The figure of Patrick Redfield leaped from the submarine and hovered in mid-air, a hint of surprise on his face. "Oh? Quick reactions. It seems I've still underestimated you."
"'Red the Aloof'?" Newgate looked at the man who had suddenly appeared, recognizing his identity. "You bastard, you want a piece of the pie too?"
"No, not a piece," Redfield elegantly adjusted his monocle, a confident smile on his face. "I'm here to take it all." The aura around him suddenly surged, in no way inferior to that of Rocks or Newgate.
"Perfect. Now that we've dealt with that big crab, we can have you for dessert," Rocks said, tossing the Heart of Eternity to Ren. He cracked his knuckles, the flames of battle rising in his eyes.
A top-tier battle between hegemons seemed imminent.
However, just at that moment, everyone smelled an unprecedented, wondrous aroma that seemed to sublimate the very soul. Ren had returned to the kitchen at some point. He placed the Heart of Eternity in the center of a crystal pot, then arranged the freshest meat and roe from the just-hunted Crystal Emperor Crab around it. He didn't light a fire. He simply let a single drop of his own blood fall onto the Heart of Eternity.
VWOOM—
The Heart of Eternity shone brightly. An incredibly pure energy surged out, directly cooking the surrounding crab meat and roe at a low temperature! Streaks of seven-colored light, like the aurora borealis, rose from the pot. The aroma made everyone present, including the arrogant Redfield, involuntarily stop their movements, a look of intoxication on their faces.
"My dish is called 'Heart-Light Rainbow'," Ren's calm voice sounded. "To celebrate my upcoming promotion, today, everyone eats their fill."
That meal became a legend that could never be surpassed in the minds of all who were there. In the end, Redfield couldn't resist the temptation. At Rocks's invitation to "eat first, fight later," he boarded the ship half-willingly. When he took his first bite of the crab meat that seemed to be made of light, the future legendary great pirate actually shed two streams of clear tears. He seemed to see his long-lost youth and comrades.
In the end, this conspiracy of a predator waiting in the wings turned into a bizarre maritime gourmet exchange. After eating and drinking his fill, Redfield looked at the vibrant members of the Rocks Pirates, whose strength seemed to have improved even further, then at the child who was calmly wiping his cooking tools. He finally shook his head with a wry smile and decisively left in his submarine. He knew that with this chef around, he would never be able to wait for the moment when this group of monsters was exhausted and injured.
And the moment he left, the long-awaited system notification sounded in Ren's mind.
[Ding! Detected that the Host has cooked the legendary ingredient, the Heart of Eternity, and the mythical ingredient, the Crystal Emperor Crab, producing a super-standard enhancement for the entire Rocks Pirates crew and 'Red the Aloof' Patrick Redfield, gaining a massive amount of EXP!]
[Ding! Master-level culinary experience is full (2,000,000 / 2,000,000). Promotion in progress...]
[Promotion successful! Congratulations to the Host for advancing to Peerless-Level Cuisine!]
[Peerless-Level Cuisine: The Dao Follows Nature. The Host's understanding of cuisine has transcended the level of technique and entered the realm of the Dao. A world in a grain of sand, a Bodhi in a leaf. Even the most ordinary ingredients can be transformed into supreme delicacies in the Host's hands.]
[Ding! Congratulations on reaching Peerless level. Mental and physical strength have been greatly enhanced. Unlocked a new exclusive domain—Domain of the Feast!]
[Domain of the Feast (Beginner): The Host can expand a domain with a fifty-meter radius centered on himself. Within the domain, the Host is the rule. The Host can arbitrarily change the "texture" and "mouthfeel" of any substance within the domain, for example, making steel as soft as tofu, or making the air as thick as a rich soup.]
[At the same time, friendly units within the domain will continuously receive a 'satiated' and 'invigorated' effect, while enemy units will constantly feel 'hunger' and 'fatigue.' (Note: This ability consumes a large amount of energy. Please use with caution.)]
[Ding! Congratulations on reaching Peerless level. Reward: 300,000 Culinary Points. Peerless-level exclusive exchange list unlocked in the system shop. Received one Peerless-Level Recipe Pack: Classic of Mountains and Seas - Strange Beasts Edition.]
A massive amount of information expanded in Ren's mind like a cosmic big bang. His consciousness seemed to break free from the shackles of his body, creating a strange resonance with the sea, with this world. He could feel the salinity of every drop of seawater, hear the breathing of the volcanoes on distant islands, and see the trajectory of light traveling through the atmosphere.
When Ren opened his eyes again, his gaze was still calm, but beneath that calmness was a new depth that saw through all things.
Rocks and Newgate exchanged a look, both seeing the horror in each other's eyes. They felt that although the Ren before them had not changed in appearance, his very life essence seemed to have undergone some kind of leap, becoming as unfathomable as the sea itself.
"Head Chef, you..." Gatz scratched his head. He felt that when facing Ren now, he actually had an instinctive awe, the kind he only felt when facing the Captain.
Ren didn't explain. He just picked up a piece of alloy fragment from the deck, which had been shattered by the Crystal Emperor Crab, and gently squeezed it. Before everyone's horrified eyes, the incredibly hard special alloy, as if it were a piece of dough, was easily kneaded and deformed in his fingertips, finally being molded into a lifelike miniature barbecue skewer.
"I've just deepened my understanding of strength a little," Ren said calmly, casually tossing the model away. This was no longer just "a little." This was a qualitative change!
An absurd thought popped into the minds of all the members of the Rocks Pirates as they looked at Ren. The one on this ship you should never, ever mess with was probably not the Captain, but this seemingly harmless Head Chef.
Meanwhile, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, in the Chamber of Authority, five old men, their auras as deep as the abyss, were sitting around a round table. The atmosphere was as heavy as ten-thousand-year-old ice. In front of them was a thick stack of top-secret reports on all of the Rocks Pirates' actions over the past two years.
"Toying with the 'Great Staff Officer' Tsuru... fighting Zephyr and Sengoku to a draw... and, according to the latest intelligence from CP0, they just encountered 'Red the Aloof' Redfield in the Crystal Garden. Not only did they retreat unscathed, but even the legendary guardian, the Crystal Emperor Crab, became their dinner," the bald Gorosei holding the Shodai Kitetsu read the report, his voice hoarse. With every line he read, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"And most crucially, according to our spies in the underworld, the growth rate of the members of the Rocks Pirates has completely surpassed all logic," the Gorosei with the long white beard said in a low voice. "Two years ago, they were just a highly threatening pirate crew. Now, every single one of them possesses strength comparable to, or even greater than, a Marine Headquarters Admiral. This is absolutely not normal!"
"The problem lies with that chef!" the blond Gorosei slammed the table, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent.
-------
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