I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 52: I, Who Snuck into the Scientific Expedition, Am Acting as the Chef

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: I, Who Snuck into the Scientific Expedition, Am Acting as the Chef

Gu Shanhai quickly found the archaeological team that was preparing to explore the ancient relics and took the opportunity to join them.

Of course, not as a member of the research team, but as... a chef.

With his background, not having studied archaeology professionally, how could they possibly let him join the research team? Thus, it was only natural that he became part of the logistics staff.

Indeed, it was his above-average culinary skills that got him in.

He soon discovered that the current project wasn’t classified, just a regular one. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to get in.

The reason was simple: they had no idea that such a relic could contain something that would change the times, or else they wouldn’t have been so careless.

As for his lack of official registration... he’d solved that, too.

Taking advantage of the fact that players’ issues had not yet officially spread, he went to the Law Enforcement Bureau and successfully explained his situation for the black household registration, passing the review with ease, and his identity documents were already issued.

Lucky for him, some of the materials he had collected in his previous life were useful. Passing the review wasn’t unusual, and even if the Law Enforcement Bureau did investigate, they would only find minor issues.

Such minor issues weren’t worth their attention. The issues with players were much bigger than anything concerning Gu Shanhai.

And then, he was in.

Cooking, that skill was also something he picked up casually in his past life when his cooking was all developed through alchemy.

With modern technology, using a Pill Furnace for alchemy was a bit outdated. After absorbing the essence of some culinary world, he had created spicy Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, crusty Fasting Pills, and other peculiar products. They were not only more potent than the originals but also tastier.

In short, they were a hit for a while.

The reason he worked on such creations was partly so that he could subsidize his expenses through his skills, because the stronger the players became, the higher the expenses, such as for skill upgrades, talent enhancement, professional advancement, and so on. All required a massive amount of in-game currency. If he didn’t have any skills and solely relied on instance rewards, that would have been an endless wait.

The other reason was naturally that players were just too competitive. The original versions had no special features and were less effective than the modified ones—who would want to buy them?

Back then, still in his developmental stage, he had no choice but to master any skill he could, whether it was the Cultivation Four Arts including alchemy, talismans, formations, magical tools, or Magic Devices, scrolls, etc. He had to be proficient in all of them to stay competitive.

Players frequently cursed on the forums, calling out the cutthroat competition, but despite the complaints, no one actually stopped.

Thus, at that time, he learned many culinary skills and left his mark in the True Spirit world.

After spending over an hour in various restaurant kitchens, his culinary skills had improved significantly, and he no longer had to worry about things like heat control or knife skills.

Given his current analytical skills and self-control, cooking was a piece of cake for him. In his previous life, he had made all sorts of miraculous foods that could glow or cause phenomena.

"Gu, your cooking skills are top-notch. Even these few ingredients have been turned into something delicious," Li Zhongye said, giving a thumbs up in approval.

He was the head of this archaeological team. There were a total of fifty-five members in the team for the exploration of the relics, not a very large number.

Not all fifty-five were researchers. There were also logistics, management staff, and others. Gu Shanhai was part of the logistics staff and, because of his great culinary skills, had already become quite familiar with the rest of the fifty-four members, mainly because... he didn’t slack off.

"Heh heh, Mr. Li is joking. I only know a trick or two," Gu Shanhai modestly replied.

"That’s no trick or two. After this exploration, why don’t you come and work in our canteen permanently? With your cooking skills, even our chef Peng can’t keep up with you," Li Zhongye said, sincerely. Most of the logistics staff were actually hired temporarily—it was a temporary job.

With his position, it wasn’t difficult to make it happen for Gu Shanhai to shift to the canteen permanently.

"Can I do that?" Gu Shanhai showed a hesitant but eager expression.

"You can, leave this matter to me," Li Zhongye said, picking his teeth as he stood up. After having a few meals prepared by Gu, the thought of going back to the canteen’s regular food was a bit hard to swallow.

Just as he was about to leave, Li Zhongye remembered something else, "Oh, right, the relic will be accessible today. Prepare a few more dishes for this evening; I’ll speak with procurement. Tomorrow... you might have to enter the relic with us. It’s quite large inside."

"We can’t be running back and forth, so we’ll have to live there. You’ll just have to join us for the time being. I didn’t mention it before, but we’ll give you a bonus."

Hearing this, Gu Shanhai felt strange inside; he had been thinking about how to blend in, but they had just offered it to him outright.

"Of course, that’s no problem, but could I make a small request?" Gu Shanhai agreed readily.

"A request? What request? As long as it’s not excessive, it’s fine," Li Zhongye said, somewhat surprised.

"If there’s nothing else to do, could I watch the exploration from a distance? You know, Mr. Li, once we’re inside, there won’t be any cell signal, and it would be quite suffocating for me to just hang around," Gu Shanhai said.

"That’s no problem, but you can’t move around, and you need to maintain a safe distance," Li Zhongye agreed to Gu Shanhai’s request without much thought. It was no big deal.

He knew that Gu Shanhai, as the main chef, was responsible for cooking, and the rest was handled by assistants.

So, he was only busy for a short time each day, and it was indeed possible he would get bored inside the relic.

In the past, when they explored various relics, there were also spectators. As long as the person remained at a safe distance and didn’t interfere, they wouldn’t have any issues with it.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Li," said Gu Shanhai, his gratitude almost overflowing. This wasn’t faked; he was truly grateful.

With that one sentence, he saved himself an unknown amount of trouble.

"Why the courtesy?" Li Zhongye replied in a businesslike manner but then, finding they were alone, whispered, "If you really want to thank me, make me a little extra something good tonight."

"..." Gu Shanhai was speechless, thinking Li was about to ask for money.

"No problem, I’ll make sure to take care of it for Mr. Li later," he promised without hesitation since it wasn’t his resources being used.

Being magnanimous with others’ generosity is certainly something Gu Shanhai knew how to do.

As for being discovered... then he’d just make an extra portion. This wasn’t a big issue. Li Zhongye was the head, and Gu Shanhai was the chef, so it’s unlikely that a little favoritism regarding food would be made into a fuss.

Jealousy was also unlikely—why would anyone feel jealousy over a single meal? And jealously towards Gu Shanhai was even more unlikely. Why would anyone begrudge a cook for preparing meals for a leader? A simple "You think you can do better?" could easily silence the jealous.

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