Chương 80: The Final Five and the Last Sprint

The smoke of the charity dinner had cleared, leaving the contestants a brief breath—and a heavier pressure. Burning Kitchen had entered the final-five stage. It meant only four steps remained to the champion's throne. And each step could plunge into the abyss. Back at the apartment, Chris didn't rest right away like the others. He shut himself in his room, and the first thing he did was open the system panel. He needed a thorough review—an honest look at himself.

[Name: Chris White] [Culinary Rating: B+ (82/100)] [- Knife Work: B+ (75)] [- Heat Control: B (72)] [- Seasoning: B+ (76)] [- Plating: A- (80)] [- Ingredient Sense: B- (68)] [- Stress Tolerance: C (60)] [Arena Points: 267] [Items held: Absolute Heat Control (Short Duration) x1, Chef's Intuition (Passive)] [Titles held: Vane's Approval, The Lonely Gourmet] Culinary Rating, B+, 82.

After the style breakthrough of the market challenge and the test of leadership in this team battle, every one of his abilities had risen markedly—plating, especially, had touched the threshold of A-grade. But those two glaring weaknesses still remained. Ingredient Sense, B-. Even with the boost from the theory manual, he still lacked extensive hands-on experience; faced with unfamiliar ingredients, he still leaned, by instinct, on system analysis rather than a cook's intuition. Stress Tolerance, C.

He'd only just crawled out of the C- danger zone—but in the battle just past, whether it was Jack's mistake or Marcus's crisis, his pressure had spiked to the critical point several times. He knew this was still his most fragile spot—his Achilles' heel. He opened the Skill Shop, his gaze running over the dazzling array of goods. [Advanced items unlocked:] [1. Ethan Cole Deep Psychological Profile — 100 Arena Points] (Contents: his childhood, the formation of his cooking philosophy, his character weaknesses, and predicted behavior patterns under high pressure.) [2. Finale-Tier Dish Inspiration Library — 150 Arena Points] (Contents: award-winning dish concepts from the world's top culinary competitions over the past decade, offering inspiration across structure, flavor combination, and plating.) [3. System Overclock Mode (temporary) — 200 Arena Points] (Contents: a one-time item. Once activated, for 30 minutes the Data Eye has no cooldown and the Dish Simulation runs 500% faster.) This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it All three options were full of temptation. Analyzing Ethan could let him find his archrival's ultimate weakness. Buying the inspiration library could give him every advantage in a coming creative-dish contest.

And the overclock mode was a wild card that could rewrite his fate at a critical moment. But he had only 267 Arena Points left. He had to spend them where they'd count. Chris wavered a long time, then in the end closed the shop interface. No. Now wasn't the time. The profile and the inspiration library were both external things. If his core ability wasn't strong enough, the best intelligence and the best ideas couldn't be executed perfectly.

And the overclock mode was his last trump—it had to be saved for a finale-level duel. He decided to keep the points, for a more critical moment. He walked to the window and looked out at the glittering Los Angeles night, quietly analyzing the four rivals who remained. Ethan. Without doubt, still the strongest enemy. This team-battle loss would only make him more careful—and more dangerous. He was like a wounded lone wolf; his next strike was sure to be fatal. Sarah.

Having been through the baptism of the elimination's edge, her mindset would surely change. She'd grow tougher, and might, for the sake of winning, put away part of her gentleness. She was a powerful friend—and a rival not to be underestimated. Jack. Strengths and weaknesses equally pronounced. His knife work and heat were top-tier, but his mindset and his seasoning were time bombs. How far he could go depended entirely on whether he could control his own emotions. Marcus. The weakest link of the final five.

His desserts were decent, but his overall ability and his stress resistance clearly couldn't keep up. Barring a miracle, he was, in all likelihood, the next to leave. So the order of elimination was clear. Next round, Marcus was most at risk. The round after, Jack's weakness would likely be exposed. In the end, the three standing on the semifinal stage would, in all probability, be him, Ethan, and Sarah. The realization filled Chris with a rush of excitement—and a heavy loneliness.

The excitement: he was finally about to face the strongest rival in the purest of duels. The weight: he would, unavoidably, have to turn his blade on his own friend. He drew a deep breath and pressed all these tangled thoughts back down. No use thinking that far ahead. The only thing to do now was survive. Survive the next competition.

He sat back down at the desk and began, in his mind, to review every dish he'd made—from the very first potato gratin, to the Hatch chile chicken of the market challenge, to tonight's industrialized menu. He was searching. Searching for a road to the championship that was truly his own. That road could no longer rely solely on the system's calculations—nor could it abandon the precision of the data entirely. What he had to do was find the perfect balance point between cold logic and burning emotion.

And the competition ahead would be his finest proving ground.