlier, there was no way he could have remembered all twenty-eight Ingredients after hearing them once from the God of Gluttony.

The Cook looked at Lin Baici. Her stern expression suddenly thawed like ice in a spring breeze, replaced by a broad smile.

"Farewell, honored guest. Please come again for porridge!"

The Cook made an inviting gesture.

Creak!

The doors of the Xiangji Kitchen opened.

"He actually got it right?"

Sima Mu was dumbfounded.

"Did he use up all the luck in his life?"

Old Aunt muttered.

"..."

Jin Yingzhen could not describe how she felt at this moment. Lin Baici's excellence had once again surpassed her understanding.

The ninety-three tourists felt the same way.

This Big Male Student had actually gotten it right?

Then they began to regret it.

Damn it!

They had not remembered any of it at all.

"Did any of you remember?"

"Do you think I have eidetic memory?"

"Can't we just ask him to repeat it?"

The tourists chattered excitedly. Quite a few stared at the open doors, desperately wanting to rush out with all their strength, but they ultimately restrained themselves.

The Cook's knife was lethally fast.

The Old Man looked completely stunned. This guy had actually gotten it right?

Then regret overwhelmed him.

Fuck!

I offended someone I never should have offended!

I'm screwed now!

Would he forgive me if I kowtowed to him?

"Big Brother, are you the God of Gluttony?"

The Little Girl blinked her sparkling eyes and looked at Lin Baici with admiration.

"No, I'm a Hungry Person!"

Lin Baici thought that ever since entering Longchan Temple, the hunger had barely stopped. It was practically killing him.

Once they got out,

he would go have hot pot first!

Meat only, no vegetables.

"A bad person?"

The Little Girl looked puzzled, then shook her head firmly. "Big Brother isn't bad. You're a hero! A great hero!"

"I mean hungry, as in hunger!"

Lin Baici mocked himself.

"Hungry Person? Isn't that just a foodie?"

The Little Girl giggled. "I think Hungry God sounds better. Big Brother can taste everything in the porridge, so you must be the Hungry God reincarnated!"

"Brother Lin, quit fooling around!"

Sima Mu called quietly. "Hurry up and tell us all the Ingredients!"

They could live!

Old Aunt was excited, but she also nervously glanced at the Cook. Would she allow such blatant cheating?

The nearby tourists immediately pricked up their ears upon hearing Sima Mu's words.

Lin Baici was speechless. Did they think the Cook was blind?

What if they angered her and she started killing people?

"The honored guest has already announced the Ingredients in the Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, and Happiness Porridge, so repeating them is meaningless. I will return to the kitchen and add a new Ingredient to the porridge!"

The Cook's words immediately triggered a wave of wails and curses.

"The honored guest may leave!"

The Cook intended to close the doors after Lin Baici left.

"Brother Lin, don't leave us behind!"

Sima Mu pleaded.

"Baici, help us!"

Old Aunt was still crying.

Jin Yingzhen and Hua Yueyu said nothing, but they looked at Lin Baici pitifully.

Seeing this, the other tourists began begging as well.

"Since I'm your kindred spirit, can I take them with me?"

Lin Baici asked with a smile.

The Cook hesitated for a few seconds. "Since you insist, I can grant you a privilege!"

"How long has this pot of porridge been simmering? If you answer correctly, you may take them away. If you answer incorrectly, I will cut off your head and burn your corpse as firewood!"

"What will you choose?"

Gripping her kitchen knife, the Cook once again stood before Lin Baici.

Swish!

Everyone looked at Lin Baici, worried sick.

This Big Male Student's next words could decide whether they lived or died.

"Oppa, maybe you should give up?"

Jin Yingzhen felt that guessing the time was far too difficult.

Lin Baici had finally cleared this God's Taboo Game. There was no need to risk his life for people he did not even know.

"Shut up!"

The Old Man bristled at Jin Yingzhen's words, then forced a smile and pleaded with Lin Baici, "Take a guess—any guess will do!"

What if he got it right?

The Old Man knew that given his condition, if they started fighting the Cook, he would definitely die.

"Baici, if you're not sure, then give up!"

Hua Yueyu gripped the edge of the table with both hands, ready to flip it over. Even if she died, she would make that monster Cook pay dearly.

"Fifteen hours!"

Lin Baici gave a time with a blank expression, but inwardly, he was dying of laughter.

Sorry,

I can't lose even if I want to!

With God of Gluttony's Gourmet Review, he could do whatever he wanted!

Swish!

Everyone turned in unison to look at the Cook, waiting for its verdict.