TSA Chapter 47

Happy Lunar New Year, Gong Xi Gong Xi~ 

This guild event was a huge success, and everyone had an amazing time eating. They expressed their hope to keep this excellent tradition going. They even spontaneously organized a group photo, with everyone holding a type of food in their hands. While eating, they couldn’t help but show expressions of pure enjoyment, making it clear just how delicious the food they were holding was.

Sword at Fleeting Time went to the forum and posted a recruitment thread for professional life players, featuring that group photo as the main image, accompanied by close-up shots of the seventeen dishes. He posted it all on the game forum, sparking an outcry from countless players.

1L: This is outrageous! They’re blatantly posting food pics!

2L: You can post the pictures, but can you put all these things in the Trading Hall? You think we don’t have money?!

3L: PLEASE put them in the Trading Hall!!! I was wondering why there were no new items on the market, turns out you guys consumed them internally!!!

4L: My mouth is watering, I can tell the food must be amazing just by looking at the pictures!

5L: I bet the anonymous expert is a super-talented star chef!

6L: Does a star chef have time to play an online game?

7L: What, can’t a star chef have personal hobbies?!

……

383L: Does anyone remember this is a recruitment post?

384L: I remember, but what does remembering do? I don’t have any life skills…

385L: Sigh, me too… I should’ve learned something earlier…

386L: Do you think they’re fools? There must be skill-level requirements! I hope the Invincible Guild upgrades to level 3 soon! Please give me another chance ahhhhh!

387L: I actually hope Night Owl’s guild takes longer to upgrade… I’ve been working really hard on leveling o(╯□╰)o

……

Riding on the heat of this event, Invincible Guild successfully recruited five new members, all of whom were professional life players.

Sword at Fleeting Time had pre-screened the player screenshots, and then Ran Qi and Night Owl did a final round of selection.

Ran Qi was responsible for evaluating their expertise in life skills, while Night Owl was in charge of assessing their character.

Now that Invincible Guild was well-known, it was easier for people from other guilds to infiltrate and gather intel or seek personal gain. If professional life players were to be trained, it would require a lot of guild resources, and no one wanted to go through the trouble only to end up helping someone else.

Night Owl had a sharp eye for people. He dismissed anyone who seemed impatient or appeared to be scheming. He preferred slightly less skilled players as long as they weren’t just there to waste time.

The five who successfully joined the guild had character levels and life skill levels that were mostly above average, but they all had good character. Coincidentally, some of them were familiar faces, such as Yan Mo, who had loudly recommended themselves on the World Channel, as well as the bickering couple June Snow and September Sky, and Flower Iris and Feng Wuhen.

Yan Mo was a level 26 mage, specializing in alchemy and forging, with skill levels of 18 and 16 respectively.

June Snow was a level 28 priest, and September Sky was a level 29 warrior. The two were a couple in real life, and they only needed to invite four DPS players for dungeon runs, so they leveled up quickly. June Snow had a sewing skill at level 22, and September Sky’s forging skill was already at level 24.

Flower Iris and Feng Wuhen were also a couple in real life. Ran Qi and Feng Tian had met them during a dungeon run when they bumped into Yue Na and Ba Ge. The incident about the Potato Pancake recipe that caused an argument was eventually resolved when Ran Qi gave the recipe to Flower Iris, and the clarification post on the forum was also made by Feng Wuhen, which left Ran Qi with a very positive impression of both of them.

Flower Iris’s cooking skill was level 25, and they had learned many recipes. Feng Wuhen specialized in potions, with the highest skill level among them at 27. While both of them were strong DPS players, they spent more time improving their proficiency, which slowed down their leveling speed, so they were only level 27.

Back then, both of them were at a higher level than Ran Qi, but now, Ran Qi had pulled ahead. The last time Invincible Guild was recruiting, they wanted to apply but didn’t meet the level requirements. This time, they finally made it in.

With the addition of five life players, the guild’s burden during dungeon runs or guild battles would be greatly reduced, and it would also help shift some of the focus away from Ran Qi.

Many people had guessed that Ran Qi was the legendary anonymous expert, but out of respect for the fact that Night Owl was backing him, no one was tactless enough to bring it up. However, apart from his cooking skills, Ran Qi’s proficiency in other life skills was a secret known only to Night Owl’s team.

*******

When Ran Qi logged off to rest, he received a video call from Ran Shaojun.

“Dad, is there any news?” Ran Qi eagerly asked as soon as the call connected.

“Yes. The research department has analyzed all the ingredients you sent over. They confirmed that these ingredients contain trace amounts of the mysterious active element, with the highest concentration found in the meat—about three times that of fruits and vegetables. Further experiments showed that this element has a certain promoting effect on human cells, with stronger effects on those with weaker physiques,” Ran Shaojun explained.

“That’s the main reason your physical stats have improved so quickly. For individuals with higher physical levels, it would take a long-term, large intake of this element to see even slight improvements.” After a pause, Ran Shaojun asked, “By the way, how many people in your game have used vouchers to exchange for ingredients?”

“These vouchers are pretty hard to come by. I’d guess fewer than 20 people have them,” Ran Qi replied, rubbing his nose sheepishly. His team had scooped most of the vouchers up. “I asked my friends—they haven’t used their vouchers yet. They’re saving up for things like mechs.”

“That’s good,” Ran Shaojun nodded.

“Do you not want them to exchange for ingredients?” Ran Qi asked hesitantly. After all, he had encouraged Night Owl and the others to exchange for ingredients just yesterday.

“It’s not that,” Ran Shaojun said thoughtfully. “Since the game officials and the government dared to release these items, they must have been prepared for the exposure. If you want to exchange for them, go ahead. It doesn’t matter; just let things unfold naturally.” Then, with a slight frown, he asked, “Those vouchers are hard to get? Are you running out of them?”

“No, no, no, it’s actually quite easy for me…” Ran Qi assured him quickly, thanks to his unique methods for farming vouchers.

“Really?” Seeing Ran Qi’s serious nod, Ran Shaojun breathed a sigh of relief and added with slight embarrassment, “Your little dad really enjoyed the Braised Pork and Potato Rice you made last time. If you’re exchanging for ingredients again, could you send some over for him?”

“No problem! I was just about to try two new recipes today. Once they’re ready, I’ll send them to him,” Ran Qi said with a smile.

The affection between his two fathers was truly heartwarming.

Ran Shaojun cleared his throat and swiftly changed the subject. “Ahem, the head of the research department is fascinated by this new element. He’s been practically living in the lab these past few days. I’ll update you if there’s any new information.”

“Got it,” Ran Qi nodded obediently.

After ending the call, Ran Qi opened his terminal and exchanged vouchers on the game’s official website for potatoes, green peppers, pork belly, and rice. He planned to make several dishes so his family could try them all.

Potatoes can be made into so many dishes that Ran Qi specifically exchanged for several extra pounds. Today, besides stir-fried dishes, he also planned to make mashed potatoes and fries. He sliced the remaining potatoes, green peppers, and pork belly, stir-frying them together into a flavorful dish that paired perfectly with rice. The aroma alone was irresistible.

Ran Qi opened the StarNet shopping mall to look for a fryer and was surprised to discover that the electric energy-saving wok he had previously purchased had many additional features. It could barbecue, bake, stew, steam, simmer, fry, and stir-fry. It could even be controlled via his terminal, making it incredibly convenient. The frying function, in particular, could be used without any oil. Its principle seemed similar to the air fryers from his previous life on Earth, a high-tech device that used air to ‘fry’ food.

Although 99% of interstellar citizens relied on nutrient solutions for daily sustenance, 1% still pursued top-tier living standards. They not only purchased natural ingredients but also hired star chefs to turn them into gourmet meals. With the Empire’s population exceeding 100 billion, even 1% meant over a billion people buying kitchenware. This explained why the Empire invested so much in developing advanced kitchen appliances.

No wonder this wok was priced so high—it was packed with hidden features.

Ran Qi peeled and cut the potatoes into strips, boiled them with salted water, drained them, and switched the wok to the frying mode. Before long, he had a plate of golden, crispy fries.

He plated the fries and prepared mashed potatoes by steaming peeled potato slices using the wok’s steaming mode. After mashing them in a bowl and pouring black pepper sauce over them, the taste was almost identical to the mashed potatoes from KFC in his past life.

Finally, he switched the wok to stir-fry mode and cooked the sliced potatoes, green peppers, and pork belly together. The result was a dish full of color, aroma, and flavor—stir-fried potatoes with green peppers and pork belly.

The wok’s advanced features significantly reduced his cooking time. He finished three dishes and a pot of rice in about an hour.

He packed a portion into an insulated container and placed an order with Octopus Express to deliver it to his little father. Then he called Gu Le to join him for a meal.

“Why are you so late today? I even had to call you to invite you,” Ran Qi teased.

“Haha, I was just on a call with the class president. The registration for the campus competition just closed, and the matches will officially start the day after tomorrow! The president reminded us not to miss it. Once the campus competition ends, it’ll be time for the regional competition!” Gu Le said excitedly. “I can’t wait to meet Soul Chaser and the others!”