Beast Taming: I Can Bestow Entries-Chapter 219: Homesick Zongzi

"In this competition, each contestant will be granted a budget of 5 million for ingredient procurement, meow! Contestants can use these 5 million to purchase the ingredients they desire from the ingredient shops surrounding us. Each ingredient is clearly priced, it’s just like that, meow~"

Chen Mo had already noticed many shops around the square earlier and was surprised to find they were actually supplying ingredients.

He looked around and saw the eyes of the other Spirit Chefs filled with seriousness.

million may seem like a lot, but in reality, you can only purchase very limited ingredients, spend it on two rare ingredients and it’s all gone.

And since ingredients are scarce, it’s very likely you’ll have to compete with other contestants for them...

So, choosing ingredients requires rational planning from every contestant.

"The total duration of the final round is 3 hours, which is divided into ingredient selection, food preparation, and jury scoring phases."

Loli-faced Xia Yan continued to explain:

"Each contestant’s score will still consist of quality points and jury points. However, unlike the previous rounds, the final round will have an increased weight on jury scoring."

"10 judges each have 5 points to give, totaling 50 points, while the full score for quality points is also 50 points, meow~"

"The specific scoring rules are as follows—10 points for food of rare level 5 or below, 20 points for rare level 6 to 9, 30 points for exotic food from level 1 to 5, 40 points for exotic level 6 to 9, and 50 points, a full score, for epic-level food or above!"

"Now, let me announce the theme of this Food Spirit competition—Hometown Nostalgia!"

Xia Yan shouted loudly.

A small body harboring a great energy.

"Everyone, I suppose, has a special sentiment towards their hometown. When in a foreign land, this sentiment becomes particularly intense."

"So this time, everyone’s dishes need to evoke the longing for home in our judges as much as possible!"

After the announcement of the competition theme by Xia Yan, both the Spirit Chef contestants who had come for the final round and the audience watching the competition were stunned for a few seconds.

The theme of this Young Chef Competition... seems rather difficult.

In the judges’ seats, the ten judges also furrowed their brows upon hearing the theme, their faces somewhat speechless.

They were worried that the contestants would not do well, yet also worried that they would do too well.

If done poorly, it would mean a decline in Dongxia’s culinary world, which they did not wish to see.

But if the contestants’ dishes reached high degrees of completion, it meant their feelings of homesickness would be relentlessly invoked 30 times—who could handle that?

They might even want to return to their hometowns overnight after eating these dishes.

In Chen Meng’s cool eyes, a trace of concern flickered.

To infuse emotion into food and make diners empathetically feel it, one must employ a high-level culinary technique—Infusion of Emotions.

Generally, this high-level culinary technique is something only Commander-level or higher Food Spirits can master.

And as far as she knows, Tuantuan probably hasn’t mastered this culinary skill.

The theme was set a month ago by multiple Crown Spirit Chefs together. frёewebηovel.cѳm

They mainly intended to test the mastery of the Spirit Chefs and their Food Spirits of the [Infusion of Emotions] technique, which is almost an essential skill for each high-level Food Spirit.

They probably didn’t expect that a Mid-level Spirit Chef with an Extraordinary Level Food Spirit would make it to the finals...

More importantly, half of the final score for the contestants comes from the jury’s scoring.

This means tactics like those in the preliminary rounds, which focused solely on chasing quality points, cannot be continued.

The situation is very unfavorable for Chen Mo!

She couldn’t help but turn her gaze towards Chen Mo in the center of the square, but found this guy seemed to be... daydreaming?

In front of the stove.

Chen Mo was certainly not spaced out, he just couldn’t help but think of his previous life on Blue Star when he heard the word "nostalgia," the parents he once had, the classmates he once knew, the life he once lived.

That world, although devoid of Extraordinary Powers, bore a long stretch of his life’s journey.

To him, the Blue Star of his previous life was his hometown.

Half a year ago when he first arrived in this world, he also experienced confusion, missing his parents and friends from his previous life.

Later, with the company of Spiritual Beasts like Xiao Jiu, Chen Mo gradually came to terms with it all. Now, he has integrated well into this world. He seldom thinks of his past life, except at certain moments, like right now when the word "nostalgia" inadvertently stirs his memories.

"Ying?" (Master, what food are we making this time?)

The somewhat anxious voice of the Glutinous Rice Ball Spirit pulled Chen Mo’s thoughts back.

Oh right, this is a competition, not a time for reminiscing about the past.

Chen Mo quickly "flipped through" the recipes in his mind.

[World Pastry Master] had equipped him with the knowledge of thousands of different pastry-making techniques.

The rules of the final competition are indeed very disadvantageous for them, as Tuantuan had not learned the "Melancholic Merge" food technique, so they could only start with the effects intrinsic to the food itself...

Quickly, Chen Mo found a pastry delicacy that almost perfectly met the requirements of this competition’s theme!

Nostalgic Zongzi.

This was a pastry not yet recorded in the Spirit Realm, and depending on the ingredients used and the Spirit Chef’s skill level, the quality of Nostalgic Zongzi could range from Rare to Epic.

After consumption, it evoked strong nostalgic emotions, and if the quality of the Nostalgic Zongzi reached the Epic tier, it could even allow the diner to dream back to their homeland, alleviating the distress of homesickness.

"It’s decided then!"

Chen Mo revealed a slight smile on his lips.

Since they could not trigger the judges’ sense of nostalgia through food technique, then they would use the special effects of the food itself as a substitute!

"Ying!"

Tuantuan clenched its fists to cheer itself on, its adorable manner melting the hearts of many viewers watching the live broadcast.

"Make a few more, the chances of making an Epic quality Nostalgic Zongzi are high, and we’ll aim to max out our quality score first!"

"Ying!" (Charge, charge, charge!)

"However, we shouldn’t get too excited too early, the competition this time might not have the ingredients needed for Nostalgic Zongzi."

Chen Mo looked around. There were many vendors providing ingredients, nearly a hundred, and each shop was adorned with conspicuous Neon signs, listing the types of ingredients sold and the names of the stores.

These shops were sponsored by major food ingredient corporations or large suppliers.

They had given the organizers a large sum of money to appear here, just to give their companies some "exposure".

The advertising fee for the National Young Chef Competition was very expensive!

Chen Mo saw two shops specializing in traditional pastry ingredients; maybe he could try his luck there first.

If that didn’t pan out, he would have to launch his backup plan.

[World Pastry Master] provided him many ways to make pastries, and Nostalgic Zongzi was not the only one capable of evoking homesickness!

6:30

"Next, please prepare yourselves—"

Xia Yan, holding a microphone in one hand and the other raised high, swung her hand down with the sound of fireworks.

"The competition begins!"