Chapter 59: I am taking a hell of a lot more than just that single fish
"A true Master Chef?" Rick mocked, his voice cutting through the arrogant laughter in the room, "The only thing you are a master of is swiping your daddy’s credit card."
Julian’s smug expression instantly vanished, and his face instantly turned purple.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?!" Julian roared.
"I said you are a pathetic... untalented... useless... fraud," Rick stated lazily, keeping his eyes dead and flat, "You hide behind gold threads and diamond chains because you actually have zero knife skills."
"You are nothing but a glorified microwave cook with a massive trust fund."
Sshssh!
The market went dead silent, as the vendors and the audience gasped in shock, unable to believe that a random man in a leather jacket just publicly slapped the face of a powerful hotel heir.
"You fucking bastard! You are courting death!" Julian shrieked hysterically, as the veins popped violently on his forehead, completely unable to contain his blinding fury, "I was trained by Michelin-star masters in France! I have the absolute finest palate in this entire city!"
"If you want to talk big, you arrogant street rat, then prove it right now!" Julian challenged aggressively, throwing his hands out, desperate to completely humiliate Rick in front of the growing crowd of onlookers.
Julian turned to the groveling General Manager, pointing a shaking finger directly at the massive cold storage doors, "You there! Bring me out two identical, two-hundred-pound yellowfin tunas right now, and set up two butchering tables!"
"We are going to have a show right here, right now!" Julian sneered, turning his eyes back to Rick, "Whoever can work on the massive fish the fastest and with the absolute cleanest cuts takes the Emperor Bluefin Tuna for free!"
Julian stepped closer, as a dark, twisted smile of pure vengeance stretched across his face, entirely relying on his arrogant assumptions.
"But if you lose," Julian threatened ruthlessly, pointing directly at the dirty, tiled floor of the market, "You will drop to your knees, crawl out of these double doors like a pathetic dog, and bark three times for my amusement in front of everyone!"
The lackeys instantly started cheering and hyping up their young master, as they pointed mocking fingers directly at Rick, completely treating him like an absolute joke.
"Hahaha! Did you hear that?! This poor street rat is going to be barking like a pathetic dog today!" one of the lackeys sneered loudly, puffing out his chest to impress Julian.
"Young Master Julian was trained by Michelin elites, so this beggar is actively courting death just by breathing the same air!" another sycophant yelled aggressively, completely failing to see Mount Tai.
"He is definitely going to piss his cheap pants," one of the surgically enhanced beauties giggled maliciously, clapping her hands excitedly, "Because trash like him probably only knows how to chop garbage at a fast-food joint!"
They all laughed hysterically, fully expecting the poor street rat to cower in pure fear and run away from the massive challenge, entirely unaware that a terrifying monster was standing right in front of them.
Rick stared at Julian, completely unbothered by the loud barking of a crippled dog, as he calmly slipped his hands out of his pockets, fully preparing to utterly destroy this arrogant fool.
"You are far too merciful, Young Master Julian!" the snooty GM chimed in eagerly, as he rubbed his greasy hands together and stepped forward to fiercely kiss the rich heir’s boots.
"A pathetic beggar like him does not even deserve to watch a true culinary dragon display his heaven-defying knife skills, so you are being incredibly generous by letting this trash witness absolute perfection before he inevitably crawls back into the gutter!"
The surrounding vendors and wealthy onlookers immediately started nodding in absolute agreement, as they pointed their judgmental fingers directly at Rick, entirely eager to curry favor with the powerful hotel heir.
"He is definitely going to slice his own fingers off the absolute second he picks up a heavy butchering knife!" One high-end vendor sneered maliciously, entirely treating Rick like an absolute clown.
"He is actively courting death," another wealthy patron mocked loudly, as a condescending laugh escaped his lips. "Young Master Julian was slicing premium sashimi before this poor street rat even learned how to boil instant noodles, so he should just drop to his knees right now and start barking to save us all some precious time!"
But just as Rick opened his mouth to casually accept the highly entertaining bet, a sharp, mechanical chime violently echoed directly inside his skull, completely halting his words.
[Ding! Chef Quest Triggered: The Master’s Supply Chain!]
[Objective: A true, heaven-defying Executive Chef does not just buy ingredients, he absolutely controls his entire supply chain! You have been challenged by an arrogant frog in a well, so you must absolutely, brutally crush Chef Julian in the butchering showdown to prove your ultimate culinary dominance!]
[Reward: Instant, 100% Legal Ownership of the Neptune Platinum Market (Valued at Exactly $50,000,000)!]
[Additional Reward: +5% Chef Occupation Progress!]
[Failure Penalty: Your hands will permanently shake, making it entirely impossible to ever hold a knife again!]
Rick read the glowing blue text floating in his vision, as his deadpan eyes widened for a fraction of a second, completely taken aback by the sheer, absurd magnitude of the system’s massive reward, because the God of Mischief was literally offering him a fifty-million-dollar monopoly over the city’s elite ingredient supply just for cutting up a single fish.
A dark, highly wicked, and incredibly greedy smirk slowly crept across Rick’s face, as he completely dismissed the failure penalty, entirely relying on his heaven-defying ’Culinary Mastery’ passive skill to guarantee his absolute victory.
Rick looked directly into Julian’s arrogant, bloodshot eyes, as his deep voice carried a heavy, lethal confidence that made the young master’s spine suddenly tingle with a completely unexpected, deeply suppressed sense of sheer terror.
"You’re on, Julian," Rick agreed lazily, rolling his broad shoulders as the heavy, suffocating aura of an apex predator completely filled the massive market.
"But I am warning you right now," Rick stated coldly, a highly villainous glint flashing violently in his dark eyes, "When I completely massacre you on that table, I am taking a hell of a lot more than just that single fish."