Gan Lan focused entirely on preparing the necessary ingredients, so she didn’t see the barrage arguing over whether the Credit Points she charged for a single cake were too many or too few.
Once all the prep work was done, Gan Lan took out the extra-large baked cake and quickly left it to cool. She moved the massive cake onto the table, took out her prepared carving knife, and began to sculpt.
Roasted Shrimp Smells Great: [Is the junior sculpting? Holy crap! Her hands are moving so fast they’re leaving afterimages!]
Immortal Barbecue: [Holy shit! I only knew our junior had amazing knife skills, but I didn’t realize her carving technique was already masterful! Can you guys from the Culinary Department do this?]
I’m Here to Learn: [Sorry, I’m from the Culinary Department, and I only know basic carving.]
Have You Eaten Today: [As a Culinary Department student, I must say I can’t do this!]
Isn’t It Just Barbecue: [Me neither...]
Barbecue Bibimbap: [Look, look! The rough shape is coming out. That’s a wolf, right? It’s a wolf, isn’t it?]
I’m So Tired: [It’s actually a Star Beast Wolf King! I love it so much! I can’t wait for the finished product.]
Binbin: [To think our junior can carve such a soft cake—she’s way too amazing! Junior, is there anything you *can’t* do?]
Gan Lan’s display of skill left the viewers in the livestream completely stunned. Even the principal and the Dean of Mingzong were drawn to watch the stream, eagerly awaiting the final product. Even just the rough outline was already somewhat breathtaking! The finished product would surely be even more stunning!
Five hours later, the sky had already turned dark. Gan Lan finally finished sculpting the wolf. She shook her slightly aching wrists and stood up to stretch. She had been sitting for far too long while having to maintain constant focus, leaving her both mentally and physically drained. It was also because her body hadn’t fully recovered yet and was still somewhat weak. It seemed she would need to exercise more in the future.
"I’m sure everyone has realized by now that I’m carving a wolf." Gan Lan walked around the one-meter-tall cake wolf, chatting with the livestream viewers to relax her mood. "Now, we’ll start applying the cream. For the gray cream, I added gray sugar into it. The black one uses brown sugar, and the white cream uses regular white sugar."
One by one, Gan Lan loaded the different colored creams into her piping bags and began coloring the wolf. She started with the head. The eyes were black, the nose slightly grayish-black, and the ears were white. Every single strand of fur had to be distinct. This was the hardest, most time-consuming part, and it required the utmost patience.
Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale: [Our junior looks so beautiful when she’s focused! It hit me right in the heart!]
Surprised Beggar Chicken: [Is this a combination of art and food? Just looking at the unfinished piece is blowing my mind.]
Gan Lan’s hands were already trembling slightly as she piped the cream, and sweat began to bead on her forehead. However, she didn’t mind. This was her first time doing this in front of a crowd, and her very first time sculpting a beast cake, let alone one this massive. She had to stay one hundred percent focused.
Meanwhile, the number of viewers in the livestream began to skyrocket, nearing the two billion mark. Previously, Gan Lan’s stream had only peaked at just over a billion.
As it turned out, one of Gan Lan’s fans—a reporter—was also watching. She had been keeping a close eye on Gan Lan’s livestream and saw that Gan Lan was about to complete this grand fusion of art and cuisine. She made a post on her public account. Since she also had over a billion followers, her fans clicked directly through the Teleportation Gate, entered Gan Lan’s livestream, and found themselves unable to leave.
Red Flower Green Leaf: [What is this streamer doing? It looks super impressive. I followed the great Mu Huanhuan here!]
The Silk Tree Blossoms Have Bloomed: [I also came from Mu Huanhuan’s page. Ahhhh, this streamer looks so amazing! Is this a piece of art?]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [The streamer is making food. It’s a birthday cake.]
Love Huanhuan the Most: [This is food? And a cake? You’ve got to be kidding me! But it really does smell a bit delicious.]
Mutton Skewers Are the Best: [This IS food!]
Other viewers chimed in to educate the newly arrived newbies, leaving them gasping in sheer amazement! The veterans felt deeply satisfied. The newbies’ amazed reactions looked exactly like how they had reacted back in the day. Goddess Lan was just that charismatic!
Three hours later, Gan Lan finally finished the product. In total, it took her about eight hours. The money for this cake was far too hard to earn. It seemed taking one order a day was pushing her limits; being able to take two orders a month would already be pretty good.
Gan Lan stood up and walked around the wolf-shaped cake, inspecting it carefully for any flaws or imperfections. As she slowly checked it over, she nodded, marveling at her own craftsmanship and wondering how she could be so excellent.
A grayish-white Star Beast Wolf King over a meter tall sat on its haunches. Its fur was distinct strand by strand, and its expression was lazy yet fierce, as if it had truly come alive.
I’m So Tired: [Holy shit! Is this my birthday cake for this year? My god! This is art, right? How could I possibly bear to eat it! I definitely have to preserve this properly. I absolutely adore this beast! Streamer, how are you this amazing!!]
Love Huanhuan the Most: [Holy shit, I thought it was a real wolf. Its expression is so fierce, yet there’s a sense of laziness to it. I wouldn’t even dare approach it. What kind of magical cake is this? This is absolute art! I declare that I’m becoming a fan of this streamer!]
Sky Blue: [Wuwuwu, the junior’s hands must have magic in them! I love this wolf so much. I’m so jealous, I really want it! I want to preserve it!]
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving 99 Cosmic Starships gifted by ’Feiran’, triggering a network-wide broadcast.]
Network-wide Broadcast: [’Feiran’ says to the streamer ’Come and have some barbecue!’: I feel like I’ve gotten to know you all over again.]
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving...]
In an instant, the screen was completely taken over by gifts. The barrage was filled with astonishment, marvel, and disbelief. Meanwhile, the number of viewers in Gan Lan’s livestream was surging toward three billion, on the verge of breaking through four billion.
Mingzong Director’s Office.
The Dean of Mingzong stood up and grabbed his coat hanging to the side, dialing Gan Lan’s comms as he walked. He wanted to go and see the physical wolf in person to see if it was even more breathtaking. Ahead of him, the elderly principal led the way, with the vice dean, Professor Ye, and Mr. Liang Cong completing their group of four. They all wanted to head over to Gan Lan’s place to take a look.
"Dean, is there something you need?" Gan Lan, who had suddenly received the dean’s call during the livestream, walked straight into her bedroom to answer it.
The dean sounded a bit eager. "Is it convenient for you right now? We’d like to come and see the piece you just finished. Would that be alright?"
So that was it. "Of course," Gan Lan replied. "Just knock on the door when you arrive. I’ll come open it for you as soon as I hear it."
Gan Lan hung up the call and walked out of the bedroom. She went into the kitchen and circled the grayish-white wolf over and over, thoroughly satisfied with her first large-scale masterpiece.
She couldn’t help but marvel at the miraculous technology of the future world. Indeed, Gan Lan had purchased an anti-melt protective shield. As long as it was turned on during the creation process, the temperature would be maintained at a constant state. This prevented certain ingredients from melting, yet the temperature wouldn’t be freezing cold like a refrigerator. Gan Lan’s Wolf King cake had been completed precisely within this protective shield. In her original world, unless it was made inside a walk-in freezer, the results wouldn’t be nearly as good as this, even though it could still be done.
"DING DONG, you have visitors."
Gan Lan snapped back to reality. It must be the dean and the others. Today was the only day they could see it, anyway. Tomorrow, she would have to ship it to her fan. Although she was a bit reluctant to part with it, a promise was a promise, and she had to follow through. Besides, this thing was worth eight hundred thousand Credit Points!