Enforcer Manual
Chapter 655: Craftsmanship - Part 1

Chapter 655: Chapter 655: Craftsmanship - Part 1

After a busy morning, Song Lan finally had a chance to rest.

When he returned to the consortium hospital, an unexpected figure appeared before him.

"Old... Mo Lian!"

This peculiar nickname immediately shifted Jasmine’s attention to Song Lan.

Old Mo Lian?

What kind of name was that?

Mo Lian looked to be only about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, in the prime of her life, far from what one would consider "old."

She couldn’t help but ask, "Do you two know each other?"

"Yes, we’ve met before in the store, she had just passed the selection that day, it was a day worth celebrating."

Mo Lian nodded in agreement with Song Lan’s statement, but she corrected, "However, my name is Mo Lian, not Old Mo Lian."

She also took advantage of the moment Jasmine wasn’t paying attention to give Song Lan a cutting glance—determined to one day correct this Dumb Bird’s habit of adding the word "Old" in front of other people’s surnames.

"The check-up is complete, your physical condition is all normal, with no sign of injury."

Jasmine looked at the two with a strange expression and continued her unfinished work. She placed her palm on Lu Xiang’s wrist, extending Spiritual Energy into his body, "There are no hidden signs of illness either, and cardiac and pulmonary functions are very healthy."

"But..."

Lu Xiang furrowed his delicate eyebrows, speaking in a feeble tone, "I’ve been feeling chest tightness and a headache since after the martial display, and I’m all groggy."

Song Lan was stunned by the scene before him.

He felt that the sun must have risen from the west today, for Director Lu, of all people, was now pretending to be sick in front of a doctor, using his very own classic move!

He had to admit that Lu Xiang had indeed learned a thing or two in the realm of feigning illness.

Hearing this, Jasmine’s expression grew more serious. She recalled the ominous energy that had emerged from Cain, which till now could not be identified as either Spiritual Energy or some other material. With her knowledge of Spiritual Energy, it was not possible to mutate a living human into another species directly.

Upon returning to the hospital, she had briefly glanced at the medical report from the consortium’s physicians.

Various data on the report indicated that Cain could hardly be called human anymore, although he still maintained a human-like appearance. Beneath the armor, he had completely turned into another species, unknown to them.

Considering this, she said to Lu Xiang, "Then you should stay here for observation for a few days."

"Mhm."

Lu Xiang weakly nodded and secretly gestured a scissors hand signal behind her back to Song Lan.

True to the saying that a good student reflects a good teacher, Song Lan’s skills in feigning illness had reached a state of perfection. Even a Six Stars rescuer specialized in medical treatment could not detect any sign of deceit.

However, Song Lan had a different opinion.

From his understanding of Jasmine, to describe her as having high emotional intelligence was to say she was beautiful and kind-hearted. To put it in terms of lower emotional intelligence would mean she was the type who was easily deceived. He suspected that if it hadn’t been for her status as a Six Stars rescuer protected by the United Government’s Counter-Intelligence Department, she might have become a direct victim of the rampant telecommunications fraud in recent years.

Even δ had complained more than once that Jasmine was too gullible.

Jasmine was oblivious to Song Lan’s thoughts at the moment; her mind was entirely occupied with the following tasks, as she needed to personally check Cain’s condition.

"Since you know each other, you can stay here and chat for a while; I still have some work to do."

Before leaving, she couldn’t help but add worriedly, "Don’t go to the third floor, I’ll come down to find you once I’m done with my work."

...

The two sat on the bench in the corridor, one on the left and the other on the right. They waited until Jasmine’s footsteps had completely faded before Song Lan asked, "So you suddenly decided to pretend to be sick?"

"It’s the most direct way to get into the inner city area."

Being one of the direct participants in the martial display, the blow she received from Cain was a perfect excuse to feign illness. Otherwise, according to the Winter Knights’ regulations, she would soon have to take on the defense duty outside the castle after the awarding ceremony. As a rookie, she might even be assigned to deal with trivial matters outside the castle.

In terms of the Law Enforcers system, this meant that newcomers were often first assigned to manage traffic order or maintain street security, which were the toughest and most tiring tasks.

This was the case in any industry, so she decided on the spot to feign illness to sneak into the inner city area.

"Moreover, I happened to hear some rumors about you."

"About me?"

"The servants all say the Head Maid fancies you, always exchanging flirtatious glances with you."

Who on earth were these people?

The servants of the Iris Consortium were a hundred times more gossipy than he had imagined, with even baseless hearsay circulating wildly among them.

Yet, Song Lan couldn’t find the footing to denounce them at that moment.

When he first instructed Yeying and the artificial intelligence to spread rumors about Young Master Franthing’s disorderly conduct, he benefited from the servants’ love for gossip; now, it seemed he was facing some kind of karmic retribution.

"Besides the Head Maid, they say Isabella and even Ms. Kalida have a thing for you."

"Rumours, pure rumours!"

Song Lan spoke emphatically, "Old Lu, you understand me. Do you think I seem like a person with boundless energy?"

"That’s true."

The soul-searching query from Song Lan successfully convinced Lu Xiang. Moreover, from her observations, the workload of the Gilvez family’s chef was much more substantial than what Song Lan’s department usually handled. She was somewhat worried that Song Lan would be worn out.

After all, Song Lan was never known for his physical strength.

"So you see, how could I possibly..."

"Tap tap tap."

The clicking of high heels on the floor interrupted Song Lan, and both of them looked towards the sound, to see the Head Maid, now in her maid outfit and wearing white stockings with black high heels, descending from the second floor towards them.

The Head Maid looked much better, with a delicate makeup applied.

Her gaze floated between Song Lan and Lu Xiang for a moment, curiously asking, "Do you know each other?"

She recognized this new recruit named Mo Lian.

As the Head Maid, she was obliged to know the identity information of every potential new recruit entering the castle.

"Sort of, we had a brief encounter in the dining hall before, and she got hurt during the training, so I came to visit her."

"Speaking of visiting, I haven’t thanked you for the breakfast you sent me yet."

The Head Maid’s tone dropped slightly, and her gaze softened a lot for a moment, "Thank you, the noodles were delicious, and I felt warm after eating them."

As she spoke, the light of the afternoon sun streamed into the hospital corridor, casting a rosy glow on her face. It was supposed to be a warm scene, but to Song Lan, it sounded as if he was hearing thunder and seeing lightning.

No, Ms. Head Maid.

You say what you say, but why is your face turning red!

Lu Xiang, her face turned to the side, sent him a gentle glance, her eyes seemingly expressing admiration.

——"You’re quite good at making girls blush, aren’t you?"

With their understanding, Song Lan immediately grasped the meaning behind Lu Xiang’s eyes.

"Well, to celebrate your recovery, and to wish Mo Lian a speedy recovery, I’ll go and show you my cooking skills again."

Faced with this precarious situation, Song Lan made a snap decision and opted for a strategic retreat.

The two women didn’t stop him, and he couldn’t afford to care about the fatigue from just having finished a banquet, so he got up and strode out of the hospital, straight in the direction of the kitchen.

However, as soon as he stepped out, he was confronted by a towering figure.

This time, the man had taken off his knight’s armor, his stature mountainous, his arm, once swallowed by the two-headed dog, had recovered, and his right eye, scarred and piercing, stared darkly at him.

"You stood me up."

"Yes, I stood you up."

Song Lan promptly admitted, "Lord, have you heard the saying ’There is no end to the sea of suffering; turning back is the shore’?"

"Nonsense."

The Scarlet Lord sneered, not expecting that a mere cook would dare to break an agreement with him, "Instead of that, you should remember our agreement and the consequences of breaking it."

Their gazes clashed for nearly ten seconds, then the Scarlet Lord smiled suddenly, his scarred face grinning hideously as ever, "I hear you want to visit the sick. Well, that’s perfect, I’ve heard you’re quite famous outside, and I haven’t had the chance to taste your craftsmanship yet."

Song Lan couldn’t help but look at the Scarlet Lord with a surprised gaze.

This brute really isn’t afraid I’ll poison his food.

After a long while, he nodded and said, "Understood."

It took nearly an hour to prepare for this consolation meal. Besides pondering on coping strategies, Song Lan also remembered that Lu Xiang hadn’t had the chance to taste his cooking since arriving in the second area for two days, and probably found it difficult to adapt to the knights’ synthetic fast food.

Just in time, the ingredients he had ordered with the help of artificial intelligence were delivered.

When he returned to the hospital with a steaming bowl of the meal, Lu Xiang and the Head Maid were sitting side by side, the atmosphere between them seemed much more relaxed than he expected. As he approached, they were discussing what happened during today’s training exercise.

It sounded like a work meeting that had nothing to do with emotions.

When the status of the young lady was mentioned, the Head Maid smiled lightly.

"Here we are, steaming pork knuckle noodles!"

Song Lan waited for the right moment to present the two freshly made bowls of carefully cooked pork knuckle noodles to them, "Eat up while it’s hot, before the noodles stick together."

This was one of Lu Xiang’s favorite foods. When she hadn’t much time to eat in the past, she would ask Song Lan to prepare a bowl of steaming pork knuckle noodles for her.

She held the steaming bowl, the swirling steam obscuring her facial expression.

The aroma of meat quickly filled the hospital corridor.

This scene also caught the eye of the Scarlet Lord, the man who had threatened him several times, actually had the audacity to approach him unabashedly and reach out his hand, "Where’s my consolation meal?"

"Right here."

As a cook, Song Lan, of course, couldn’t stand by and watch anyone starve, even if it was an enemy.

"This is yours, a bowl of noodles."

"...A bowl of noodles?"

The Scarlet Lord looked at the plain bowl before him and couldn’t help but contrast it with the meals of the Head Maid and Lu Xiang, the disparity was strikingly clear.

"You’re not playing a trick on me, are you?"

A surge of anger rose in his heart.

"Of course not. I took great care to cook this bowl of noodles for an entire hour."

Song Lan began to explain his superior skills, his eyes brimming with rapture, his voice filled with devotion towards the food, "First, I boiled the water in the pot to 100 degrees. To make this bowl of noodles, one must precisely control the temperature, add the essence of wheat flour and egg protein at the right moment, then let it cook in simmering water for forty-nine minutes, and only a quarter of an hour before everything was ready, did I scoop it out, and place it into clear lukewarm water."

The Scarlet Lord’s face stiffened.

He didn’t understand cooking at all, and yet Song Lan’s description sounded unfathomably profound.

"All this ensures that it can appear before you just like it is now. Don’t underestimate a bowl of noodles, this is a masterpiece filled with my dedication. Even a minute earlier and it would have been utterly different... right, ’a bowl of noodles’ does not suffice to describe its entirety, to be precise, it should be called ’a bowl of stuck-together noodles’."

Finally, Song Lan revealed a smile, "Go ahead and eat, it has been stuck together for quite a while now."

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