At docking area A-7 in the harbor, a dilapidated merchant ship was quietly docked, looking completely out of place among the majestic Marine warships around it. Ren, dressed in a clean chef apprentice's uniform, stood quietly at the bow. Silver, disguised as a taciturn guard, leaned in the shadow of the mast.
Soon, a huge, armored, mobile kitchen, escorted by a team of marines, rumbled over and stopped in front of them. The door opened, and Bastille's massive figure stepped out. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, locked on Ren. "Are you the chef from Seven Seas Aquatic Products?"
"I am," Ren replied calmly.
"Did you make that Stardust Ink just now?"
"Yes."
"Good!" Bastille grinned, showing a mouth of white teeth. "Now, use the ingredients you brought to make another dish for me. If you can satisfy me, I can give you whatever you want. If it's all just a bluff..." A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. "I will sink you and your ship to the bottom of the G-5 sea to feed the fish."
"Fine," Ren nodded, as if he hadn't heard the deadly threat. "But I need to borrow the best ingredients from your kitchen."
The request surprised Bastille, but he agreed.
Ren carried the cold jade box containing the Stardust Ink and walked into the luxurious mobile kitchen under the watchful eyes of Bastille and a group of Marine officers. He didn't start cooking immediately. Instead, he scanned the various top-tier ingredients in the kitchen like a king inspecting his domain: marbled beef air-freighted from the East Blue, snow crabs from under the ice sheets of the North Blue, explosive chili peppers from a volcanic island in the South Blue... everything was there.
"The ingredients are good, but unfortunately, the preparation is too crude," Ren shook his head and picked up a snow crab leg that the G-5 chefs were proud of having already prepared. "The sinew of the crab meat has not been properly removed, and the temperature of the ice water was too low, which destroyed the cell walls. At least thirty percent of the umami has been lost." With every sentence he spoke, the face of the G-5's head chef, who was standing nearby, turned a shade paler.
Under everyone's gaze, Ren began his performance. He didn't choose any of the flashy ingredients, but instead picked up the most common, largest piece of bone-in beef rib from the G-5 cafeteria. First, he quickly marinated it with a secret technique, then used a high-temperature blowtorch to form a thin, seared crust on the surface of the beef, locking in all the juices. Next, Ren placed the huge beef rib directly into a giant pressure cooker, adding more than a dozen spices and vegetables "borrowed" from the G-5 kitchen. Finally, he carefully opened the cold jade box and poured the Stardust Ink, like a black waterfall, all over the beef rib. He closed the lid and started the fire. The entire process was fluid, filled with a mysterious sense of ritual.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the dish to be ready. When the pressure cooker's valve began to dance wildly, and a complex aroma, a hundred times more overpowering than the sample, a mixture of ultimate meaty fragrance and deep-sea umami, leaked from the pot, Bastille's body jolted. His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.
Finally, the time was up. Ren opened the lid. In that instant, it was as if a thousand stars had burst forth from the pot! A thick, black and gold pillar of light, so dense it seemed to swallow the surrounding light, shot up into the sky, enveloping the entire harbor in a sacred yet sinful aroma.
The moment they smelled this, Bastille and all the officers behind him were stunned. Their eyes became dazed and fanatical, like believers witnessing a miracle. In that moment of their distraction, a nearly unnoticeable shadow—Silver—silently merged with the shadows of the harbor and disappeared.
And in the distance, on the dilapidated sailing ship, Rocks saw the black pillar of light shooting up from the harbor. A cruel smile appeared on his face. "The signal to feast has arrived."
It was an aroma that could make one's very soul sink into depravity. Bastille and his high-ranking officers had now completely forgotten their identities and duties. Their eyes were fixed on the giant pressure cooker, their minds consumed by a single thought—eat it!
Ren expressionlessly placed the huge beef rib, which had been stewed until it was falling off the bone and had a glossy, obsidian-like color, onto a huge silver platter. The beef seemed to be breathing, each quiver emitting an even more fatal temptation. "My dish is called 'Abyss Roar'," Ren introduced succinctly.
"Give it to me!" Bastille practically lunged forward. Forgetting all his dignity as a Marine Vice Admiral, he tore off a large piece of the scorching hot beef with his bare hands and stuffed it into his mouth. The moment the beef entered his mouth, his large, bell-like eyes shot wide open. He froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.
It was an ultimate deliciousness that could not be described in words. The fibers of the beef had been stewed until incredibly soft, yet they retained a perfect chewiness. The moment his teeth touched it, the meat juices, which had absorbed the essence of the Stardust Ink and dozens of spices, exploded in his mouth! The deep umami, the wild fragrance, the domineering richness—the three flavors were like three ancient behemoths, waging an earth-shattering war on his taste buds.
"Waaaaah!" Bastille let out an inhuman roar, a mixture of pain and ecstasy. He felt his soul being dragged into an abyss of gourmet food, where it was indulging, being destroyed, and then being reborn in the ultimate deliciousness. The officers behind him also rushed forward to grab a piece, each of them eating with tears and snot streaming down their faces, a complete disgrace to the elite Marine image. They were completely immersed in this feast for demons, personally crafted by Ren.
At the very moment the G-5 Branch's command system was paralyzed by a single meal, the fall of this steel fortress began. BOOM! With a loud bang, the outermost steel gate of the G-5 fortress was forcibly torn open from the middle by an invisible force. Newgate slowly walked in, holding his naginata. He hadn't even used his full power; a casual Quake Crash had opened the way for his comrades. "Gurararara, this gate is quite sturdy."
"Wahahaha! I'm here!" Gatz's huge figure followed closely behind. He shouldered his anchor and charged down the main road of the fortress like a mad bull. Any marines or defensive structures that tried to stop him were torn apart like paper by his ferocious strength.
And behind them, a massive, pink figure was happily striding along, swallowing a huge piece of cake.
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