Chapter 17: Food Wars: Intercept System, Starting from Mana Nakiri - Kung Fu Cuisine (Patreon)

“Ding-dong!”

“Congratulations, Host, on triggering the God-Tier Choice System!”

The cold, mechanical chime suddenly echoed through Ramsay’s mind, and two clear selection panels began to take shape.

“Option One: Enroll at Totsuki Academy, devote yourself to the culinary arts, and polish your foundations.”

“Reward: Permanent 2x spirit recovery speed.”

“Option Two: Decline Mana Nakiri’s admission invitation, found your own restaurant, and begin the path of entrepreneurship.”

“Reward: Permanent 2x stamina recovery speed.”

…

Moonlight. It spilled over the street.

Mana Nakiri’s slender figure gradually faded into the far end of the night.

Ramsay stayed where he was, the Totsuki Academy admission letter she’d handed him personally still gripped in his hand, lost in thought.

The choice before him would decide his path in the world of Food Wars!

Others would fight tooth and nail for a place at Totsuki. For Ramsay, it wasn’t essential.

He had his one-of-a-kind System Study Space, home to top-tier cooking teachers whose skill far surpassed any instructor at Totsuki. Wherever he was, as long as he put his heart into study, his cooking would steadily improve.

Of course. He had also weighed the pros and cons of opening a restaurant of his own.

Running his own place would let him face customers directly, build real combat experience, and quickly hone dishes that suited the public’s tastes.

But. What came with it was an endless pile of chores!

Management, keeping a customer base, coordinating the ingredient supply chain… All that tedious work would devour the time he needed to study cooking. It wasn’t worth the trade.

…

After a long silence. Ramsay had made up his mind.

He would go to Totsuki Academy!

After all, compared to rushing into real battle, Totsuki’s rich culinary atmosphere and thorough teaching system were better suited to letting him settle and deepen his skills.

With foundations still unsteady. Rushing for quick results would be a mistake.

To Ramsay, that was never a lasting path.

Only by laying down solid fundamentals could he stand firm in the culinary world one day and sweep aside all comers.

And so. The instant he locked in his choice. The system reward quietly took effect. A cool, warm current swept through his whole body, leaving his mind clearer than ever.

…

That night.

Ramsay returned home and slipped peacefully into sleep.

His consciousness drifted free of reality and entered his private System Study Space.

Stephen Chow, the God of Cookery, had been waiting there for quite some time. When Ramsay appeared, a hint of approval warmed his smile.

“Compared to when you first entered this space, your fundamentals are more than a notch more solid,” Stephen Chow went on. “So today, our regular cooking study is suspended!”

Ramsay froze.

Puzzled, he asked, “Suspended? We’re not studying cooking?”

“That’s right.”

Stephen Chow smiled and continued, “I told you before that my signature cuisine is one of a kind: Kung Fu cuisine.”

“Since it’s Kung Fu cuisine, cooking is the surface and kung fu is the core.”

“So. Naturally, you must cultivate internal energy techniques.”

“Come here. Today I’ll teach you how to awaken your internal energy and put it to use.”

Ramsay hurried forward, his eyes locked on Stephen Chow.

…

Then. Stephen Chow casually produced a piece of fresh beef.

In the next instant, his gaze sharpened, his presence blazed outward, and a steady, weighty aura swept across the entire space.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Rapid, steady fists tore through the air.

His punches struck like thunder and lightning, each one rising and falling without a trace of hesitation.

Internal energy, visible to the naked eye, clung to his knuckles, and every light touch against the beef shattered the tight fascia on its surface!

Yes! Ordinary knives. Could only cut through the outer layer of meat. They could never break the tough fibers buried deep within the grain!

That was the core reason beef turned out stiff and hard to season.

But. Stephen Chow. His fists, wrapped in internal energy, shattered every sinew inside the beef from the inside out.

In barely a minute, the dense, intact cut of beef had become a pile of fine, sinew-free fresh mince, every strand of fascia broken, its texture impossibly smooth!

…

“Did you see that?”

Stephen Chow lowered his hands and spoke calmly.

“Anything knife work can achieve is only surface carving. Only by tempering internal energy can you break the shackles of an ingredient at its root!”

As the words fell. He scooped up the minced meat.

With fluid ease he kneaded and shaped it, and within moments one plump, round beef ball after another dropped to the ground!

Bounce! Bounce!

The beef balls hit the floor, and instead of rolling away or splitting apart. They sprang high like springy ping-pong balls, tracing lively arcs through the air with astonishing elasticity.

Watching it with his own eyes, Ramsay felt a tidal wave surge through him. The miraculous sight he’d only ever seen in movies was playing out right in front of him, and the impact was beyond compare!

…

Beef. Was one of the hardest ingredients to handle in cooking.

Coarse, tough fibers and stubborn fascia left a rough texture behind even when a top chef prepared it with great care.

But. With the power of Kung Fu cuisine. That stiff beef became as tender and smooth as fresh shrimp, yet kept an extraordinary bounce. The texture was simply perfect.

Holy crap! Was this even cooking? It was a fantasy-grade superpower!

Realization dawned on Ramsay, and he suddenly saw the overwhelming edge of Kung Fu cuisine.

All the chefs in the world of Food Wars! competed on knife skills, heat control, seasoning, and creativity. Next to Kung Fu cuisine powered by internal energy, those ordinary abilities were barely worth mentioning!

Knife work. However exquisite. Could not cut through deep muscle structure.

Heat control, however precise, could not change an ingredient’s very nature!

Only Kung Fu cuisine could break the limits of the ingredient itself and achieve effects ordinary cooking could never reach!

…

Then. Before Ramsay could even settle his mind. Stephen Chow acted again, frying an egg with his ultimate technique, the Fire Cloud Palm.

With a whoosh, blazing flames appeared in his palm, and he set the egg on it to sear.

Moments later. The egg was evenly cooked.

Golden, crisp edges outside, tender and juicy inside, its rich aroma filled the entire space, utterly irresistible.

After finishing the technique, Stephen Chow looked at Ramsay’s stunned face and smiled. “This is the true essence of Kung Fu cuisine. Think of it as your shortcut and trump card on the path of cooking.”

“An ordinary chef. Can exhaust everything they’ve learned and still be bound by the logic of conventional cooking.”

“Many effects will never be possible for them. But our Kung Fu cuisine breaks every limit and gives us an overwhelming, absolute advantage.”

“In short. You can never have too many skills.”

“They can’t do it, and we’ve mastered it. That is our confidence and our capital.”

Ramsay nodded firmly, wholeheartedly agreeing.

He understood completely now. Once he mastered this one-of-a-kind Kung Fu cuisine, entering the world of Food Wars! would be a flat-out dimensional beatdown!