Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

"These are... handmade beef balls?"

Amidst a deafening chorus of condemnation within the venue, Isshiki Satoshi remained unaffected by the crowd and went with the flow.

On the contrary, the vague sense of familiarity prompted him to observe Lin Yu's movements more carefully, and he eventually recognized what Lin Yu was doing.

"But... is this really okay?"

Although she recognized what Lin Yu was doing, Isshiki Satoshi did not feel relieved; instead, her tension intensified.

"When faced with top-quality Wagyu beef with marbled marbling, wouldn't it be the right choice to forgo overly complicated preparations and use relatively simple cooking methods to highlight the inherent advantages of the ingredient?"

"After all, this is A5 grade Wagyu beef with marbled glaze. The inherent superior taste of this ingredient is simply too strong to ignore!"

Isshiki Satoshi stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Although taking an unconventional approach often produces unexpected results, Lin Yujun's culinary skills should be able to handle it."

"But wouldn't doing this be too dangerous?"

Isshiki Satoshi looked in the direction of Mito Ikumi. This girl with strong brute force was staring intently at the beef in the frying pan, and the way she flipped the meat was gentle, which was very different from her own temperament.

It's just like a loving mother gently caring for her child!

The rich aroma of butter and oil permeated the entire venue. Even Isshiki Satoshi couldn't help but salivate uncontrollably after smelling this captivating fragrance.

"I hope I'm just overthinking it..."

Even though Isshiki Satoshi had complete confidence in Lin Yu, his heart was still in his throat.

......

"You actually did it!"

Lin Yu heard a sound behind him, turned around and saw Mito Ikumi glaring at him with an unfriendly look.

Lin Yu, seemingly oblivious to the anger on Mito Ikumi's face, didn't stop what he was doing and instead smiled as if greeting her:

"Is your meat cooked?"

"Yes, that's right."

Seeing Lin Yu's indifferent expression, Mito Ikumi felt inexplicably annoyed.

"Although I heard the discussions in the room earlier, seeing it with my own eyes now, you actually treated this perfect piece of beef in this way..."

Mito Ikumi pointed her finger forcefully at Lin Yu, gritting her teeth as she said:

"Lin Yu, you really are an infuriating bastard!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yu finally stopped what he was doing.

However, it wasn't that he was provoked by Mito Ikumi's words; he was simply tired.

"Sigh—"

Forced to stop, Lin Yu felt a sharp pain in his arms, making him grimace in pain.

Seeing Lin Yu drenched in sweat and looking disheveled, Mito Ikumi couldn't help but laugh, and her frustration and irritability eased considerably.

"Why not use a meat grinder or a cleaver to chop it?"

Mito Ikumi couldn't help but tease, "You're just asking for trouble. Are you sure you have the stamina to handle it?"

"What do you know?"

Lin Yu retorted defiantly, "Only by hand-beating can you achieve the best taste!"

Mito Ikumi curled her lip in disdain. "That's true, but are you sure your arms... can still swing?"

Lin Yu shook his aching arms while retorting without any politeness.

"Hehe, I think you're not scared, are you?"

"They're afraid of being defeated by me, that's why they're trying to persuade me to give up."

Even though it was a crucial stage of the food battle, Lin Yu didn't feel nervous at all. He shook his sore arms and chatted casually with Mito Ikumi.

"Am I scared?"

Despite knowing Lin Yu's unruly personality, Mito Ikumi was still amused by his words.

"You minced A5 grade Wagyu beef into a paste, completely ruining the near-perfect texture of this ingredient. And you expect me to be scared?"

Mito Ikumi glared fiercely at Lin Yu. "If I'd known you'd waste food like this, I wouldn't have shared any beef with you. It breaks my heart to see you like this!"

"If this piece of beef had consciousness, it would probably be crying out that it died a very unjust death!"

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Looking at Lin Yu across from her, who was still swinging his arms on his own, Mito Yumi felt that she had been ignored by him once again, and she kicked the cooking counter hard in anger.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, is that alright now?"

Lin Yu answered weakly, then glanced at the piece of beef behind Mito Ikumi out of the corner of his eye and reminded her.

"Your beef has rested long enough; it's time to put it in the oven, or it'll be too late!"

Lin Yu paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something and spoke up again to remind him.

"By the way, have you preheated your oven?"

"Hmph! It was already prepared, I didn't need you to remind me!"

"Whatever."

Lin Yu shrugged, then turned around, his back to Mito Ikumi, and continued to frantically pound the beef.

"Great...very good!"

Mito Ikumi clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles trembled uncontrollably.

"You ungrateful bastard!"

Mito Ikumi took several deep breaths to suppress her anger and decided to channel her grief and indignation into motivation.

"How dare you treat my Wagyu beef like this! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

Mito Ikumi repeatedly pressed the surface of the beef with her hand, carefully feeling it. By observing the softness and firmness of the meat when pressed and its elasticity, she determined that the beef had reached its optimal state.

"That guy was right..."

Mito Ikumi took out the sauce she had just made, which was made with a variety of spices and olive oil. She brushed a layer of the sauce onto the surface of the beef to season it a second time, while she chopped some vegetables as a side dish and placed them next to the beef.

Even after Mito Ikumi placed the tray containing the beef and side dishes into the preheated oven, closed the oven door, and set the temperature and time, she still had a defiant expression on her face.

"I will definitely defeat you!"

......

After ending his bickering with Mito Ikumi, Lin Yu turned his attention back to his stove.

After pounding for a while, Lin Yu stopped and, panting heavily, used his hands to feel the smoothness of the beef paste.

"Not enough!"

After catching his breath, Lin Yu added some ice water to the ground beef, then swung his aching arms and continued pounding it.

The food battle time was limited, so Lin Yu didn't dare to waste any time and didn't hold back at all.

Finally, under Lin Yu's relentless pounding, what was originally a large, whole piece of beef was transformed into a fine paste in a very short time.

"Finally finished."

Lin Yu stopped, shook his aching arms, and wiped the sweat from his face.

But Lin Yu knew that now was not the time to rest.

Lin Yu immediately began preparing for the next step of seasoning the beef paste. He added an appropriate amount of eggs and potato starch to the beef paste, which would not only enhance the flavor of the beef balls but also further improve their texture after they were formed.

Thanks to the low temperature in the refrigerator compartment, when Lin Yu took the broth out of the refrigerator, the broth, which had already been cooked to a thick consistency, had solidified on the tray.

The jelly had a smooth surface and a bouncy texture, and it wobbled gently as Lin Yu moved.

Lin Yu took out a small, slender kitchen knife and gently cut the solidified soup jelly into small pieces.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yu picked up a lump of minced beef, kneaded it in his hands a few times, and rolled it into a meatball.

Then, he poked a small indentation on the surface of the beef ball, took out a piece of broth jelly with a spoon, placed it on the beef ball, and kneaded it with even gentler movements to wrap the fragile broth jelly inside the beef ball until there was no gap on the surface of the beef ball.

As Lin Yu wrapped the beef balls, he felt the smooth and delicate texture of the minced beef in his palm, as well as the tenderness of the soup jelly. He could already imagine how chewy and bouncy the outer skin would be, and how tender and juicy the filling would be when the carefully made beef balls were cooked.

"It's done!"

"Hahaha~"

Thinking of all the sweat and sore arms he had put in, Lin Yu couldn't help but smile as he finally saw the results.

Lin Yu boiled a large pot of water and added ginger slices, scallion segments, kelp, and bonito flakes.

Once the water in the pot boiled, Lin Yu turned off the heat, scooped out the flavoring ingredients, and then carefully placed the fresh beef balls one by one into the water.

Lin Yu didn't rush to start the fire, but instead planned to use the temperature of the hot water to cook the surface of the beef balls.

Lin Yu stood in front of the stove and waited patiently for a while until the color of the beef balls began to change, from bright red to the color of cooked meat, and a layer of elastic skin solidified.

Lin Yu gently pushed the meatballs in the water with a spoon to make sure they weren't sticking together and that their surface had solidified to a certain extent, eliminating any risk of them falling apart. Then, Lin Yu lit the stove fire.

At maximum heat, the water in the pot quickly returned to a boil. Seeing this, Lin Yu turned the heat down a little, keeping the water at a gentle boil.

"We've done everything we needed to do. Now, all we have to do is wait patiently."

Lin Yu stood in front of the stove, looking at the boiling water in the soup pot and the beef balls that kept rolling and sinking in the water, and his mood suddenly became complicated.

"It feels... a little too quiet..."

Meanwhile, Mito Ikumi stood in front of the oven, intently watching the changes in the large piece of beef inside through the transparent oven door.

If you were looking down from the audience or the judges' seats, you would see that Mito Ikumi and Hayashi Yu were doing the same thing on the Food Wars stage.

Stand quietly, watching your cooking, and wait patiently.

The atmosphere gradually quieted down, and even their standing postures became exactly the same.

The two, who were originally rivals, are now showing a surprising similarity!

Suddenly, Lin Yu broke the silence.

"Hey, Mito."

Mito Ikumi was startled awake from his focused state when he heard Lin Yu calling him. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that the atmosphere feels a little eerie in its quietness."

Mito Ikumi rolled her eyes at the person opposite her. "Boring."

"Let's just chat."

Even Lin Yu himself felt that he was shameless.

"By the way, how many food battles have you participated in?"

Mito Ikumi opened her mouth to answer, but froze for a second, then showed a thoughtful expression.

"Your question has really stumped me."

Mito Ikumi tried to recall, but couldn't remember anything at all. Even though she knew she had participated in many food battles, she could only recall some fragmented images.

Most of them are scenes of her defeating others in food battles.

"I can't remember exactly, but it happened many times."

"Don't you keep any records?" Lin Yu asked, puzzled.

"Most of the time, they were competing against a bunch of nobodies students. The results of the food battles were completely predictable. It was all about winning. The food battle process was also uneventful, with no surprises at all."

Mito Ikumi looked impatient. "What's the point of recording this utterly boring food battle?"

"That's such a fitting way of putting it for you!"

Mito Ikumi frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's nothing, just reminding you that I'll be keeping track, and also..."

Lin Yu suddenly turned around, and Okimito Ikumi revealed a strange smile.

"Besides, didn't you complain that the food battle was boring because the outcome was always predictable?"

"Don't worry, this time I won't let you get bored..."

"Oh?"

Mito Ikumi's expression immediately darkened. "Are you implying that you've already beaten me?"

Faced with Mito Ikumi's gloomy and angry expression, Lin Yu revealed his signature smile, lazy and nonchalant, as if nothing could make him tense, his languidness revealing a carefree and playful attitude.

"Well, who knows..."

Having bickered with Lin Yu so many times, Mito Ikumi had learned a thing or two about how to get along with him. She took a few deep breaths and forced herself to calm down.

After calming down, Mito Ikumi let out a cold laugh.

"It's good to be confident, but it's a pity you won't have the chance to say things like that again!"

"bite--"

As soon as she finished speaking, the oven behind Mito Ikumi made a crisp sound.

Mito Ikumi revealed a smug expression.

"Because my meal is ready!"

Mito Ikumi took the beef out of the oven. In the center of the baking pan, the beef, under the combined effects of the sauce and the high temperature, had turned into an incredibly tempting brownish-red color. Because it had just come out of the oven, the surface of the beef was still sizzling and dripping with oil.

As the steam rose, the rich aroma of meat swept across the arena like a storm, even spreading throughout the entire venue.

"It smells so good!"

"It smells so good, it must taste delicious!"

"Needless to say, just looking at the color tells you it must be delicious!"

"As expected of Mito Ikumi."

"I really want to eat it!"

"I can't take it anymore, my mouth is watering."

"I'm so envious of those judges, they get to eat such delicious barbecue! Ugh! Why can't I have any!"

The audience was filled with the constant chatter of students, and the entire venue became restless once again.

The scene of Mito Ikumi grilling meat just now was repeated once again, and the crowd was even more agitated than before!

Ignoring the commotion of the crowd, Mito Ikumi used only one hand to lift the heavy baking pan and place it on the counter with a loud thud.

Hearing the sound, Lin Yu looked at the kitchen counter opposite him. It was just a casual glance at first, but the next second, his expression turned serious.

"This is interesting!"

Following Lin Yu's gaze, one could see that Mito Ikumi did not rush to cut the freshly cooked beef with a knife. Instead, she took out a long, slender needle and deeply pierced it into the beef.

After holding the tip of the long needle in the very center of the beef for a moment, Mito Ikumi pulled out the needle and placed the tip on her lips.

Mito Ikumi closed her eyes, and at that moment, everything around her disappeared.

Whether it's the noisy venue, the clamorous discussions in the audience, the judges eagerly waiting in the distance, or even... the food battle rivals right in front of you.

At this moment, Mito Ikumi was the only person in this space.

Bathed in the rich aroma of meat, Mito Ikumi had entered a state of complete absorption. She focused all her attention on the extremely subtle temperature change emanating from the tip of her lips.

"64 degrees?"

"No, it's 65 degrees."

The warmth of her lips was like a blooming fragrant flower, and the alluring aroma of her flesh made Mito Ikumi smile with intoxication, her face flushed with a blush that even her wheat-colored skin couldn't hide.

"ah--"

Mito Ikumi let out an alluring low moan.

"Perfect!"