Era: You're asked to cook a home-style dish, but you cook Wellington.

That evening, news reports were all about Gao Yang's creamy mushroom and Arctic surf clam pastry.

Before the competition even ended, the Grand Court Hotel received a massive number of reservation calls, one after another. The front desk couldn't keep up with the volume of calls, and all seats and time slots were fully booked.

Wang Biao and the others watched the news on TV in the kitchen, feeling happy for a while and then bitter for a while.

Looks like I'll be swamped with work these next few nights.

Sure enough, that very evening, before Gao Yang could even rest after returning to the Haoting Hotel, he was pulled into the kitchen and made pastry boxes without stopping.

"Sir, this dish is indeed excellent. If it were you, what score would you give it?"

Nangong Lian's mouth was stuffed full of pastry boxes, and he lost all his elegance due to excitement, his cheeks even becoming distorted.

Nangong Hong turned her head away with a look of disgust, not wanting to look at her younger brother even once.

However, he also looked at Steven with curiosity, hoping to hear his opinion on the dish.

Steven took a sip of the white wine in his glass and pondered for a moment.

"If the maximum score is ten, I would give this dish a 9.5."

"It's absolutely amazing. Everything is just right, with great texture and flavor. In particular, the sauce is full of collagen. When you take a bite, the collagen fills your palate. This kind of satisfaction is something that no other dish can match."

"Then what about the remaining half? Why can't you give it to them?"

Nangong Hong asked curiously.

Steven frowned slightly and spoke slowly.

"This dish, although it has achieved all the balance, is actually lacking a main character, meaning that the ingredients it uses are very ordinary, so there is no standout highlight."

"Ingredients and flavor complement each other. Gao Yang is too used to using low-grade ingredients, which prevents him from making the most top-notch dishes. His biggest drawback is his lack of experience in cooking with high-end ingredients."

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

Yes, they all understand the impact of the quality of ingredients on the dish. Just like the roast meat served today, if the ingredients weren't exceptionally good, how could such a simple cooking method have escaped the judges' discerning eyes?

Just then, a man at a nearby table overheard their conversation, twitched his ears, and leaned closer.

"So who will win tomorrow's qualifying match? Tell me! The betting odds have opened in the west of the city, and Gao Yang's odds are so high that I can't resist placing a bet."

The man, with a mouthful of yellow teeth and a pockmarked face, draped his arm over Steven's shoulder and winked at Nangong Hong, looking utterly lewd.

Seeing this scene, Nangong Hong felt a surge of physical disgust and almost vomited.

Seeing his sister's state, Nangong Lian clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, preparing to give this man a taste of his iron fists, but Steven stopped him.

"Fighting is prohibited inside the Grand Court Hotel. This is Gao Yang's territory; give him some face."

Nangong Lian then abandoned his idea of ​​hitting someone, took a deep breath, and sat back down in his chair.

Steven looked at the man again and sneered repeatedly.

"What's going on? They've even brought the gambling king here?"

The man was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"I didn't expect that any of you chefs would recognize me. I just came here because I was interested in the competition."

After saying that, he spat out the cigarette from his mouth, stood up, and walked towards the center of the hall.

The gambling king was so strong that he knocked over the chair with a loud "bang".

He pulled someone out of the crowd.

When the security guards around saw that something was wrong, they were about to rush up and pull the gambling king down, but the gambling king spoke first.

"Haha, let me introduce someone to you all."

His hand stroked the man's back.

Gao Yang also heard the commotion and came out, his brows furrowing.

"She's a girl, shouldn't he avoid suspicion?"

The short-haired girl stood there expressionless, like a robot, unaffected by the gambling king's actions.

"Her name is Shata. She's the latest chef prospect I've found. She's passed the preliminary rounds of this competition, and her next match will be against Gao Yang. Everyone should keep an eye on her. If you're interested, you can place your bets with me. I guarantee I'll be honest and fair to everyone."

"What? She was also a chef who passed the preliminary round."

"I've never seen this person before. They look cold and aloof, so they must be very strong."

"Let's go, let's make some money!"

The murmurs among the crowd grew louder and louder. At first, everyone just watched the spectacle with their arms crossed, but as someone went up and placed a bet on the sand tower, more and more people followed suit, and the scene quickly became uncontrollable.

"What should we do, Gao Yang? Should we just let them cause trouble here?"

Lin Ran was so anxious she almost cried.

Today, Gao Yang passed the preliminary round. I was planning to hold a celebration banquet for him at the Haoting Hotel, hoping that everyone could share in the joy. But I never expected this to happen.

Gao Yang also frowned.

My attention was completely focused on those top players, and I didn't even notice this woman, not even knowing what dishes she was cooking.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I have no impression of this person at all, so this is difficult to deal with.

However, the scene was so vast that Nangong Lian was dumbfounded.

He struggled to swallow the last bite of the pastry, glanced at Steven, then at the gambling king, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.

Having grown up in the Nangong family, he devoted himself to cooking. Even after running away from home, he had never seen such a scene before.

Outsiders coming to cause trouble in a local area—what does that mean? Is it a declaration of war?

Nangong Hong sneered.

First create hype, then make a quick buck—what a clever scheme.

He looked at Gao Yang, who had already come out, nodded slightly, and remained silent.

Gao Yang did not step forward to stop him.

They're just clowns jumping around. Everything will be clear in tomorrow's qualifying rounds, where everyone will find out who's stronger and who's weaker.

In the noisy hall, the gambling king's laughter grew increasingly unrestrained, accompanied by a chorus of discussions, turning what was supposed to be a victory celebration into a complete mess.

Shata didn't say anything, just stood there like a statue, only blinking and making no other movements.

Nangong Lian asked, puzzled.

"How can this sand tower be so strong? It doesn't say a word, yet it lets the gambling king touch it so recklessly. If it were me, I would break its hand."

Steven's gaze was serious as he looked at everything in the distance, his fingertips gently stroking his wine glass.

"It's not as simple as you think. When I traveled before, the gambling king was already quite famous. The people he took a liking to were all quite capable. Over the years, they've lost very few games."

"And that Shata is a formidable opponent. She managed to pass the preliminary rounds quietly without us even noticing. She must have something extraordinary about her. We must not underestimate her, or we won't even know how we lost."

They looked at the gambling king.

The gambling king was calculating in his mind how much money he could win, and he was laughing happily.

Suddenly, the door was flung open with a bang.

"The Green Dragon Gang bets 500,000 on Gao Yang winning!"