Urban Soldier Young Master

Chapter 1065 - 1064: Keep It as a Memento

"Ten minutes as the time limit, judging based on the quality of the work. Any objections?"Li Zhong asked proudly, while Chu Ge nodded casually.

Having said everything that needed to be said, amid eyes filled with excitement or doubt, Chu Ge and Li Zhong took their respective items. Now it was time to show their true skills.

Chu Ge took an egg and a Western dining knife for carving, while Li Zhong, as he claimed, took a pigeon egg and an axe half an adult's arm-length.

Both were ready, and the timing began.

From the scene, Li Zhong wielding the axe was undoubtedly eye-catching, quite imposing with spirited flair, whereas Chu Ge with the Western dining knife appeared far less impressive, exuding an indifferent demeanor.

Chu Ge and Li Zhong stood side by side at a kitchen counter, separated by two meters. Chu Ge focused intently on the egg before him, starting to carve with the dining knife.

Meanwhile, Li Zhong appeared unhurried, fingers deftly manipulating the axe handle. First showcasing a flashy routine, he glanced at Chu Ge, face full of confidence, eyes brimming with disdain.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." The axe stirred a gust of wind. Suddenly, Li Zhong's gaze sharpened, and after striking a stylish pose, he swung the axe down at the pigeon egg on the counter.

Admittedly, the seamless move was extremely impressive, with surrounding chefs watching intently, believing they were witnessing a moment of miracles!

"Snap"

A crisp sound rang out abruptly, the pigeon egg... shattered, its egg whites and yolk immediately oozing out.

"Uh..."

Aside from Chu Ge, still engrossed in his carving, everyone else's expressions froze. They couldn't believe that after Li Zhong's confident proclamation, his first axe had resulted in a mistake?

Under surprised gazes, Li Zhong looked calm instead, still wearing that confident and composed expression. Without a word, he cleaned up the egg liquid on the counter, picked another pigeon egg, placing it back where the first had been.

Seeing Li Zhong so composed, the chefs in the room felt slightly less surprised and doubtful. Some thought that even if Li Zhong's egg carving was outstanding, using an axe might lead to minor missteps. Others believed Li Zhong intentionally smashed the pigeon egg just to intimidate Chu Ge, to interfere with him.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, after just a few seconds had passed, Li Zhong swung the axe a few more times, and the pigeon egg in front of him shattered again.

This time, Li Zhong's expression started to become slightly unpleasant, and other chefs began to wonder if Li Zhong was competent.

In the subsequent time, Li Zhong continually smashed pigeon eggs meant for egg carving, the bin beside him piled with sticky egg liquids, his right hand holding the axe no longer as steady as before, starting to tremble and hesitate.

In contrast, Chu Ge remained unchanged, gaze calmly fixed on the egg before him, the dining knife leisurely gliding over the shell, as if no one else was present.

By the seventh minute after timing started, Chu Ge's lips slightly curled as he set down the dining knife.

Meanwhile, Li Zhong had smashed yet another pigeon egg after finally sketching some partial facial lines, then weakly released the increasingly burdensome axe.

"Thunk"

The axe fell into the bin, the blade submerged in a pool of egg liquid, surrounded by shards of eggshell.

"Chef Li, no need to rush. There's still time, no need to give up so soon. I was looking forward to seeing your Mona Lisa?"

Glancing at the despondent Li Zhong, Chu Ge finally spoke, indifferently saying one line.

The words, on the surface, seemed to encourage and comfort, but were actually just ridicule and mockery.

Li Zhong's eye twitched a few times, clutching his increasingly weak fists that seemed to diminish in strength with each smashed pigeon egg. His face was no longer filled with earlier pride and arrogance, instead looking as colorful as a dye shop, covered in various hues.

Facing Chu Ge's mockery, Li Zhong remained silent, loosening his fists that he couldn't clench no matter how hard he tried.

At this moment, the look from other chefs towards Li Zhong was akin to looking at an idiot, just as they previously viewed Chu Ge.

They really couldn't understand, what's wrong with Li Zhong? Since he didn't have the skills, why was he bragging so confidently just now, as if he had everything under control? This... isn't like Li Zhong's character at all?

Actually, not only could they not understand, even Li Zhong himself couldn't understand. When Chu Ge said that, why did he feel like he could definitely accomplish it?

His egg carving skills were indeed masterful, but... he had never tried something like today before, so why did he agree to such a demanding challenge?

"About two minutes left of the ten minutes, right? If you really can't handle the axe and pigeon egg, maybe you could swap the axe for a carving knife and the pigeon egg for an ostrich egg?"

Chu Ge teased Li Zhong again, glancing at the axe that had fallen into the wastebasket.

"I give up."

Li Zhong uttered these three words through clenched teeth, feeling a strong, indescribable frustration.

Chu Ge let out a vibrating hum from his nose, picked up the egg he had finished carving, and leisurely walked over to Li Zhong, placing it in his hand.

"Here, take this as a souvenir."

Li Zhong instinctively looked down at the egg Chu Ge had handed him and saw a vividly carved fly, flapping its wings in flight. The mockery was unmistakably clear.

That's what you call being mean, obviously. But if Li Zhong hadn't been buzzing around Chu Ge like a fly earlier, Chu Ge wouldn't have humiliated him like this in front of everyone.

Admittedly, Chu Ge's win was a bit unfair. While Li Zhong was unsuspecting, Chu Ge hypnotized him into believing he could achieve the impossible with the requirement he proposed.

Chu Ge had recently advanced to the second level of his Cultivation Technique, originally intending to use it on Chu Chengrui. But since Li Zhong was so annoying, he was unlucky; Chu Ge used him as practice to test the technique.

Besides, given Chu Ge's knife skills, he might not have lost even without hypnotizing Li Zhong, but since he hadn't done egg carving before, it felt safer to do so.

Now that the outcome was decided, although Li Zhong was still upset, he fulfilled his earlier promise to assist Chu Ge without a word throughout the process.

As time passed, one delicious dish after another was cooked. When Chu Ge changed back into his clothes and left the kitchen, he saw the butler who had been waiting for a long time, informing him that Chu Chengrui and Chu Shiyao were waiting for him in the dining room.

The butler led Chu Ge to the dining room, followed by someone carrying the dishes Chu Ge had prepared.

Once the dishes were served, everyone else left. In the spacious dining room, which was as luxurious as any hotel, only Chu Ge, Chu Chengrui, and Chu Shiyao remained.

Chu Ge was a bit surprised by the situation. In his mind, even if there weren't bodyguards around Chu Chengrui, at least there should have been someone serving tea or water.

Despite the surprise, Chu Ge was more than happy with how things had turned out.

"I've heard Yaoyao praise your culinary skills for a long time, and it seems you truly live up to your reputation. As soon as the door opened, the fragrance drifted in. Come, have a seat. I'm getting eager to try your cooking."

Chu Chengrui, sitting at the head of the long table covered in a white tablecloth, gestured "please" with a smile as Chu Ge approached.

"Haha, I'm just making something up, it's not as great as Yaoyao says. I think she's just bored of eating all those delicacies every day, so she wants to relive the taste of what I make."

Chu Ge replied with a smile, taking a seat below Chu Chengrui. Chu Shiyao, sitting opposite, immediately said, "Brother Chu, stop being humble. Your cooking is really good. Besides, it's not like I eat delicacies every day. I even have to control my meat intake. Looking at what you made, I'm practically drooling."

Chu Chengrui added, "Yaoyao, are you complaining about your grandpa?"

Chu Shiyao smiled with a bit of helplessness, "Well, not really. I know you're doing it for my own good. Eating healthy is important for the body, just like you said. Maintaining good health from a young age allows you to enjoy life to the fullest."

Hearing this, Chu Chengrui nodded with a gratified smile.

"Haha, it's good that you understand your grandpa's intentions. Alright, let's eat. You've been looking forward to tasting your brother Chu's cooking for so long. Today, I'm not putting any restrictions on you, so enjoy your meal to the fullest. Otherwise, it wouldn't do justice to all the hard work your brother Chu put into making these dishes."

"Alright then, definitely!"

Saying that, Chu Shiyao picked up her chopsticks and reached for a plate of dry-fried green beans. Though it was an ordinary home-cooked dish, it was one of her favorites. The chefs here had made it for her many times, but none could replicate the taste she remembered from her times mooching off meals at Chu Ge's place.