I, the Aeon of Voracity, Snuck Inside the Wall

"He has some research value, but not much. We can keep him alive, but I have no idea when he'll wake up. It could be soon, or he might never wake up again. Life sciences aren't my specialty."

"Doesn't that mean he's in a vegetative state? We're doomed, we're doomed! Himeko, Uncle Yang, what do we do? Did we really run him over?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. At the Astral Express's speed, if it really had hit him, I could tell you right now that he was beyond saving."

"Ms. Herta, is there really nothing we can do?"

"There's nothing I can do. Ruan Mei might have a solution, but I can't reach her. My advice for now is to let him rest."

"All right. That's all we can do, then."

Voices reached Jiang Yao's ears.

Then he heard a click, and the light gave way to darkness.

He instinctively furrowed his brow.

Those voices and names sounded familiar!

Himeko, Uncle Yang, Ms. Herta...

So, did I actually get past that idiot Qlipoth's wall and sneak inside?

Blinking, Jiang Yao slowly sat up and stretched.

He looked around. Everything was dark, but he could still see clearly.

He was currently inside a recuperation pod.

He closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings.

Yep, seems like a space station.

"Woohoo! Here we go!"

Jiang Yao's grin was harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

He had no idea how many amber eras had passed since he transmigrated into the world of Honkai: Star Rail.

He had replaced Oroboros as the Aeon of Voracity.

Generally speaking, Oroboros was out of their mind. They didn't understand the first thing about making a good thing last!

Eating was fine, but did they have to drain the pond to catch every last fish? See? Qlipoth had put them in their place, hadn't he? All they could do was drool at the wall.

Besides, even if we were going to eat, we were an Aeon, for crying out loud. We didn't have to be fussy, but we couldn't just eat anything!

Not a single seasoning, just washing the food down with its own broth. Was that what a transmigrator like me should be eating?

The stuff outside the wall was hard to stomach, and there wasn't much variety in the species, either.

Only an ancient beast like Oroboros, who ate, slept, and ate again without the slightest appreciation for good food, could put up with it!

Pah! What a waste of such a wonderful stomach!

And Qlipoth was no better. Jiang Yao was Jiang Yao, and Oroboros was Oroboros. You couldn't keep me out just because Oroboros ate indiscriminately!

Jiang Yao licked his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

Not long ago, he had fought Qlipoth and paid a hefty price, but he had finally made it inside the wall. That meant he could enjoy delicious food to his heart's content. Hooray!

Based on the conversation earlier and his distant memories...

Jiang Yao concluded that he was currently on Herta Space Station, and that it was probably before version 1.1 of Honkai: Star Rail's story.

Because he could sense the lively presence of a Stellaron nearby.

He could never forget a Stellaron's presence. That bitter, sticky, slug-shaped mouthful with the flavor and texture of shit would haunt him forever. He never wanted another bite; he was practically developing PTSD.

"Pah, pah, pah! I just escaped that misery! Why the hell am I reminiscing about Stellarons?"

Jiang Yao stretched. Now that he was here, he had to give these people a little culinary shock!

Getting aboard the Astral Express was a good choice. He would never repeat Oroboros's mistakes. Forget the Aeon of Voracity—call him the Aeon of Food!

Now that was vision.

Hmm, getting aboard the Astral Express shouldn't be hard, either.

It was no accident that the Astral Express Crew had picked him up. Stelle's train had run him over.

He had to admit, the Nameless were dependable.

Although they didn't believe the Astral Express had run him over, they had still brought him aboard after finding him floating in space.

They had only just finished their Trailblaze expedition on Jarilo-VI, yet they had rushed him straight to Herta Space Station for treatment.

Didn't that deserve some good food as a reward?

Whatever else, the Astral Express Crew had suffered under Himeko's coffee for far too long. It was time for me to deliver them from misery!

Of course, before that, I should have something simple that actual people ate!

With that thought, Jiang Yao opened the door.

Outside lay corridors branching in every direction.

But that posed no obstacle to Jiang Yao.

With a twitch of his nose, he followed the most basic scents of food to Herta Space Station's "kitchen."

It was called a kitchen, but there wasn't a single researcher inside, only a small stockpile of ingredients.

Jiang Yao scratched his head. That didn't seem right, did it?

I'd meant to try those so-called nutritional potions. Looks like I'll have to cook for myself instead.

The only question was, was that okay?

Then again, the Astral Express had run me over. I wasn't trying to scam anyone for compensation, but surely one meal was fine?

As Jiang Yao's thoughts wandered, his gaze was already roaming over the ingredients.

[Melodi-Dove Egg]

[Teyvat Bird Egg]

[Fontaine solid purified water]

[Luofu protein rice]

[Penacony gaseous fluid]

[Bacon and ham]

There weren't many ingredients, and they were all ordinary, but their quality was excellent.

They were also things Jiang Yao remembered only from when he had first transmigrated.

All because that bastard Oroboros had dragged me down!

Life outside the wall was rough!

Good thing I'd finally escaped that misery!

Jiang Yao rubbed his stomach and ultimately chose two eggs.

After all, this was someone else's territory.

It wouldn't be right to put on a grand display of his cooking skills without permission.

Two fried eggs would be just right.

After all, premium ingredients often needed only the simplest cooking methods.

That also made it clear how vital the ability to appreciate and distinguish ingredients was.

As it happened, Jiang Yao lacked neither ability.

There was no secret to it—he had simply put his mouth to work plenty of times.

Frying eggs was no simple task.

To fry a delicious egg, one had to consider both the ingredient itself and the diner's tastes.

Different eggs developed different flavors at the same temperature.

Diners also had their own preferences for how well done their fried eggs should be.

Most of the time, the former was harder to manage than the latter.

Because a diner's acceptable range was just that—a range.

For an ingredient, however, even a single change in temperature could keep its flavor from reaching its peak.

That was something Jiang Yao could no longer tolerate.

It was one thing when I didn't have the means, but with such good conditions now, of course I had to show respect for the ingredients and the food!

"Good conditions" amounted to nothing more than an utterly ordinary stove.

Jiang Yao knew perfectly well that this probably wasn't a public cafeteria.

He took one Melodi-Dove Egg and one Teyvat Bird Egg.

Then he set out two empty bowls.

Holding an egg in each hand, he cracked them one-handed into the bowls, then sprinkled in some crystalline, finely processed sodium chloride.

Er, fine salt, in other words.

Then he began stirring.

There was an art to stirring, too.

Looking evenly mixed to the naked eye didn't mean it truly was. Ensuring the whites and yolks were thoroughly and evenly combined was only the beginner's level.

Instead, perfection meant leaving the whites and yolks slightly unevenly mixed, then using the staggered timing of pouring the egg mixture into the pan to let them blend completely!

That put a chef's fine control to the test.

As it happened, nobody understood cooking better than Jiang Yao!

There was no secret to it—just well-practiced hands.