Chapter 7 – Taming the Chef Ghost

Time passed quickly, and soon the new student trial began.

This trial randomly teleported students to the outer regions, where they could act voluntarily. Points were awarded based on the realm of the ghosts they killed, with points split evenly for group combat.

The passing line was 60 points. Each person had a teleportation talisman, which could be used to escape or end the trial early, with points retained.

The staff in the background would award performance points based on their observations, up to ten points, which would be added to the total score.

However, Su Ming noticed that the map showed a Forbidden Zone where monitoring was impossible.

That put Su Ming at ease—wouldn’t that mean she could switch to her loli form without any obstacles?

Du Liang: “Brother Su, Brother Su, if we run into trouble later, you’ve got to help your brother out.”

Su Ming felt a bit awkward: “Cut it out, I’m pretty weak too.”

Du Liang: “Come on, Brother Su, that’s not cool of you. Your Ice Crystal Turtle is so strong.”

Su Ming: “But he sleeps all day. He wouldn’t even have gotten up that day if he hadn’t seen the ATM.”

Du Liang burst out laughing. He certainly knew the Ice Crystal Turtle’s lazy habits.

Meanwhile, the Ice Crystal Turtle, still sound asleep, had no idea he’d been badmouthed by Su Ming again. But Su Ming didn’t plan to have him fight anyway—she could use her ghost sword, and with Blood Soul Ghost suppressing things, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

The trial began, and Su Ming was teleported to a rather peculiar place. Why peculiar? Well, it was technically the outer region, but the ghosts around here seemed to be… a bit more numerous than expected, by about a hundred million or so…

The ghosts looked at each other, then all stared intently at this human in their midst who seemed to be about to ruin their good time…

Su Ming glanced at the ghosts who were cooking around her, and the pots, bowls, and utensils in their hands. She muttered to herself—had she interrupted their mealtime or something?

Suddenly, one ghost let out a shriek:

“Ah—damn human, daring to steal our food! Get him!”

Ten minutes later, Su Ming had her ghost sword pressed against the leader’s neck, while Blood Soul Ghost kept watch over the hundred or so underlings at the First and Second Realm. Damn it, the highest among them was only at the early Third Realm, and they still dared to come at her.

The leader was nervous: “Big brother, actually, humans can eat our food too. How about we share?”

Su Ming: “Never mind that for now. I have a question—why are you, as the leader, cooking personally?”

The leader explained: “Well, I think my cooking tastes better, so I do it myself.”

Su Ming looked at what was in the pot—colorful mushrooms, various wild vegetables, tree roots, grass, potatoes, tomatoes…

This dark cuisine with all kinds of ingredients… it was hard to imagine this was meant for humans to eat. Hmm? Wait, they were ghosts in the first place, weren’t they?

System: “Ding. Host, please note: subdue the Chef Ghost Leader. Reward: awakening of domain talent.”

Su Ming was stunned: “Talent?”

System: “Everyone has different talents. Some may have combat talent, others defense talent, and talents are difficult to awaken.”

Su Ming was delighted: “So what good thing is this domain talent?”

System: “Without a domain, it’s useless. But those without domain talent can’t use a domain either.”

Su Ming put on a fawning expression: “Then my beloved system, wouldn’t you generously give me a domain?”

System: “Perhaps.”

Hearing that, Su Ming knew the system was indeed a good system. With that, she could rest easy.

At this moment, many people were monitoring this trial ground from behind the scenes.

The principal said, “Interesting. This batch of new students has quite a few talented individuals. Look at Shi Zhen—she’s already reached an impressive 100 points just two hours in.”

A company commander from the military remarked, “I find Su Ming rather intriguing. Watch—the moment he landed, he encountered over a hundred ghosts, yet he showed no panic at all. He subdued the leader right away. That’s a textbook decapitation strike.”

The principal said, “I know that kid. A couple of days ago, his Ice Crystal Turtle already displayed extraordinary strength. If he wasn’t deliberately hiding it, then it means he obtained a ghost sword and ghosts in quick succession right after registering as a new student.”

The company commander said, “Mm. When the time comes, summon those who performed well. I want to test them. Also, keep an eye out for anyone with domain talent. This kind of talent can’t be measured—it can only be observed through real combat.”

The principal said, “Well… not to mention that domain talent is extremely rare, but if someone has domain talent without a domain, isn’t that useless?”

The company commander said, “For this trial, the military has left a domain within this battlefield. However, what’s inside the domain is still unknown.”

The principal worried, “Wouldn’t that be too dangerous? They’re all new students.”

The company commander said, “Our soldiers are stationed around the perimeter of the domain. If someone with domain talent exists, they will definitely come. We just need to help them subdue all the ghosts and beasts inside.”

Upon hearing that the military was lending a hand, the principal’s worries were finally put to rest.

The company commander glanced at the monitor and said, “Hm? What is he doing?”

The principal also looked at the monitor and noticed something strange—Su Ming was cooking with a group of ghosts!!

The company commander grew tense. “Could he be trying to subdue this group of ghosts directly? Subduing without a contract is extremely dangerous!”

The principal wiped his sweat and said, “I don’t understand it, but I respect it.”

After nearly two hours, they finally finished.

Su Ming called out to the ghosts, “It’s done. Come and eat.”

The leader cautiously stepped forward. In truth, none of them dared to eat, since Su Ming wasn’t one of their own. But that smell was just… a tiny bit tempting…

The leader dipped a finger into the soup and sucked on it. Instantly, a blissful expression spread across his face, and he began wolfing it down without any regard for his image.

The other ghosts were stunned, but quickly snapped out of it. “Holy crap, Head Chef, leave some for us!”

Then they went crazy fighting over the food. Su Ming wondered—was it because she cooked too well, or because they hadn’t had good food in too long…

“So delicious. It tastes just like mom’s cooking.”

“In my past life, my daughter’s cooking tasted like this. So good.”

…

The Chef Ghost Leader asked in confusion, “You’re not going to kill us?”

Su Ming deliberately teased them, “Oh right. If I kill you, I’ll pass.”

The Chef Ghost Leader and his underlings: (´°Δ°)

Su Ming drew her ghost sword and pointed it at them. “Those willing to follow me, come along. Those who aren’t, so be it.”

The group of chef ghosts knelt down. “We are willing to follow the boss.” Then, in unison, they cut their fingers, preparing to accept the contract.

The system said, “Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission and obtaining domain talent.”

Su Ming gasped sharply. “Are you trying to kill me? Don’t you know that contracts have a limit? If my mental energy isn’t enough, you’ll exhaust me to death directly.”

The leader said, “Huh? Then boss, are you sure about this?”

Su Ming said, “Just follow me. Once I find a domain, I’ll settle you all there.”

Then the company commander and the principal watched as a group of chef ghosts, carrying pots, pans, and a pile of belongings, followed Su Ming to another place. Not for any other reason—first, Su Ming’s cooking was genuinely delicious, and second, they could escape this godforsaken place.

The principal joked, “Does your mess hall need any extra hands? Recruit him and the problem’s solved.”

The company commander was speechless. “Sure, our food isn’t as good as a fancy restaurant’s, but we can’t stomach their dark cuisine.”

The principal hadn’t expected this—others came to the trial to kill ghosts, but Su Ming was here to subdue them.

Now the question was: if these chef ghosts were the ones killing ghosts for Su Ming, how would the results be counted…