This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 494 - 493: Divine Game – Chaotic Restaurant 14

The octopus boss tapped Rita with one of its tentacles. "Can you cook this?"

Rita stared at the fresh corpse of the small whale beside her.

"…You're asking now?"

She chuckled. "I wouldn't dare say no."

Satisfied, the octopus withdrew its tentacle and continued strolling forward.

Rita turned to Marmang-Crab. "You think it can still revive in this state?"

The crab shrugged. "Hard to say. Black SpringMud Bears came back pretty fast, didn't he?"

The two exchanged a glance—then, as if sharing a single brain cell, both silently pulled up the World Chat to eavesdrop.

The first thing they saw was a very familiar ID.

[Tingo·JE]: BS Rita, Marmang-Crab, can you see this?

Slowly, the two turned to look at the very fresh ingredient tied up next to them.

It still had its ID floating above its head—[Tingo·JE].

Despite this being their second time meeting and only five hours of interaction, Marmang-Crab had already realized—he and BS Rita were perfectly in sync.

Neither spoke.

Neither exchanged glances.

Yet, both immediately chose to play dead, refusing to acknowledge TingoJE's message.

[Tingo·JE]: I see you looking at me. SAY SOMETHING! Don't pretend I'm not here! If you ignore me, I swear, when I revive, I'll make you both regret it!

[Nuclear Flash·Pear]: What happened to you?

[Tingo·JE]: I've been locked as an ingredient. I can't revive for now.

[Tingo·JE]: BS Rita, Marmang-Crab—go ask that damn customer if I can still join a restaurant as an ingredient contestant in the competition!

The two continued pretending not to see anything.

Meanwhile, World Chat was flooded with messages—half of them searching for chefs, the other half discussing how players were being turned into food.

Rita read the chat but couldn't stop stealing glances at TingoJE.

She had laughed at Pine Bloom earlier for suggesting Black SpringMud Bears should be turned into a dish, even swearing to herself that she'd never think that way.

…But Rita wasn't afraid of being struck by divine retribution.

After all, Black Jade was already on her menu.

What came to mind instead was her Food God skill.

[Skill 2 – Who's Hannibal?:

If you transform a target into 38 different dishes, each rated above 90 points, and consume all of them, you will gain one of their skills at random. (One-time use per target.)]

However, if she activated her Ultimate, the conditions changed drastically:

"Only 18 dishes required."

And instead of "consume all dishes," she only needed to "taste" them.

The requirements had been greatly reduced.

And as a chef, wasn't it perfectly reasonable to sample her own dishes?

If she succeeded, she'd gain one random skill from TingoJE.

Ordinarily, she wouldn't even consider it. Gambling for a random skill without her Master Thief Dragon ability wasn't worth it.

But this was TingoJE.

A ranked top 100 powerhouse.

An 18-stage monster.

The biggest cost would likely be Ultimate Points. In the World Battlefield, activating this skill would consume Ultimate energy constantly— similar to how Nivalis' space skills worked. She'd need to burn at least hundreds of points.

But…

It was worth trying.

Meanwhile, TingoJE was still shouting at them in World Chat.

[Tingo·JE]: What the hell are you two doing?! You're not actually thinking about cooking me, are you?! Idiots! HELP ME GET THIS SKILL OFF ME!

[BS·Rita]: You lost to it. What do you expect us to do?

[Tingo·JE]: …Heh. If you've got the guts, try cooking me. I dare you.

Rita was speechless.

What the hell is threatening me going to do?!

I'm just a damn employee!

You want me to risk my life going against a customer who's stronger than YOU?!

Since a grudge was inevitable, she saw no reason to hold back.

Besides, the power gap between her and TingoJE was so massive that if he wanted to kill her later, it would probably trigger some exclusive game penalty.

Whether she played reckless or cautious, there was no reason to be polite.

[BS·Rita]: I'll let you choose the menu.

[Tingo·JE]: …What did you just say?

[BS·Rita]: I plan to turn you into 18 dishes. I'll let you pick eight of them yourself.

[Lania Kaia·Fat Goose]: Maple Syrup, are you SURE she's not your kid?

[Lania Kaia·Maple Syrup]: No.

[Tingo·JE]: You coward. It's too late to deny it now! I'll make you pay for this!

[Lania Kaia·Maple Syrup]: As if I'd let TingoJE pick his own dishes. He doesn't deserve that luxury.

[Lania Kaia·Maple Syrup]: BS Rita, I'm disappointed in you.

[Marmang·Crab]: …Could you NOT instigate things? Your "kid" and I are literally on the same team right now.

[Tingo·JE]: Do you think I CAN'T HEAR YOU?! I'm right next to you two! And in the last few seconds, I already heard you list six dishes to BS Rita! YOU'RE ON MY LIST TOO!

[Marmang·Crab]: Oh nooo, I'm soooo scared.

Rita raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a grudge against him?"

Marmang-Crab scoffed. "With that mouth? You should be asking—who doesn't have a grudge against him?"

Neither of them acknowledged TingoJE's presence any further.

Rita was intrigued. "Then what about Maple Syrup? She must have tons of enemies too, right?"

Marmang-Crab hesitated for the first time.

After a few seconds, he spoke carefully.

"She has many enemies… but maybe… not as many as you'd think."

Now Rita was truly curious. "What do you mean?"

The octopus under them slithered forward, its dozens of tentacles undulating like a smooth conveyor belt.

Other players and visitors had enough sense not to approach the behemoth.

Marmang-Crab explained:

"Lania Kaia Maple Syrup is reckless and fearless.

"She once kidnapped an entire clan of Autumn Bears just to make bear-shaped cookies. Not only does Autumn Bear hate her, but the entire Black Spring world despises her.

"But whenever there's a co-op game, players still willingly follow her lead.

"Even her enemies trust her during battle.

"When she's leading a team, her voice carries more weight than players stronger than her.

"TingoJE is the perfect example. He's got a long history of conflict with her, but he's also followed her orders before."

Rita's breathing slowed.

She remembered the diamond mine battle—how so many players fought alongside her.

Had some of them been her enemies?

Had they put aside grudges just because Maple Syrup was commanding?

She asked, "What about Black SpringMud Bears? Has he ever followed her orders?"

Marmang-Crab immediately shook his head.

"Never. That grudge is too deep.

"If you don't believe me, look up 'Lania Kaia Bear Cookies' in the world database.

"Black SpringMud Bears would rather die than listen to her."

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Thinking of how he treated her, Rita muttered, "I did expect him to hold a grudge against me…"

Marmang-Crab snorted. "He wouldn't dare. Do you have any idea how terrified people are of Lania Kaia Maple Syrup because of what she's done?"

Then he turned toward TingoJE.

"Be honest with us, TingoJE.

"Are you afraid of Maple Syrup?

"If yes, type 1 in chat. If no, type 2.

"Answer truthfully, and I'll go ask the octopus boss if ingredients can still join restaurants after the game."

[Tingo·JE]: 1.