Chapter One: A Passing Deliveryman

Myriad Martial Arts—this was culinary skill.

Could weapons meant for killing not be used to chop vegetables? Was cooking really such an inconvenient thing?

The reason I was the number one chef in the Honkai world was not that my cooking was the best, but that no chef was as good a fighter as me, and no fighter could cook as well as me.

In short, this was the passionate (?) story of an invincible chef opening a restaurant in the Honkai world while fighting Honkai on the side.

Chapter One: A Passing Deliveryman

Canghai City, Jing'an District.

A hovering motorcycle streaked across the horizon. Stars dotted the night sky, yet the night was far from peaceful. Zhao Bai was busy delivering takeout, riding the Destiny Far East Branch's latest technology and crossing the deep sea in just over ten minutes.

From the back kitchen of a restaurant in St. Freya to bustling Canghai City, the motorcycle made a sharp turn in midair and came to a stop.

Zhao Bai swung off the bike and took out the meal box. Before him stood an utterly ordinary residence, conspicuously out of place amid Canghai City's towering buildings.

The door was ajar. Zhao Bai pushed it open without hesitation. Beyond the entryway lay a pitch-black corridor, as though smoke-stained. Pale violet crystals bloomed across the walls, glowing on their own.

Zhao Bai had arrived a little too late.

The moment he pushed open the door, the Honkai energy counter in his arms began blaring madly, shooting past the yellow warning zone and reaching a deep red that could rise no further.

The pale violet crystals seemed alive as they began spreading toward Zhao Bai, greedily seeking to devour him. Only when Zhao Bai raised the meal box did the crystals gradually retreat.

A pale, slender hand extended from the crystals.

"Save... save me..."

"It hurts... my whole body... is burning..."

"I'm here to save you."

Zhao Bai placed the meal box before him, gently crouched down, took those slender hands, and slowly pressed them against the box.

Something miraculous happened.

The corpse-pale color filling her entire arm faded away, revealing the light pink hue a human should have. As Zhao Bai opened the meal box, a rich aroma immediately spread through the air.

Beneath the aluminum foil lay marbled bone-in beef ribs. The fragrance was complex, containing thyme, garlic powder, paprika, and Himalayan rock salt, all carefully seared with Heavenly Fire Judgment.

Its lightly charred brown surface glistened with running juices.

Zhao Bai unhurriedly drew out his meat knife. Its blade was three feet long, slender and elegant, with lightning flowing across its edge.

It was said to be a famed blade capable of cutting lightning itself, hence its name, Raikiri. Yet Zhao Bai showed it no mercy when using it to cut meat. This steak was far too tender and juicy; only restless lightning could seal all its juices within the meat in the instant it was sliced.

That was how one ought to treat ingredients.

Like a devout executioner's second, Zhao Bai gently swung his blade.

Lightning traced across the steak's uneven surface. Pale pink fibers bloomed like flowers, dotted with milky white fat. A rich burst of rendered fat aroma erupted, only to be sealed away by lightning a moment later. The three-finger-thick steak trembled weakly, soft as tofu.

"So hot... it hurts so much..."

"Save... save me..."

The slender hand trembled slightly. Her body was corpse-pale, her face twisted with pain and confusion, gradually turning ferocious.

Zhao Bai pinched a piece of steak between his fingers. "Your mind is about to be devoured by the Honkai will, turning you into a mindless zombie that knows only slaughter. Eat a bite of my cooking, and you'll turn back."

"Th... thank you..."