Meat and white rice, protein and carbs. Honestly, it was hard to declare a winner between the two, and everyone’s choice varied when hungry.

Perhaps most people preferred to chow down on meat, but if that meat looked dull and a bit tough and dry, while plump, soft, and sticky white rice was topped with fragrant chili sauce, its vivid red color dotted with vegetables and meat… well, that choice… was different.

After both dishes were served, the NPC stepped forward to score them.

【Xinghe】 Competitor analysis complete. High-grade ingredients, medium-grade farmland. Score: 90.

【Sisi】 Competitor analysis complete. Medium-grade ingredients, low-grade farmland. Score: 40.

Everyone: “??”

Sisi froze.

Using the mangoes Jian Xingyi had previously cultivated, they could still get 50 points. But now, using meat she hunted herself, they scored even lower!

This was actually because when Sisi used the recipe to convert infected beast meat into edible food, her low management level imposed skill limitations. She couldn’t produce a fully delicious cut of meat.

Everyone was stunned by the scores. They knew Sisi’s food might be average, but they never imagined Jian Xingyi’s… would be so high!

Did the system even factor in the infection level during its calculations?

Could Jian Xingyi’s food really be that high quality?

But no matter how curious or hungry everyone was, they wouldn’t get to taste it this round—the chance had already passed.

The NPC announced: “For the second round, the system will select three users who have reached VIP status in restaurant consumption to serve as judges and vote for the competitors. After system screening, the high-scoring users are Firelight and two players who did not respond to the summons. Therefore, Firelight alone holds 100 points. Please vote carefully!”

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

The other two players’ absence remained unexplained—perhaps they’d perished, lacked interest, or simply couldn’t spare the time. After all, traveling far within the game now required either a foot or a motorcycle.

This left Firelight holding the full 100 points, effectively wielding a one-man majority capable of swaying the outcome. No wonder Sisi had been so eager to curry favor with those two.

Firelight stood, his posture straight and solemn. “I swear by the name of Grapevine Peak that my decision will be absolutely fair and impartial.”

He glanced at the two dishes. The steak clearly had a milder flavor, so he chose that one first.

Firelight speared a piece of meat and placed it in his mouth. He paused, tasting nothing remarkable.

Firelight and Le Ke’s wealth easily covered their previous extravagant restaurant meals, so he’d tasted truly delicious food in the game. Sisi’s steak was merely adequate.

Firelight then scooped some rice.

“…!”

The moment it touched his tongue, the chili flavor exploded, instantly countering the meat’s dryness and blandness.

The rice was soft and sticky, its fragrant, substantial texture perfectly complementing the intense chili. It was genuinely eye-opening.

Firelight’s eyes lit up, his expression changing. He couldn’t resist taking another bite, then another.

Everyone watched as Firelight began devouring the rice.

I want to eat it so badly…!

I want to eat!

Now everyone was kicking themselves, especially the ten who had been chosen but hadn’t eaten the radish pickles.

Le Ke and Firelight were holding two jars. Mango and radish seemed fine after eating theirs, and the people who had eaten the radish pickles earlier were also doing well.

It seemed… Jian Xingyi’s food really was fine!

Why didn’t we eat it earlier!!!

Damn it… just how delicious is that plain rice!?

Everyone grew the same rice variety, so why did Jian Xingyi’s look so much more appetizing?

They didn’t know that Jian Xingyi’s field wasn’t the D-grade everyone assumed it to be.

With food so scarce now, everyone stared at the bowl of rice in Firelight’s hands, practically itching to rush over and snatch it.

After eating half his bowl, Firelight licked his lips and cast his vote for Jian Xingyi without hesitation.

“Round two results: Blue Sky and White Clouds 【Sisi】 with 40 total points. Long Live A Hundred Years 【Xinghe】 wins with 180 total points! Congratulations to Long Live A Hundred Years 【Xinghe】!”

Jian Xingyi: “…!”

Won?

Aaaaaah!!

We won!!!

Jian Xingyi instinctively turned to look at his guildmates, only to be immediately pulled into a tight hug by Heiye, who excitedly patted his back.

“Yes! Yes!!”

We won it back! It’s a tie!!

Jian Xingyi exhaled in relief. Thank goodness, thank goodness…

If he’d lost this round too, everyone would be doomed!

Sisi and the Blue Sky and White Clouds members all looked rather embarrassed.

Sisi watched Firelight, her lips pressed together. Was it really that delicious?

Everyone else stared intently at Firelight; their expressions varied.

Only then did Jian Xingyi realize his palms were drenched in cold sweat.

But… the competition wasn’t over yet!

“We will proceed to the third round. Please place your third-round contenders.”

With both sides now tied, the decisive third round was about to begin!

This time, Sisi brought out… another meat patty.

But this patty was different from the second round. Marbled with fat and lean, it looked tender, juicy, thick, and springy—visually appetizing.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Holy crap…!

Looks like she’s playing her trump card?!

Sisi declared proudly, “You all know the Dodo Beast. Our guild hunted an S-rank Dodo Beast a few days ago—an Earth-attribute one. As you know, Earth-attribute Dodo Beasts sometimes have fatty meat that can be sliced and cooked using the recipe function. This is the tastiest part of that beast!”

Jian Xingyi swallowed hard.

Honestly, just looking at it made him hungry.

Snapping back to reality, Jian Xingyi furrowed his brow slightly.

Now… were his chances of winning slim?

Silently, Jian Xingyi brought out his third-round dish—stir-fried bamboo shoots with chili peppers.

The golden-brown bamboo shoots and chili peppers glistened with oil, looking quite appetizing.

The NPC scored as usual.

【【Xinghe】 Competitor analysis complete. High-grade ingredients, medium-grade farmland. Score: 90.】

【【Sisi】 Competitor analysis complete. High-grade ingredients, low-grade farmland. Score: 0.】

Everyone: “???”

Each time the system scored, it delivered shocking and puzzling results—perfect for dramatic effect.

If the system weren’t demonstrably emotionless, everyone would suspect Jian Xingyi had successfully bribed it.

Jian Xingyi still got 90 points, but how did Sisi manage a 0? Besides, the system clearly stated “high-grade ingredients”—how could high-grade get a zero?

Sisi’s supporter immediately shouted, “This system’s scoring is totally inaccurate! Must be a bug! The whole game got us stuck because of bugs—clearly, glitches are everywhere!”

Rongrong chimed in, “I knew it… So that’s why! Because of the bug, Xinghe got such a high score!”

Yiyi backed her up, “Exactly! Now you all see? Xinghe’s food isn’t even that great. Maybe he got infected, too. Scary—we almost got fooled by the system’s bug.”

Everyone exchanged confused glances, unsure how to interpret this.

How strange!

Unable to comprehend human emotions, the NPC continued in its rigid tone: “Round three. The system will select three users who have reached VVVIP status in restaurant spending to serve as judges and vote for the contestants. After system screening, the high-scoring users are Le Ke and two players who did not respond to the summons. Therefore, Le Ke holds 100 points alone. Please vote carefully!”

Everyone looked at Le Ke with envy.

Le Ke stepped forward to examine the two plates. Like Firelight, he chose to try the milder dish first. This time, Jian Xingyi’s offering was simpler, so he took a bite.

Le Ke’s eyes lit up.

Fresh. Truly fresh.

It reminded him of spring soil after rain—utterly delicious.

Fragrant, crisp, refreshing, and appetizing!

Le Ke resisted the urge for a second bite and turned his attention to the tender, juicy meat.

He speared a piece of meat with his fork, but paused just before bringing it to his mouth.

Hmm…?

Everyone watched anxiously, their mouths watering for Le Ke.

Eat it already!!

Under everyone’s puzzled gaze, Le Ke sniffed the meat slice. Then he said, “This meat… seems infected.”

…?

…!!!

Sisi looked panicked. “Impossible! How could that be?! I processed it according to the recipe!”

Le Ke shook his head. “Everyone knows my partner, Shanhai, is a solitary wilderness explorer, right? I followed him into the wilderness for a while. Without synthesis machines out there, we had to rely on the most primitive methods—hunting, building fires, cooking—to survive. He taught me how to identify edible meat. Based on my personal experience, I judge this meat unfit for consumption. I’m not willing to take the risk, so… Miss Sisi, I’m afraid I must decline.”

Le Ke set the meat down.

Jian Xingyi pondered for a moment before finding the answer. He’d experienced this before when his management level was still low. The quality of the game meat corresponds to the management level. Sisi’s raw material quality was too high, but her personal management level couldn’t keep up. Therefore, the meat she prepared couldn’t be fully processed to eliminate contamination.

The crowd gasped.

Someone asked, “So… the system’s rating factors in infection and safety?”

So even with top-tier ingredients, Sisi still got a zero???

The food might be problematic—perhaps it wasn’t Jian Xingyi who was serving infected meat, but Sisi?!

Everyone’s faces paled. They’d just eaten Sisi’s mangoes—could they be at risk?!

“No, impossible! That’s not it! “ Sisi finally couldn’t hold back her smile. She looked at Le Ke in panic, ”I swear I really processed it properly. You… you can’t do this to me…“

Rongrong and Yiyi rushed forward, agitated. ”You can’t slander us like this! You haven’t even tried it. How can you just make such a judgment offhand? Even crimes have accidents and mistakes! You can’t just sentence us to death like this!!”

Le Ke raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “If you think it’s fine, then go ahead and eat.”

Rongrong and Yiyi exchanged glances and suddenly fell silent.

Le Ke and Shanhai were top-tier masters in the entire server… If Le Ke said there was a problem, even if the meat came from their own guild, they wouldn’t dare take the risk.

Le Ke snorted derisively.

Emotions were running high.

“Blue Sky and White Clouds, you owe us an explanation!”

“Exactly! What’s going on? Should we trust Xinghe or Sisi…?”

Sisi raised her hand. “Everyone, please calm down. This meat is genuinely fine. We can prove it.”

Sisi turned to look at Blue Sky and White Clouds’ Guild President, her eyes pleading. “Would… you be willing to vouch for me?”

The bespectacled nerd immediately stood up. “I… I would!”

Le Ke shook his head.

One willing to strike, one willing to endure—utterly hopeless fools beyond saving.

The nerd rushed to Sisi, speared a chunk of meat, and devoured it in one bite, his face lighting up with bliss. “Yum! So delicious!”

Sisi turned to the crowd. “See?”

She looked at Le Ke. “Sir, please try it…”

Le Ke didn’t move. He just stared silently at the nerd, silently counting in his mind.

Three…

The nerd’s eyes began to redden, his breathing growing ragged.

Two…

Skin lesions appeared on his body, festering… peeling away.

One!

His entire body convulsed as he emitted a hoarse, inhuman scream. He was fully infected!

Le Ke drew his bow and arrows.