"Liyu, you better have that steak ready in five minutes or I’m gonna rip you a new ass!"
Liyu stood in the sweaty, poverised kitchen, slowly checking the temperature of the steak to make sure that it was done to a perfect medium-rare.
In truth, he new nothing about cooking. He didn’t on earth, and he still didn’t now.
But once he transmigrated into this strange world filled with powers and systems, he became Bizarre.
Those who are Bizarre are able to awaken what resembles a system in novels.
And Liyu’s system just so happened to be linked to cooking.
As he stared at the steak, a strange text hovered in his vision that only he could see.
It not only told him the preferences of the person he was cooking for, but also gave exactly details and guide to cook in a way that would make it perfect for them.
[Bizarre Cooking System – Hannah’s Steak]
[Target: Governor Hannah]
[Preferred Doneness: Medium-rare, warm red center]
[Preferred Seasoning: Heavy salt, cracked purple pepper, light garlic]
[Current Status: Internal temp 52°C → Pull at 54°C]
[Rest Time: 3 minutes under cooling leaf]
...
"Alright..."
Once his system pinged at 54°C, Liyu removed the steak from the stove and placed it into the wooden cutting board.
Next, he grabbed a large cooling leaf and placed it over the steak.
Finally, he leaned up against the counter, took out a pipe, and began smoking some tobacco.
He blew the smoke into the air and watched as it curled up over his head of orange hair.
The man who was watching him scrunched up his eyebrows in anger.
Liyu didn’t know his name, but he was one of Governor Hannah’s guards, which meant that he was very careful and precaution when it came to looking after his lady.
The guard stepped forward and stood over Liyu.
"Are you taking the piss, Kid? You signed up for a chef trial and dare to stand and smoke whilst leaving the governor waiting. I should have you hanged for this!"
The anger in the guards voice should have made Liyu frightened, but it didn’t.
The memories belonging to the body that he transmigrated into told him why.
Governor Hannah loved food more than anyone else. She was a governor here in Havenshire City, a harsh one too, but at the moment, she wanted nothing more than a good chef.
It seemed that the old Liyu trusted his chef skills enough to sign up for the role.
That, or he was desperate for money.
"Don’t worry man, I know what I’m doing." Liyu replied carelessly.
"You better hope so. Incase you didn’t know, Hannah has executed the last thirteen chefs because the meals were lackluster. I’m sure you don’t want that number to become fourteen, hehe."
"..."
Liyu didn’t bother responding.
Three minutes passed, which meant it was time to start plating.
Once again, the system told him how this should be done.
[Bizarre Cooking System – Plating Guide]
[Target: Governor Hannah]
[Plate Style: Simple dark wood, no excess garnish]
[Steak Placement: Center, slightly angled]
[Sauce: Thin drizzle of reduced meat juices only]
[Sides: None requested. Pure focus on the cut]
[Final Touch: One light sprinkle of cracked purple pepper after resting.]
[Serve Immediately after plating]
After following the guide perfectly, Liyu stepped back and looked at his work.
It almost perfectly resembled what was told to him by the system.
In fact, it even gave him an accuracy score.
[96% Accuracy]
[Slightly rotate steak to the left.]
Liyu obeyed.
[100%]
"Perfect..." He said to himself.
After that, the guard walked over to the dish and stared down at it with a furrowed brow.
"Pfftttt," he laughed. "Looks more bland than any of the other meals that have come before it. I was right not to have high hopes about you."
Liyu ignored the man’s words once again.
"Thanks. Can we have this brought to the governor immediately please? It’s very important."
The guard spat on the kitchen floor and began heading towards the doorway.
"Follow me."
...
Liyu followed the guard out of the kitchen which was located in the basement.
They walked up a set of stairs and ended up in the cramped hallways of Governor Hannah’s house.
It was a giant house. Giant enough to be regarded as a mansion on earth, however it was poorly decorated.
The walls were decorated with human bones.
The colour choices was just black and red.
Very few people walked around the house and estate. Those that did were servants that walked with their heads low, and guards who held gruesome looking weapons.
The guards looked at him with a knowing smile on their face. Some of them nodded at the human bones decorated the walls, as if to say that his would be there next if the governor didn’t like his meal.
Liyu wasn’t worried about any of that.
He was lead up the staircase that lead to a wooden door larger than all others.
The guard knocked.
"Send him in." A strong, feminine voice came from the other side.
The guard pushed the door open, and as he did, Liyu immediately felt a pressure wash over him.
It suddenly felt like he was being drowned, and crushed about a large amount of water.
Even the guard seemed effected by this, and didn’t dare to step inside of the room.
All he did was open the door and gesture for Liyu to enter.
Liyu, who felt confident before, gulped before entering.
Inside, the room smelt like strong perfume.
The interior was by the decorated similar to the outdoors.
A bear pelt was made into a carpet.
Numerous animals heads were mounted on the wall, and next to them were weapons of all kinds.
Swords, axes, and even the newly developed guns which were used by those who weren’t Bizarre.
And sitting at the opposite side of the room behind her desk was none other than Governor Hannah, also known as Lady of the Vision.
She was a pale skinned women with a pink bob cut framing a beautiful face. She had a black beauty spot that sat beneath her eyes.
But those eyes weren’t normal. They were white, with a pink spiral starting at the center, and circling all throughout.
Her body was always covered by the black trench coat that she wore, but even then, she had a large enough cup size that made her chest bulge outwards.
The woman smoked from a pipe and stared down Liyu with those spiralling eyes.
Not a word left her mouth.
Okay...
Liyu gulped again as the door closed behind him. Then, he approached the woman’s desk.
The closer he got, the stronger the pressure became.
He ignored that pressure.
Once at her desk, he placed the food in front of her and watched her face to see if it gave anything away.
It didn’t.
Hannah must have ran through so many chefs that she didn’t even bother interacting or reacting to them until she was disappointed in their food.
The governor placed down her pipe and withdrew a knife from her drawer.
She stabbed into the cut of meat, lifted it to her bright pink lips, before opening her mouth to take a bite.
As she did, the meat broke apart succulently. Red juices squirted from the cut and ran down her chin, eventually falling onto the breast of her black coat.
Governor Hannah’s spiralling eyes widened for a fraction of a section.
And the system let Liyu know that his meal was a success...
[Target Satisfaction Score: S+]
[Please select a reward...]
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Vevus: I hope you enjoy my second novel. Please feel free to point out any grammatical mistakes that I might make!