Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

The next day, early in the morning.

When the rich aroma of beef wafted throughout the entire Polaris Lodge, no one could resist the smell and continue sleeping.

Because the rich fragrance had already seeped into everyone's room through the crack in the door, like an invisible hand teasing everyone's nose.

Even though she was still in a daze, her body, under the control of her taste buds, struggled to get out of bed. After a quick wash despite feeling extremely sleepy, she staggered into the kitchen.

Good morning, Lin Yujun!

Lin Yu, who was busy at the stove, heard the sound and turned around to see everyone standing at the kitchen door.

"Everyone's up really early!"

Although he got up very early, Lin Yu was in pretty good spirits.

"Hehe, it's not that we got up early, it's just that your cooking smells so good, Lin Yujun!"

Everyone in Polaris Dormitory joked about it.

"This aroma is irresistibly tempting!"

"I can smell the fragrance in my room, so I can't sleep at all."

"Now that I'm in the kitchen, the aroma is even stronger! I can feel my mouth watering!"

Seeing everyone's reaction, Lin Yu couldn't help but find it a little funny. "Alright, you've come at the right time. The beef balls are just cooked."

Lin Yu arranged many bowls on the long table in the kitchen, and put sesame seeds, chopped green onions, dried shrimp, bonito flakes, seaweed flakes, etc. into the bowls, and then picked up a soup spoon.

A few beef balls, along with the hot soup, fell into the bowl.

The beef balls floated on the soup, garnished with scallions and other ingredients, making them look especially tempting.

"I'm starting!"

One beef meatball after another was put into the mouth.

The moment the teeth landed on the surface of the beef ball, the elastic skin almost bounced the teeth away. It wasn't until some force was applied that the beef ball was bitten open.

The moment the beef ball bursts open, scalding hot broth gushes out, instantly filling the entire mouth.

Beef, pork, and shrimp.

The rich broth, containing three kinds of umami flavors, lingers between the lips and teeth, tightly enveloping the tongue. The ultimate rich and delicious flavor penetrates the taste buds and strikes the brain directly, so delicious that it almost makes the taster lose consciousness.

"not good....."

"This delicious taste... I'm really going to lose consciousness..."

Only after the last "pissing beef ball" was swallowed and the bowl was empty did everyone come back to their senses from the overwhelming deliciousness.

"It's so delicious!"

"It was so delicious that the moment the broth burst open, I felt like I lost consciousness!"

Yoshino Yuuki put down her bowl and let out a long sigh of relief.

"I feel that being able to eat this bowl of 'pissing beef balls' made by Lin Yujun herself is the greatest luck of my life."

"Even if I don't pass the dormitory training a few days later, I'll feel like I can die without regrets!"

Hearing Yoshino Yuuki's words, Lin Yu found it somewhat amusing, thinking that this usually lively and cute girl was making some exaggerated jokes.

"Joint training with accommodation?"

"It seems like I heard you say that word last night, Yuuki."

Curious, Lin Yu still raised his doubts.

"So, what exactly is residential joint training?"

"Is it something like a study tour or summer camp for elementary school students?"

"I didn't expect this college to have extracurricular activities like this!"

Lin Yu subconsciously sighed, but when he turned around, he found that everyone looked a little off. Their expressions were heavy, and even the air in the kitchen had become oppressively silent.

Lin Yu even vaguely sensed a hint of anxiety tinged with despair.

"Lin Yujun, this is not some easy extracurricular trip."

After a long silence, Ryoko Sakaki finally stepped forward, breaking the oppressive atmosphere, and explained to Lin Yu:

"This is the first brutal trial that first-year students at Totsuki High School will face!"

As Ryoko Sakaki finished speaking, the others nodded in agreement.

"All first-year students will be gathered together and sent to a training camp built deep in the mountains for a period of completely closed training."

"Although the joint training program only lasts for a few days, every day at the training facility, all students face intense cooking challenges, and the judging criteria are very strict."

Lin Yu asked, "How strict is it?"

"Stricter than I imagined!"

Ryoko Sakaki's expression turned extremely serious.

"In the daily teaching of Totsuki Academy, although there are cases of students being expelled, it is not common. Usually, the school will only expel students if they receive the lowest class rating multiple times and accumulate a certain number of such incidents."

"But this residential training program is different!"

Yoshino Yuuki took over the conversation, her voice almost trembling as she spoke.

"During the joint training camp, failure in any assessment could result in immediate repatriation!"

"And deportation often means dropping out of school!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Polaris Dormitory seemed to feel a chill, which seemed to seep into their very bones, ignoring their clothes and flesh.

Isshiki Satoshi sighed and stepped forward, saying, "There's nothing we can do; this is the nature of Totsuki Academy."

"Ruthless competition!"

Isshiki Satoshi looked at everyone and slowly spoke:

"Everyone, you must understand that the boarding training is just the first test you will face after entering the high school."

"This trial will tear away the veil of warmth that Totsuki presents, starkly revealing its cruel survival rules to you!"

"I can say this definitively: in Far Moon, competition is something you can't escape."

"Because this kind of brutal competition will permeate every single day of the three years of life for Totsuki Academy students!"

"Everyone, if you want to survive in this academy..."

"Therefore, adapting to the fierce competition and winning in the competition is a problem that every student must face, and it is also the only way to survive."

Isshiki Satoshi's blunt and cold words made the already oppressive atmosphere drop to an even lower level!

Although Lin Yu wasn't as anxious as the others, he still looked at Isshiki Satoshi and asked:

"Isshiki-senpai, you must have participated in last year's dormitory training, right? Was it really that strict?"

Isshiki Satoshi nodded, his face serious and his expression extremely earnest.

"I'm absolutely not joking!"

"In the residential training program I attended, dozens of students were forcibly repatriated and expelled almost every day."

"The most outrageous situation is that in one day—no, to be precise, in just one morning's assessment—nearly two hundred students were expelled!"

Two hundred!?

The crowd gasped in disbelief.

"yes......"

Isshiki Satoshi let out a long sigh.

Even though a long time has passed since that experience, and even though he has become one of the Ten Heroes, Isshiki Satoshi still feels a little uneasy whenever he recalls it.

"You wouldn't believe it, but the night before, during the surprise assessment, the students filled the entire hall with their speeches."

"But when we gathered again the following evening, the number of people was so sparse that only half the hall could be filled!"

"Looking back now, that scene was truly horrific!"

"In fact, I even made some inquiries. It turns out that the dormitory training in Isshiki's year wasn't the most brutal." Standing in the corner, the usually taciturn Ibuzaki Shun suddenly interjected.

"Isn't this tragic?"

Upon hearing this, Yoshino Yuuki covered her mouth in shock.

"certainly."

Ibuzaki Shun nodded. "In the worst year, out of more than 900 first-year students, only a little over 150 returned to school after just a few days of boarding and training."

"A total of over 750 students were forcibly deported and expelled, resulting in a staggering dropout rate of almost 85%!"

"What?!"

Everyone present was so shocked by the astonishing elimination rate that their faces turned pale.

Of course, except for Lin Yu.

"Alright, everyone, stop scaring yourselves."

Satoshi Isshiki displayed the demeanor of a senior student and immediately stepped forward to comfort people.

"What Ibu-kun just said was a special case; it was just one year that this terrifying elimination rate was reached. It cannot be regarded as a normal situation."

"Under normal circumstances, the attrition rate is only about 50%."

"That's all?"

"Isshiki-senpai, do you seem to have a misunderstanding of the concept of 'half'?"

When Yoshino Yuuki said this, her teeth were chattering and her voice was trembling.

What does "only half" mean?

"Please, Isshiki-senpai!"

"Of course, you can say 'that' with a completely relaxed expression."

"But for us, that means a failure rate of over 50%!"

Hearing Yoshino Yuuki's words, everyone began to feel anxious, seemingly very worried about the "half" elimination rate.

Suddenly, Yoshino Yuuki noticed Lin Yu, who had a calm expression on his face.

"Lin Yujun, why are you so calm? There's a 50% elimination rate! Aren't you worried at all?"

"Worried? What's there to worry about?"

Lin Yu flipped through the accommodation and training brochure in his hand, his expression as calm as ever, his tone unhurried.

"Just like what Iroha-senpai said earlier, the elimination rate is 50%, so in other words, isn't the pass rate also a full 50%?"

Lin Yu met everyone's gaze and made eye contact with each of them.

"I usually keep an eye on everyone in Polaris Dormitory, and I think everyone's strength is quite good. At least they are definitely among the top in this academy."

"Everyone, ask yourselves honestly, can't you even rank in the top 50% at Totsuki Academy?"

"You guys have so little confidence in your own abilities?"

Seemingly infected by the calmness in Lin Yu's eyes, everyone felt less panicked and even gained some confidence after hearing Lin Yu's words.

Yes, the elimination rate is 50%, but from another perspective, the pass rate is also 50%!

Don't you even have the confidence to beat half of the students ranked at the bottom of the college?

“That’s not the case!”

"Lin Yujun is right!"

Everyone was encouraged, just as a person who had been freezing was warmed up by drinking a bowl of hot soup.

The anxiety, panic, and unease dissipated, and as everyone encouraged each other, their confidence grew stronger.

Yoshino Yuuki even stood on a stool and vigorously swung her fist.

"It's just a simple residential training program, right? It's just about surpassing half the students in the entire academy, isn't it?"

"Don't underestimate us, we'll take you down in no time."

"We're the Polar Star beings who can cure infantile night crying!"

"Everyone, are you confident you can get through the residential training camp?"

"have!"

"Speak louder, do you have confidence?"

"have!"

Everyone erupted in a thunderous roar, so loud it nearly shook the kitchen roof off.

"That's right! That's exactly it!"

"You have to have that kind of confidence!"

Satoshi Isshiki opened his arms wide, his face filled with emotion.

"I firmly believe that everyone in Polaris Dormitory will successfully complete the residential training and return to Polaris Dormitory without a single one missing!"

"Don't worry, everyone! While you're gone for the next few days, Aunt Wenxu and I will take care of the house!"

"We're here waiting for you all. We wish you a safe return!"

"May you all have great success in your military endeavors!"