Most of the time, the services Chef Demons can offer—aside from harming people—are all about using Abyss cuisine to provide long-term conditioning and treatment for Sublimators themselves.

They can even alter someone's constitution through Chef Demon food, granting temporary adaptation in some aspect, or helping them overcome some flaw.

It's said that in the past, a gravely wounded person once went to beg a Chef Demon for help. The Chef Demon simply boiled a pot of water, tossed the person in, sprinkled a bit of seasoning, and by the time the soup was done, the person was roughly healed as well.

Cooked, yes, but that's still better than being on the verge of dying.

Similarly, if you want to hurt someone, there are countless methods. You don't necessarily have to rely on Chef Demon skills.

This line of work isn't directly tied to combat power. In fact, the Hell Music Association is the same.

They're all cultured folks, especially the Disastrous Musicians, who walk the high-society Abyss route. The more successful ones have a whole bunch of Crowned contacts at their fingertips; they just need to call in some people and most problems are solved.

And the only ones who can directly use Chef Demon skills to harm people are the bartenders.

The reason is simple: compared to dishes, alcohol is much easier to carry and not as prone to spoiling. A few bottles can hold far more than a boxed meal, and are definitely easier to bring along.

The Hell Catastrophe refined and blended by Chef Demons is entrusted to the liquor, like sealing a Demon and hiding it inside a bronze bottle.

Using it is also extremely simple: you don't even need to twist the cap. Just smash it on the ground and you're done.

There's no need for ingestion; as long as there is the most basic breathing of a living organism, it will work.

By taking advantage of alcohol's volatility, once the medium is fully stimulated, it can even create an 'Incense' aura that affects an enormous area.

Depending on the pre-ingested immunization drugs, whether it's large-scale buffs for allies or creating a suffocating toxic mist of despair, both are as easy as lifting a hand.

Not to mention on-site activation of medicinal liquors for treatment, or using different carried liquors to perform various Curses, restraints, and guidance… It's practically full-spectrum support and offense, truly the battle mages among Chef Demons.

To survive in a fight that changes in an instant, calmly observe the situation, and then mix the most suitable cocktail—what's being tested isn't just reaction speed, mindset, experience, and courage, but even more so, talent.

Someone with that kind of quality could do great things in any other field, even if they never became a Chef Demon.

Anyone who can become a registered bartender certified by the Chef Demon Competition Committee is definitely not an opponent to be taken lightly.

After pondering for a moment, Huai Shi dug out his original phone, switched to Border communication, and made a call.

BaiShan Pavilion.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Ryuzanbo? How have you been recently? Ah, everything's fine on my end too, thank you for your concern. Mm, nothing serious, I just got a ticket is all. Teaching students in the Ivory Tower is pretty nice; no need for me to meddle in other matters."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he spoke up: "This might be a bit abrupt, but I wanted to ask about something you mentioned before—yes, the date for uncasking should be these few days, right?

Ah, that's wonderful. Would it be possible to spare a bit for me? I'd be really grateful… No, no, you're too kind. I only provided a tiny bit of material; the rest all relies on the Great Tengu's brilliant hands."

He nodded repeatedly, then finally said, "In that case, could you send it on to Yingzhou for me? The address is in Nara… Huaizhi Sushi? You've heard of her? Yes, yes, I'm selling it to her. Wow, I didn't expect your news to be so up-to-date… She's actually a rising star whose name is spreading far and wide? Sounds impressive… Yes, we're somewhat connected—she's my student, after all. As for the rest, I don't really know. I'm just doing what little I can as a teacher."

After another round of small talk, he hung up.

Huai Shi let out a breath of relief.

He'd made it in time this round.

What surprised him pleasantly at the same time was that Huaizhi Sushi's reputation was no longer confined to Nara. Even Tengu Mountain, a pivotal Sanctuary in the Chef Demon from Yingzhou world, had already heard of her.

She hadn't yet reached the level of being known from the Current Circumstances to Hell by everyone everywhere, but she could at least be considered modestly famous, right?

Huai Shi pinched his chin and began to think.

After the Chef Demon competition ends, he just needs to find somewhere to scrounge up a bit of Correction Value or Distortion, complete this utility Vest once and for all, and then he can start preparing for the Great Priestess transformation ceremony!

Corresponding to Shadow Burial is Sun-born.

Obviously the Soloist is the one that symbolizes growth, yet its gift is the Buried Sacred Place. And the one who bears the Sky's Command to reap death—the Great Priestess—actually holds a power that couldn't be more pure and holy…

The contradiction and contrast here is really a bit hard to wrap one's head around.

But since it was already arranged, he might as well let it be arranged clearly and thoroughly. Huai Shi simply couldn't be bothered to overthink it, and immersed himself in preparations for the upcoming Chef Demon showdown.

.

.

Time slipped by, and in the blink of an eye it was evening.

The same familiar underground plaza, and the same familiar audience.

Up on the high platform, the Court Officials behind the hanging curtain mechanically read out a bunch of words nobody cared about, and then the bell rang.

Huai Shi finally saw his opponent for this round.

A bartender.

—Elisa·Francisco.

In person, she looked different from the stern figure in the photo. She appeared to be a blonde woman with an exceptionally bright, hearty smile, giving off a reassuring vibe.

After scrutinizing Miss Huaizhi for a moment, she actually picked up her toolbox, bypassed the cooking station assigned to her, and walked straight forward to set her toolbox down directly opposite Huai Shi's station.

Apparently not planning to move.

Meeting Huai Shi's puzzled gaze, she broke into a wide smile. "I'm used to mixing drinks face-to-face with my customers. You don't mind if I interfere with you a bit, do you?"

"It's fine, I brought some good booze today too."

Huai Shi shook his head, opened the cooler beside him filled with ice, and took out a bottle of sake with no label on it.

Thick liquor swayed in the heavy gray bottle, and with the slightest shake, layers of ripples spread across it.

Through the hazy glass surface, faint illusions seemed to unfold.

Even though it was sealed extremely tightly, the moment you saw it, you could still catch a whiff of that clean, aloof aroma of alcohol.

Elisa's brows lifted slightly, as if she hadn't expected it to go this way.

"Oh? You want to use straight liquor to challenge a bartender?" She chuckled softly, not mocking Huai Shi's overconfidence, just reminding him: "I watched the competition a few days ago—don't tell me it's still mizuwari? I like something stronger. If the proof's too low, there's no way you'll satisfy a drunk like me."

"Relax, I'm not about to bring some third-rate trick in front of a professional." Huai Shi shrugged carelessly. "Besides, isn't the one who laughs the hardest at mizuwari usually the bartender herself?"

"You get sick of making mizuwari all the time too. And it's not like it takes any real skill. If you want to cut it with water, there are a ridiculous number of ways to do it—it's nowhere near that simple."

Elisa shook her head, looking around at the surroundings and at the crowd, sounding a bit helpless: "As a feminist I really don't like putting on this gladiator-style show against another lady, but what can I do, I already took the money."

"No worries. If it comes to trading blows, I'm not going to lose either."

Miss Huaizhi smiled, utterly unconcerned.

She looked over her own cooking station, then lowered her head to glance at Elisa's toolbox:

"But with such a small box, can you really fit everything?"

Granted, that toolbox was already standard suitcase-sized, but for what a bartender needed, it was still too small.

Never mind how much alcohol it could hold—just fitting in an ice maker would be a stretch, let alone anything else.

Even if it was plenty for everyday work, bringing that onto a professional stage really did feel like looking down on people a bit.

"You don't have to worry about that. This is a nifty little thing I bought from the Four-Leaf Clover Workshop…"

Elisa smiled mysteriously, raised her hand, and tapped on the case. The box actually unfolded on its own, spreading flat on the ground.

Next, the two halves of the case aligned and locked together, and from the darkness between them a huge oak cabinet slowly rose.

A heavy oak cabinet over two meters tall just popped out of a single suitcase, completely blowing Huai Shi's mind—never mind the workbench that extended from its side and the layers of instruments and bottles appearing as the cabinet unfolded.

In just a few seconds, a fully equipped liquor cabinet and bartending station were set up right in front of Huai Shi.

He stared, dumbfounded.

He pointed at the box still lying on the floor, then pointed at the workbench.

"This… You're kidding, right?"

He was at least the Gold Medal enforcer of the Jurisdiction Bureau, a tough guy who'd been down to Hell; he wasn't some bumpkin who'd never seen the world.

Besides, he had something similar himself.

But a Border Relic that messed with spatial dimensions—someone actually used that as a liquor cabinet and bartending station? It was like flying a private jet to deliver takeout.

Too damn outrageous!

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Elisa grinned proudly and patted her gear. "Just a heads-up: as a bartender, I am at least professional. I couldn't bear to poison a Beauty like Miss Huaizhi… Since we're drinking, why don't we see who gets drunk first?"

"With alcohol, knowing your limits is best. If you can't keep up, you'd better tell me ahead of time."

"Don't worry, I will."

Huai Shi nodded.

And then a dazzling array of tools spread out across the station right in front of him. He had to admit… there were a lot of things he hadn't just never seen—he'd never even heard of them.

He finally felt the professional gap.

"What's this spring for?"

"That goes in the shaker to help foam," Elisa answered kindly.

"And this thing that looks like a little shovel?"

"That's for carving ice spheres. I'm actually kind of old-school. I'm not used to the ready-made stuff from ice machines—it feels too industrial, no craft to it, and I'm faster than those things anyway."

"Then this thing that looks like a handgun—what is it?"

"Uh… that's just a gun."

Elisa went silent for a second in embarrassment, then stuffed it into the drawer below. "Last time we were drinking we shot targets for fun. I forgot to put it back."

"You people are that wild with post-drinking exercise?"

Huai Shi was genuinely shocked, and couldn't help sighing, "The archaeology team's idea of entertainment is hardcore."

Elisa's hand paused for a moment.