284: Calming and Fragrant Porridge

The atmosphere in the laboratory was like a fully drawn bowstring, so taut it seemed to hum.

Inside the life support pods, the physical reactions of Ban Yangming and the other Special Operations Squad members grew increasingly violent.

Muscles bulged, veins protruded, and even in their unconscious state, expressions of pain and struggle flickered across their faces.

Physiological data curves surged up and down like a roller coaster, and alarms shrieked continuously.

“Active factor absorption rate exceeds 80%, body potential is being forcibly stimulated…”

“Energy reserves are being rapidly depleted, approaching the lower safety threshold…”

“Abnormal high-frequency fluctuations in brainwaves, accompanied by irregular 雜波 (noise), have appeared in some team members…”

“Suspected precursor to ‘Delusion’…”

“The first and second stages have largely passed. Some team members are experiencing rejection reactions, but these have been stabilized through technical intervention. All units, attention: we are about to officially enter the third stage, ‘Delusion’…”

“Countdown commencing: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…”

Lin Wei listened to the report on the other end of her earpiece. After a moment of focused listening, her spirits suddenly lifted. She quickly picked up a communicator, and her voice clearly reached the kitchen area, falling into the ears of the busy Mr. Lu.

“Mr. Lu, the next task is yours!”

Mr. Lu’s expression was solemn as he nodded.

On the countertop in front of him lay various P4 and even P5 level otherworldly ingredients, shimmering faintly or emitting strange fluctuations.

These included ‘Spirit-Calming Flower,’ ‘Soul-Soothing Grass,’ ‘Earth Vein Marrow Milk,’ ‘Ice Heart Fruit,’ ‘Fragrant Rice,’ and ‘Golden Boar Pork Loin,’ among others.

These were the institute’s most prized reserves.

Previously, Lin Wei had temporarily given Mr. Lu access to the list of otherworldly ingredients, allowing him to choose which ones to use for cooking.

After understanding the challenges the Special Operations Squad members faced during the experiment, Mr. Lu specifically selected ingredients with properties such as “stabilizing the mind and nourishing vital energy,” aiming to use them to help combat ‘Delusion.’

Time was short. Mr. Lu took a deep breath, his gaze instantly becoming intensely focused.

His Heart Fire Tempering talent silently activated, and his perception of the stove fire and pot temperature reached an unprecedented level of precision.

He did not choose a complex dish but returned to simplicity, deciding to cook a pot of porridge, albeit one made with otherworldly ingredients.

Based on the ingredients’ properties, he named it “Calming Fragrant Porridge.”

The Mysterious Crystal Starry Chef’s Knife was unsheathed, starlight swirling on its dark blue blade.

The Fragrant Rice was gently rinsed; the grains, like pearls, emitted a faint, sweet aroma.

The Golden Boar Pork Loin was sliced under the knife into pieces as thin as cicada wings, almost transparent. The chef’s knife’s micro-gravity field perfectly locked in the juices and essence.

Earth Vein Marrow Milk formed the base of the porridge. The milky white liquid was poured into a clay pot, without a single drop of water, and simmered over a low flame. Soon, it began to emit a warm, mellow fragrance that calmed the mind.

Mr. Lu’s hand was as steady as a rock, sensing the most subtle changes in the marrow milk’s temperature.

At a critical point, he poured in the drained jade marrow rice. The pearl-white grains, upon contact with the warm marrow milk, immediately absorbed some of its essence, becoming even more translucent.

Seeing this, Mr. Lu stopped stirring. Instead, relying on his ultimate control of the heat, he allowed the rice grains to slowly soak and warm in the marrow milk, gradually releasing their aroma and absorbing the milk’s nourishment.

During this interval, he began to prepare the auxiliary ingredients.

The petals of the Spirit-Calming Flower were carefully torn into fine threads. Only the tenderest heart of the Soul-Soothing Grass was taken, and its juice was skillfully extracted, mixed with a few drops of Ice Heart Fruit juice, to form a bowl of pale purple, translucent glaze.

Under the control of his extreme temperature sensitivity, the high heat caused the porridge in the clay pot to begin to bubble gently. The aromas of the rice and marrow milk perfectly merged, creating a warm, comforting, and reassuring scent.

Mr. Lu evenly spread the paper-thin pork slices over the surface of the porridge, using the porridge’s heat to instantly cook them, locking in their ultimate tenderness.

Finally, he drizzled in the bowl of pale purple, translucent glaze and sprinkled on the shredded petals of the Spirit-Calming Flower.

In an instant, an indescribable aroma of porridge wafted up from the clay pot.

The fragrance was not overpowering or intense, but rather like a gentle spring rain, spreading warmly and silently.

It carried the rich soothing quality of Earth Vein Marrow Milk, the clear nourishment of Fragrant Rice, the mind-calming and soul-stabilizing power of Spirit-Calming Flower and Soul-Soothing Grass, and a hint of the cool, peculiar spirituality from the Ice Heart Fruit juice.

Smelling this aroma, Mr. Lu’s face showed a satisfied smile.

He knew that the various magical ingredients from another world had, under his cooking, merged and sublimated with a wondrous rhythm, forming a gentle yet powerful, mind-soothing, and delicious dish.

“It’s done.”

Mr. Lu felt the heat one last time, then finally turned off the stove.

The residual heat of the clay pot perfectly removed the last trace of heat from the porridge, bringing it to a perfect state.

He quickly portioned the porridge into special small bowls equipped with rapid cooling devices.

Each bowl of porridge presented a warm, milky white color, adorned with the pale purple sheen of the glaze, golden meat slices, and tiny petal threads, like a work of art, and it exuded a mind-calming fragrance.

“Meals prepared!”

Mr. Lu said into his earpiece.

Logistics personnel, who had been waiting outside, immediately entered and carefully placed the porridge bowls into a temperature-controlled transport cart, quickly pushing it towards the laboratory.

Subsequently, the aroma of the porridge began to waft through the laboratory.

Then, something peculiar happened.

On the monitoring screens, the chaotic brainwave signals representing the Special Operations Squad members, after being enveloped by this aroma, actually showed small signs of calming down.

Although still chaotic, the peak values were clearly reduced.

Even leaders who weren’t technical experts could see that the trend was gradually improving.

Meanwhile, in the control room, as the aroma flowed in through the vents...

Except for Ye Chen, who remained expressionless, all the researchers, including Ye Er and Ye San, subconsciously took a deep breath, and expressions of relief involuntarily appeared on their faces. The fatigue and tension of the past few days seemed to have been smoothed away by this warm fragrance.

“This aroma… its soothing effect on the mind is so obvious?”

A C-grade researcher murmured, his face full of disbelief.

Lin Wei stood in the corner of the control room, looking through the tempered glass at the laboratory, then glancing towards the kitchen, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She recalled the time at Mr. Lu’s residence when she had lost her composure because the food was too fragrant, and she thought to herself:

“His cooking, as expected, is not just ‘delicious’… it’s far more than that.”