Hellish Tofu Enchants the Angels

Hu Jing suddenly sat up straight, staring intently at Liu Yang's screen on the big monitor. He was all too familiar with this recipe—it was his "masterpiece" from when he was drunk years ago: Hellish Mapo Tofu.

"Has this kid gone mad..." Hu Jing couldn't help but mutter to himself. He remembered the circumstances when he wrote this recipe; that day, he had just been rejected by a Michelin restaurant and, after drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he came up with this "revenge on society" recipe.

"Teacher Hu, what's wrong?" Wang Shufang noticed his abnormality.

"This kid..." Hu Jing sighed, "He's making the most outrageous dish from my book."

The judges' table immediately erupted into an uproar. They had all seen that book, which had been harshly criticized—Infinite Possibilities of Flavor Exploration. Those recipes were like the ramblings of a drunkard; who would have thought someone would dare to replicate them in the semi-finals?

"He wouldn't be..." Chen Mingyuan hesitated to speak.

Hu Jing nodded: "It's that 'Hellish Mapo Tofu'."

The judges gasped in unison. This was the most "savage" recipe in the book; just looking at the list of ingredients could make one cry from the spiciness.

The live broadcast room's chat messages had exploded:

"Wow! He dares to play with dark cuisine?"

"This is the rhythm to send the judges to the ICU!"

"Don't rush, everyone. The ambulance is already on standby downstairs..."

Hu Jing looked at Liu Yang's calm demeanor, feeling a mix of emotions. This was the semi-final, an important competition related to one's future.

While other contestants were racking their brains to make the most exquisite royal dishes, this kid was playing such a risky trick.

"This kid..." he shook his head, "He's really not afraid of death."

But for some reason, looking at Liu Yang's confident appearance...

Suddenly!

"Why did he turn off the fire?" The live broadcast room's chat messages instantly exploded like fireworks, "It's only been a few minutes?"

"Finished! My dried bamboo shoot king is going to flip the car!"

"Don't rush, everyone. Let me first go to the hospital to get an emergency number..."

In the contestant area, the other nineteen chefs were busy with their hands, but their eyes were all fixed on Liu Yang's screen.

Some people's knives were even stopped in mid-air as if watching a live broadcast of a disaster movie.

But the most frustrated one was Hu Jing.

This experienced chairman of the judges, whose expression was more wonderful than eating a whole lemon at this moment.

He looked at Liu Yang's calm demeanor, and only felt his temples throbbing.

"This kid is crazy..." He couldn't help but shake his head, "When I wrote this dish, I said it should be stir-fried for twenty minutes, and he is..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Liu Yang had already started to plate.

That leisurely demeanor was like making breakfast in his kitchen, not at the national semi-final site.

"Ahem!" Hu Jing quickly straightened his voice, "This competition is the semi-final, please take it seriously..."

This sentence was said to Liu Yang. But as soon as he finished speaking, a clear bell sound interrupted his words.

"Ding!"

The scene suddenly became so quiet that you could hear the sound of a needle falling to the ground.

Everyone was looking at the young man from Area D who came with empty hands, and their eyes were full of "This kid is probably here to make a joke."

"He is..." Wang Shufang looked at Hu Jing in disbelief, "really using your recipe?"

Hu Jing nodded, his expression more complex than eating a hundred lemons.

The recipe in his book, not to mention five minutes, even five hours may not be able to make a decent taste.

Is this kid here to smash the scene?

Xiao Li stood behind Liu Yang, his legs were already soft. He looked at his boss's confident demeanor, and silently lit a candle for the judges in his heart -

Today's "Hell Tofu" is likely to send everyone to the hospital.

The chat messages in the live broadcast room have changed from surprise to worry:

"I feel like I'm watching a murder case live..."

"Dried bamboo shoot king, you have to be careful, this is the semi-final!"

"Don't rush, everyone. Let me order a wreath first..."

"I said, Mr. Liu, isn't this a bit too casual?" A middle-aged man dressed in a suit sneered at the person next to him, "The first place in the preliminary round is just a nominal title, it's not a Michelin star rating, what's there to be proud of?"

"Exactly," a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses agreed, "The five million yuan prize is still in the final, and if you start to be reckless now, you may be too arrogant."

They spoke in a voice that was not too loud or too low, just loud enough for the people around to hear.

A few audience members nodded in agreement, apparently also thinking that Liu Yang's behavior was somewhat disrespectful to the competition.

"If you ask me," the middle-aged man continued, with an unspeakable sense of superiority in his voice, "these half-way out-of-the-way wild roads can never compare with the regular school-trained ones.

Look, he's showing his true colors now."

His words were sharp, but unexpectedly got the recognition of many people.

After all, in everyone's eyes, how can such an important competition be so frivolous?

The note on the big screen was like a tactless host, cheerfully announcing:

"Contestant 12 from Area D: Hellish Mapo Tofu"

At this moment, the expressions of everyone present were as wonderful as a facial performance.

The judges looked at each other, their expressions were like their own children suddenly announced to become rap singers.

Hu Jing looked even more lifeless as if watching a carefully planned "suicide scene".

The reaction of the contestants is indescribable.

Xiao Yuan Shan's knife was frozen in mid-air, and his expression was like someone was caught with a problematic account book;

Zhao Ming curled his lips, and his demeanor was like looking at a greenhorn who just entered the kitchen and said he wanted to open a Michelin restaurant.

"Hell... Mapo Tofu?" When a contestant pronounced this name, the disgust in his tone was almost overflowing, "Is this a joke?"

Wang Shufang on the judges' table sighed softly: "What a pity, a child with a good future..." Her tone was like attending someone's funeral.

Even Xiao Li didn't dare to look at the big screen, for fear of seeing the news headline "National Fastest Elimination Record Born" in the next second.

When the etiquette girl walked up to Liu Yang, the professional fake smile on her face suddenly stalled, like the Windows system suddenly crashed.

The Mapo Tofu on the plate had an almost eerie red luster, and each piece was perfect as if carved by God himself.

The soup glistened enticingly under the light, like a mysterious potion from a magical world.

But before she had time to marvel at its appearance, a burst of aroma suddenly hit her nose.

The feeling was like being hit by something invisible.

Her originally stiff expression melted instantly, and her eyes brightened unconsciously.

"This..." She secretly sniffed, forgetting that she was still at work, "Is this the taste of tofu?"

The aroma swirled around her, like a mischievous little sprite, almost making her forget that she still had to take this plate of "hellish delicacy" to the judges' table.

The etiquette girl's dazed and enchanted appearance instantly made the atmosphere of the entire venue more lively than a mahjong parlor.

 The contestants who had just been busy showing off their skills were now as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, their necks almost twisted into pretzels just to get a clear look at that plate of "hellish tofu" to see what kind of demon it was.

 The contestants on either side were particularly unlucky, as their positions allowed them to see everything.

The appearance of that plate of tofu was even more stunning than the "royal secret recipes" they had painstakingly worked on for half a day, which dealt a heavy blow to their self-esteem and unconsciously slowed down their actions.

The live broadcast room's chat messages had exploded more lively than the New Year's firecrackers: "It's over, my dried bamboo shoot god is going to flip the car this time!"

"Look at the etiquette girl's expression, as if some evil spell bewitched her..." "Don't panic in front, maybe it was stunned by the spiciness!"

 "I've already called the police, this is a murder scene!"

The sarcastic comments in the comment area were endless: "This is the so-called dark cuisine? It seems that it is going to send the judges into the dark!"

 "Finished in five minutes, is this a competition or packing takeout?"

 "I bet fifty cents that this time will create the fastest elimination record in history!"

But the most exciting part was still the expressions of the contestants who were cooking.

They looked at the etiquette girl's dazed and enchanted appearance, and their faces turned green.

The plot developed too unreasonably, making the valuable ingredients in their hands lose their luster.

The journey of that plate of "hellish Mapo Tofu" from Area D to the judges' table was more exciting than "Journey to the West."

Every step the etiquette girl took, the live broadcast room's chat messages would scold for three minutes, and the momentum was like a live broadcast of a cyberbullying scene.

This plate of "hellish Mapo Tofu" from Area D to the judges' table was more exciting than "Journey to the West."

Along the way, the comments in the live broadcast room were like free firecrackers, crackling non-stop. "Can this be called innovative cuisine?

 The fast food store downstairs is more particular than this!" "Five-minute speed completion? Is this shooting a fast food advertisement?"

"I bet this plate of tofu can create the most elimination record in history!"

 Those keyboard warriors couldn't wait to show off all their sarcastic skills, as if they didn't belittle this dish to the core of the earth, they would not be sorry for their fingers.

But just this etiquette girl who served the dish, every step she took was like slapping these people's faces.

Her dazed and enchanted expression was like holding some rare treasure, rather than an ordinary Mapo Tofu.

When passing through Area A, Zhao Ming, who was giving the last knife to the lobster, trembled and almost spoiled the tens of thousands of yuan worth of ingredients.

The moment the aroma drifted over, his proud innovative cuisine suddenly lost its luster, as if a nouveau riche dressed in a famous brand suddenly met a person with extraordinary temperament in plain clothes.

When passing through Area B, Xiao Yuan Shan was making the final embellishment for his "Phoenix Spreading Wings."

 But in front of this plate of tofu, that dish suddenly seemed so artificial and affected, like a socialite with exquisite makeup but unable to hide the inner emptiness.

Even the usual arrogant assistants, at this time, were all like being cast a spell, stopped their actions, but their eyes were fixed on that plate of tofu, as if watching some movable artwork.

These short twenty meters made an ordinary plate of tofu walk out of the atmosphere of three Michelin stars.

Under the elegant steps of the etiquette girl, there were slightly trembling hands, for fear that this "hellish delicacy" would have any mishaps.

The audience who were originally whispering also quieted down at this time.

They watched this scene as if witnessing the birth of a legend - a young man who came to the competition with empty hands, and used the most ordinary tofu to suppress the sharpness of a group of top chefs.

 Hu Jing had originally rehearsed the "praise draft" in his heart - Although this young man was a bit impulsive, his courage was admirable, and he hoped he would continue to work hard and so on.

He had almost memorized this speech like a chant, waiting to comfort the "doomed to fail" young man. But the moment this dish was served, his expression was like someone pressed the pause button, stunned there for three whole seconds.