Chapter 60: Forty-Five Seconds!
"Bring out the massive tunas right this second, I am going to show this ignorant street rat exactly what a true culinary dragon looks like!" Chef Julian roared aggressively, as he clapped his hands together with absolute arrogance, completely treating the massive Neptune Platinum Market like his own personal playground.
The terrified market staff frantically rushed into the massive cold vault, as they used heavy mechanical chains to hoist two absolutely gigantic, two-hundred-pound yellowfin tunas directly onto the pristine stainless-steel butchering tables positioned in the exact center of the room.
Julian smirked maliciously, as he aggressively ripped off his flashy, gold-embroidered chef’s coat, handing it directly to one of his surgically enhanced female assistants, completely exposing his tight designer shirt while his lackeys cheered loudly like a pack of rabid dogs.
"Watch very closely, you poor beggar," Julian sneered, as he unrolled a premium, custom-made leather wrap to reveal a set of insanely expensive, folded-steel Japanese butchering knives, "Because these blades were forged by a grandmaster in Kyoto, and they cost more than your entire miserable life!"
Rick did not even blink, as he stood casually with his hands in his pockets, completely unbothered by the loud barking of a crippled dog, simply nodding his head to tell the arrogant young master to begin his pathetic performance.
Julian grabbed a massive, razor-sharp sashimi blade, as he immediately launched into a highly choreographed, incredibly flashy butchering routine, spinning the knife in his hand to show off his expensive culinary school training, while he sliced through the thick skin of the massive fish.
He moved with decent speed, as he separated the heavy slabs of red meat from the massive spine, making sure to pose dynamically for his sycophantic lackeys, completely focused on looking like a rich alpha rather than respecting the actual Dao of Culinary Arts.
"Amazing! Young Master Julian is a literal god of the kitchen!" one lackey yelled loudly, clapping his hands in pure worship.
"His knife skills are completely heaven-defying, so this poor street rat is definitely going to piss his pants!" another sycophant laughed maliciously, completely failing to see Mount Tai standing right next to them.
Exactly twelve minutes later, Julian violently slammed his bloody Japanese knife directly into the wooden cutting board with a loud thud, as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a pristine white towel, looking at the perfectly separated cuts of yellowfin tuna resting on the ice.
"Twelve minutes flat," Julian panted heavily, puffing his chest out in pure, unadulterated arrogance, as he pointed a shaking, condescending finger directly at Rick’s chest. "Beat that, you filthy street rat, or get on your fucking knees and start barking!"
The corrupt General Manager immediately started clapping his greasy hands together, as he practically wept tears of joy, "Absolute perfection! Nobody in this entire city could butcher a massive beast so flawlessly, so the Emperor Bluefin Tuna obviously belongs to Young Master Julian!"
"Wait just a single minute," a raspy, incredibly authoritative voice echoed loudly through the market, completely cutting through the sycophantic cheering, as an elderly man wearing a traditional grey tunic slowly stepped out from the crowd of wealthy onlookers.
The entire market instantly fell into a dead, horrifying silence, because everyone immediately recognized the old man as Master Lu, a legendary, semi-retired culinary grandmaster who acted as the supreme judge for the city’s most elite cooking tournaments.
"Master Lu!" the snooty GM gasped in pure shock, instantly bowing perfectly at a ninety-degree angle, "We are incredibly honored by your presence! Are you here to witness Young Master Julian’s flawless victory?"
"I am here to ensure this competition is judged completely fairly," Master Lu stated coldly, his sharp, veteran eyes glaring at the GM with absolute disdain, before turning to look at Rick with a hint of genuine curiosity. "The boy has completed his turn, so now it is time for the challenger to step up to the table."
Rick let out a low, highly entertained chuckle, as he slowly rolled his broad shoulders, walking directly toward the second stainless-steel table where the massive, untouched two-hundred-pound yellowfin tuna rested heavily on the ice.
Rick did not boast, nor did he yell, as he simply accessed his system inventory with a swift mental command, instantly materializing his pitch-black, bone-handled Shadow-Forged Cleavers directly into his large hands out of thin air.
The absolute second the heavy, Damascus steel cleavers appeared, a terrifying, suffocating aura of pure, murderous intent violently washed over the entire market, instantly dropping the room temperature by several degrees.
Master Lu’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, as his veteran instincts screamed that those dark blades were no ordinary kitchen tools, because they radiated the terrifying energy of absolute, heaven-defying artifacts.
"Start the timer," Rick commanded lazily, his deep voice carrying a dominant weight that made the GM’s hands physically shake as he clicked his stopwatch.
Rick’s system-enhanced hands instantly turned into a blinding, terrifying blur of dark motion, as he completely bypassed any flashy, useless movements, strictly relying on the monstrous, overpowered precision of his ’Culinary Mastery’ passive skill.
SLASH! CRACK!
The indestructible dark blades sliced through the thick, heavy bone and dense red muscle like a hot knife slicing through warm butter, as the sheer, visceral sound of flesh separating violently echoed through the dead-silent market.
Rick did not even look at the fish, as he wielded the heavy cleavers with machine-like, flawless execution, perfectly separating the akami, chu-toro, and o-toro cuts in massive, geometric slabs that looked like they were cut by a literal laser beam.
He flipped the massive fish with one hand, violently driving the cleaver down the spine to entirely remove the remaining meat without wasting a single microscopic ounce of flesh, moving so incredibly fast that the lackeys could not even track the movement of his blades.
Exactly forty-five seconds later, Rick aggressively slammed the pitch-black cleavers directly onto the steel table with a deafening clack, completely finishing the entire butchering process.
"Done," Rick stated flatly, completely unbothered, not even breaking a single drop of sweat.
The entire market was completely paralyzed in pure, unadulterated horror, as the wealthy onlookers and the sycophantic lackeys stared at the perfectly broken-down tuna with their jaws literally hitting the floor.
"Forty... forty-five seconds..."
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