Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Cooking Contest Begins!
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Yoohoo!
"We will now commence the 1st Ansong Research Lab Cooking Contest!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Not exactly thunderous, but a decently loud round of applause filled the conference room.
'Who would've thought they'd actually go through with this.'
I'd been dragged to the contest on my day off under the pretext of being the Black Princess's assigned researcher.
It felt a bit unfair since I wasn't the one doing the cooking.
The conference room was bustling with dozens of people.
"Hwang Joo-seung, Director of the 2nd Research Lab, and Kwon Sae-ron, Director of the 6th Research Lab, will serve as judges to evaluate the dishes. I'm Choi Seong-cheol, the agent handling commentary."
The cooking contest had begun as a way to test the Black Princess's unique abilities while naturally handing her a Level 4 keycard.
"This contest is a survival format with 10 participants competing to crown a single winner. Given the small scale, it will wrap up today, so we appreciate all attendees staying until the end."
On one side of the conference room, eight contestants had gathered.
All dressed in crisp white chef uniforms, they were each easing their tension in their own ways.
'Where did the Princess even get that chef outfit?'
I definitely hadn't given her any chef clothes, yet somehow the Black Princess had swapped her usual black dress for a pristine white chef uniform.
The lab treated the clothes she wore as a kind of anomaly too.
Did that mean she had a special ability to alter their appearance?
New abilities kept coming to light day by day, giving me a headache.
'She definitely told me she had no unique abilities...'
When we'd surveyed her about other unique abilities, she'd claimed to have none.
Yet the more time we spent together, the more bizarre powers she revealed.
My mistake for trusting an anomaly's word.
"We'll start with introductions of the contestants. Among them, four stand out. First up is Kang Young-ja, the nutritionist who handles meals for all lab staff!"
"Hee hee hee. Nice to meet you all."
The kindly-faced nutritionist auntie waved to the audience with a smile.
"Next is a figure already famous among the researchers: Choi Geon-cheol, Special Food Chef!"
"Pleased to meet you. Since I'm here, I'll go all the way to the top."
The gruff-looking middle-aged man declared his ambitions confidently.
Special Food Chefs prepared meals for anomalies.
Anomalies sometimes ate normal human food, but they also consumed things like rebar or toxic substances that humans couldn't.
Thus, Special Food Chefs needed solid cooking skills plus knowledge of physics, chemistry, and more.
Choi Geon-cheol wasn't just a great cook; he was handy with tools and lab equipment too, making him well-known among researchers.
"Our next contestant is a legend among agents: Jeong Tae-san, lover of bizarre eats like pizza-chicken-ramen combos!"
"Pizza-chicken-ramen is not bizarre! It's delicious once you try it! Anyway, best of luck to everyone!"
I didn't know the guy, but he was apparently a big deal among the agents.
Snickers leaked out here and there.
"And finally, a name everyone in the Ansong Research Lab knows—or you're a spy. The one and only: Black Princess!"
"Hello. I'll do my best to win!"
The Black Princess, clad in her white chef uniform, stepped forward and bowed politely.
Introductions continued for the remaining four, wrapping up all eight contestants.
"Now for the rules of this contest: 'Random Ingredient Cooking.' Contestants will draw a main ingredient at random and create a dish based on it. One elimination per round, until the last one standing claims victory."
Draw random ingredients and cook with them.
Since the goal was testing the Black Princess's abilities, the draws were rigged in advance.
She'd get an anomaly; everyone else, normal ingredients.
"Eliminations decided by our two judges after discussion. But with so much food, we'll also have audience judging during the contest."
The audience participation was Kwon Sae-ron's idea.
It was meant to force staff who usually avoided the Princess to eat her food and build rapport.
'Classic Director Kwon—totally shameless.'
A glance at the audience showed the medical team from before, the ones who'd sworn never to eat her food. Their faces were pale as ghosts.
This madness was possible thanks to Project Ark's massive success.
The project had exceeded expectations, boosting Kwon Sae-ron's influence daily.
She was now the most powerful figure in the lab, no exaggeration.
"Prizes first: 3rd place gets a 50,000-won department store gift certificate. 2nd: two paid days off plus fine dining vouchers. And for our champion: a special secret prize handpicked by Director Kwon Sae-ron."
Everyone here knew the contest was rigged for the Black Princess to win.
But 2nd place got two paid days off and fine dining—practically the real top prize.
She'd been told beforehand that 1st prize was a keycard.
No reason for her to want vacation days, so she'd aim straight for first.
The other contestants burned with determination for those 2nd-place perks too.
"Before Round 1, please come forward and draw your ingredients."
The eight contestants stepped up and turned the crank on the lottery-style machine.
Rigged as it was, the Black Princess drew an anomaly.
Soon, everyone began cooking.
To gauge her unique ability, I watched her intently.
'Kinda cute.'
This was the first time I'd closely observed her cooking.
Watching her small hands knead away earnestly warmed my heart.
Even if what those hands held was an anomaly.
Luckily, her Round 1 anomaly looked like a plain apple.
With lab directors as judges, they'd started with something relatively edible-looking.
'And it's safe for consumption—no health risks.'
It was a secondary anomaly from the 'Not an Apple Tree,' nicknamed 'Not an Apple.'
It looked like an apple from an apple-tree lookalike anomaly.
But the taste was something else entirely—like tire rubber or old book pages.
Like the jelly beans from that famous wizard novel.
'Her cooking technique looks normal enough. So when does the flavor change happen?'
She was gently tearing the apple-like anomaly by hand, but the method seemed ordinary enough.
Could cooking an anomaly with an existing flavor change it to something else?
'Dishes she made tasted like their shape. So she must decide the flavor herself.'
Her macaron-shaped one tasted sweetly like a macaron, and her other creations matched form to flavor.
'What's her real unique ability, anyway?'
She could absorb and store things through her mouth, alter other anomalies' flavors and shapes.
Overwhelming physical prowess and regeneration too.
And apparently change her clothes.
Never seen an anomaly with such a diverse skillset.
'There must be some connecting thread to all these powers.'
Other anomalies had one or two abilities, or similar ones grouped together.
Ones like her with seemingly unrelated powers were exceedingly rare.
'Or maybe she's just an exceptionally powerful outlier.'
She'd already beaten the Philosophy Professor in raw physicality.
Maybe it was easier to just chalk it up to her being a unique specimen than overthink it.
"Oh, the Black Princess has rung the bell! First to finish: Black Princess. Let's begin judging right away!"
Lost in thought, I'd missed her completing her dish.
She carried it to the judges.
'Oh lord.'
Hwang Joo-seung, Director of the 2nd Lab, couldn't hide his grimace.
Kwon Sae-ron opened her mouth more calmly.
"What's this dish called?"
"Well-baked sardine pie!"
Not baked, not made from sardines—a sardine pie crafted from an anomaly.
The apple-like anomaly was carved into a sardine head shape, poking out prominently.