Chapter 19 Starving

Chapter 19: Starving

Cooking was Xierlan's forte, but the Zerg world presented many ingredients he'd never encountered. Initially, his culinary attempts relied purely on intuition, boldly wielding his spatula while cross-referencing scientific guides. Fortunately, luck was on his side—his first meal wasn't so bad as to disgust Sexia, and it even received glowing feedback.

Lost in thought, Xierlan couldn't help but smile. In high spirits, he entered the classroom, his eyes instantly lighting up at the sight of the diverse ingredients spread across the table. He circled it, examining everything with wide-eyed curiosity.

The ingredients were truly unique. Xierlan picked up one that looked neither like meat nor vegetable, scrutinized it for a few seconds, then placed it back, silently evaluating, "It feels like a green slime, with a meat-like texture, and smells oddly like sour tomatoes."

99 couldn't resist popping out to observe alongside Xierlan as he curiously inspected the food.

Though the Zerg's foodstuffs appeared peculiar, their forms weren't overtly repulsive—just bizarre. While certainly unconventional, they possessed an inexplicable, almost appetizing allure.

"Can these really be stir-fried into delicious food?"

99 thought it was possible; the ingredients smelled quite fragrant.

Xierlan pondered, "Of course they can. I've tried it, and now I have a teacher to guide me."

As he chatted with 99, the remaining few male Zerg entered, trailed by several supervisors—clearly coerced into attending this mandatory class.

The bell rang shortly after their arrival. The three Zerg wore expressions of utter misery, not daring to even glance at Xierlan.

Miao Qie was genuinely terrified. Although male Zerg were well-protected, there was no stopping a deranged male Zerg from collecting others' tail hooks!

The thought made Miao Qie shiver and tremble. "I'd rather die than be around such a male Zerg! How is my safety guaranteed?! Who will guarantee it? What if my tail hook goes missing one night?! I might as well be dead!"

Liposi was on the verge of tears. He was just an ordinary male Zerg, after all. "I don't know, I'm just a C-grade male Zerg. No one would want my tail hook, probably."

As soon as he uttered this, the tail hooks of the other two B-grade male Zerg throbbed painfully.

In the Zerg race, the development of a tail hook signified a male Zerg's fertility. Higher-grade male Zerg possessed longer, stronger tail hooks, typically ice-blue and covered in soft, fine scales. Unlike female Zerg's wings, which were used for combat, tail hooks served no fighting purpose—they were primarily for impregnating female Zerg, fulfilling reproductive and gender-distinguishing roles.

If this appendage were lost, even if their rank wasn't low, they would essentially be useless.

In an instant, they looked at Xierlan as if he were some monstrous beast.

They had always disdained cooking—it was clearly female Zerg's work! Why should *they* learn it? Absolutely impossible! Female Zerg should serve them properly!

But now, things were entirely different. For the first time in their lives, the three male Zerg, who had always believed male Zerg shouldn't cook, focused their attention on the lesson.

When the teacher began, he was prepared for the male Zerg to cause trouble and disrupt the class. But now, one male Zerg's eyes sparkled, while the other three, though not causing chaos, were filled with disgust and fear, barely holding on.

This was truly unbelievable!

He picked up a piece of red meat. "This is called Pinuo meat. It has a very fresh taste and can be used as a seasoning or simply stir-fried. The texture is firm yet soft and glutinous, and long-term consumption offers cosmetic benefits."

The cooking teacher rattled off explanations for several ingredients, then covered seasonings, finally displaying the day's recipe on the large screen.

Miao Qie and the other male Zerg looked utterly despondent, as if their parents had died. Haibi was reluctant but still timidly glanced over to see what Xierlan was doing.

What he saw left him dumbfounded.

He nudged Liposi and Miao Qie beside him. The other two were already irritated—miserable and unwilling to learn. His poking only fueled their anger.

By the Zerg gods, if they couldn't deal with Xierlan, they could at least deal with Haibi!

"What are you doing, you fool!"

Haibi trembled, pointing at Xierlan. "Look..."

The two Zerg followed his gaze and saw that Xierlan had already prepared an impressive spread of four dishes and a soup. He was meticulously crafting one of the dishes, utterly focused, holding a carving knife and scissors in each hand. His movements were swift, precise, calm, and composed. Meanwhile, the explosive aroma of the other dishes filled the room, making all the Zerg present ravenous.

An hour and a half of practical time—was this a joke?! Four dishes and a soup—was this a joke?! Is this the skill level of a male Zerg???

They almost simultaneously looked at the cooking teacher, who was even more stunned than they were, though with a hint of fanaticism in his expression.

He was more shocked than the male Zerg, barely managing to keep himself from fainting.

This was a natural culinary genius!

Xierlan worked with intense focus. Once finished, he looked at his meticulously garnished dishes and nodded in satisfaction.

His parents had become incredibly busy after their careers took off, so he had to quickly cook fried rice after school. Over time, he developed skills like being able to handle different tasks with both hands simultaneously.

Xierlan clapped his hands, satisfied, picked up his comms device to take photos, and swiftly edited a message to send to his wife. His fingers flew across the screen so fast that the other clueless male Zerg thought he was editing some kind of bounty posting.

But in reality, Xierlan was having a lovestruck moment.

Xierlan: [image]

Xierlan: [image]

Xierlan: A new dish I learned in cooking class! But since there was still plenty of time, I quickly made other dishes too.

Xierlan: I'm really great at cooking!

Xierlan: So, can I get a praise from baby? That way, this human will be very happy.

Xierlan: I'll make it for you tonight. I already had the basics, and now that I've done it once, I've totally mastered it. It'll taste even better when I recreate it tonight.

Xierlan: What do you want to eat? I feel incredibly powerful right now!

Xierlan: Baby, you can go buy groceries, or we can go together when I get back—totally fine either way.

Sexia received these messages and was so touched he was speechless. Lowering his gaze, he seriously replied to Xierlan.

Sexia: The most unique, incredible, and outstanding being I've ever seen is Xierlan.

Sexia: I want to eat my male's cooking. I want to go grocery shopping with my male. My male, please be a little hungry for a little while. I'll wait with you until the food is ready before eating.

Sexia: I'll come pick up my male tonight and bring my male home.

Sexia: My male, am I silly? I don't know how to praise properly.

Xierlan looked at the messages on his comms device and was utterly thrilled. His heart melted, and he smiled sweetly, clearly head over heels in love, completely ignoring the other Zerg driven wild by the aroma.

Xierlan: My male is very praised and very satisfied. Don't forget to kiss tonight! I'm teasingly reminding you like this.

After saying this, Xierlan's eyes curved even deeper into a smile.

Xierlan: Alright, baby, make sure to eat properly at noon and don't starve yourself.

Sexia replied with "You too," then watched as the other's online status turned gray.

After finishing the chat, Xierlan looked up cheerfully and saw the three male Zerg, who were terrified of him, staring at him with intense longing.

Xierlan didn't need to ask—he knew they were drawn in by the smell.

Haha, so awesome.

Xierlan felt smug for a second, then noticed the cooking instructor walking over to his side.

Seemingly a bit awkward about what to do next, the teacher cleared his throat and said seriously, "Now, let’s first evaluate your results, Your Excellency."

Xierlan nodded and moved back. Normally, the cooking instructor would just take a sample from one dish, but this time, he took a little from everything, even loaded up a whole bowl.

Miao Qie, Haibi, and Liposi watched with eager eyes, practically drooling.

Miao Qie gritted his teeth. "Dammit, why does it smell so good!"

Haibi looked at the disastrous cooking on his own plate and drooled with envy. "I can't take it anymore—it looks really delicious, but why does it have to be this freak?"

The three male Zerg were starving to death.

Their emotions swung back and forth between "I really want to eat" and "I really want to ask," but they were too scared to make a move.

Meanwhile, the cooking instructor was already shoveling the food down. Though he didn't offer any verbal praise, his actions made it clear that this was an unprecedented culinary delight.

Miao Qie and the others' stomachs were growling like thunder.

Xierlan was generous. He cooked for exactly this kind of sense of achievement and even went ahead and served a bowl of soup for the cooking instructor.

"You can take your time eating. There's plenty more."

Haibi couldn't hold back anymore. With eyes watering, shaking, bowl in hand, he approached, dying of hunger and scared out of his mind. "I... I... I want..."

Xierlan raised an eyebrow with a smirk, as an idea formed in his mind.

"Want to eat?"

Haibi nodded like crazy.

Miao Qie was practically grinding his molars, inwardly cursing this greedy idiot for being so easily tempted and forgetting everything else for good food. Damn it.

Xierlan said with a grin. "It's simple. I'm big on principles. If you want to eat my food, you can't talk trash about any Zerg. If you can agree to that, I'll let you eat."

Not insulting anyone? That's easy! Even if they did insult someone, Xierlan would never know.

It was a no-brainer!

Xierlan kept his eyes curved in a smile, completely unconcerned about any schemes they might be thinking.

Haibi had a mean personality but was even more cowardly—a paper tiger. Plus, he was too tempted, so he kept nodding.

"Okay, okay, I can do that. Can I eat now?"

Xierlan generously gestured for him to go ahead.

Haibi was thrilled. He loaded up his plate high with food from every dish and went to town on it, just like the cooking instructor beside him.

Liposi was starting to crack.

The food was going fast. He couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "I can do it too! Can I eat?!!!"

There was no time left to debate whether the male Zerg's request was reasonable or not—if he didn't eat now, he'd miss out.

Damn it, are these two Zerg bottomless pits?!

Xierlan said with a smile.

"Of course."

Liposi immediately squeezed in and started eating, leaving only Miao Qie standing alone in place, his face twitching.

The four dishes and one soup were completely cleaned out.

The three Zerg acted as if they'd never eaten well in their lives, crying after they finished.

"Wuwuwu..."

"I'm still hungry..."

Xierlan: ?

Author’s Note: