[75] - Special Bamboo Chicken, Triple Scent Bomb (BONUS)

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After learning about Yuuki's insane card-counting skills, everyone quickly kicked Yuuki out of the game.

They were all normal players—only Yuuki was playing with cheats...

And there was nothing they could do about it.

After all, this was Yuuki's own ability. He wasn't outwardly cheating; he only memorized the cards and calculated.

Yuuki just chuckled about this. He had already won enough; the paper strips on their faces were proof of that.

While crushing noobs was indeed fun, doing it repeatedly did get boring. So, Yuuki just played on his phone, occasionally glancing at their card game.

....

After playing for a while, everyone started to feel sleepy and returned to their respective rooms. The night passed uneventfully. Early next morning, Megumi Tadokoro and her family had already prepared everything for the picnic.

After everyone was ready, they followed Megumi into the mountains. Although the mountain forests around Megumi's hometown were well-preserved, there was barely any wildlife left.

However, the scenery was quite beautiful, and it was also the season when wild mushrooms were abundant. While these wild mushrooms couldn't compare to those from Kyoto, there were still quite a few.

"Alice, that one in your hand is poisonous. Don't eat it!"

Following Megumi's lead, everyone was searching for wild mushrooms in the mountains. This was an experience Alice Nakiri had never had before, and there were also several wild mushrooms here that Alice didn't recognize.

Not just Alice Nakiri, but others would occasionally pick up a poisonous mushroom.

Yuuki, Zenji Marui, and Megumi constantly watched over them, making sure no poisonous wild mushrooms were taken back.

Megumi Tadokoro lived here all year round, so she was naturally quite familiar with the local mushrooms. Zenji Marui, possessing a lot of knowledge, could also judge whether the wild mushrooms were toxic based on that knowledge.

As for Yuuki, it was even simpler for him.

With a glance, he knew the condition of these mushrooms. Although he didn't recognize some of them, based on the feedback from his Evolving Vision, he could tell if they contained any harmful substances.

Under their supervision, most of the wild mushrooms in everyone's hands were discarded.

....

"It's quite dangerous to forage for wild mushrooms in a place like this by yourself. There are so many varieties, and most of them are toxic!"

An hour later, everyone sat down to rest and gathered the wild mushrooms they picked.

These mushrooms in their hands were only a small portion of what they had collected. As for the rest, they were all toxic mushrooms and had already been discarded.

Yoshino Yuki now felt rather apprehensive. If not for people familiar with these mushrooms keeping watch, taking these things back could have fatal consequences.

"And there are many poisonous mushrooms that look almost exactly like edible ones. I have no idea how you guys can even tell them apart!" Alice Nakiri couldn't help but complain.

There were some that looked exactly the same to her, but in the eyes of Yuuki, Zenji, and Megumi, there were poisonous and non-poisonous ones mixed together.

Anyway, she really couldn't distinguish them.

"It's your first time seeing these mushrooms, so it's natural you can't tell the similar-looking ones apart. This requires experience. After a while, you'll naturally also know how to differentiate them." Yuuki said.

Distinguishing some wild mushrooms required paying attention to minor details. Those with experience could tell at a glance, while those without would be completely clueless.

....

After playing around for a bit more, it was finally lunchtime. Led by Megumi Tadokoro, everyone came to a bamboo forest. Beside the bamboo forest was a grassy area, and there was also a small stream—the perfect place for a picnic.

"The environment here is really nice! If only it were the right season; we could dig up some bamboo shoots." Shun Ibusaki said, looking at the bamboo forest beside them.

Such a large bamboo grove—if it were the right season, he reckoned they could find many bamboo shoots.

"Even though there aren't any bamboo shoots, there's still bamboo! And there are enough materials here. I'll make some tasty treats for you guys."

After glancing at the bamboo forest, Yuuki immediately grabbed a machete and went towards the bamboo grove.

Everyone began to prepare the things they'd need later on, looking curiously at Yuuki.

....

Yuuki, having arrived at the edge of the bamboo forest, selected a stalk of bamboo he needed and started to cut.

Thanks to Food Honor, and with his Food Honor having improved greatly now, Yuuki's single cut landed precisely at the bamboo's weakest point. Like a hot knife through butter, the bamboo was instantly severed.

And the cut was incredibly smooth, like a mirror surface. If it were anyone else, although chopping down a stalk of bamboo wasn't a problem, it would still take some effort.

But for Yuuki, it was exceedingly simple.

The machete swiftly moved, and the fallen bamboo was cut into small sections by Yuuki. And Yuuki didn't waste the leaves on the bamboo either, collecting them all.

"Is Yuuki going to make Bamboo Rice?"

Everyone asked curiously after seeing the bamboo sections Yuuki brought back. They had naturally heard of Bamboo Rice.

"Some will be for Bamboo Rice. As for the rest, I'm making another dish," Yuuki said as he put down the materials and went towards the creek.

There was another ingredient he needed here.

....

After looking around for a bit, Yuuki found the soil he needed, dug out some, and piled it on the side of the stream. After washing his hands, he returned to where everyone was and began to choose ingredients.

With Yuuki's actions, everyone also knew what he planned to make. Besides Bamboo Rice, Yuuki was going to make Beggar's Chicken.

(PS: Beggar's Chicken is a chicken stuffed, wrapped in clay and lotus leaves, or bamboo leaves as alternatives, and baked slowly using low heat.)

They just happened to have brought a chicken today. However, the Beggar's Chicken Yuuki made was different from the usual kind.

Yuuki used the Seven-Star Knives to split two of the bamboo sections into thin strips, then deboned the chicken—

—and inserted the bamboo strips into the chicken, using bamboo as a substitute for the chicken bones. After which, he marinated the chicken with various spices.

After finishing this, Yuuki took the chicken to the riverside, wrapped it in the previously cleaned bamboo leaves, and then coated it with a layer of mud.

After this step, Yuuki didn't bother digging a pit or finding firewood because it wasn't necessary. His Inferno could let him directly cook the Beggar's Chicken barehanded.

Terrifying flames instantly engulfed the Beggar's Chicken in Yuuki's hands, turning it into a fireball.

At this moment, Yuuki looked like a mage from a movie, holding a ball of fire.

For Beggar's Chicken, heat control was the most crucial and also the most difficult part to manage. After all, cooking an entire chicken wasn't an easy task.

If the heat was even a bit too strong, even if the chicken was wrapped in tin foil, it would end up burnt. If the heat wasn't enough, the chicken would be undercooked.

And during the cooking process, the Chef couldn't determine the chicken's condition. This was different from other dishes.

When preparing other dishes, to ensure the heat was just right, one could taste it themselves, observe changes in the ingredients, or use other tools.

But Beggar's Chicken was different. Wrapped in a thick layer of mud, it was very difficult for a Chef to judge the condition of the ingredients inside.

Although technology was advanced now, and there were many tools available, if the mud and the leaves protecting the Beggar's Chicken were damaged, then the aroma would naturally be lost.

However, for Yuuki, who had Inferno, this was very simple.

Plus, with his Evolving Touch and Vision, he had a clear understanding of the ingredient's condition inside the mud.

Under the flames' searing heat, the outer mud quickly dried up.

The heat spread through the mud and bamboo leaves to the chicken inside. The fragrance of bamboo from the outer bamboo leaves slowly permeated the ingredients.

And because Yuuki had replaced the chicken bones with bamboo strips, the bamboo strips inside also released their unique fragrance.

These two aromas, paired with the seasonings Yuuki had used to marinate the chicken, created a chemical reaction.

The deliciousness was continuously developing within the mud. The Beggar's Chicken in Yuuki's hands had become a Super Scent Bomb.

....

Seeing that it was almost done, Yuuki also withdrew the flames. The steaming mud ball still radiated heat; even the surrounding air seemed to distort slightly.

But such high temperatures, for Yuuki with his Inferno, were nothing.

Yuuki didn't immediately break open the mud; letting the ingredients inside continue to simmer would make the flavor even better.

During this period, Yuuki began making Bamboo Rice. Making Bamboo Rice was even simpler. As long as there were enough ingredients, Yuuki could whip it up in minutes.

Yuuki's actions were too fast—while others were still preparing, the dishes on his side were already complete. To avoid missing the optimal time for eating, everyone temporarily stopped what they were doing and gathered around the picnic blanket.

Looking at their expectant gazes, Yuuki directly tapped the mud ball with his hand. It was just a light tap, but the next second, the mud ball completely shattered.

This was the effect of skillful force exertion using Food Honor.

The force instantly spread throughout the entire mud ball, so with just this one tap, the mud ball before him shattered.

Such a move once again caught everyone's attention. Yuuki's light tap was simply too cool.

The girls' eyes lit up with little stars; the boys looked at Yuuki like he was their boss.

"SO fragrant! Even though it's still wrapped in bamboo leaves, the fragrance is already this intense!"

Looking at the Beggar's Chicken still wrapped in bamboo leaves, everyone was practically drooling.

The moment the mud shattered, the sealed aroma burst out.

"It's like a Fragrance Bomb just went off!"

Everyone was mesmerized by this smell.

"Don't get too excited yet; that's not all—"

As Yuuki spoke, he unwrapped the outer layer of bamboo leaves.

The moment the bamboo leaves were opened, an even richer fragrance erupted from inside, like a second scent bomb.

At this moment, no one spoke; they were afraid that speaking would make them drool.

The effect of the second fragrance bomb was clearly even more powerful.

"And now for the third!"

The moment Yuuki's Seven-Star Knife cut into the chicken, the third scent wave exploded.

A triple-layered scent bomb, each layer more fragrant and more enticing than the last.

The unique aroma of the bamboo leaves and bamboo strips blended perfectly with the seasonings, creating an even more exceptional fragrance.

Yuuki's Seven-Star Knives swiftly moved, and the chicken was cut into smaller pieces.

Although eating Beggar's Chicken was best done by tearing it apart with your hands, there were too many people now, and there was only one chicken, so Yuuki could only cut it into smaller pieces.

After this step, Yuuki brought out the Bamboo Rice. The moment he cut open the bamboo, a fresh fragrance also wafted out, though it was completely masked by the triple scent bomb of the Beggar's Chicken before.

"Fragrance bombs! This idea is AMAZING!" Yoshino Yuki's eyes lit up.

The theme for this Autumn Election was curry—basically, it was about using various spices, and scent bombs were undoubtedly a good choice.

Both Soma Yukihira and Akira Hayama used this strategy in the original story. Continuous fragrance bombs indeed impressed both the students and the judges.

"You're right, fragrance bombs can be very effective when used well—"

Shun Ibusaki, specializing in smoked cuisine, naturally also had a different understanding of aroma.

....

Hearing this, everyone felt a little tempted.

"While it's true that fragrance bombs can leave a strong impression, too many people using the same tactic would be repetitive. The more discerning the judges are, the less effective this becomes—" Alice Nakiri cautioned.

Although a good idea, if overused, the judges would get tired of it.

"Actually, you can all use fragrance bombs, and you can even combine them." Yuuki revealed his thoughts.

Hearing this, everyone felt eager to try it. After all, they were all from the same dormitory and didn't want to see anyone eliminated.

"I'll contact the others and see what they think."

Yoshino Yuki immediately took out her phone and called those who stayed at Polar Star.

In the end, everyone agreed. Soma Yukihira and Ryō Kurokiba were very interested in this approach.

As for the other two, being carried was naturally the best outcome.

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