“Wait…
where did the light cone go!” Seeing the light cone in his arms gradually disappear into points of light and merge into his own body, a startled Xiangling instinctively raised his hands and searched his body, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Stop looking.
A light cone is similar to a weapon; it can be equipped on your body.
I’ve already equipped the one you just had for you.
Don’t thank me.” Ayin, standing beside him, explained with rare kindness, though it was hard to tell if he was saying it intentionally for Zhongli to hear.
“Ah, then Aether, can I still unequip this light cone?
I just feel a bit strange after equipping it.” After hearing Ayin’s explanation, Xiangling was visibly relieved, but still asked with a hint of confusion.
“Yes, you can.
However, there is a one-week cooldown before you can unequip a light cone after it’s been equipped.
In other words, you can only remove this light cone after a week.
During this period, every dish you make will trigger the light cone’s effect judgment.” Hearing Xiangling’s question, Ayin explained again, suppressing a laugh.
After hearing about the restrictions, our little chef instantly lost his temper, and even felt a bit resentful.
After all, the effect stated that every time he cooked, it would be judged, but the key is that many dishes don’t need chili peppers!
This directly meant that if he cooked in his usual way, he would likely trigger the [Even Dogs Won’t Eat It] effect several times, making it so that for every two dishes he made, he would end up producing a bizarre dish, as if possessed by Hu Tao.
The most critical part is that the spiciness limit for [Even Dogs Won’t Eat It] is 0~33.
In other words, just adding chili peppers isn’t enough; he must reach the limit of 34 to avoid being afflicted with the negative effect!
As for the reduction in Power of Elation…
although he didn’t know what Power of Elation was, based on how he felt after equipping the light cone, if his Power of Elation was reduced, he guessed that his mood and state while cooking would be affected…
“Oh my, don’t look at me with such resentful eyes.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think I’d done something to you.
Although this light cone has a few limitations, the effects are genuinely good!”
Seeing Xiangling looking at him with that gaze, Ayin didn’t mind and continued to entice him, “Look at these base stats; they directly increase your combat power, making it easier to find ingredients outside.
As for the types of effects from the ‘original ingredients’…
if it’s just at the [Sweating Profusely] level, they might be quite ordinary, but if it reaches the [I Have Been Poisoned] level, then the unexpected additional effects are hard to predict.”
After saying this, Ayin snapped his fingers, and the space that had been isolated by the Power of Elation instantly recovered.
Due to the unique nature of the Power of Elation, the surrounding diners didn’t notice that Zhongli and the others had disappeared and suddenly reappeared.
“May I ask, young friend, if you could elaborate on what these specific unexpected effects are?” Not long after the space recovered, the old gentleman, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up to ask a question.
For some reason, when Ayin was talking about the additional effects, his gaze kept drifting toward him, and this look felt somewhat malicious.
“Oh, there are plenty of them.
Things like making someone ascend to godhood, making someone wipe out half of all life in Teyvat with a snap of their fingers, making someone elbow Celestia away with one punch, starting the second Cataclysm…”
Ayin paused halfway through, turned to look at the little chef beside him who was already dumbfounded, as well as the old gentleman whose mouth was twitching, and then continued in an innocent voice, “…
Naturally, none of these effects exist~.”
“Aether, you scared me to death!
Although I don’t know what Celestia is, I get the feeling you said something very terrifying.” Hearing this, Xiangling patted his chest and let out a sigh of relief.
He then continued to ask, “So what are the actual effects?”
Listening to Xiangling’s inquiry, Ayin unusually rubbed his chin in thought for a few seconds, then added nonchalantly, “Some of them should be things like limb regeneration, soul reshaping, and resurrection from the dead.”
Once these words were spoken, Xiangling’s first reaction was that Aether was teasing him again; conversely, Zhongli was frowning at this moment, carefully considering the credibility of Ayin’s words.
After all, compared to elbowing Celestia away and starting the second Cataclysm, these effects were clearly more credible.
“Alright, alright, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.
Why don’t you just try it yourselves?
Besides this boiled fish, Xiangling, you must have prepared other spicy dishes, right?” Seeing the different expressions on everyone’s faces, Ayin directly interrupted their thoughts.
“I do have one more…
I’ll go prepare it.
I’ll try to add more chili peppers while trying not to ruin the flavor.” Xiangling nodded upon hearing this and then hurried towards the kitchen; he was clearly a man of action.
On the other hand, Zhongli was staring at Ayin with his dark golden eyes, as if waiting for him to provide an explanation.
“Hmm?
What are you looking at, old man?” Although Ayin guessed the underlying meaning in his gaze, he clearly didn’t want to just spill everything so easily.
After all, there was no fun to be had in things that were already known.
Besides, didn’t Zhongli like being a riddle-monger in the game?
Now it was finally his turn to get revenge!
“…Forget it, very well.” Zhongli’s eyelid twitched upon hearing this; he could hardly remember how many times today he had been rendered speechless by this guy’s behavior.
However, since his observations showed that he held no hostility toward Liyue, he would let him be.
As for that special effect, he would wait until there was a real chance to practice it.
From now on, he should interact less with this guy!
Compared to him, Zhongli was clearly more willing to spend time with his own Director Hu.
Fifteen minutes later…
Zhongli and Xiangling were staring at a bowl of freshly served Tender Chili Chicken, wondering what they were thinking.
In contrast, Ayin had already opened up his stomach and eaten two big bowls of rice; he had even almost finished the bowl of Wanmin Restaurant Boiled Fish that was served at the beginning.
Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten the main point of coming to Wanmin Restaurant this time—to get a free meal!
“Ah, so satisfying.
Xiangling, your cooking is truly excellent.
You’ve made my stomach so big.
I’ll pack a few more dishes later, and as for the bill…
just put it on my sister’s tab.”
With two bowls of rice down, he clearly couldn’t eat anything else.
He leaned back on his chair, took a sip of the Crab Roe Tofu Soup that had been served earlier, and planned to let the original soup digest the original food.
“Oh, Aether, don’t just focus on eating.
Come and see if this dish I made meets the standard.” Seeing this, Xiangling didn’t think much and grabbed Ayin over, almost making this prankster retch on the spot.
“I said slow down, Xiangling.
I can’t handle you doing this right after I’ve eaten.
Besides, this clearly meets the requirements.
Now you just need to find someone to finish this bowl of extra-spicy Tender Chili Chicken.” Dragged over, Ayin looked at the number [71] floating above the bowl of Tender Chili Chicken, and a meaningful smile couldn’t help but appear at the corner of his mouth…