A few minutes later, Mentors Cheng Gong and He Bi entered the exam monitoring room together and took their seats.
Cheng Gong's gaze swept across the dozens of holographic feeds before him. With fewer examinees, there was no need for so many feeds.
Now a few dozen screens were more than enough to cover the few hundred people remaining.
The feed showing the Waste Star girl and Zhao Qingyan had become the one the three mentors watched most attentively.
Cheng Gong was no exception. His eyes went first to the screen where the Waste Star girl sprinkled the washed, dried mushrooms with fine ground salt, sealed them tight in a tin, coated the tin in a thick layer of mud, then buried it in the embers to dry them with heat—turning the mushrooms unbelievably crisp.
This way of preparing mushrooms was one the Waste Star girl had developed after three days of mushroom soups.
It was then that the three mentors found themselves astonished—there was actually such a way to make food?!
They truly began to suspect that every talent point the Waste Star girl had was sunk into thinking about how to make things to eat.
After cracking off the baked mud and harvesting a tin of savoury mushroom crisps, Lan Grace and Zhao Qingyan sat together snacking and chatting.
"I've always loved sweets because they smell and taste so good! Never thought something salty like this little snack could taste this good! I think I can widen my tastes in future," Zhao Qingyan said, a touch excited.
Walking with Lan Grace had been the right decision. Otherwise she would never have eaten such a novel, delicious snack.
Seeing Zhao Qingyan eat with such satisfaction improved Lan Grace's mood as well.
"Ingredients are limited here. It's just making do. When I get the chance, I'll make you other things.
"Besides cookies and mushroom crisps, I can make plenty of other desserts and snacks."
At first, Lan Grace had wanted to win Zhao Qingyan's stomach with tasty snacks—to ensure that while Zhao passed the entrance exam, she would give Lan a hand.
But after talking with Zhao for a while, she suddenly felt they were kindred spirits.
Behind her cool, keep‑off demeanour, Zhao Qingyan too had a foodie soul!
So their talk grew more and more animated. Without noticing, they even built a friendship.
"Do you know egg‑yolk puffs? A pastry that's both sweet and savoury—crisp, fragrant layers on the outside; the middle soft and glutinous, sweet and aromatic; inside, a savoury, tempting centre. Bite down and three flavours interweave at once—at the twirl of the tongue, all that goodness melds together—absolutely delicious!"
Just from Lan Grace's description, Zhao Qingyan most unglamorously began to drool.
With no handkerchief, she wiped the corner of her mouth on her sleeve and swallowed, eyes going green with greed.
"Lan Grace, once we're on the Alliance Star in half a month, could you make some of those egg‑yolk puffs? I'll pay—no matter how many Alliance credits!"
To Zhao's surprise, Lan Grace shook her head, which only made Zhao anxious.
"Think of it as me owing you a favour, all right? If you ever need help with anything, I'll do it!"
Her eagerness left Lan Grace amazed. That a few egg‑yolk puffs could make a genius with background and real strength like Zhao Qingyan offer to owe her a favour—
But Lan Grace shook her head again, speaking before Zhao could raise the stakes.
"I don't need you to owe me, and I don't need your money. Finding the ingredients for egg‑yolk puffs might be a bit of a hassle, but I'll find a way to earn and buy what's needed.
"When I've made the puffs, I'll invite you to taste them first. You've helped me so much in this entrance exam—think of it as my treat."
She meant every word—no gloss.
They were both food‑lovers, and Zhao had helped her so much at crucial moments. Inviting Zhao to have some pastries was nothing at all.
Lan Grace's words left Zhao Qingyan blank.
In the days they had spent together, through their talks, she had already confirmed that the Waste Star girl was absolutely a master of desserts!
Many of the desserts Lan Grace had mentioned were ones Zhao had never even heard of.
To know Lan Grace, Zhao felt, was luck enough. She had not expected Lan to say such things to her!
Didn't this mean she had won Lan Grace's friendship?
To be friends with a master of desserts—Zhao felt blessed.
"All right—I'll wait for you to treat me to egg‑yolk puffs!" she said, grinning broadly.
"Even if I don't pay, if you ever need help, come to me any time.
"You're treating me to something good. We're friends now. Helping you is only right."
"Okay." Lan Grace's eyes curved; she smiled.
To gain a friend who was S‑grade in physique counted as an unexpected delight in this exam.
No sooner had the two finished the mushroom crisps from the tin than a colossal holographic screen suddenly appeared above the jungle.
President Ferrero, short beard neatly trimmed, appeared on screen.
He didn't waste a word and went straight to the point.
"Now we announce the content of the second assessment. In ten minutes, teleportation portals will appear at random around the jungle area. At that time, one hundred Five‑coloured Birds will be teleported in.
"Each Five‑coloured Bird has an iron ring strapped around its ankle. On the inside of the ring, numbers from 1 to 50 are engraved. Over the next two weeks, as long as you obtain a numbered ring, then when you enter the third stage of assessment, you will receive double points. Good luck to you all.
"All right—five minutes left. I won't delay you."
As soon as Ferrero's voice fell, the giant projection in the sky vanished.