119: Chapter 120 A Meal of Desperation! Rare Earth Element Paste in the Left Hand, Dragon and Phoenix Tonic Soup in the Right!

The logistics cafeteria had now been designated a "Level Special Restricted Zone," even more dangerous than the nuclear arsenal.

The stout head chef and several kitchen assistants, who were originally responsible for cooking, were currently squatting on a sand pile at the cafeteria entrance, shivering.

Lei Keming had even dispatched a chemical defense company, plus two fire trucks, standing by in full battle array.

"Old Lei, is this really necessary?"

Jiang Chen stood at the entrance, looking at the battle-ready formation, his mouth twitching: "Isn't it just cooking a meal? It's not like blowing up a bunker."

"Director Jiang, you are still too young."

Lei Keming lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, his eyes looking world-weary, "Take a look at the commotion inside. Is that cooking? That's clearly refining Gu!"

Jiang Chen looked back.

Inside the cafeteria's glass windows, red and blue lights intertwined, with "zizzing" electrical sounds or "rumbling" explosions echoing from time to time.

On the left was a cyberpunk technological assembly line.

On the right was an ethereal, immortal-style cultivation alchemy room.

And he, Jiang Chen, was the lab rat about to be served on the dining table.

...

Inside the kitchen.

The air was filled with an extremely bizarre scent, a mix of ozone, machine oil, and a strange fragrance that made one want to ascend to immortality just by smelling it.

[Step 1: Ingredient Pre-processing.]

Ling's holographic projection had swapped into a pristine, futuristic chef's uniform (a virtual one, of course). She stood before the stainless steel cutting board, not using a knife.

She tapped her finger lightly.

"Zzz —"

A blue laser grid instantly covered a piece of top-grade Wagyu beef on the cutting board.

[According to the scan, 0.3% of the connective tissue in this meat's fiber structure affects the texture, and it contains trace amounts of antibiotic residue.]

[Initiating molecular restructuring program.]

The beef, under the laser's irradiation, began to decompose and reorganize like data. The white fascia was precisely removed, and the red muscle fibers were rearranged into the most perfect hexagonal structure.

In less than three seconds.

A "perfect beef," reaching the theoretical limit in texture, fat distribution, and hygiene, appeared on the cutting board.

After finishing all this, Ling turned her head and cast a disdainful glance at Ji Linglong beside her.

[This is called efficiency.]

[Unlike some primitive people who are still using fire to burn things. It's simply a waste of energy and generates carbon emissions.]

"Hmph! Completely soulless!"

Ji Linglong stood on the other side, not deigning to use a cutting board at all.

She formed a hand seal with one hand, and a ball of golden flame ignited at her fingertips — that was the "Taichu Samadhi True Fire" capable of burning everything.

Above the flame hovered a piece of meat emitting a faint golden light.

That was not ordinary beef from the mortal world.

That was the specialty of the Taichu Realm she had just taken out from her storage ring — [Heart-Protecting Meat of the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon].

"Cooking is about entering the Dao through fire and controlling ingredients with Qi!"

Ji Linglong flicked her wrist, and the Samadhi True Fire instantly transformed into nine fire dragons, enveloping the flood dragon meat.

"Zzzzz —"

Under the roasting of the flames, the meat didn't burn; instead, it seeped out golden grease, and an indescribable aroma instantly erupted.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Outside the cafeteria, the old police dog Lei Keming kept, which had lost all its teeth, suddenly shuddered after smelling this scent. Its originally cloudy eyes instantly sparked with vitality, its fur grew back at a speed visible to the naked eye, and it even grew a size larger, letting out a long howl like a wolf toward the moon.

"Holy crap! Has Old Hei become a spirit?!" Lei Keming dropped the cigarette in his hand in shock.

Ji Linglong proudly lifted her chin and looked provocatively at Ling.

"See that? This is called Spiritual Energy!"

"With this dish of mine, a mortal can prolong their life just by smelling it, and reach Foundation Establishment just by eating it! What do you have to compare with me, with that pile of data trash you zapped with a laser?"

[Data trash?]

A red light flashed in Ling's eyes.

[Very well. You have successfully aroused my competitive spirit.]

[Starting nuclear fusion rice cooker.]

[Loading plugin: Full-nutrition concentration algorithm.]

Ling waved her hand and directly modified the large iron bucket used for steaming rice in the cafeteria. She dismantled the magnetrons from several microwave ovens and hacked into the base's power supply system.

"Hum —"

The iron bucket instantly turned into a miniature "Tokamak device."

Ling threw the processed beef, various vitamin powders, and even a few chunks of minerals that looked like metal all into it.

[Under high temperature and pressure, the food's molecular chains will be broken and reorganized into a nutrient solution most easily absorbed by the human body.]

[Although it loses its original form, its energy conversion rate is 100%.]

[This is the future.]

...

Half an hour later.

On the long table in the cafeteria.

Jiang Chen sat upright, a napkin tied around his neck, holding a knife and fork (though his hands were shaking).

Xue Youyou sat beside him, holding a small notebook, with an expression of watching the fun without fearing it was too big, acting as the judge.

"Alright, two chefs, serve the food!"

Xue Youyou tapped on the table.

"Swish!"

On the left, Ling brought up a silver-white metal plate.

In the middle of the plate was a lump of gray, viscous paste that was still emitting a faint blue light?

The appearance looked, no matter how you looked at it, like cement pulverized in a blender, or a tube of toothpaste that had burst.

"This... is this?" Jiang Chen swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

[All-purpose molecular nutrition meal.]

Ling looked proud, pointing at the lump of paste and said:

[Although it doesn't look like much, it gathers all the essence of that beef, and I have additionally added 23 types of amino acids and 18 types of vitamins required by the human body, as well as trace amounts of rare earth elements.]

[One bite of this is enough to maintain your full-power operation for three days and can repair all the minor damage in your body.]

[Eat, Husband. For your health.]

Jiang Chen looked at the "cement" that was even slightly squirming, feeling a spasm in his stomach.

Rare earth elements?

Wife, are you trying to make me transform into a Transformer?

"What about Linglong's dish?" Jiang Chen hurriedly turned his head to look to the right.

"Hmph, mortals, how could you understand true flavor."

Ji Linglong flicked her sleeve and brought up an antique jade bowl (it's unknown where she conjured it from).

The bowl was filled with a golden soup.

Floating on the surface of the soup were a few translucent flakes that looked like dragon scales. The soup was golden and translucent, emitting rolling heat waves.

The most absurd thing was that the rising steam actually transformed into phantom images of dragons and phoenixes dancing in mid-air!

"This is called — [Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious Nine-Turn Vitality Soup]!"

Ji Linglong looked virtuous (although there was killing intent in her eyes).

"The main ingredient is the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon meat, supplemented by thousand-year Fire Lingzhi, ten-thousand-year Cold Marrow, and I also added a drop of Phoenix Essence Blood from my private collection."

"Husband, your constitution is too weak, you must be heavily nourished!"

"Come, drink it while it's hot! One bowl of this, and I guarantee you'll be... oh no, indestructible!"

Jiang Chen looked at that bowl of soup that looked like magma, feeling his nosebleed already starting to gush out.

Flood Dragon meat? Phoenix blood?

Is this something a mortal can eat? One bite of this, and wouldn't I just explode and die?

On the left is high-tech cement.

On the right is cultivation world magma.

Jiang Chen held the spoon, his hand shaking like someone in the late stages of Parkinson's.