"!!!"
Exclamation marks popped out in unison above the heads of the students who had selected fish ingredients. To Mo Bai, that scene, resembling a golden wheat field in autumn, looked incredibly comical.
This is deterrence! Deterrence!
"As expected of me!"
Seeing that a single sentence of his had caused such a huge uproar, Mo Bai nodded with satisfaction, wearing a smile on his face. At this moment, he was still unaware that his reputation was being destroyed.
The students who had chosen fish cuisine were overwhelmed with grief and indignation. The Great Demon King, who had nearly scared them witless with his previous "sashimi elimination" remark, seemed to be looking for trouble again.
WTF! WHY!?
We just chose a fish dish, didn't we?
Do you have such a big problem with fish cuisine?
A sentence was stuck in the students' throats; they would feel terrible if they didn't spit it out.
"Shut up! Hold it in! Tōtsuki has rules! Students are not allowed to talk back to the instructor!"
Just then, Mo Bai silenced them with sheer ability.
"Given that you all don't understand my identity very well, let me explain it to you first."
"For a period of time before this, I was studying fish cuisine under Head Chef Zhang Yu, the General Manager of the Hua nation cuisine theme restaurant."
"Head Chef Zhang Yu, as a Nine-Star Chef, has been ranked in the top ten globally for fish cuisine in the IGO Gourmet Magazine."
Mo Bai laughed very cheerfully. When he first heard this news from Auxis's mouth, his expression had been exactly the same as these bewildered students.
Correspondingly, the hands and feet of the students who had chosen fish cuisine turned ice-cold.
"IGO Gourmet Magazine... World Ranking for Fish Cuisine... Top Ten?"
No one would ever doubt the professionalism of the International Gourmet Organization (IGO). Which meant... the instructor in front of them was likely equally proficient in fish cuisine?
Those who hadn't chosen fish cuisine breathed a sigh of relief while looking with pity at their companions who had stepped into a hidden minefield.
Is this what they call running into the muzzle of a gun? What was the saying about comparing goods again?
Facing the expressions of the students, which were uglier than crying, Mo Bai pressed his hand down pleasantly, speaking with full pretentiousness. "This isn't really a big deal. I believe that in the future, all of you have the possibility to touch that height."
"Pfft!"
Perched in a tree outside the window, Bai Zishu lost her composure in a second, laughing until she trembled like a flower branch.
"?" Miyamoto Yayako's face was full of confusion. "Is there something wrong with what Highness Mo Bai said? Isn't it very good encouragement?"
"Yes, yes, yes, it's just encouragement." Seeing Miyamoto Yayako's blank look, Bai Zishu laughed even more cheerfully.
"Instructor... what exactly are you trying to say?" among the terrified students, someone raised a trembling hand and asked.
"I want to say—for the sake of your future, why don't I use Head Chef Zhang Yu's Hua nation cuisine theme restaurant's fish cuisine standards to measure your cooking right now?"
In an instant, everyone felt the light in the room dim, as if bat wings blotting out the sky had unfolded behind Mo Bai.
"F*ck!" The students' expressions changed drastically again.
"Relax, relax. As long as you follow my suggestions and critiques, the corrected dish will be, at the very least, suitable for a restaurant table."
"At most, you'll fail, but the ones who benefit will be your future selves, you know~"
"Do you really not want to try it?" Mo Bai's mouthful of white teeth flashed with a glint that terrified the students.
Hearing these demon-like, tempting whispers, the students' expressions changed drastically for the third time.
Quite a few people showed thoughtful looks on their faces, but soon, they all snapped back to reality.
Possessing a dish at the level of a Tōtsuki theme restaurant sounded very tempting, but a dish could never be elevated to a finished product relying on just one session of suggestions and critiques. After leaving Tōtsuki, what qualifications would they have to seek out the person in front of them again?
The students who figured out the reasoning broke out in a cold sweat.
"Eh? No one? Then forget it." Mo Bai looked slightly disappointed. These brats were actually quite clever ghosts; they actually didn't take the bait. "By the way, what I said earlier about using the Tōtsuki theme restaurant standards to measure you was a joke."
"After all, I'm not some kind of demon. How could I use that kind of standard to preside over an important test determining whether you stay or go?"
"That wouldn't be fair, right?"
Mo Bai spread his hands, feigning innocence.
I don't believe a word you say! You are a demon!
The mental figures in the students' minds roared in instant synchronization.
"However, it is true that I'm a bit of a picky eater. When the time comes, the scores for fish cuisine might be suppressed, and the scores for other cuisines might be raised. Who knows?"
"Loving the new and loathing the old is human nature; everyone understands that."
"Mm. I don't have anything else to say. You can figure it out for yourselves."
Mo Bai sat back down.
However, Luo Ziyan read from Mo Bai's eyes, which were still fixed on the venue, that there was a follow-up to this matter.
"What do we do? If the score for fish cuisine is suppressed, isn't that terrible?"
"We can only... switch dishes!"
Just as a group of people couldn't bear the pressure and left their cooking stations, Mo Bai spoke up, confirming the 'as expected' expression on Luo Ziyan's face.
"Ziyan, take down the names of these people. Deduct ten points from each person for every round of cooking."
"Nani!?"
The group of students who were just about to rush to the ingredient storage room to reselect their cooking ingredients fell flat on their faces on all fours. Yet, even as they fell, their eyes were fixed dead on Mo Bai.
They needed an explanation!
"You want an explanation? Then I'll give you an explanation." Mo Bai raised an eyebrow, unleashing his full aura.
"The most important thing for a chef is to be hard-headed! For you to be scared off by just a few sentences proves only one thing—you simply don't trust the cuisine you've made!"
"If you don't even trust the cuisine you made yourselves, what reason do I have to believe you can make a dish that convinces me?"
Mo Bai's righteous gaze seemed capable of piercing straight through people's hearts. The students he looked at lowered their heads in shame one after another.
The other students also couldn't help but ponder the deep meaning within Mo Bai's words.
"Only by believing in the cuisine can one create cuisine!"
Another burst of uncontrollable laughter erupted from the tree outside the window.
"Miss Bai, are you okay?" Miyamoto Yayako was still intoxicated by Mo Bai's righteous and broad back, only to see that Bai Zishu had laughed until tears came out.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Breathing in a few mouthfuls of fresh air, Bai Zishu's face was flushed red from laughing.
To be able to transform an image of deliberately picking a fight into something so glorious and magnificent.
This protection target really is a f*cking talent.
"But, what if we break our heads hitting the wall? Didn't the instructor say that the score for fish cuisine would drop?" Among the incredibly ashamed students, someone asked in a mosquito-like voice.
"If you don't hit it, how will you know if your head is harder or the wall is harder?"
"Besides, I said before that this isn't an assessment where you can only perform once." Mo Bai pouted and shrugged his shoulders. "If you can't break through, just switch paths then."
"This is called flexibility. I have nothing else to say."
Eh?
R-Right?
This isn't an assessment where we can only perform once.
The students who had lost their wits suddenly realized the truth.
Wait! Then wasn't that atmosphere of 'there is only one chance, leave if you fail' stirred up by you!?
The students' faces changed drastically for the fourth time!
"Yes, I did it on purpose." Mo Bai admitted his crime without concealing it in the slightest.
"You son of a bitch, you're not even human anymore!"
Luo Ziyan's large eyes trembled uncontrollably.
Luo Ziyan recalled that when her teacher had sent her to the Far East to protect the target, she had specifically asked Wang Yao what kind of person the protection object was.
Wang Yao, thinking of something unknown, had worn an expression with a hint of gnashing teeth: "That is a guy who might get beaten up when he's being naughty."
Looking at it now, it wasn't just about getting beaten up; he was afraid he would be beaten to death alive!
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉