Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Primal Life
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The entire world plunged into darkness.
At first, I thought it had swallowed our consciousness.
'I'm not dead.'
But I came to my senses late and realized.
He hadn't done anything yet.
Just his mere presence had instinctively shut down our minds.
"What was that! What the hell was that just now!"
Mr. Mungwangjo's voice came from nearby.
I was still pinned down by his overwhelming presence, unable to move, but he—who had gained power close to that of a god—seemed fine.
'Something's visible.'
I desperately forced my eyes open and looked up at the sky.
Through my right eye, left eye, all eyes, I observed the being beyond the heavens.
'Ah.'
Single-celled algae greedily devoured photons.
A simple flagellate tore into green algae.
A massive protozoan engulfed the flagellate.
'This is...'
A snake invading a bird's nest swallowed an egg whole.
A hyena chewed on carrion flesh.
A gazelle grazed on savanna grass.
'Hunger?'
A sea squirt filtered plankton from seawater.
A blue whale gulped down krill with the ocean.
A chicken pecked at feed.
'No, not hunger. Not that simple, one-dimensional urge.'
Not like Baal's gluttony, a desire for pleasure.
Something far more profound.
'Yeah, I get it now.'
This was the struggle to survive.
Born yet resisting death to prolong life.
Without a brain.
Without ego.
Without learning.
An instinctive act, performed and practiced by rote.
'Feast.'
Like forgotten memories surfacing in fragments, all rising to the top.
I realized the identity of the descending being.
Of that entity.
Mr. Ando Chef.
"The origin of life."
The desire of all living things to survive.
The being that heralded its beginning.
"Newbie."
An animation character now stood before me.
A two-headed, old-school American cartoon chef pig that couldn't exist in reality grinned at me.
"Told you to prepare yourself, right?"
Yeah.
Revenge is something you do with your own hands, no matter how busy you are.
"Amazing. Is that cartoon form your true appearance?"
"Rude brat. Isn't apologizing first basic manners? Pathetic, squirming just to live one more second."
"Not squirming. I was genuinely curious."
"My true form would break you. You were already half out of it during my descent."
"Fair enough."
"That cockiness bugs me more."
What he wanted was revenge.
Of course, no apology for past events.
"I'm sorry for ruining your dish, but we had no choice. Resisting a predator is the prey's right, isn't it?"
"And killing resisting prey and cooking it is the predator's right."
"Quite right."
"Bailing because you're losing the argument?"
"Not bailing. Just agreeing with your valid point."
Surprisingly fun.
Debating others is my ideal hobby.
Wish this could last, but an intruder barged in.
"What the hell is that pig! Zionist bastard! You made a secret weapon or something!"
"Not a secret weapon. It's Mr. Ando Chef. The greatest chef across all dimensions."
"Flattery won't save you."
"Ugh! Your presence—it's so annoying I can't stand it!"
An immense light poured from Mr. Mungwangjo's body.
Annoyed by it, Mr. Ando Chef clicked his tongue.
"The power of a fool who gave up his rights despite being able to indulge in everything."
"Die!"
A flash engulfed the world.
But the scream came from Mr. Mungwangjo.
"Gaaah!"
"Bug who doesn't know his place, lashing out with borrowed power."
The light faded, and the Mr. Mungwangjo I saw was shrinking nonstop.
"Even if your power's true master came, it wouldn't faze me. You're just noisy."
"Ugh... ughhh!"
"Just vanish."
My left eye showed Mr. Mungwangjo's state.
'Every single cell is devouring each other!'
Not just muscle cells—skin cells, organ cells, brain cells.
Everything that made Mr. Mungwangjo was consuming itself.
"Damn... Zio... nist..."
Less than a minute later, Mr. Mungwangjo was gone.
"Now, back to business. Newbie, pick one. Become my ingredient? Or resist and end up pig feed?"
"I'll pass on both."
Hmm.
But something's felt off since earlier.
'Memories are back.'
With the notebook in my head, I always remember my entire life.
It had been cut off, but now the effect reactivated.
'Did Mr. Ando Chef's descent sever the Happy Apartment's effect?'
His presence was so vast it canceled it out.
"But is the Happy Apartment something you use, Mr. Ando?"
"I lent it to those WK bastards. Keeps freshness, catches ingredients, improves quality. Damn expensive."
Or maybe he turned it off to avoid breaking the pricey thing.
"You're in business with WK, huh. They seemed keen to turn your cooking into products. I remember seeing one."
"Yeah. Tried a few times, but never properly succeeded."
"Interesting."
"So, your choice? No stalling. Guests will swarm soon."
"I'll resist."
"Pig feed it is."
"No."
I tried negotiating with the info gathered so far.
"I'd like to offer you new ingredients and recipes, Mr. Ando."
I pulled out the Void Pocket.
Then took one item from it.
"How about creating a new dish with these?"
A well-ripened apple-shaped.
Original Friendship.
From the moment I met the Blue Moon, I became a unique existence.
Thus, everything born from my actions is inevitably unique.
When I first realized this, what came to mind first was "Friendship".
'The fruit from the movie I made, imbued with "Human".'
Homini's gift, boosting physical abilities while replaying "Human" in the brain.
No ingredient more unique exists, and Ando surely hasn't seen one.
"What's that?"
"Fruit I made with my friend."
But I abandoned the idea instantly.
Humans learn from experience, and I'd vividly felt how my movie was received.
"Human" is the worst artwork even individuals shun.
Even the friendly Blue Moon retched in rage; no one accepts it.
If I tossed that as an ingredient to Ando?
No peaceful death—in fact, humanity might become his wrath's target.
"Wanna try it?"
"A few questions first."
"What?"
"Do you only care about taste in cooking, Mr. Ando?"
"Of course not! Cooking needs harmony: taste, ambiance, decor, temperature, music—everything!"
"Then what about enjoyment?"
"Nice addition."
"Spirit of challenge?"
"Challenge in cooking?"
"Like insanely spicy flavors tough for most. It ignites challenge, and finishing it lets them boast superiority, flaunt uniqueness. Can't that be part of cooking?"
Mr. Ando Chef pondered, then nodded.
"Like spiciness in texture. Intense stimulus for new pleasure? That counts as flavor."
"The apple I offer is exactly that."
"Not tasty, but stimulating?"
"Yes."
Mr. Ando Chef ate the Friendship without further questions.
Moments later, my mind blurred.
"Such garbage?"
Every word he spoke snapped my mind like a fuse.
"You want me to serve this trash in my restaurant?"
"Restaurant... no..."
"Then what?"
His anger eased slightly.
Before it was too late, I pulled out my planned recipe.
"Partner with WK for mass-processed food. Promote as a challenge: 'How far can you endure this intense flavor?'"
"How far? Got worse than this?"
"You're the greatest chef. Amplifying that apple's effect should be easy."
"Not easy. Don't want to."
The challenge that once swept the world.
Still ongoing.
"Lee Seung-hoon's Art Original Flavor, Hell Version, Nuclear Version—tiered amplifications. Challenge lovers would go wild."
"Hmm."
Ando pondered briefly, then nodded.
"Hold off for now."
He vanished.
"Gonna talk to those WK guys."
"..."
Mr. Ando Chef was gone.
Left alone, Sarang spoke to me.
『Are you okay, Mr. Lee Seung-hoon?』
"Yeah, for now."
Soon, Mr. Ando Chef returned.
"Sign it."
Contract in hand.
"Fair trade, don't worry. Write what you want below."
The deal with Mr. Ando Chef was done.
"Fair trade, I said? WK are money demons, but deals are always legit. Their contract."
Long terms, but summarized:
[1. Mr. Ando Chef withdraws revenge on Lee Seung-hoon.]
[2. Shared ownership and redistribution rights to "Friendship".]
[3. Shared cultivation and replication rights to "Friendship".]
[4. ]
[5. ]
4 and 5 blank.
I wrote 'Access to and erasure of all Original Earth entities (excluding Sarang, Center of the World, Lover Lover Duck)', but rejected.
"Too big a dream. Think that's possible?"
No choice, wrote alternatives.
Tweaked after rejections, finally succeeded.
[4. Exclude Original Earth from Happy Apartment's ingredient capture conditions; revive Original Earth ingredients captured and cooked in last 10 years.]
[5. Ban cooking Original Earth entities.]
"Revival really possible?"
"Yeah. My domain."
Mr. Ando Chef had more authority than the afterlife in his realm.
"Done!"
Signed.
"Effect starts now. Won't cook Original Earth anymore, so no clashes ahead, newbie."
Mr. Ando Chef vanished.
"This is service."
My body fully healed.
"Godlike in your domain."
But if he can revive at will, why not reuse humans as ingredients?
'Revived humans taste different when cooked?'
Or food reuse offends a chef's pride?
Lost in thought, then snapped to—already at my apartment door.
『Congratulations on surviving, Mr. Lee Seung-hoon!』
Sarang celebrated.
"Not survived yet. Won't know till results."
『The food from the deal with Mr. Ando Chef? Whatever the outcome, the contract protects you, right?』
"No. It doesn't."
My body survives.
"But my pride as an artist might die."
Days later.
Baal handed over the USB and left.
"Really, heh, insane, heh, stuff, kuh, you, pfft, made."
Laughed maniacally throughout, barely stood, then gone.
Checked USB immediately.
[Dirty Lee Challenge]
The folder name alone was ominous.
"Don't wanna see it."
But as an artist, gotta check public reaction, right?