"Dad... dad..."
Shen Mai Ge heard a clear, childish voice calling out, seemingly calling to him. He moved his fingers, suddenly grasping something soft. A surge of survival instinct erupted, and he abruptly sat up, opening his eyes, only to be stunned.
Where was he?
Had he been rescued, or had he transmigrated?
Shen Mai Ge still remembered that he had just been fishing for king crabs on his yacht. He had even specially brought the head chef of the Emperor's Pavilion onto the boat. Unexpectedly, he didn't catch any crabs, but a wave hit, knocking him, who was sitting at the stern, directly into the sea. In his daze, he heard a woman's cry and the sound of someone jumping into the water, and then everything went quiet.
When he woke up again, he was in a room with a distinctly European style, and in his hand was the hand of a silver-haired little girl of about four or five years old.
However, before Shen Mai Ge could speak, countless pieces of information suddenly flooded into his mind, instantly shutting off his perception of the outside world. This feeling was somewhat similar to the moment of suffocation he experienced before.
In his previous life, Shen Mai Ge was a somewhat well-known second-generation rich kid, but he usually preferred to call himself a gourmet. He had no interest in inheriting the family business, and instead preferred to sample famous foods from around the world, then update his reviews of various restaurants on Wei Bo. Because of his sharp and sarcastic review style, and his extravagant behavior of almost sweeping through all the Michelin-starred restaurants, he accumulated tens of millions of followers in two or three years.
He felt that he was just writing honest reviews, although he generally emphasized the shortcomings and used slightly exaggerated language. However, he still received thousands of messages every day cursing him to fall into the sea and drown, or to be a chef for the rest of his life in his next life, which inexplicably annoyed him.
Now that he thought about it, did his falling into the sea this time mean that these people's dreams had come true? Was God being too unfair?
Before he could think further, his consciousness was already drawn to that information. He saw another turbulent and bloody life, and he was certain that he had transmigrated, transmigrating into the body of a disgraced knight who could no longer wield a heavy sword.
A part of that information and emotion began to slowly merge with him, and he couldn't resist it.
This was a fantasy continent with dragons, demons, orcs, elves, dwarves, humans... and many other races.
A hundred years ago, the races of the Nolan Continent signed a truce agreement, bringing an end to the millennium-long racial wars. The various races settled down and recuperated within their respective territories.
However, after a thousand years of conflict, the hatred between the races could not be extinguished by a mere agreement. Local conflicts between them continued, but generally, they tacitly maintained the peace along their respective borders, preventing large scale racial wars.
The man that Shen Mai Ge transmigrated into was named Mai Ge • Alex. The Alex family was a family that had been glorious on the continent for hundreds of years, guarding the borders of the human empire for centuries, preventing the orcs from crossing the border.
However, three hundred years ago, the Iron Fortress was breached by an orc army allied with demons, and the family was almost wiped out. The once glorious Alex family was thus destroyed, with only a few small branches surviving. By the time of Mai Ge • Alex, he was the last remaining descendant.
However, Mai Ge • Alex began to show extraordinary talent from the moment he enlisted. His powerful martial arts and military abilities quickly earned him the appreciation of his commanders, and he received countless accolades. In just a few years, he became the youngest Griffin Knight, the most sought-after young man in the empire, and was considered the successor to the imperial commander, the one who could restore the glory of the Alex family.
Had it not been for that dark night three years ago, Mai Ge • Alex was destined to become a man standing at the pinnacle of the continent.
That night, elves, demons, and human mages attacked him simultaneously, crippling his sword-wielding hands, severing his achilles tendons, and then abandoning a child barely a week old to him.
This was his child, the child born to him by the elven princess. The irreconcilable conflict between races, the betrayal by his most trusted companions, brought him crashing down into the dust.
His broken limbs were forcibly healed by an old friend, but he could no longer wield a sword. He changed his appearance and took his child to the City of Chaos, where he started anew, father and daughter relying on each other.
Their lives were impoverished and miserable. A simple cold brought this fallen knight to his death, giving Shen Mai Ge the opportunity to transmigrate into his body.
The tragic end of a hero made Shen Mai Ge somewhat emotional, but he didn't feel the knight's obsession with revenge; he was more concerned about how his daughter would survive.
"Go in peace. Forget about revenge. But I will raise the child well." Shen Mai Ge promised in his heart. All the information receded like a tide, and the last trace of obsession disappeared.
He was still Shen Mai Ge, but he now possessed all of Mai Ge • Alex's memories and a part of his emotions.
"From now on, I'll be called Mai Ge." Shen Mai Ge murmured to himself.
When he opened his eyes again, Mai Ge's eyes were clear, and a feeling of weakness surged through his body.
"Dad... what's wrong?" The little girl's hand was still clasped in his hand, her small face filled with anxiety.
Mai Ge's gaze softened. The little girl kneeling by the bed had long silver hair cascading over her shoulders, and a pair of bright, captivating blue eyes. Her small, pointed ears, half-hidden, and her delicate pink skin were inherited from the elven princess. She was wearing a slightly worn, grey cotton and linen garment, but her exquisite features were still playful and adorable, making one want to kiss her.
This is Mai Ge • Alex's daughter—Amy, now his daughter.
In his previous life, Mai Ge wasn't married and didn't have children, so he had no idea how to interact with them. But after integrating the memories of his previous body, looking at Amy's worried face, he felt as if he was looking at his own child. The urge to get closer to her made him a little flustered, but the lack of parental affection he experienced in his previous life due to his parents being busy with business made him even more eager to experience what it felt like to be a father.
"I... I'm fine, Little Amy, you don't have to worry." Little Amy was the name Mai Ge usually called her. He awkwardly reached out and gently stroked Amy's hair, his voice a little hoarse.
The soft strands of hair felt so nice to the touch, making his heart flutter. This was his daughter! There was a feeling of blood connection, which was very strange.
"Okay, as long as dad is alright." Amy rubbed her hair against Mai Ge's hand, slightly narrowing her eyes like a cute little cat, and pouted, saying coquettishly, "But dad, I'm hungry. Can you make something delicious for Little Amy?"
Mai Ge felt his heart melting with affection; he wanted to pluck the stars from the sky for her. However, the thought of cooking immediately gave him a headache.
In his previous life, he had eaten plenty of delicious food, but when it came to cooking, he hadn't even touched a kitchen knife. Recalling the memories of his previous body, he only knew how to make a few crude dishes that he wouldn't even bother to cook himself. He was just thinking about going out to eat instead.
However, at that moment, a neutral voice suddenly sounded in his head: "Chef God Training System activated!"
Mai Ge was startled. What the heck? A Chef God Training System? How did this thing get into his head? Was it related to this transmigration?
The neutral voice continued: "Because the host wantonly destroyed the reputation of restaurants that had accumulated over years, even centuries, in your previous life, accumulating too much resentment from chefs, the God of Heaven has launched the Chef God Training System to supervise the host in learning culinary skills in this world and becoming a generation's Chef God. Given the host's low culinary talent, the system will periodically issue tasks to urge the host to improve. Completing tasks will earn system rewards, and failing tasks will result in system punishment."
Listening to the voice in his head, Mai Ge was stunned for a while before he reacted. What the hell! What is this? He transmigrated to this world simply because his reviews of those restaurants in his previous life were too harsh? So they sent him to this world to start over, and even specially created a Chef God Training System to make him learn how to cook?
He remembered the most frequent comment he received in his previous life: "May you be a chef in your next life!"
A thought suddenly flashed through Mai Ge's mind: Look up at the sky, the heavens spare no one...