Enforcer Manual
Chapter 434: High-end ingredients often only require the most simple cooking techniques

Chapter 434: Chapter 434: High-end ingredients often only require the most simple cooking techniques

Night had fallen over a mysterious town shrouded in mist, and a woman living alone in a civilian house, all elements that make up a horror movie.

The woman was busy in the kitchen, with a warm hue the room cast a cozy glow. But seated at the table, Emily remained on edge the entire time. She wasn’t a lost traveler; she was a hunter come to slay an Absurd Demon. Every welcoming scene before her was a trap set by the demon.

Before long, the woman who had been bustling about brought forth a table full of sumptuous dishes.

Emily’s understanding of food was rather limited; her only experiences came from synthetic ingredient sets she had tried during her time as a volunteer. But she was certain that normal meals wouldn’t look like this, with plates filled with insects.

"Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll like it."

The woman’s facial features were extraordinarily mismatched; every time she smiled, it was chilling to the bone.

"No, I’ve taken a nutrient injection today."

"Bang—!"

The response to her was a loud noise as the woman’s fork stabbed into the table, shaking it violently several times.

Startled, Emily shuddered, only to see the woman still maintaining that creepy smile, repeating what she just said, "Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll like it."

Song Lan felt a lot more relieved at this spectacle.

It seemed Su Li had passed on his acting skills to this newcomer of the Bug Swarm, and up to this moment, the sinister and terrifying atmosphere had been perfectly crafted.

"Eat, why don’t you eat, doesn’t it suit your taste?"

The woman’s lifeless pupils locked onto Emily. Maintaining a smile, she somehow seemed angry.

Emily’s heart was filled with anxiety. While the woman had been in the kitchen, Lu Xiang had led the team members into the basement. There hadn’t been enough time to set up the trap, but the woman’s irritation appeared to have reached a breaking point. If she didn’t say something soon, the next time the woman might thrust the fork into her head or force-feed her the insects.

Either action by the woman would leave Emily with no way out but death.

She looked helplessly towards Song Lan.

He didn’t disappoint her expectations. With a light cough, he casually glanced at the wriggling insects on the plate and inquired, without changing his expression, "I’ve never seen this kind of food before, what did you use for seasoning?"

His question immediately dispelled the woman’s anger, replaced by an almost fanatical excitement, "I’ve chosen only the freshest ingredients, premium fresh ingredients don’t need much complicated cooking skills."

"But, you’ve forgotten the dipping sauce."

Upon hearing this, the woman was momentarily taken aback before hurriedly responding, "Right, you’re absolutely right, the dipping sauce, how could I forget the dipping sauce?"

She repeated neurotically while staggering back into the kitchen.

This conversation was unexpected for Emily; she had never thought Song Lan would divert the woman’s attention in this way. However, he hadn’t bought much time. Preparing the dipping sauce would take significantly less time than preparing the insects, and in less than a minute, the woman nearly lost her mind as she brought out three stacks of dipping sauces.

The dark red viscous liquid intensified Emily’s feeling of revulsion, and the pungent smell of blood allowed her to immediately guess the main ingredient of the sauce. Besides blood, the woman had also meticulously sprinkled some crushed withered leaves as garnish.

"I never imagined you were a genuine gourmet."

The woman held a sharp knife in her hand; there was a deep wound on her withered left wrist, bone visible, explaining the origin of the dipping sauces.

The observers from Starfish Technology had witnessed everything that had just happened in the room through the screen. Some of them frequented high-class restaurants, and the scenes on the screen made them involuntarily retch, turning them off from dining out in the near future.

"Have a taste now."

The woman seemed impatient to get the gourmet’s opinion, but what she got instead was their silence.

As time ticked away, the woman’s face went through a transition from hope to disappointment, then, a more intense anger swelled.

"Eat, why won’t you eat!?"

The sharp knife pointed at them, the woman’s voice turning shrill, almost unbearable to the ear. She waved the knife in the air, shouting hysterically, "Eat it, eat!"

The next moment, a fireman’s axe struck her head.

This scene unfolded so suddenly that both Emily and the observers hadn’t had a chance to react. By the time they belatedly realized what had happened, the shrieking had stopped, and as the axe was pulled out, the woman fell backward.

The woman lying on the ground widened her eyes in disbelief as she stared at Song Lan who brandished an axe at her.

Her body began to convulse violently, and ink-like blood splattered everywhere.

"...Is she dead?"

Only when the convulsions gradually subsided did Emily finally ask, trembling with fear.

However, the response wasn’t from Song Lan; she clearly saw that the supposed-to-be lifeless woman’s cracked head abruptly began to shake at a terrifying frequency. Within less than ten seconds, it split into two. With a malevolent gaze fixed on Song Lan, the woman, on all fours, charged up the stairs as swiftly as a spider.

Just at that moment, Lu Xiang’s squad also completed their task. They rushed out of the basement, signaling to them that the mission was accomplished.

At this moment, even the staffers from Starfish Technology held their breath.

The next step was luring the Absurd Demon down from upstairs.

"Listen well, if you want to survive in the Void region, you must not hold back."

Song Lan’s warning brought the still confused Emily back to her senses. She couldn’t help but give Song Lan several additional looks; this was the second time he had come to her rescue. Even though his face was obscured by a gas mask and she couldn’t see clearly, the figure of Adventurer 13 had grown in her mind to be like that of a giant.

As long as she stayed by his side, she felt an immense sense of security.

"I understand..."

"Boom—!"

The close explosion interrupted her words, causing her a brief ringing in her ears. As the dust billowed, she thought she saw the upstairs floor collapse, and a colossal figure descended from above.

Emily seemed to see Song Lan react immediately, pushing her away before using a fire axe to brace against the impact of the falling mass.

"Such strength...!"

Immediately afterward, through Emily’s blurry vision, she saw the entire process of Adventurer 13 being knocked flying. The unstoppable fire axe was flung aside, and a gargantuan entity that occupied half of the room stood before him. She saw the woman’s head, and beyond that, many other faces she had never seen before.

Those faces appeared as if they were still alive, all simultaneously displaying bloodthirsty and triumphant expressions.

As soon as they spoke, their voices seemed to encircle her from all around, "You can’t run, no one can escape!"

When the dust gradually cleared, Emily finally saw Song Lan’s current state.

He leaned against the ruins, head hanging low, his blood flowing everywhere.

In that lightning-fast moment, Emily mustered her courage, facing the Absurd Demon merely a step away from her, she shouted at Song Lan, "Adventurer 13, how could you possibly be defeated so easily? Aren’t you the one who could split the earth with a single strike?"

...

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The heads on the Absurd Demon simultaneously showed an expression of horror.

Lu Xiang’s actions also noticeably paused for a bit. For a moment, her gaze shifted from the Absurd Demon to Song Lan, who seemed unconscious.

A question suddenly surged in her mind.

Song Lan could split the earth with a single strike?

Why had no one reported this to her before?

Thinking back, when she arrived at the town, she indeed felt something peculiar about the road in front of the town; it seemed different from when she had been there last time.

But since she was in a hurry to find Song Lan and because of the swirling mists, she hadn’t thought much of it.

The very next second, she was beside the Absurd Demon, her gun pressed against several of its heads, her face showing unfeigned fury.

You guys...

Did you secretly cover up for Song Lan, hiding the crime of him destroying the town’s road?