Chapter 71:
Time flew by, and another two days passed.
Today was the first day of the main competition of the National Chef God Contest.
Inside Shanghai Grand Hotel, chefs who had fought their way through regional qualifiers from all over the country gathered here once again.
Because she had the invitation letter from the previous Chef God, Xiangling had skipped the qualifiers entirely and entered the main competition directly.
This competition would be broadcast live on CCTV's Food Channel. It was hosted by the popular female host Bing Bing, so the hype was very high.
"Ladies and gentlemen, hello everyone. Welcome to the triennial National Chef Competition. I am your host, Bing Bing," the beautiful CCTV host stood in the center of the kitchen and greeted the camera with a smile.
She continued with a smile: "After intense qualifying rounds, thirty chefs have successfully advanced to the main competition."
"Today, we will select the top ten from these thirty chefs."
"Thirty into ten means twenty people will be eliminated. It can be said to be extremely brutal."
"But that is the charm of competition."
At this point, Bing Bing paused for a moment. She pointed forward, and the camera followed.
Her voice suddenly rose dramatically.
"Now, let's welcome the chefs onto the stage!"
As her words fell, the chefs walked out from the corner.
The chef at the very front had dark skin that formed a sharp contrast with his white chef uniform. He was 1.8 meters tall. If you only looked at his physique, people might mistake him for a member of some muscular tribe.
But in reality, this chef was a genuine Xia Country native. His dark skin was simply because he had been helping his father run a roadside breakfast and late-night snack stall since he was very young.
The moment netizens online saw him, they immediately recognized him.
{WTF! It's the Chef God! That's last year's champion, Teacher Lao Hei!} {I didn't expect him to compete again. This is getting interesting!} {Haha! Hopefully he can bring us some surprises!} {This competition has famous chefs from all over the country. The competition is really fierce!} {WTF! Is she a chef too? 2D style?} {...}
While netizens were discussing heatedly, at the very back of the line of chefs, a girl dressed in a very 2D-style outfit followed behind.
At first, people thought the girl had walked into the wrong place.
But later, the girl followed the chefs all the way to the center of the kitchen and stood there properly.
Only then did people realize — this girl was actually a chef too!
After the initial shock, the barrage exploded!
{WTF! Isn't that Xiangling? The one who fried Slimes!} {It really is her! Hahaha! She actually came to compete! This is interesting!} {Little sister Xiangling is so cute! She looks even cuter standing among all these chefs, hahaha!} {If there were more chefs like her, the viewership of this competition would probably double!} {.....}
After Xiangling appeared, many netizens recognized her as well.
They were used to seeing middle-aged male chefs. Suddenly seeing a 2D beautiful girl made them feel it was extremely refreshing.
Back at the venue.
Once all the chefs had come out, Bing Bing pointed in another direction. There sat ten people — all top food streamers from various platforms.
"This time, our judging panel consists of the top food streamers from major platforms. Their tongues are famously picky. Let's see which chef can conquer them."
The food streamers saw the camera pointing at them and waved to greet the viewers.
Then, the camera turned again and focused on the chefs.
Bing Bing walked up to Lao Hei with a smile and asked: "Lao Hei, as the champion of the previous competition, what made you decide to participate in the National Chef Competition again?"
Lao Hei gave a honest, simple smile. He turned his head to look at Xiangling not far away and said: "Because I feel like I've finally found a worthy opponent. You know, being invincible is quite lonely."
Lao Hei's words carried maximum style points.
Following his gaze, everyone saw Xiangling!
His meaning was clear — he was treating Xiangling as his opponent.
This caused a huge discussion among the netizens!
Many people hadn't watched the previous live stream, so they didn't know that Lao Hei and Xiangling had actually had a voice connection before.
At that time, Xiangling's explosive stir-fried abalone had truly shocked him!
Bing Bing was also very surprised!
She had noticed Xiangling the moment she stepped onto the stage.
Originally, she thought Xiangling had bought her way into the main competition. Dressing so revealingly could only mean one thing — she wanted to use the show to gain popularity and then become a "chef influencer."
After all, a 2D girl who could cook was already a very eye-catching point.
Because of this, Bing Bing had secretly looked down on Xiangling.
But she never expected that last year's Chef God, Lao Hei, would actually treat Xiangling as his opponent.
This left her extremely shocked!
She walked up to Xiangling and interviewed her: "Being regarded as an opponent by the previous Chef God — do you feel any pressure, Miss Xiangling?"
Xiangling gently touched the number tag hanging on her chest and smiled: "No."
As soon as these words came out, all the chefs on site subconsciously turned their heads to look at Xiangling!
"This girl is really arrogant! She actually said she has no pressure! Maybe she really has something. I need to be careful."
"She was acknowledged by the previous Chef God, so she must have real skills. But you saying you have no pressure? You're truly a newborn calf that doesn't fear the tiger!"
"Heh! Forget the Chef God — even I could crush you in minutes, right? Just a trash woman polluting the entire chef industry for clout!"
Their thoughts varied.
Some felt that since the Chef God acknowledged her, she must have real talent.
But most simply thought she was just a female internet celebrity here for traffic.
She wasn't worth mentioning!
{Haha! Xiangling is awesome! This is the spirit of us Gen Z!} {Who cares about the Chef God? She has zero pressure! Ahahaha!} {As expected of my wife. Go for it! The glory of 2D rests on you.} {....}
Online, many young viewers were watching the live broadcast.
They posted barrages very actively.
As a result, the majority supported Xiangling.
Bing Bing, who had asked the question, was rendered speechless by Xiangling's answer.
Her reply felt like it had completely shut down the conversation.
"Haha! You really have confidence. Young people should have the spirit of youth. I hope you can perform beyond expectations later," Bing Bing laughed dryly and said casually.
Then, she addressed all the participating chefs: "Please find your positions according to your numbers."
Upon hearing this, the chefs dispersed and found their assigned stations.
In front of each of them were identical tools and ingredients.
In the spectator area of Shanghai Grand Hotel, the families of the chefs began cheering loudly.
"Go! Go!"
Among them were Tang Yu, Silver Wolf, and Hu Tao.
However, they didn't shout.
At that moment, Xiangling looked over in their direction.
The three immediately made cheering gestures toward her!
Xiangling smiled and looked away.
Bing Bing then announced: "Today's competition task is egg fried rice!"
"After cooking, the dishes will be uniformly tasted and scored by the judging panel!"
"The top ten with the highest scores will advance to the next round."
"I now declare — the competition begins!"
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