Chương 25: The King Returns to His Throne

As Gareth Vane returned to the judges' table, the host finally got his chance to take command of the stage's rhythm. He threw up his arms, his voice gone a little hoarse from sheer excitement.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Let's once more give our warmest applause to the final official contestant of Burning Kitchen, season ten — Chris White!" The spotlights came down on Chris again, and the audience's applause refused to die. Chris stood at center stage, feeling the heat of the lights and the impact of the sound. A week ago, what he'd borne here was mockery and humiliation. A week later, he'd won back respect and glory.

His gaze swept the judges' table, the audience, and finally settled on the second-floor viewing area. There stood the other eleven contestants — the true rivals he'd face next. Some applauded, some kept blank faces, some wore complicated looks, and a few showed undisguised hostility. Good, Chris thought. That makes it interesting. The host signaled the crew to escort the other four revival-round contestants off the stage. Marco went last.

Before he left, he gave Chris a long look, full of bitterness, jealousy, and a confusion he couldn't untangle. He couldn't work out where, exactly, he'd lost. Chris paid him no mind. A loser wasn't worth any more of his energy. A crew member came up and handed Chris a tray. On it lay a neatly folded white apron and a metal nameplate engraved with his name — "Chris." The official badge of a main-stage contestant. Chris picked up the nameplate, the metal cold and solid in his hand.

With his own hands he pinned it to the apron over his chest. The instant it clicked into place, he felt something inside him click, too — back where it belonged.

"All right, Chris." The host smiled.

"Now, please take your place. Your teammates have been waiting." Chris nodded, picked up his knife roll, and turned toward the stairs to the contestant area. Every step steady. He could feel countless eyes following him — cameras, audience, and most of all his future rivals. When he stepped up to the second floor and entered the contestant waiting area, the somewhat noisy space went quiet in an instant. Eleven people, twenty-two eyes, all landing on him at once.

"Hey, congratulations, Chris." A girl named Sarah broke the silence first — the one who'd shown worry for him at the start of the revival round. Her smile was sincere.

"That gratin was incredible."

"Thanks," Chris answered simply.

"Perfect score, man — that's a Vane perfect score!" A tall Black chef named David gave him a thumbs-up.

"You've been holding out on us." Chris only smiled and nodded. He knew too many words now were superfluous. He needed to consolidate the standing he'd won back through what came next. Of course, not everyone was so friendly. A young man with a trendy haircut and an arrogant air, named Leo, leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and said coldly, "Don't celebrate too early, 'Potato Guy.' The revival round was the appetizer. The real hell starts now." His words were full of challenge.

Plainly, he took Chris for a rival who'd lucked his way up on the back of one dish. Chris stopped and looked at him, his eyes calm and still.

"I like hell," he said mildly. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Leo was stopped short by the off-script answer, his face turning unpleasant. Chris ignored him and walked straight to the end of the line, finding an open spot to stand. He didn't try to join any clique, didn't try to ingratiate himself with anyone. Like a solitary wolf returned to the pack, he simply watched, quietly, gathering his strength.

And just then, the long-absent system chime sounded in his head. [Ding! Main Quest: Return to Burning Kitchen — complete.] [Quest rating: Perfect (returned with an unprecedented perfect score, generating enormous buzz, fully washing away the shame).] [Settling quest rewards…] [Rewards: 1. Arena Points 100. 2. Unlock core module: Dish Simulation.] Chris's heart stirred, and he pulled up the system panel at once. [Culinary Champion System v1. 0] [Competitor: Chris White] [Culinary Rating: B- (70/100)] [Arena Points: 107] (5 existing, 2 from the pressure-training quest, 100 from the revival-round quest) [Core modules: Data Eye (daily uses: 3/3), Dish Simulation (inactive)] A hundred and seven Arena Points. A fortune. Chris swept a glance over the Skill Shop; the Gareth Vane Taste-Preference Report, priced at 50, now looked easily within reach. But he didn't redeem it right away. He knew Arena Points had to be spent on the cutting edge.

His attention went more to the newly unlocked Dish Simulation. [Dish Simulation: spend a set amount of Arena Points to build a virtual kitchen in your mind and simulate cooking an existing recipe or a brand-new concept. Adjust variables — ingredients, heat, seasoning — and receive data feedback: projected completion, flavor curve, potential risks. Note: simulation fidelity correlates with the user's depth of understanding of ingredients and cooking principles.] Chris's breath caught slightly. This function…

was overwhelmingly powerful. It meant he could run countless experiments and optimizations in his head without touching a single real ingredient. Not only would it hugely conserve his already-scarce money and time — it would let him, in competition, rapidly build and verify a brand-new, perfect dish from whatever ingredients were on hand. If Data Eye was his analysis tool, then Dish Simulation was his development and testing platform. The two core functions a programmer needed most — now he had both.

And just as Chris was lost in the shock of the new function, the host below spoke again, pulling everyone's attention back.

"All right, contestants! Now that our top twelve are fully assembled, it's time for me to announce the first official challenge you'll face!" The host drew out his tone on purpose, teasing it.

"At Burning Kitchen, individual ability matters — but modern dining is long past the age of one person fighting alone. A top chef must not only cook, but understand how to work with others." At that, Chris's heart sank. He realized at once the next challenge would likely be nothing like what he'd imagined.

"So, your first team challenge—" The host pointed at the big screen behind him, where a brilliantly lit, packed restaurant appeared.

"The Restaurant Takeover!" The image cut rapidly — the chaos of a back kitchen, servers running, customers waiting impatiently, the judges' cold faces at their tables.

"You'll be split into two teams, Red and Blue. Tomorrow night, you'll take over the dinner service of a famous restaurant in downtown Los Angeles! From prep to cooking, from expediting to service, all of it is on you! And your opponents aren't just the other team — they're also hundreds of hungry, discerning, real customers!"

"In the end, the team with lower customer satisfaction and more service problems will go, in full, into a brutal elimination round! And at least one person will be sent out of Burning Kitchen forever!" The host's words had barely landed when the contestant area erupted.

"What? The first challenge is a restaurant takeover?"

"God, the difficulty's too high!"

"A team battle… now we're in trouble." Every face turned grave. The uncertainty of a team battle was far greater than an individual round. One dead-weight teammate could destroy the whole team's effort. Chris's brow knit slightly too. He'd just returned in the posture of an absolute king, planning to keep consolidating his edge in individual rounds — only to be met at once with a team battle, the ultimate test of relationships and all-around ability.

And he, a newly returned "outsider," held an undeniably awkward and untrusted position within any team. And just then, the system panel flashed again in his mind. [Ding! Large-scale team-competition environment detected. System function "Quest Publishing" module activated.] [Publishing new quest…] Chris's heart leapt.