I said you are all war criminals

Xiangzi, who was outside the simulator, was also stunned.

A super chef, what is that?

Based on her understanding of food battles, isn’t the highest-level chef the Michelin three-star chef?... Is the person in this simulator me?

"A master chef is simply a qualification issued by the government. It has nothing to do with the chef's skill level... Even a chef who can't even flip a wok can be considered a master chef."

Senzaemon continued, "As for the Dragon Chef, it's based on the ancient Chinese classification of chefs—Wolf, Tiger, Ghost, Dragon, and God. Chefs are divided into these five levels. To reach the rank of Dragon Chef, one must be able to destroy several cities single-handedly."

"puff--"

Hakuno spurted out instantly.

Dragon, is this the dragon that chef Dragon refers to?

So chefs are all weird!

PS: The chef level refers to the monster level of One Punch Man.

Simulator: Dragon Chef is a dragon, Dragon-level monster is also a dragon, aren't they the same? 11

Chapter 54: Chefs and Ingredients

"You can destroy a city...how?"

"Looking at Senzaemon's body, he's certainly strong, but he doesn't look that powerful. Okay, he's able to suppress your increased power, which is impressive. But that doesn't mean he can destroy the city, right?"

"With my muscles—I'd like to say that, but I'm not a wrestler like Yujiro. While I'm healthy thanks to a healthy diet, I simply can't take on an entire nation alone." Senzaemon said honestly, "Cooking is a ritual performed to honor the gods. We communicate with the god called Earth, causing it to show mercy or wrath... Ultimately, as individuals, we chefs are powerless."

You look at Senzaemon suspiciously.

[This old man just pinned you down with his bare hands.]

【Senzaemon continued calmly.】

"If I truly wanted to destroy a city, I would have to prepare for over a year before summoning a natural disaster. While it was a weapon of war in ancient times, it's useless nowadays, just a trick."

“…Isn’t this nonsense?”

Xiangzi was on the bed, no, the tatami, no, to be honest, Xiangzi was lying on the floor.

She tried closing her eyes several times, but the simulator still appeared in her eyes, as if it was hiding under her eyelids.

It seems that no matter what, this simulator seems to be trying to force Xiangzi to continue watching.

"A chef is just a chef. He is neither above nor below that."

Senzaemon looks at you. "If we're talking about pure power, you hanyou are more direct."

"By eating food originally dedicated to 'nature', a hanyou can revive the youkai blood within itself. In your current state, that's the demon blood within you being revived."

"Hmm... I think I understand it."

Hakuno commented as he entered a spectator's state.

The simulator seems to have considered questions like "Why didn't the chef take action in the first two simulations?" and designed the chef as a mage unit that takes a long time to cook.

In the first and second simulations, this prolonged practice clearly proved ineffective. A year's worth of effort would have seen nuclear bombs plowing the land in the age of cyber-corporations, and a single-handed sword-and-helmet capable of destroying entire nations would have been unleashed in the age of swords and armor... It seems reasonable to say that the chef was "out of touch with the times."

Moreover, Bai Ye vaguely remembered that in the early stage of the first simulation, he seemed to have asked Liangdian to release a genetic extinction virus to kill all living things on the earth except humans at once, so the chef probably didn't have much room to maneuver?

"Will you still help me think about how to be consistent with myself... But I won't forgive you for playing such a confusing game of reasoning on me last time!"

Bai Ye muttered unhappily.

Meanwhile, Xiangzi's simulation continued to advance.

"So, I'm... a ghost?" You stared blankly at the car mirror. The horn on your forehead was gleaming in the mirror.

You are shaken violently.

Not to mention Xiangzi in the simulator, even Xiangzi in reality is wavering.

The Japanese word "Oni" doesn't refer to ghosts, but rather non-human monsters with horns, green faces, and fangs. So which girl would want to become so ugly?

She had already made up her mind that she would never eat Senzaemon's cooking tomorrow... No, before that, she had already planned to reject the offer letter, but this was just a simulation to see what would happen if she accepted it. Xiangzi had never planned to join Totsuki!

"Since you've awakened your demon blood, let me ask you again... Do you want to become a chef?"

[In front of you who was wavering, Senzaemon asked this.]

[Your heart is filled with an inexplicable urge, but at the same time it is full of contradictions.]

"Becoming a chef..." you muttered, a hint of confusion flashing in your eyes.

Now you know that chefs aren't the ordinary profession you imagined. They exist in modern society, but they are not ordinary people. They are powerful people who hold power and authority!

"Yes, become a chef." Senzaemon's voice was firm and powerful. "You have the power of a demon, but that doesn't mean you are a demon. Power itself is neutral; the key lies in how you use it."

He slowly stood up, walked in front of you, and stared at you with a sharp gaze. "Become a chef, tame the surging demon blood in your body, and become a more perfect version of yourself than anyone else... Are you willing to do this? Or would you rather live like an ordinary person?"

[You are silent. 】

“I… I don’t know.” You finally said what you really thought. “I’m afraid of becoming a monster. I’m afraid of losing control.”

Senzaemon smiled faintly. "You are already a monster—what matters is what kind of monster you become."

"You have awakened your demon blood, but your soul has not yet been consumed by it. You have the freedom to choose who you wish to be."

[There's an indescribable magic in Senzaemon's voice that gradually calms you down.]

“As a chef, you learn how to control and harness the power within you, rather than being controlled by it.”

These words may confuse Xiangzi in the simulation, but Xiangzi in reality has only one question: What if I don’t want to be a chef?

…As a result, the simulator reacted as if it had seen through Xiangzi’s thoughts.

"What if I don't want to? What will you do to me if I don't want to be a chef?"

Senzaemon wasn't surprised by your question. He answered calmly, as befitted his age.

[“I won’t do anything to you, little girl. But you have to know one thing, that is, for a chef, the most important thing is the ingredients…”]

"Your existence, your identity as a half-demon, is an irresistible temptation for chefs pursuing the ultimate in cuisine. They might stop at nothing to obtain you."

You feel a chill, as if you can already see the fierce competition among those crazy chefs to get you.

"But if you choose to become a chef, you will learn how to harness your power, how to transform it into the soul of your food," Senzaemon continued. "You will no longer be the prey, but the hunter."

You see, this isn't a multiple-choice question.

[No, it should be said that you have already made your choice—after you chose to come to Totsuki yesterday, you have been isolated from any path other than being a chef.]

【You can only survive as a chef or die as an ingredient.】7

Chapter 55: Hakuno's Simulation

Bai Ye felt a sense of urgency.

This was the first time the simulator had actively designed the worldview... No, it was the second time. Xingge's simulation was already the simulator's doing, but it was a little too much...

"I can't fall behind the simulator, so I have to start preparing now."

After seeing that Xiangzi decided to join Totsuki, Hakuno also turned on his simulator.

Because Bai Ye chose to "hang up" the progress, Bai Ye's simulation reached the first multiple-choice question.

[Do you want to kill the woman in front of you, or let her go? ]

[1. Kill her.]

[2. Let her go.]

"Let me see what's going on..."

Hakuno started watching the previous episode.

It turns out that Hakuno in the simulation picked up a ghost-level chef on the roadside...huh?

Now Hakuno felt like he was in a shopping mall in his previous life and saw "Akihabara" in China.

"Are you serious?" Hakuno looked at the simulator with a subtle expression. "Do you really think I'll be able to pick up a pregnant, sexy, tall, and long-legged widow on the street tomorrow? Is this still Japan? What's wrong with me?"

The results in the simulation are "reality." If you completely recreate the simulation, without involving your simulated companions, you will definitely get the same results as in the simulation.

【absolute.】

The simulator makes this guarantee.

"OK then……"

Bai Ye touched his head and then clicked on option one.

He killed this ghost chef.

You killed this woman, dismembered her body, and hid it. Although you had little experience disposing of bodies, you knew the Japanese police weren't very effective, so you didn't feel any psychological burden.

[However, when you were dismembering the body, you noticed that it was unlikely that the woman was alive—not that you killed her and that's why she died, but that you didn't find a heart in the body.]

[Vegetables can live without hearts, but can people also live without hearts?]

"You're still showing off your literary talent, right? Do you think I haven't read Investiture of the Gods?"

Hakuno complained and tapped the simulator's light screen, urging it to continue advancing the plot.

The reason why he chose to "kill this demon-level chef" was simple. If he saved the chef, he and Xiangzi would most likely follow the path of "the chef triggering the monster bloodline"... Hakuno didn't want to do that.

That is to follow the idea of the simulator.

It is indeed fun to follow the game process, but Bai Ye prefers the side with greater freedom.

"Let me think about it... Let's not talk about the chef for now. As for the half-demon, judging by the simulator, it seems like a hybrid of youkai and human. In that case, can we tell with genetic sequencing?"

Hakuno didn't know much about gene sequencing; he only knew about techniques that analyzed genes from blood or saliva, which seemed to reveal one's ancestry. His most vivid memory was the puzzling advertisements he saw while browsing Bilibili, such as "You're 44% Japanese!" He had no idea how to use them.

But that's okay.

Yamada Ryo, start!

[You advise Liang to apply to the University of Tokyo's medical school and major in gene sequencing.]

【Liang did not agree.】

You presented her with twenty tons of gold and told her that you would pay for all the band's affairs from now on.

[Ryo is taking the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo's medical department.]

"Okay, I knew you could do it, Ryo!"

Bai Ye waved his hands fiercely.

He didn't give himself any "superior intelligence" buff, nor did he plan to let his simulated self jump to the medical department... Professor Okabe of the Department of Neuroscience was quite nice to him, and Hakuno didn't plan to follow the example of Uchiha Sasuke.

After leaving the matter of climbing technology to Liang, Hakuno decided to look for the band members in the simulation.

Since the simulator says, "If you completely restore the simulation, you will definitely get the same results as the simulation," Hakuno can also use the simulator to first pick out bandmates that he likes and is suitable for him.

"Simulator, let me go find the band members...Prefer beautiful girls!"

The simulator began to operate as Hakuno requested.

You search various band gathering places for beautiful bandmates to join you in, and of course you'll meet Xiangzi from time to time.

Even after transferring to Totsuki Academy, Xiangzi has no intention of giving up music. However, since she received a scholarship at Totsuki Academy, Xiangzi no longer needs your money... She wants to discuss with you to end this financial relationship.

"I can continue to be Wildfire's keyboardist, I just don't need the money anymore." Xiangzi said to you.

"Want to escape?"

Bai Ye stretched out his big hand.

"Simulator, record my next words."

"Xiangzi, I believe the most important quality in a person is 'keeping promises.'"

"Since we've already agreed that you'll support me as a keyboard player, and I'll give you the corresponding amount of money... then, this is a 'promise'."

"We must abide by the agreement. Whether it's you or me, we must abide by this agreement."

[Faced with your words, Xiangzi was speechless and could only continue to accept your financial support and join the band as a keyboardist.]