Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

Late-night kitchen.

"No good, the fusion isn't sufficient!"

Xia Yu looked at a glass bowl in his hand, which was right under the kitchen light, and at this moment, Xia Yu's eyes seemed a bit unusual as if he had activated some visual analysis ability.

Therefore, what he saw was a very strange image.

The softly glowing particles were pure and haughty, like the Golden Dragon Queen, while the other small particles were various spices. Xia Yu had tried countless spice formulas, all ending in failure.

He set down the bowl, and ripples lightly danced across the surface of the spiced water.

Xia Yu's face twitched slightly, and he sighed quietly—another 10 grams of golden Taboo Spices wasted!

The situation wasn't too bad, though. Since "Merck's Stars" had been unlocked, Xia Yu was currently in the system's space. Although using virtual Forbidden Ingredients still expended a substantial amount of Fame Points, it was more economical than wasting resources in the real world.

He grasped a pencil and struck a heavy line through a note.

Click!

Yet another formula, a framework from the Spice Kingdom, was rejected.

"How can I blend powdered sugar with Taboo Spices to garnish the exterior of a Christmas cake?" This was the issue Xia Yu was pondering.

Indeed.

He didn't intend for the blended composite spice to be truly involved in the cooking process, but rather, after the cake was baked, to sprinkle it directly on the surface of the cake as the finishing touch.

This final step was also the pivotal detail.

"Let's go back to the starting point!"

Xia Yu massaged his temples, "Merck's Stars," in essence, were as unbreakable as golden Dragon Scales. In that case, ignore them and target their ideal mate—the "Shiny Silk-footed Fish"—starting from either a best friend or a close friend's perspective to catch them off guard.

Fish!

Regardless of how rare and precious the "Shiny Silk-footed Fish" was, its ingredient characteristics remained unchanged.

According to the comprehensive information provided by the system, this type of fish, though one of the top-tier golden Forbidden Ingredients, was not inherently strong; in fact, it was pitifully weak.

The body naturally emitted a golden glow, but the flesh was silver, best suited for making delicate Tempura. After frying, it resembled pure gold bones, the surfaces crisp, while the insides were thick and juicy, layered like a multi-tiered pastry cake…

"Gurgle!"

Having reviewed the ingredient information in his mind, Xia Yu couldn't help but touch his stomach and sigh, "I've made myself hungry just by brainstorming!"

"Fish, fish, fish, fish, still fish!"

Scratching his head while in a high state of mental activity, Xia Yu's mind was filled with a jigsaw puzzle of thousands of spice materials.

While the materials were abundant, only a few could be utilized, and currently, Xia Yu was like a researcher looking for a needle in a haystack, truly racking his brain.

"If regular spices are of no use, then… what about fish powder?"

"Since 'Merck's Stars' respond only to 'Shiny Silk-footed Fish,' could I create a fish powder with similar components to the fish?" Xia Yu stroked his chin, his eyes shifting rapidly.

Done!

Having spent 100,000 Fame Points to acquire the "Shiny Silk-footed Fish" information, it was now etched into his brain. Xia Yu muttered to himself, "Alright, the keyword is 'crystal,' the body like crystal, transparent. The second keyword—'glowing,' there are actually many glowing fish in Ocean World..."

Once he found the filtering criteria, it was straightforward to follow the leads.

"System, release the fish that meet the conditions!"

"Request accepted!"

Subsequently, in the system kitchen, following a ripple effect, a piercing fishy odor suddenly filled the air.

There was much activity on the kitchen counter as fish leaped energetically out of the water.

"Wow!"

Xia Yu was startled by the scene—upon a glance, all the fish were bizarrely shaped, none meeting normal aesthetic standards.

"What is that?!"

The fish closest to Xia Yu resembled a newly born infant, devoid of scales, entirely smooth, and had a human-like mournful face. Its wide-eyed, mouth-breathing appearance caused a hint of disgust in Xia Yu's heart.

For common fish species, the system was generous, pulling up the information without requiring Fame Points:

"Water Drop Fish, also known as Sad Fish or Bobo Fish, lives at a depth of one thousand meters underwater. Its body is gelatinous, and since the meat contains collagen that cannot be absorbed by the human body, consumption is not recommended."

Well, if you can't eat it, why release it in the first place? Xia Yu waved her hand, urging the system to quickly withdraw it. Not visually appealing and demanding fish rights, to be treasured like a gem?

She circled around the console, and then, huh!

Xia Yu stared at a familiar-looking fish and stopped in her tracks, "Isn't this an anago?"

She took a few steps closer but didn't get too near.

Anago was equally ugly, but its ugliness was somewhat tolerable, unlike the Water Drop Fish whose mourning face was unsettling.

"Damn it!"

Suddenly, Xia Yu remembered something, eyes bulging, "An anago seems to perfectly fit the 'crystal,' 'glowing' criteria!"

Indeed.

She took a knife and, with the precision used for filleting blowfish, skinned this live anago, stripping off a pitch-black, sticky skin. Once the skin was removed, the body appeared sleek and tender, shimmering in the air, its meat quality so crystalline it wasn't an exaggeration to say so.

Moreover, 'glowing' was an anago's hallmark ability, which it used to attract phototropic fish and shrimp through bioluminescence, lying in wait for a tasty meal.

Fish similar to it included Dragon Head Fish and Light-eyed Bream, among others.

Transforming live fish into fish powder in the virtual space was something Xia Yu could do just by flicking her hand.

Thus, the kitchen scene shifted again.

The bloody console disappeared, replaced by a neat row of transparent glass bowls, each containing high-quality edible fish powder.

Working at this, Xia Yu's thought process was clear, forming corresponding preparation steps. She looked at these fish powders with an excited gleam in her eye, feeling she held the sparkling key!

"No matter how high-end the Taboo Spices are, they are inert materials. If, through the 'Spice Inequality', varieties of fish powder could be considered as different spices, establishing formulas, setting up frameworks, could I not create a 'Shiny Silk-footed Fish'? Wouldn't that be the perfect combination?"

In one word—

No 'Shiny Silk-footed Fish'? Then create one!

Xia Yu, unable to suppress her excitement, believed that with the spice manipulation through the 'Spice Inequality', she could create a formula nearly identical to the 'Shiny Silk-footed Fish'.

Thus, Xia Yu began to practice.

"Anago fish powder, Dragon Head fish powder, these two are the main ingredients; what else should be added?"

There were many ways to blend, beyond culinary techniques, there was also an indescribable 'energy'.

Of course, thanks to the experience gained from creating the Killing Recipe "Peacock Dance," the aquatic elements also provided a starting point. All roads lead to Rome, and as Xia Yu's practice continued, her head filled with inspirations so addictive they became almost consuming.

The kitchen lights stayed on all night.

Around dawn.

"Phew—"

The young man suddenly woke up, sat up from the system space, left the chair, and squatted down, carefully searching something in the cabinet.

After a while, Xia Yu found a sealed iron box. Opening it, inside was a small piece of white bony material, resembling a stone.

Removing the wrap of golden silk, Xia Yu smelled a strong fragrance and showed a hint of admiration, "This is indeed the best quality ambergris!"

This small piece of ambergris was left by an old man; Xia Yu had tinkered with it while practicing spice blending, and, vaguely remembering, managed to find it.

"Ambergris, a secretion from the intestines of sperm whales, ground to powder can be used as food spice. The key is, this high-end spice shares a very similar component with the meat of 'Shiny Silk-footed Fish.' By substituting this crucial element, it should surely catch the Spice Queen's attention, right?"

When the first morning light broke through the night sky, in Xia's Shop kitchen, a strange white compound dust was poured onto a clean table.

Click!

A lighter sparked a fluttering flame, igniting the dust.

In an instant, it was as if a giant whale were singing, the sound deep and resonant.

Xia Yu watched the flames intently, seeing a faint silhouette of a fish, resembling yet unlike a whale, completely drenched in golden light, as beautiful and translucent as crystal, a breathtaking sight.

"It seems... successful?"

Her expression was one of incredulous belief.