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| ← Ch.118 | Ch.120 → |
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Did you only give it to the Americans first for your own benefit?"
"I can't believe you only put America's growth first. I'm disappointed."
"They just wanted to use us!"
In the midst of criticisms, Ethan knitted his brows and began thinking.
He wondered how to handle this situation.
It wasn't good for the world hunters to fight inside the tower.
"I simply made a choice according to the orders from Samchunkyo. Also..."
He tried to explain it to the hunters, but they were already worked up.
They didn't want to hear any more excuses. They refused to keep talking and began going down the tower.
The reason was to ingest the item as well as to stop America from claiming their relationship with Samchunkyo for themselves.
Ethan saw the commanders and hunters growing distant and covered his eyes with his hand.
"Samchunkyo, those bastards..."
Ethan clenched down on his teeth in anger.
They made it sound like it was just for America, but in the end, they handed the item out to everyone.
Ethan lifted his head with a serious look on his face.
'Why did they make it complicated by not handing it out to everyone, to begin with?'
They might have used the world hunters to clear the Black Tower without laying a hand on it.
He thought that that was China's obvious scheme.
But if that was the case, they wouldn't have had to go so far.
If they had supported all of the world hunters from the beginning, things would have progressed much faster.
However, it was worth suspecting why they made the method more complicated than necessary.
The reason why Ethan accepted their item was because he thought China gave preference to those who were worthy of the item's power.
But... things were flowing differently.
The anxiousness made Ethan's heart sink.
***
Most of the hunters got down from the tower and returned to the assembly.
Ji Yoo Kim saw the world hunters lining up to eat the item and sighed.
The world hunters, who were taking the item, looked powerless.
'How is it that they're taking the item without any suspicion?'
'Why aren't they worried about any side effects?'
They almost looked like they were possessed by a ghost.
Even if America had already ingested the item and Samchunkyo had a reputation that couldn't be looked down upon, they still should have suspected it just a little bit.
It wasn't too late to take the item after a thorough investigation.
So after seeing the hunters taking the items without any suspicion, it made Ji Yoo Kim realize what a desperate situation the hunter world was in.
They knew it as well.
But the reason why they were taking it anyway was because they were desperate.
They were trying hard not to fall behind in the world of hunters.
That was right.
From Ji Yoo Kim's standpoint, they were trying with all their might.
The hunters had lost all hope.
However, Ji Yoo Kim thought differently.
She was certain.
That no matter how difficult the circumstances, no matter how tempting it was to take the easy way out, engaging in gambling behavior was unacceptable.
But then again, it was possible that the item was a well-researched product that didn't come with any side effects.
But that was only a possibility.
It appeared that the world hunters were infatuated by the item as if they were athletes tempted by drugs that made them more competitive in sports.
Ji Yoo Kim teared up out of despair and looked on at the unbelievable scenery.
***
"Sir, where would you like to go? Would you like to eat?"
They were on their way to the Warp Gate building.
Ho Sung Lee asked as he drove.
In response to the silence, Ho Sung Lee looked back at Min Sung through the mirror.
He was looking out the window without a response.
"Sir?"
"You know."
Min Sung opened his mouth.
"Yes, Sir."
"Why can't I cook?"
"..."
It was a serious yet silly question.
He simply blurted it out while looking out the window, but some seriousness could still be sensed in Min Sung's words.
"Why are you thinking about that all of a sudden?"
"Devils aren't that simple. They're tenacious, evil, and strong."
"But what does that have to do with you eating... ?"
"What would happen if a bunch of high-level devils appeared all at once?"
"Oh, the city would go down in ruin."
"It's not about the city. The stage is the entire world."
"Oh... Is it that serious?"
"If that happens and all restaurants close down, I need to know how to cook for myself."
"Oh, is that why..."
"But I'm bad at cooking."
"That's true. That's... Ahem."
Ho Sung Lee stopped himself in the middle of his sentence and changed the subject.
"You're a skilled swordsman, and you're strong in every way when it comes to physical activities. So now that I think of it, it's interesting."
He looked back on when he went to a cooking class with Min Sung and trembled.
"Let's go home, " Min Sung said.
"Shall I tell Woong Jang to prepare a meal for you?"
"No."
"Then will you eat out?"
Min Sung paused and opened his mouth.
"I'm going to cook again."
In response, Ho Sung Lee flinched.
'If Woong Jang happened to eat the food Min Sung made... '
Just the thought of it scared him.
"Hm... Sir. You're... going to try cooking again? If you do, eat it yourself. It's dangerous to feed it to Woong Jang. He's old, so if he tries your cooking, he could..."
Min Sung glared at Ho Sung Lee.
Ho Sung Lee coughed and stepped on the pedal toward the Warp Gate building.
***
Min Sung entered the Warp Gate building.
Ho Sung Lee got back up from his 90-degree bow and watched as Min Sung disappeared.
'He just reeled in 1 trillion worth of Black Mithril, but what he's worried about is cooking... '
'Right now of all times?'
'Who knows what might have happened over there?'
Ho Sung Lee put a cigarette in his mouth and sighed.
"He's an impressive guy."
Ho Sung Lee clapped.
***
As soon as he got home, Min Sung's personal chef, Woong Jang greeted him with a smile.
Min Sung nodded. He put on his slippers and went to the living room.
"Long time no see. But where's Ho Sung... ?"
Woong Jang looked behind him, but no one else was there.
"I took the Warp Gate while he's waiting for me over there."
"Oh, I see."
Woong Jang smiled as if he understood.
"You must be tired. Have you eaten? You didn't give me a call ahead of time, so the food might take a while."
Min Sung put his hands on his side and sighed deeply.
"I'm going to try cooking this time. I failed last time, and I still feel frustrated about it. It's comical that I can't even make my own food. I'm sure I can do it as long as I have the determination to learn."
Woong Jang looked at Min Sung and smiled.
"Let me help you then."
"Okay, let's begin."
Min Sung rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the kitchen.
***
After long contemplation, he decided on what to make.
It was his first time making it since he failed at cooking class.
Egg rolls were reasonably easy to make.
Woong Jang was a legendary chef, which meant that he used eggs quite often, so there were tons of eggs already in the fridge.
Even if he failed, he could make another one.
"Great. So what do I do first?"
Min Sung asked while looking at Woong Jang.
"First, slice green onions, carrots, and onions."
Min Sung stood in front of the prepared ingredients and picked up a knife.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Min Sung spun the cooking knife in his hands and began slicing the green onions, carrots, and onions.
Woong Jang dropped his jaw in surprise.
He was so fast that he could barely see his hands.
Woong Jang was truly in awe.
The best knife handing he had ever seen...
In the blink of an eye, Min Sung had already finished slicing the materials and waited for Woong Jang's instructions.
"Now you must beat the eggs."
As instructed, Min Sung cracked the eggs and began beating them.
There was a total of five eggs.
Min Sung mixed the eggs with a beater.
Despite the high speed, the way Min Sung used the beater was surprisingly professional.
Perfect skills.
"I'm impressed. You were born to cook. When it comes to being a chef, speed is very important."
Woong Jang praised him, but Min Sung still didn't feel at ease.
Just as he did in cooking class, it was proven that his skills in using his hands was superior to all the rest.
But the problem was that the final product didn't taste good at all.
"Now put the sliced up vegetables into the eggs and add pepper and salt."
Min Sung did as instructed and used the pepper and salt.
"Sir, that's too much."
In response, Min Sung lessened the mouth of salt and pepper, but Jang Woong continued to tell him it was too much.
In the end, he added so little salt and pepper that it didn't feel like he was holding it.
Min Sung added a little bit of salt and a little bit of pepper.
After seeing that, Woong Jang nodded and smiled in approval.
Once he mixed everything with a blender, he heated up the frying pan.
He added the oil onto the pan.
Just as Woong Jang instructed, he put half of the mix onto the pan.
Tssssss!
The egg began to cook instantly.
"Lift the pan once it's cooked on one side and start rolling it."
Woong Jang made it easy for Min Sung to understand.
As a result, Min Sung was able to cook with ease.
He then rolled the egg as instructed.
That was it.
The egg rolls were complete.
Once he put it on a plate, he saw that a little bit of the egg was burned, but compared to what he made in cooking class, this one was an improvement.
Min Sung tasted the egg roll.
He couldn't call it a masterpiece, but it wasn't that bad. At that moment, Woong Jang cleared the plate.
"This time, try making it without my instructions."
| ← Ch. 118 | Ch. 120 → |