Ren walked out carrying a huge tray, his expression as calm as ever. On the tray was a massive, exquisitely crafted cake.
The base of the cake was made from a purée of the Sea King meat they had previously hunted, mixed with seabird eggs and flour, and baked to a beautiful pinkish-white. The body of the cake was whipped from the gelatin extract of a special type of deep-sea plankton. Its texture was as light as a real cloud. It was drizzled with a rainbow-like syrup made from seven different colors of glowing berries.
"What you wanted. A Cloud Rainbow Cotton Candy Cake," Ren said, placing the cake in front of Linlin.
Linlin's eyes immediately went wide. The frantic aura she had from her hunger vanished instantly, replaced by an endless craving. She carefully scooped up a large spoonful and put it in her mouth. The cake melted instantly. The light, sweet, and faintly fruity taste filled her mouth, and the blissful flavor made her entire being melt.
"Uuuunnnnngh~"
Linlin let out a long, drawn-out moan of ultimate satisfaction. She happily closed her eyes, completely immersed in the world of delicious food.
A crisis that was about to erupt was thus effortlessly defused by Ren with a single dessert.
On the deck, Rocks, Newgate, Gatz, Silver, and Dolum all let out a long sigh of relief as they watched the scene. They looked at the small figure calmly clearing the utensils, and the same thought popped into all their minds.
The captain of this ship may be Rocks, but the true anchor, the one who keeps everything stable, is probably this unfathomable Head Chef...
Linlin's contented snores were like a purring kitten, only magnified by several hundred times, creating a strange, soothing resonance over the deck. Dolum sat collapsed on the deck, writing something in his small notebook with a trembling hand. Gatz leaned over to look and saw crooked words written on it: "Final conclusion: The core element for maintaining the basic integrity of this ship is not the keel or the sails, but ensuring that the Head Chef has an ample supply of sugar and flour."
After writing, he let out a long sigh, closed the notebook, and looked at Ren with a gaze still full of shock.
Rocks and Newgate exchanged a look, both seeing the same shock and a hint of lingering fear in each other's eyes. They considered themselves monsters, capable of destroying anything with their strength. But faced with Linlin's unreasonable rampage, which stemmed from a basic physiological instinct, even their fists seemed powerless. And Ren, this eight-year-old child, had effortlessly seized this sea monster by the throat with a single spoon. This was no longer just cooking; this was the rein to tame a monster, the scepter to control power.
"Uh... Head Chef..." Gatz rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile on his face. He cautiously sidled up to Ren and pointed at the giant cake, of which a small half remained. "You see, that leftover bit..."
Ren glanced at him, his eyes as calm and still as if he were looking at a talking stone. "That's Linlin's."
"Just one small bite! Just one!" Gatz held up a thick finger, indicating a tiny length.
Ren said no more. He just silently pulled out a gleaming, heavy-duty bone cleaver from under the stove and began to slowly wipe it. Gatz's smile froze on his face, and he sheepishly retreated.
The crisis was averted. Linlin had entered a post-meal "sage time." Her massive body lay lazily on the deck, taking up most of the space. Her two soul-based Homies, Prometheus the sun and Zeus the thundercloud, were now incredibly docile. A small flame and a fluffy cloud affectionately rubbed against Ren's leg, as if thanking the benefactor who had brought their master such happiness.
Ren ignored their fawning. He took out his research notebook and began to record the data from the incident.
"Test Subject: Charlotte Linlin."
"Trigger: Food Craving Sickness."
"Symptoms: Indiscriminate destructive impulse caused by an extreme craving for a specific sweet. Energy fluctuations increase exponentially. Mental state is highly unstable."
"Solution: Cloud Rainbow Cotton Candy Cake. Main ingredients: Sea King fish protein, deep-sea plankton gelatin, seven-colored glowing berry syrup."
"Conclusion: By providing a custom-made dessert with ultra-high concentration of life energy, her frantic state can be pacified within three minutes, inducing a state of satiated hibernation lasting over eight hours."
"In this state, the subject is docile, non-aggressive, and can even be controlled to a limited extent with commands."
He paused his writing, glanced at Linlin who was now using Prometheus as a torch to help Dolum dry a damp plank, and added a note.
"Side effects: Rate of ship hull structural degradation increases. Rate of food supply consumption increases exponentially. Dependence on the chef reaches the highest level."
This was no longer a crew member, but a self-aware ultimate weapon that required careful maintenance and upkeep. And he, Ren, was this weapon's exclusive armorer and energy supplier.
Just then, the shipwright Dolum ran up to Rocks with his small notebook, a mournful look on his face. "Captain! I can't take it anymore! This ship is really going to fall apart!"
Dolum opened the notebook, which was filled with dense structural diagrams and various alarming red marks. "Look, this was our ship's structural integrity when we set out, and this is it now... Ever since Miss Linlin came on board, our ship's keel has been groaning every day. Last night, I even heard the mainmast talking in its sleep. It said it wants to retire!"
"Add to that the aftershocks from you and Lord Newgate's occasional workouts on the deck, and the deck wear and tear from that idiot Gatz practicing with his anchor every day..." Dolum's voice was tinged with tears. "Every single plank on this ship is being overworked! It's old! It can't bear the weight of us monsters anymore!"
"And most importantly!" Dolum pointed at the mountain of food supply crates. "Our food will only last for another three days at most! Miss Linlin alone has eaten what used to be a month's worth for all of us! If we run out of food, the consequences..."
He didn't dare to finish, but everyone knew what the consequences would be. The crew's gazes once again focused on the massive sleeping figure on the deck, as if looking at a ticking time bomb that could detonate at any moment. Gatz rubbed his empty stomach, feeling for the first time that hunger was such a terrifying thing.
The smile on Rocks's face disappeared, replaced by a grave expression. Dolum's words had been a wake-up call. The ship was too broken. The food was too scarce. They, the future hegemons of the seas, were now facing the most basic and fatal dilemma: a logistical crisis.
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