Chapter 8: Hu Daniu Startled

Chen Yun's face changed immediately upon hearing this, and he hurriedly canceled the absurd task. What nonsense was this? He’d just said something offhand, and the system actually generated a mission for him? Leaving aside whether he could sell such things, where on earth was he supposed to get planes and bombs?

“Careful with your words, be very careful!” Chen Yun muttered quietly.

“What did you say, young man?” The young man hadn’t heard him clearly and asked.

“Oh, nothing. I’m going to the supermarket to buy some things. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye! If I have the chance, I’d love to learn more from you about selling goods,” the young man said admiringly.

“It’s nothing, maybe another time,” Chen Yun replied, not wanting to get involved with these vendors. Today, he’d made a decent profit thanks to the fact that this world didn’t have the culture of sales pitches yet. Chen Yun guessed that after what he’d done today, this culture would gradually become popular in this world.

Although he now had money, Chen Yun didn’t splurge at the supermarket. From the way he opened backpack slots by paying with silver coins instead of copper, it was clear there would be plenty more places where the system would extort his money. He needed to save for the future.

After calculating his purchases, which cost 100 copper coins, Chen Yun returned to the restaurant.

“Xiao Chen, it’s been an hour! Why are you only just getting back?” The restaurant owner said with dissatisfaction when Chen Yun finally returned.

“Sorry, boss. It’s my first time in the county, I’m unfamiliar with the place and took the wrong road,” Chen Yun replied with an apologetic smile.

“Took the wrong road? There’s only one intersection, how did you get lost?” the boss asked suspiciously.

“Uh... Boss, let me be honest with you.” Chen Yun sighed, “On my way to the supermarket, I saw those bandits again. I was so scared I hid somewhere until they left, and only then dared to go to the supermarket. That’s why it took so long.”

“Oh, is that so? Are you alright?” The restaurant owner immediately asked with concern.

“I’m fine, they didn’t see me. Thank you for your concern, Boss. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work,” Chen Yun said.

“Alright, go ahead. From now on, don’t go out unless you need to. If those bandits ever recognize you, with your build...”

“I understand.” Though the boss didn’t finish his sentence, Chen Yun understood perfectly. He nodded gratefully and turned to go to the master’s room.

In the master’s room, there were two beds. Chen Yun guessed the second bed was for the staff working at the restaurant. After quickly tidying up his things, Chen Yun went to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Master Hu Dan Niu had already chopped most of the ingredients. When he saw Chen Yun enter, he smiled and said, “Xiao Chen is back.”

“I’m back.” Seeing the master still chopping, Chen Yun washed his hands and said, “Master, let me do it.”

Hu Dan Niu said nothing, merely stepped aside to leave the chopping spot open. He was curious—would Chen Yun, who couldn’t even cut a radish before, be able to handle other ingredients?

The moment Chen Yun picked up the knife, he received a prompt from the system.

“Player Chen Yun’s basic knife skills have not been activated. This action is invalid.”

Chen Yun forced a smile and took out fifteen copper coins, saying to his master, “Master, these are the coins left after my shopping. I don’t need them right now, so I’ll pay you back first.”

“What’s the rush? You can pay me back later, keep them for now,” Hu Dan Niu shook his head.

“No, Master, I have a habit—I don’t like owing people money. As long as I have money, I pay back what I can, otherwise I can’t sleep at night. Please, you must accept it,” Chen Yun insisted.

“You really have such a habit? ...Alright, then I’ll keep it. If you need money in the future, just ask me,” Hu Dan Niu relented, seeing his apprentice’s determined expression.

“Player Chen Yun’s basic knife skill has been activated. Current proficiency 0/300. When proficiency is full, please seek a mid-level chef for the skill advancement quest.”

Skill advancement? Chen Yun was momentarily stunned, then remembered that in games, most skills could be upgraded. Once proficiency was maxed out, some skills could advance directly, while others required completing related quests. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a situation in real life—this was really playing reality like a game.

With his basic knife skill activated, Chen Yun suddenly felt a mysterious sensation. It was as if he had worked as a chef for many years, with every knife technique ingrained in his memory. The kitchen knife in his hand felt like an extension of himself—it would obey his will and move exactly as he wished.

Chen Yun pressed the radish with his left hand, and with his right, the kitchen knife danced like a butterfly, moving up and down. In twenty seconds, the entire radish was sliced into 888 paper-thin pieces!

“Player Chen Yun’s basic knife skill proficiency +5.”

From the instant Chen Yun picked up the knife, Hu Dan Niu sensed something was off. If the previous Chen Yun was a rookie chef who couldn’t even cut a radish, then now, he was a master of knife skills with decades of experience! His aura, his technique—everything was at the level of a true master! Hu Dan Niu had seen the national chef competition on TV, and the confidence those top chefs displayed when slicing ingredients was exactly the same as what he saw in Chen Yun just now!

Looking at the neat pile of radish slices, each like a piece of art, Hu Dan Niu suddenly felt as if he’d won the lottery.

While Hu Dan Niu was stunned, Chen Yun was also entranced by the beautiful, ethereal radish slices on the cutting board.

Did I really slice these? Before crossing over, nine out of ten times I cut myself when chopping vegetables, and now I made such exquisite radish slices? System, are you outdoing yourself? If basic knife skills are already this impressive, what about intermediate? Advanced?

Suddenly, Chen Yun felt the whole world become wonderful.

“Xiao... Xiao Chen... You... You really never chopped vegetables before?” After a long moment, Hu Dan Niu asked with difficulty.

“No, my family was poor, rarely had vegetables to eat. This is my first time cutting vegetables,” Chen Yun replied, forcing himself to sound confident. Though he felt guilty, he couldn’t tell the truth—the consequences would be unbearable for someone as weak as himself.

After hearing this, Hu Dan Niu’s astonishment could barely be expressed. It was simply unbelievable—a person who had never chopped vegetables before could slice such perfect radish pieces on his first attempt? Even after twenty years as a chef, he himself couldn’t reach this level.

“Xiao Chen, cut another one for me, but do it slowly this time,” Hu Dan Niu said, placing another radish on the cutting board. “This time, slice it into strips.”

“Alright.” Chen Yun consciously slowed his movements, but the skill’s power was overwhelming. Even though he stretched the process from twenty seconds to thirty, dividing 8,888 radish strips across thirty seconds meant he was still slicing at a staggering rate of nearly 296 strips per second!

Poor Hu Dan Niu, who was already leaning over the board to watch, still couldn’t see how the knife moved!

“Player Chen Yun’s basic knife skill proficiency +5.”

“Player Chen Yun’s experience points +1.”

Experience points? Chen Yun was stunned—could cutting vegetables really earn experience points?