24 points—this was the second-highest score of the previous group, yet now a little girl had easily achieved it. This made everyone present feel somewhat incredulous.
"Amazing, she actually got such a high evaluation. Is this little girl even ten years old?"
"Exactly. With such talent, it's not impossible for her to get into a famous culinary academy in the future. It would be a huge honor for the family, and their small shop would quickly prosper because of it."
"Indeed. I never thought such a genius could emerge from our Sanhe Street."
Afterward, dishes were brought up one by one. As Hoshino Sora expected, four out of the eight contestants made Ramen. By the time it was the uncle's turn, the three judges were already quite displeased.
"The assessment is about noodle dishes. Is Ramen the only thing you can make? And what kind of Ramen is this without any slow-cooked broth?! 5 points!"
"6 points. This extra point is entirely for the sake of so much seafood, but it's a waste to pair such luxurious seafood with your noodles."
"6 points. Nothing much to say, just an ordinary seafood Ramen that barely meets the passing mark."
As the judges' scores were announced, the lowest scorer of this competition finally appeared. The previously arrogant uncle looked somewhat dejected, then, as if remembering something, he turned his gaze towards Hoshino Sora.
This guy couldn't even think of what to cook for over ten minutes after the competition started, and then he kept fiddling with dough balls and baking them empty. He still had a chance to win!
As long as this guy's score was lower than his!
"Go Sora!"
"Sora, you must win!"
As Hoshino Sora came forward with his dish, Ya Xiang and Rika, who had been bored waiting below the stage, immediately erupted, waving and cheering loudly, startling those around them.
However, due to the distance, Hoshino Sora did not hear Ya Xiang and Rika's cheers. At this moment, he pushed a small cart with three covered platters on it, making a grand entrance while everyone's attention was focused on the previous contestant's failed dish.
"Welcome to taste, Wuchang Flatbread!"
As one of the lids was lifted, four perfectly shaped flatbreads appeared in everyone's view. The golden-brown crust was dotted with charred spots, indicating the overflow of meat juices during baking.
At this moment, a rich meaty aroma burst forth, exploding like a grenade in front of the three judges, making it difficult for them to tear their eyes away, staring intently at the flatbreads before them.
The essence of cooking lies in achieving perfect color, aroma, and taste!
To preserve this aroma, Hoshino Sora covered the flatbreads with lids the moment they came out of the oven, allowing the fragrance to accumulate within, finally releasing it to the judges. This was a common technique he used when running his restaurant.
Simply put, it was to enhance customers' anticipation through aroma. Of course, his cooking also lived up to this anticipation.
"Wuchang Flatbread, don't you only have four of them here?"
(Let me bite it, let me bite it! It smells so good! This is the delicious food I've been dreaming of!)
Airi asked curiously, her eyes fixed on the steaming flatbreads in front of her. The rich aroma made her stomach, which had just eaten noodles, rumble. If not to maintain her idol persona, she would have loved to grab one in each hand and chew heartily.
"There are usually five Heavenly Kings, and that's a commonly accepted fact. So, it's quite reasonable for the Wuchang Flatbread to only have four, isn't it?"
"That's right. In some movies and TV shows, after the four subordinates are defeated, an incredibly powerful fifth person often appears. That's the romance only men understand!
Ahaha, my younger brother at home told me that. Boys are truly amazing creatures, hahaha…"
Pinching her chin, Mari, who was beside him, nodded in strong agreement after hearing Hoshino Sora's explanation. For a moment, her 'uncle' aura was fully exposed. Then, feeling a murderous intent from behind, she quickly changed her words.
In the darkness, the president with a thick mustache made a throat-slitting gesture, his face not looking good.
"Notify them that Mari was hit by a car on her way home and won't be able to perform tomorrow."
"Yes, team leader."
"Such a rich lamb flavor! The meat is delicate and smooth, with a savory taste and abundant juices, even overflowing to form a brown crust on the surface. I've never had such a delicious flatbread! 10 points."
(I feel like even if I die now, I'll have no regrets.)
With a look of emotion in her eyes, Mari thought so. Indeed, eating meat heartily was the most satisfying. She felt as if she had traveled to the Hulunbuir Grassland, surrounded by vast emptiness.
He was herding sheep, running and cheering freely and joyfully. A cool breeze swept by, giving him a wonderful experience.
"Mine is a preserved mustard greens and pork flatbread. The combination of the two flavors is simply perfect! 9 points."
"The shrimp are bouncy and chewy, and the beef is very fragrant. I love your flatbread, 9 points!"
It appeared, the highest score of this competition, 28 points, just two points shy of a perfect score!
At this moment, all the spotlights were on Hoshino Sora. His flatbread and he appeared simultaneously on the large screen. The rich aroma made the stomachs of nearby audience members rumble.
"How is this possible?! How could you make such a dish? He must have cheated, he must have cheated! He must have… in the middle of it…"
Seeing the high scores given by the judges, the uncle, who had still harbored a sliver of hope, immediately became furious and started cursing, his eyes seemingly burning with fire. He simply couldn't believe that he had been defeated by such a young punk, and in such a crushing manner.
"Uncle, if I were you, I'd slink away at a time like this instead of shouting senselessly. Don't you feel ashamed? Try it, this is the gap between you and me."
Hearing the uncle's unwilling roar, Hoshino Sora wasn't angry. He had specially prepared a dish for the other party, precisely so that he would be convinced of his defeat.
There was no particular meaning; it was mainly because when he used to watch Food Wars, the protagonist would always do this after winning a competition. How should he put it? It felt very impressive.
Waving his hand, he casually stepped off the stage, and the venue entered a halftime break. The audience in the stadium went out to find food, with the afternoon session starting at one o'clock, but that no longer concerned him.
Did he advance so easily? From 32 to 16, then 16 to 8. If things went quickly, he would still have four more matches to play. At this pace, it should take another four days.
"Asaka-nee, Rika-nee, let's go home."
"Aren't we going to keep watching?"
"No need. Let's watch again tomorrow. The skill levels feel very uneven, and some unlucky ones were eliminated directly. I suddenly understand why our business is so good."
As Erina Nakiri said, the skill gap in these street-level competitions was obvious. Now, the only thing worth looking forward to was the culinary skills of the Master Chefs from those century-old establishments.
However, if the chefs from these establishments drew a theme they weren't good at, they would probably be very uncomfortable too.
"Business is good, it must be because Sora, your craftsmanship is excellent."
"Exactly! You effortlessly took first place in the competition's scoring. You don't know, when the scores came out, the people sitting next to me were all stunned."
"That's right, those guys were all saying things like 'the younger generation is formidable' and 'they're sure to achieve great things.' Everyone has a high opinion of you, making both of us proud."
Walking home, Yaxiang Lixiang chattered on intermittently, her gaze constantly fixed on Hoshino Sora's face, looking very pleased.
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PS: Burst update completed (2 normal chapters + 3 reward chapters). This part of the plot will be relatively fast; I won't write every single match, after all, it's just a transition into the school. The content before entering Far Moon is estimated to be about fifteen more pages.
Also, this is a grand multi-anime world, simply put, it's perfectly reasonable for any anime character to appear, but I don't plan to introduce too many. To be precise, I won't focus on too many characters. It's hard to grasp their personalities, and writing so many characters with different personalities would drive the author crazy.
Of course, the characters in the introduction will definitely appear. In the Far Moon arc, Author-kun will not simply follow the plot, but will follow the main storyline, allowing characters from different works to clash.
That's it. I hope everyone will support me more and cast some monthly votes, recommendation tickets, and blades. Rewards will definitely be opened again after I have enough drafts. Currently, I still have five pages on hand, which I must keep to prevent plot jams or other accidents, as rushed articles aren't good to read.
Please look forward to it.
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