As the countdown sounded, Liu Bi had already approached the Intermediate Leg Egg.
After the beep, he crouched as instructed by the system, dodging the Intermediate Leg Egg's first flying kick.
Then, with a sliding tackle, he easily knocked over the Junior Leg Egg next to him.
With another swipe of his knife, he effortlessly sliced it in half!
"How can a corporate slave like me have so much strength..."
While Liu Bi was puzzled, the Intermediate Leg Egg launched a second flying kick.
But Liu Bi handled it like he was handling fresh ingredients.
The ferocious mutant was like a lively fish on a cutting board.
The boning knife twisted around the Intermediate Leg Egg's wrist and directly detached its claws.
Then, he slid again!
Swish, swish!
Two consecutive cuts along the indicated dotted line severed its thigh muscles again.
Liu Bi climbed to his feet and delivered a powerful kick.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, Liu Bi removed both legs of a mid-level leg egg, powerful enough to rival two or three sturdy adults.
[Gathering Proficiency +1]
[Fresh Thighs x 2]
[You can start developing your recipe!]
[Do you want to enter the "Cooking" phase?]
"…"
Liu Bi was stunned, unsure what to say.
This God Chef system seems to have misplaced its skill points…
But having just been reborn, tired, and hungry, he didn't have time to worry about anything.
So, he followed the system prompt and selected "Yes."
[Please select your recipe]
[Based on your current proficiency, the dishes you can make are:]
[Charcoal-grilled Leg]
[Stir-fried Leg Slices]
[Master Crispy Pork]
He clicked on Stir-fried Leg Slices and Master Crispy Pork.
The suggested ingredients were starch, salt, cooking oil, and spices.
Liu Bi searched around for a moment before realizing it.
This is a world of scarce supplies.
How could these things be so easy to find!
Stir-fried pork slices and crispy pork are too complicated, so I can't make them right now.
Liu Bi rubbed his stomach.
If he got any hungrier, he'd faint.
He could only opt for the charcoal-grilled leg, which required the fewest ingredients.
[Please wear a standard plastic protective suit and protective gloves to prevent prolonged contact with fungal spores.]
Liu Bi's eyes fixed on the small pile of garbage in the corner of the warehouse.
This pile wasn't covered in mutant spores, indicating it hadn't been contaminated. There might be something valuable inside.
He walked over and rummaged through it, and sure enough, he found a half-new protective suit and two pairs of latex gloves.
The suit had a strong musty smell, suggesting it hadn't been worn in a while.
But for safety's sake, Liu Bi didn't care.
He put on his protective suit and began to process the leg.
This was his first time handling the leg of a creature like this.
The mutant's leg was bright red, and although broken, it still twitched from time to time. It seems that certain components in the spores can keep the nervous and muscular systems active for extended periods of time.
[Toxins are concentrated in the leg nerves; please remove as instructed.]
Liu Bi picked up a sharp knife and removed the toxin-laden nerves and veins in the leg one by one, performing the most basic detoxification process.
This step took a long time, but it was necessary.
Just like removing the fascia from beef to ensure tenderness, this was removing the nerves and tendons from the leg meat to ensure that the person wouldn't become like them after eating it.
After processing, Liu Bi discarded the leg bones, leaving several intact pieces of meat on the ground.
Liu Bi carefully doused them with gasoline and then retrieved a flamethrower from a cabinet in the warehouse.
Fire!
The flamethrower burned for at least 15 seconds to completely destroy the fungal spores on the meat's surface.
The flame reacted with the leg meat in a Melaleuca reaction, creating a beautiful, crispy, charred layer.
But there was no rush.
Liu Bi cut the leg meat open, creating the lines.
Then he soaked it in the alkaline solution he had prepared earlier.
The alkaline solution was stored in a large vat, allowing the toxic fat layer in the meat to fully come into contact with the solution, causing a saponification reaction.
After soaking for over twenty minutes, Liu Bi removed the fresh meat and removed the saponified fat.
[When cleaning the leg meat, ensure your knives are sterilized.]
[Wear rubber gloves and avoid cutting your fingers, as this can easily lead to infection by mutant spores.]
"Your system is quite considerate."
Liu Bi tutted and continued cutting and processing the leg meat.
After a while of processing, the best leg meat appeared before Liu Bi, a mysterious and alluring rose-red hue.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, worthy of being the most abundant species in this world. In the past, only ham could have this color."
Liu Bi couldn't help but sigh.
But he couldn't let his guard down just yet.
He carefully handled his knife and changed into another pair of gloves.
He built a grill out of some rebar, found some charcoal, and began to grill.
An hour after Liu Bi's rebirth, the aroma of barbecue filled this empty, vacant world.
The meat crackled, a tantalizing char forming on the surface, emitting an incredible aroma.
Because the fat had been carefully trimmed, the meat didn't emit much grease.
But the aroma was richer and more intense than any other barbecue Liu Bi had ever tasted.
Liu Bi waited until the meat was well-done before daring to pick it up.
With one bite, it was as crispy as pork neck, without too much fat, but the tender, springy meat fibers trapped the juices, instantly bursting in his mouth.
Delicious, absolutely delicious!
Not only was it fragrant, but it also had a hint of fermented mushroom flavor.
Rare, so rare!
This is the kind of quality only a fine aged steak can achieve!
Besides, if steak is not cooked properly, it will be too tough and chewy.
But leg meat is not like that.
Well-done, the fresh, fragrant, tender texture, and abundant juices are comparable to aged beef, perhaps even better! There was even no need for salt; it had just the right saltiness.
Delicious, so delicious!
Liu Bi was so hungry that he couldn't help but devour the entire leg of meat in one sitting.
He burped with relief.
In his previous life, he'd worked himself to death overtime and never had a proper meal.
Either when he was rushing to finish a job, he'd just scramble for a few bites.
Or when he was at a social gathering, he'd start drinking after just a few bites.
Today was the best meal he'd ever had, even though there was no rice or soup.
But now he'd completely let it go.
Even if he turned into a monster after this meal, Liu Bi was happy to be a full ghost.
The last time he'd had such a touching meal was the stew his mother made when he left home two years ago.
"This Meng Po soup is of terrible quality. How come it even caused a revolving lantern?"
Liu Bi shook his head, put on his protective mask, and focused on the new subtitles:
[Your charcoal-grilled leg and egg has been consumed.]
[Customer: Liu Bi]
[Based on customer satisfaction, you have been awarded 10 points.]
[Points can be redeemed for supplies and prizes.]
"Relying on the system should be enough for me to survive in the apocalypse. But perhaps this God Chef system is more suitable for running a restaurant?"
Liu Bi pondered.
"Hmm..."
A hoarse voice answered.
Liu Bi turned to see which hero shared the same view.
A rotten head came into view, resting its chin obediently on his shoulder.
No, she didn't even have a chin...
She wasn't even human.
Even through the protective suit, he could smell the rotten smell.
"Inedible."
This wasn't a comic; Liu Bi couldn't fool people with a cute, oversized head. But he was surprised to find himself so calm, so calm that he brushed her head away like a fly.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out not far away, and the monster fell to the ground.
Liu Bi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure nearby motioning for him to leave quickly. Then she, too, fell to the ground with a thud.