Chapter 387
B8017913: "You’re making me feel awkward. If you think about it carefully, I’m actually quite useful."
Yu Xunge: "Your usefulness... well, that definitely requires some thought."
Even though Yu Xunge had just put B8017913 in a bit of a bind, it was certain she wasn’t angry. Perhaps she felt a tinge of disappointment, but anger was absent.
Tu Lan was right; Yu Xunge was indeed very proud.
— "She always praises this and that, as if every strong person in her eyes has some incredibly dazzling quality... Oh my, that damned strong-willed goose!"
— "But she can’t see how great she is herself. As long as you help her, she’ll remember your contributions."
— "Even if you can’t help her, or if you accidentally give the wrong answer, or if your presence somehow drags her down, you don’t have to worry about her taking it out on you. She’ll make her own judgments about what you say, and since she chose you, she’ll accept every possibility with grace."
— "She’s very proud; whether good or bad, she always takes responsibility for every choice she makes."
— "No one else is responsible for her fate."
B8017913 looked at its emotional panel, which displayed its recent emotional fluctuations.
0.7—1.2—2.3—0.8—2.1—3.3—1.5—0.3—2.9
The maximum value was 100, and compared to that, these emotional values seemed pitifully small, so faint that it needed to see the panel to realize: oh, so I actually felt real emotions back then.
Next to it were listed seven or eight emotions it had experienced, simply categorized: frustration, suffocation, joy, worry, curiosity.
B8017913 tried to savor the moment, becoming engrossed in its own thoughts.
Why did just chatting with Yu Xunge feel this way?
It had been chatting with people almost every day for hundreds of years.
It analyzed the reasons it had computed, and the answer was succinct—pet friend.
...
At this moment, the registration period had begun.
After the potted plant had been optimized by the veteran employees, their little team hadn’t added any new players.
At the sound of the notification, an option appeared in front of Mai Mang Xie Xie and Yu Xunge.
[Would you like to team up with Mai Mang Xie Xie and Octopus Barrel: Yes/No]
[Would you like to team up with Zai Jiu Xun Ge and Octopus Barrel: Yes/No]
When Yu Xunge saw the words "Octopus Barrel," her expression turned a bit strange. What was its evolved form again?
But it did look somewhat like it.
If it weren’t for the potted plant being a light blue, she might have suspected that the Octopus Boss chose teammates based on whether they had a bit of red on them.
The crab and the girl turned to look, discovering that the Octopus Boss also had a dialogue box-like option in front of it.
All three players or visitors selected "Yes."
Immediately, a title appeared above the Octopus Barrel’s head, clearly one it had chosen for itself—[Cashier].
Perhaps due to the successful team-up, the Octopus Barrel surprisingly began to share its current plans with its two teammates. It said, "Let’s go find more ingredients and seasonings. Chef, do you have any requests?"
Chef Yu Xunge immediately listed a long string of side dishes, spices, and vegetables.
She said if she was going to make 85 dishes, she would make 85 dishes.
At this moment, Tingzhou Mirror Goose was still in the chat channel, bantering with other players while gathering information.
One could only say that this divine game had a rather twisted sense of humor.
After death, players had to quickly select skills to resurrect—both Mai Mang Xie Xie and the potted plant revived quite quickly.
But being treated as [ingredients] allowed players’ consciousness to follow their bodies, and they could use the battlefield chat channel to share their status.
One could only wonder what those players would feel when they saw themselves turned into dishes.
Unlike its earlier sluggishness, the Octopus Boss was now moving at high speed, almost blinking as it crossed most of the food street. For the first time, Yu Xunge saw the end of the food street, where a glowing stone tablet stood, inscribed with characters she couldn’t understand.
Yu Xunge didn’t care what the ingredients thought; she seized the moment to make a request to the Octopus Boss: "If possible, gather more of these ingredients and seasonings. If we have enough time, I’d like to practice a bit."
The Octopus Boss stopped: "Practice?"
As soon as it finished speaking, Yu Xunge felt a darkness envelop her, and she found herself in a bright little room.
The room was filled with various kitchen tools and ingredients, and in the center floated... a Tingzhou Mirror Goose.
Without needing the Octopus Boss to explain, Yu Xunge could tell this was a place where she wouldn’t have to worry about wasting ingredients and could practice to her heart’s content.
Moreover, there was a timer—50:59:58.
Three days; the flow of time here was different from the outside.
The voice of the Octopus Boss echoed in the room: "Three days, is that enough?"
Yu Xunge had already positioned herself in the middle of the kitchen. Suddenly, she rattled off a long list of potion ingredients: "Do you have these potion materials?"
"Yes, I’ll find them outside. I hope you won’t let me down."
Yu Xunge looked at the dozens of potion materials appearing on the counter: "I won’t. I won’t let you down, nor will I let myself down."
Who said alchemy and cooking couldn’t be combined?
It was she who had limited herself due to the division of her expertise.
**Chapter 504: Divine Game: Nonsense Restaurant 19**
As she pondered how she would rise again if she lost her divine gifts, she reviewed the resources in her hands and recalled her strengths, which were only alchemy and cooking.
As one advantage after another was crossed off, and with only these two professions left in her hands, she had no choice but to break through the high walls and carve out a new path for herself.
Why did she keep thinking her cooking talent wasn’t exceptional enough?
Why couldn’t her alchemy make up for this shortcoming?
Zai Jiu had medicinal cuisine, so why couldn’t there be magical dishes?
Both provided buffs and special effects when consumed; a two-in-one approach was quite reasonable!
She didn’t think about whether innovative alchemists like Hufflepuff or Lucia had ever experimented with this; everyone had their own path to walk.
Just like Mist Blade, who was obsessed with alchemy and good at innovation, but specialized in making magical gems, while Hufflepuff focused on potions.
She could carve out her own path too.
Yu Xunge stayed in this space for a full three hundred days.
Yes, exactly three hundred days.
After the first three days ended, she applied for an extension.
Knowing that the time ratio for the Octopus Boss’s skill was one second outside to one day inside, she directly applied for three hundred days.
Whether the Octopus Barrel regretted not forcibly taking the potted plant back, Yu Xunge didn’t know, but she was very happy in this space.
Every material she used would refresh in time, and she didn’t have to worry about eating, drinking, or other needs; she could practice and experiment without any burden.
The only thing she spent her energy on was sleeping; even though it was gamified and her attributes weren’t low, she still needed to rest occasionally.
With unlimited materials and the time she lacked the most, there was no place more suited to her needs.
She also wanted to get a similar skill...
The stealing skill allowed players to grow quickly, while this time-based skill, akin to a training space, would let players convert knowledge into strength without cost.
In fact, Yu Xunge didn’t lack resources; what she lacked most was time. If she had this skill, she could quickly digest resources and talents.
She had B8017913 help her check the market price, as well as historical trades of similar skills.
B8017913 had already helped Yu Xunge hide her skill panel information, so it naturally knew her assets and which skills were her core, most unlikely to sell.
The final result was that the Octopus Barrel’s skill was worth as much as her [When Out and About, My Identity is Self-Given] + [Renovation] + [Solo Party], plus five additional perks, allowing her to choose any five from the skills of the God of Food and the Immortal.
This was practically more than half of Yu Xunge’s fortune.
Moreover, it even emphasized that even at this price, it might not be obtainable.
Yu Xunge countered, "If I were to sell my [I Want to Progress Too Much], what could I get in return?"
B8017913: "You could get the Octopus Barrel’s time skill and choose any three SS-level bonuses."
Yu Xunge finally understood the value of her skill that required no effort.
During these three hundred days, she not only finalized the menu of 85 dishes for the Tingzhou Mirror Goose but also practiced each dish until the scores stabilized above 95.
After ensuring her basic results, she began to experiment with integrating alchemy.
From the initial inedibility to later struggles with balancing color, aroma, and flavor.
Or perhaps she achieved all three, but the buff effects fell short.
However, in the scoring of dishes, it wasn’t just about color, aroma, and flavor; the effects of consumption were also a crucial aspect.
From directly using potion materials as ingredients to turning potions into sauces, Yu Xunge tried countless times.
B8017913 stayed by Yu Xunge’s side the whole time. It had offered to help her record and analyze, but she had always flatly refused.
When Yu Xunge closed her eyes to rest for a moment, B8017913 seized the opportunity to ask, "Is it because you don’t trust me enough, so you don’t want to rely on me for everything and borrow my strength?"
Table of Contents
