Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

These are all national liquors, the kind of New Year's liquors that cost thousands of yuan, meant for gifting. They're basically not meant for personal consumption, but now the girls are bringing back huge piles of them.

"boom"

Regardless of any principles of handling with care, AK12 placed the box on the ground before closing his eyes again and sitting down on the sofa next to him.

Ying Que said awkwardly, "Well, the executioner and the alchemist lady didn't seem to know what this was, so I explained to them that it was wine, and they got really excited, so... they bought a little too much, which has caused you to spend so much..."

So why do they subconsciously think that buying things from you is making me spend money?

"Well, it's not that expensive, it's just a bit hard to find a place to put it, but..."

Luo Fan swallowed the words he was about to say because... the doorbell rang again.

Upon opening the door, both the AK15 and the executioner were carrying a pile of exquisitely packaged cardboard boxes, except for the alchemist who was carrying a few nylon bags.

It's because he couldn't control his alcohol cravings and bought too much at once.

"Is this because the world is about to end, and you're afraid you won't be able to drink alcohol later, so you're stockpiling it in advance...?"

Luo Fan and 416 spoke in unison.

Not everyone here enjoys drinking, and this national liquor doesn't seem suitable for mixing drinks. If that's the case, when will it ever be finished? In that case, this liquor will truly fulfill its original purpose: to be used for aesthetics and collection, rather than for drinking.

A girl on the sofa suddenly raised her hand: "Um... have you started making dinner yet?"

"No, but I've prepared it. What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

"Oh, no, it's just that, if it's alright, I could try using these wines in cooking, if you would allow me to use your kitchen..."

Yingque has cooked at home before, and she has some experience using wine as an ingredient, so perhaps she can help the other party solve this problem.

That seems feasible. Using wine in cooking, as long as the technique is right, it's still possible to make dishes of extremely high quality.

If the other party is willing, they can certainly do so, and may even teach the agent to cook a few Donghuang dishes, since this lady is also from Donghuang.

"Of course, you can if you'd like."

With that, the agent silently walked towards the kitchen, waiting for Yingque to come and help.

Whether this was what she found enjoyable or not, Ying Que was pleasantly surprised to receive Luo Fan's permission. She grabbed a few boxes of wine and ran upstairs to the kitchen.

......

"Commander, doesn't she need to take a closer look? She can just grab a few bottles and start cooking?"

AK12's expression remained unchanged, as calm as ever. However, her teammates and Luo Fan, who had spent a lot of time with her, could sense a slight dissatisfaction in her voice...

Luo Fan shook his head: "Well, perhaps this young lady has never drunk these kinds of wines before, but the fact that she is confident enough to bring it up means she must have some experience with cooking with wine. Let's trust her."

"Well, I just, or rather, we, haven't tried dishes made with alcohol before..."

"Then let's savor it properly this time. I believe she can bring us some unexpected surprises. If possible, she might even teach the agent something, since she'll have to leave here sooner or later..."

With a barely perceptible sigh and a bitter smile, watching the girl's disappearing figure, Luo Fan could do nothing but wish her well.

If she eventually finds her true love, can she brag to others that she helped a princess find her prince charming?

But who would believe that? It's always princes looking for princesses, not princesses looking for princes, especially in modern times. Such a story is just too fantastical.

Just believe her, and if her cooking is really delicious, then hopefully she can teach the agent quickly.

305 Cooking

"Oh no, these are all famous wines, none of which I've ever tried. Will they be much less effective than local wines...?"

After unpacking all the wine boxes, Ying Que realized a serious problem: this was completely different from the wine she used to use for cooking at home and school—at least the brand was different, and as for the taste, she had absolutely no idea…

What's worse, the maid was standing right next to him, saying that her master wanted him to learn a few tricks from her, but her actions and expressions looked more like she was trying to prevent the maid from poisoning the food while it was cooking!

Yingque appears to be carefully considering which wine would be best for cooking, but he keeps glancing at his agent behind him, hoping to distract him. However, he always ends up seeing the same thing.

Even though I didn't do anything wrong, thinking about it this way makes me feel like I really did something bad...

She smiled awkwardly and said, "Um, Miss Maid, could you look at me with a slightly... gentler gaze? You're putting a lot of pressure on me."

She thought this would ease the situation a bit, but to her surprise, the other party had no emotional reaction at all and just spoke.

“I’m sorry, miss, it’s just a professional habit. I love my job and my master very much, so it’s essential for me to maintain my professional ethics. Since my master wants me to learn how to cook a couple of dishes from you, I’m sorry I can’t look away.”

"Uh, okay, I understand, haha..."

This is even more difficult. The maid is more dedicated than she imagined. She had initially thought of her as a special employee of some housekeeping company, but now it seems that she really is the bartender's private maid.

Does she look at her master with such fierce eyes...? (Let me clarify, yes, she does.)

Okay, never mind, let's think about how to use this wine to cook the dishes.

"Luzhou Xiaojiao, a strong-aroma baijiu, what's the difference between it and the kind Dad used to drink...?"

Damn it, I can't tell at all. Baijiu is just baijiu, why would it be different from strong aroma type?

I can't be there in person... wait, it seems I can. As the saying goes, if the cook doesn't steal, the harvest won't be good. Besides, a chef should have tasted the ingredients and proportions himself to know what seasonings to use and how to use them.

The maid needs to cook, so she must understand the significance of this action; perhaps it would be abnormal to deny it.

But this is baijiu (Chinese liquor)... drinking a little shouldn't be a problem, right?

Carefully unscrewing the bottle cap, the alcohol surged out like a trapped beast unable to contain itself, filling Yingque's nasal cavity.

"Oh my God!"

Without prior preparation, I was hit by the force and almost accidentally dropped the bottle on the ground.

Actually, the alcohol in the liquor wasn't very strong after it was opened; it's just that Yingque's nose is too sensitive, and she hadn't prepared herself beforehand, which is why she reacted this way.

But in the eyes of the agent, Yingque's professionalism instantly diminished.

If she gets a tingling sensation when opening a bottle of wine and isn't used to the smell, doesn't that mean she has virtually no experience in the relevant field?

She frowned slightly, but still didn't raise any questions, intending to continue watching the other person work on it and see what they could achieve.

......

"Excuse me, maid, where is the cup?"

"Here, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you."

With the glasses ready, the next step is the wine tasting.

Yingque knew her own alcohol tolerance, so she only poured a few sips into her glass...

As the liquor was exposed to the air, its effects became more pronounced, and Yingque began to feel slightly unwell.

The finished product of cooking with wine offers a completely different experience from simply drinking wine; one is delicious and fragrant, while the other is too stimulating.

I took a small sip, and... um!

It's so spicy...

My tongue stuck out reflexively, and I fanned myself with my hand as if to comfort myself, but it had no real effect.

I hope the other party didn't notice my reaction just now.

Yingque turned around again, but the maid was still expressionless, seemingly unaware of her reaction, yet also seemingly aware, but remaining noncommittal.

"Don't worry about me, please continue. I will write down every step you take."

The agent nodded slightly, signaling Yingque to continue with his steps.

But she couldn't tell. She felt unwell after drinking just a little bit, and if she tried any more, she might lose consciousness.

Forget it, I'll just go with my gut feeling. 20-30ml should be more than enough.

At least, she had always used this amount when cooking for her family or friends before, but this time she was using expensive liquor, so she didn't dare apply her previous standards here.

However, the difference is probably not too great, since it's not a foreign liquor and the variations that can be produced are not too complex.

......

"Commander, I'm not entirely confident in that outsider woman's abilities. Should I go up and check on her?"

Having sat with Lofan for quite some time, Mondragon was not entirely at ease about the situation upstairs, so he decided to go up and see if anything had gone wrong.

Luo Fan patted her shoulder gently, signaling her to calm down: "No need, the agent is watching over things, don't worry. If she can't spot any problems in the kitchen, then we certainly won't be able to either."

"...You're right."

She doesn't know anything about cooking, and when she brought it up, she couldn't really see anything wrong with it.

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere of MDR, the girls also took out their phones and started playing, and they were really playing, downloading the game and starting.

Moreover, they don't just play separately; some even team up to play together, from FPS games to card games like Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game).

This has caused a perfectly good bar to turn into something like an arcade...

The area where Lofan was located became relatively quiet. Mondragon, Barrett, Paradis, and all the girls who preferred quiet all sat with Lofan.

If it weren't for the nausea they felt looking at the Paradis guys, the AR team and the Rebellion team would have already sat down together. Barrett and Mondragon hadn't had much interaction with Paradis and didn't feel anything for them.

Helian? She's off playing cards with the girls, and she feels just as uncomfortable with the people of Paradis.

Morido laughed and said, "Commander, it seems your girls still have a lot of opinions about us. As soon as they see us here, they all dare not come over."

"This isn't normal; I'd avoid it too..."

After all, apart from Adeline and Mrs. Grey, there aren't many normal people around here.

306 Best Sisters

In the kitchen

As time went by and with the constant "chef's smuggling," Yingque became more and more skilled at controlling his alcohol tolerance and the heat, and began to regain some of the feeling he had when cooking before.

Although it's a little different from the wine I used for cooking before, I can still achieve the same effect by making slight adjustments to the amount.

After putting on gloves, Yingque peeled open the shell of a lobster and handed it to the agent behind him.

"Would you like to try it?"

The smile after hard work was so sweet, and the feeling it gave to others was so pure that the agent was stunned for a moment.

However, it would be beneath a maid's status and demeanor to take the shrimp with her hands, so she chose to bite it directly with her mouth.

The lobster itself is of superior quality, with fresh and smooth meat, and its whole body is covered with red chili oil. Paired with the white wine that runs throughout the dish, its flavor is different from simple spicy shrimp. It is hard to describe in words. You can only understand its deliciousness by tasting it.

"How was it? How was it?" She looked very excited and could hardly contain her smile.

"Hmm, it tastes very good, Master should like it..."

She didn't hold back her praise. Although the cooking process wasn't very smooth, after repeated tastings and minor adjustments, the final result was very satisfying.

She could tell that the girl had a similar temperament to SAT8 when she cooked: she was serious, enjoyed it, and treated every dish with utmost care, not tolerating any carelessness.

This is also where chefs and servants are similar: both demand the best in every aspect of their job, and their strict control over the proportions of each ingredient is like ensuring that every crevice of a bookshelf is spotless, allowing no room for error.

Of course, this is on the premise that people with these two identities must be dedicated to their work and even enjoy it.

For Yingque, cooking is a form of enjoyment.

Perhaps she and SAT8 could have a lot in common, but I... am not good at talking much, so I'll pass.

"Keep up the good work, I will tell my master that you are doing a great job."

"Yes, thank you for your recognition!"

For a chef, the recognition of diners is the best reward. The agent's encouragement gave Yingque even greater motivation. She took out sweet wine and sea bass from the bag and prepared to work on the next dish.

......

Fourth floor, MDR room

......

AA12: "Can we kill this one...?"

MDR: "I got Q... Oh well, I'm going into the tower."

AA12: "You fucking go ahead and do it!"

MDR: "You son of a bitch, why don't you take the blame first?!"

AA12: "I'll tank first, what are you talking about? If I go in, I can't hit him, and after you Q him..."

MDR: "You can't hit him, so you're not going to tank?! You know you can't hit him, and you're still not going to tank?! How am I supposed to hit him?!"

AA12: "When you go in, will the tower attack you or not? (enraged)!"