Chapter 37: Looking for People in the Mountains
In the real world, on the Interstellar Capital Star, at the Fu Family Estate.
After Fu Jinheng stepped out of his gaming capsule, he marched straight into the kitchen.
Fu Jinxi, who had been lounging on the sofa watching a live stream, was so thoroughly startled that his grip slipped, and the kettle he was holding hit the floor with a heavy splat. Ignoring the mess, he rubbed his eyes hard with his fists.
“Third Brother, you… you’re actually going into the kitchen?!” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Ever since the estate was built, the kitchen had remained completely untouched, except for the rare occasions they hired a private chef to prepare a meal for their grandfather. Jinxi had always assumed the kitchen served no real purpose other than getting in the way!
Slipping into his slippers, he crept tentatively toward the kitchen door.
Fu Jinheng paid no attention to his younger brother’s dumbfounded expression, his focus locked on scanning the room. Thanks to the automated domestic robots, the kitchen was spotlessly clean despite years of neglect, sparing him from the tedious cleaning drills his master forced him through in the game. However, the drawbacks were glaringly obvious. Aside from standard pots and pans, the pantry was completely barren—not a single seasoning or ingredient in sight.
He immediately pulled up Starnet, navigating to the fresh food and seasoning directory to place an emergency order.
“Third Brother, what are you doing?” Fu Jinxi asked, peering in curiously.
His brother’s interface was set to private, obscuring the screen, but watching him tap and swipe at the empty air made it obvious he was browsing the network.
“Buying groceries. I’m going to make something for you guys,” Fu Jinheng replied casually. Deep in his own thoughts, he failed to notice his younger brother’s face instantly draining of color.
Fu Jinxi silently retreated from the doorway, his mind racing. Natural food is astronomically expensive and tastes utterly foul! It’s barely fit for human consumption! He would wager his life that no sane person in the entire galaxy actually enjoyed eating it. Even highly trained culinary specialists struggled to make it palatable, let alone his Third Brother, who had never touched a ladle in his life! Is he trying to poison us to inherit the family fortune?!
Meanwhile, Fu Jinheng was firing off a direct message to his personal assistant.
Why can’t I find any century eggs for sale on the commercial networks? Has the Academy of Sciences not made them publicly available yet?
[One moment, sir… What sort of creature produces a ‘century egg’? I have never even heard of this ingredient.]
The outer shell looks roughly the size of a standard poultry egg, but it has a gray-green hue. Once peeled, the interior turns translucent dark amber and yellow.
[…There is no record of such a product on the market, sir. I have forwarded the description to the deep-space foraging squads. They will do their absolute best to locate it for you!]
Realizing it was a lost cause, Fu Jinheng abandoned the search and decided to substitute the century eggs with fresh green vegetables.
The Interstellar Express network was remarkably efficient; his package materialized at the estate’s delivery chute barely a quarter of an hour later. After neatly arranging the various seasonings on the counter, he picked up the lean pork and began prepping the meat. Fortunately, his daily grind of ingredient processing under his master’s strict supervision had turned this into second nature.
He worked with absolute concentration, completely oblivious to the two figures covertly peeking through the kitchen doorway.
“Grandpa, I just checked with Third Brother. He said this batch is specially formulated to nourish your body, so you have to be a good boy and eat every bite later!” Jinxi whispered into the old man’s ear. Since it was a labor of love dedicated specifically to their grandfather, the old man would just have to endure the affection and finish the entire pot!
“You little rascal, keep it for yourself! Old Wang next door just messaged me to go fishing! Guard the house and keep an eye on your brother, I’m making my escape!” The old man waved his hands defensively, trying to seize the opportunity to slip away.
Unfortunately, his compromised spiritual sea prevented him from utilizing his mental power, making it incredibly easy for his grandson to physically block his path.
“Grandpa, how can you be like this?!” Jinxi hissed, holding him firmly. “I heard Third Brother literally slaved away learning culinary skills in the virtual world just for your sake. Do you have any idea how hard he worked?!” There was no way he was letting his grandfather escape. If the old man ran away, wouldn’t he be left alone to consume whatever disaster his brother was brewing?
As the two wrestled in the hallway, a delicate, savory aroma suddenly drifted through the air. The rich scent instantly re-energized them.
“What is that smell?!”
Right then, Fu Jinheng stepped out of the kitchen carrying a tray of bowls and chopsticks, setting them neatly onto the dining table. “Just wait a moment, it’s almost ready.”
“You actually cooked this?!” The grandfather and grandson gasped in unison, watching in absolute shock as Fu Jinheng turned back to fetch the food.
“Ahem… Jinxi, you were right,” Grandpa Fu reacted instantly, letting out a couple of staged coughs before flashing a bright smile and nudging his grandson aside. “This is a profound token of respect from your older brother to me. You shouldn’t overindulge in it!”
“No way!” This time, Fu Jinxi fiercely disagreed. The aroma wafting from the kitchen was intoxicating. It seemed his brother had actually mastered a genuine, world-class skill!
Before their bickering could escalate, Fu Jinheng emerged carrying a large, steaming pot, ladling a generous portion of porridge into each of their bowls.
The trio sat around the table, the rich fragrance rising from the porcelain. The grandfather and grandson took a tentative, cautious sip—and their eyes instantly lit up. Ignoring the scorching heat, they began gulping down the food with wild enthusiasm.
Fu Jinheng silently finished his own bowl, a sudden, pleasant warmth blooming in his abdomen. It was remarkably delicious. However, he couldn’t help but note that the execution still fell slightly short of his master’s flawless baseline.
“What do you call this dish? Make it again tomorrow!” The old man wiped his mouth, thoroughly satisfied. It was the first time in years he had actively looked forward to a natural meal, making an explicit request for more.
“Of course, Grandpa,” Fu Jinheng nodded, before turning to tap his younger brother on the shoulder. “Jinxi, make sure to immediately procure a massive shipment of Ancient gaming cabins for my eldest brother’s entire security division. The formula for this porridge was extracted entirely from the game’s matrix.”
“What?!” The grandfather and grandson bolted upright, staring at him with intense focus.
“That’s right. I bound myself to a local master within the simulation, and she personally drilled me on this specific recipe. My master is an intermediate-tier culinary specialist. If any of you wish to learn, you simply need to log in…”
“Haha! In that case, I’m going to track down a senior-tier chef to be my master!” Before his brother could even finish his explanation, Fu Jinxi leaped into the air with excitement. “Don’t you worry, Third Brother! Once I master the ultimate forms, I’ll cook up a feast to blow your mind!” When the day came, he would whip up a high-tier delicacy and let his brother sample it; he refused to believe his brother wouldn’t beg for a taste! And the second his brother came groveling for food, he would leverage it to demand exactly what he wanted most…
Fu Jinheng observed his younger brother’s goofy, triumphant grin and easily deduced the childish scheme running through his head. However, recalling the highly advanced, unyielding nature of the high-intelligence AI NPCs within the simulation, a subtle, highly amused smile played at the corners of his lips.
Go right ahead, young man, he thought. Some people simply need to crash into a brick wall before they can truly grow.
Don’t think Fu Jinheng had secured his own apprenticeship out of mere luck. He had spent days quietly observing the local market before committing. His master possessed a remarkably gentle, patient temperament, and among the initial contact pool available to a novice player, her culinary mastery was absolute, paired with an exceptionally upright character.
But if his foolish little brother simply barged into the game and bound himself to the first high-level NPC he stumbled across…
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the scheduled restaurant holiday, Lu Yunxi granted her apprentice a day off and headed straight up into the mountains.
Since Shen San’s player informant had managed to pinpoint a curse-bearer near their own border, it was highly probable that the entity responsible for the blight on Mushroom Village was hidden somewhere along the upper ridges of her regional territory. To ensure she didn’t overlook a single ravine, she had invested a few coppers to secure a local survey map, meticulously ticking off every peak she cleared.
After spending the better part of the day trekking through the rugged wilderness and circling three separate massifs, her enhanced perception finally locked onto a hidden cavern showing signs of human activity.
However—
Stepping into the damp recess, she stared at the captive girl tied securely with thick ropes, her breathing weak and ragged. A profound wave of suspicion washed over Yunxi.
Does this dying, helpless child seriously look like she possesses the world-ending power to curse an entire village?
