Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 441: Chapter 275: Late Night Mukbang

He had just finished a comfortable hot shower and was blow-drying his hair when the doorbell suddenly rang.

He was instantly on alert. Walking to the door, he peered through the peephole.

A male staff member in a hotel uniform was standing at the door with a small cart.

’What’s this all about?’

’I didn’t call for room service, did I?’

He opened the door, confused. The young man’s face immediately broke into a practiced, professional smile.

"Good evening, esteemed sir. This is the Ace of Spades you ordered. I wish you both a wonderful evening."

With that, he pushed the cart into the room. In a flash, he uncorked the bottle, placed it on the table, and set out the glasses. After another smile and a nod, he quickly wheeled the cart out of the room.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, taking less than half a minute in total.

"?"

Lin Chen stared blankly at the glasses and bottle on the coffee table by the window. He quickly realized this was probably Erica’s doing.

’I knew it wouldn’t be this simple with her!’

And just as he’d thought...

No sooner had the waiter left than Erica slipped in, closing the door quietly behind her.

Before she even got close, a familiar, fragrant scent of shampoo drifted through the air—the exact same one as the bottle in his bathroom.

"What’s this? You want to drink more?"

He picked up the bottle and glanced at the label. Seeing it was 12.5% alcohol, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like you’ve never had Ace of Spades?"

Erica walked over with a grin, her hair still visibly damp.

"Ace of Spades is a pretty famous French brand, but it’s not a wine—it’s a fruity champagne. It’s not too expensive, maybe three or four hundred US Dollars. It’s considered mid-range. You can mix it with all kinds of juices, so it’s really popular with girls. It’s my favorite, too."

"I didn’t get to drink my fill at the izakaya. You know how it is, because of liquor laws, they wouldn’t let you drink too much at a bar. Plus, it’s getting a little late, so it’s not safe to drink outside."

"Then take it back to your room and enjoy it. It’s all yours. I’m a little tired, and we have to get on the road tomorrow."

"No way. You’re a chef. How can you not even be familiar with basic wines? Have a couple of glasses with me."

Not giving him a chance to refuse, Erica immediately poured two half-glasses and handed one to him.

Under the warm yellow light, the champagne glowed a lovely pale gold. A dense stream of bubbles rose continuously, making tiny FIZZING and POPPING sounds.

A faint, fruity fragrance filled the air. It actually smelled really nice.

’12.5% alcohol... to be blunt, that’s just a bit stronger than a hard seltzer. Besides, it’s a fermented wine, not a spirit. A little bit won’t get me drunk.’

Participating in two seasons of *Wild Survival* back-to-back had been mentally draining.

Looking at Erica’s sparkling, expectant eyes, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he gave a resigned nod.

’The bottle is only 750 ml. Split between us, that’s just over 300 ml each—about the amount in a large glass of water.’

The two of them sat by the window, gazing at the distant lighthouse shining on the dark sea, and gently clinked their glasses.

CLINK.

The glasses made a clear, crisp sound.

He took a sip of the sweet liquid. He could barely taste the alcohol. It was incredibly smooth, almost like drinking grape juice.

"Have you noticed? It doesn’t get cold here at night, and the days are warm. It must be great for growing crops. No wonder there are hundreds of farms on nearby Salt Spring Island."

"You’re right. The climate here is even better than I expected. Growing some vegetables, raising a few small animals, spending your time fishing and cooking... It would be a very comfortable place to retire."

"Hahaha, you’re right. Canada is a great place to retire. Oh, by the way, didn’t you say you were going to show me videos of Great Xia? We’ve got nothing better to do right now."

"Sure. Which cities do you want to see?"

Erica took a sip of champagne and tilted her head, thinking for a moment.

"The capital is a must-see, and Shanghai too. I don’t really know any other cities... How about that city you mentioned, the one with the spicy hot pot?"

"Okay. Let’s start with Mountain City, then. It’s pretty special—the world’s only ’8D Magic City.’ It’ll blow your mind."

"Don’t be ridiculous. 8D? Isn’t that something you only get in a movie theater?"

At the mention of his home country’s cities, Lin Chen felt a surge of patriotic pride. He was determined to prove he wasn’t exaggerating, so he had to pick the perfect promotional video and then find a travel vlog from a foreign blogger to add to the authenticity.

While he was focused on finding a video, Erica had already quietly moved her chair over and sat right next to him, craning her neck to get a curious look.

They were using the same shampoo and body wash, but on her, it smelled uniquely fragrant.

Lin Chen noticed how close she was but didn’t think much of it. ’After all, we have to sit side-by-side if she’s going to see the video and I’m going to explain it.’

"Found one!"

He soon found a suitable official promotional video. After clicking play, he turned up the volume, moved the phone closer to her, and even propped it up with a tissue box.

The video opened with a shot of Mountain City’s vibrant, colorful nightscape.

At the sight, Erica’s eyes lit up. She quickly got up and turned off the room’s lights, making the phone screen instantly sharper.

A subway that passed through buildings, architecture built into the mountainside, a ground floor that was somehow also a rooftop, fiery-hot cuisine...

The sci-fi-like scenes left Erica stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Are you sure this isn’t special effects? How can a city possibly be built like that? It’s too surreal!"

"I knew you’d say that. Hold on, I’ll find a video from a foreign vlogger on YouTube for you."

He typed in the keywords, and a long, dense list of travel vlogs quickly popped up.

He picked the one with the most views and clicked play. It was a video by a couple who traveled the world, the kind that starts filming from the moment they leave their home airport.

As they watched, Lin Chen explained the unique features of Mountain City and its food, thinking to himself that he’d have to find a mukbang video for her later to really whet her appetite.

Rich beef-tallow hot pot, a hearty soup with fall-off-the-bone tender trotters, silky-soft tofu pudding with a savory dipping sauce, street-side noodles with peas and minced meat, delicate little steamers of rice-flour-coated meat, a wild variety of freestyle stir-fries, a dazzling array of desserts...

The sounds of the two of them swallowing in succession echoed in the dark room. The dinner they’d eaten at six o’clock was long gone, and the snacks from the izakaya had vanished without a trace.

RUMBLE~

Someone’s stomach began to protest. Salivating from the craving, Erica hurriedly downed the rest of the champagne in her glass.

Lin Chen, his attention completely absorbed by the food vlog, didn’t think twice and subconsciously followed her lead, downing his drink in one go.

Far from satisfying their hunger, the mellow sweetness of the champagne only stoked the flames of their cravings.

Lin Chen quickly grabbed his phone and started searching.

"Found one! I knew there had to be a hot pot place here. We’re so close to Vancouver and Victoria, and this is a popular new city for immigrants. There must be a lot of Chinese people here, and where there are Chinese people, there’s always good food. Let’s skip breakfast tomorrow and go straight for hot pot!"

"Amazing! I’m all for it!!"

In her excitement, Erica leaped to her feet and bounced around a few times before grabbing the wine bottle and pouring the last of it into their glasses.

"To delicious hot pot! Let’s finish our drinks and get to sleep. I wish we could rush over to that restaurant right now!"

"Hahaha, you little glutton. What time do you think it is? The owner went home to sleep hours ago."

Forget Erica, who had never even tasted hot pot before. As a Da Xia native who knew exactly how delicious it was, *he* was the one with the most intense craving.

He’d become a chef simply because he loved to eat, and hot pot was one of his absolute favorites. He hadn’t had it in a month and a half, and the craving made him feel like tiny ants were crawling all over his skin. He quickly raised his glass, clinked it against Erica’s, and drained it in one gulp.

"Let’s watch the rest tomorrow. It’s too late, it’s already past one in the morning."

But Erica was on a roll and wasn’t having it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wheedled, "Oh, come on, I haven’t had enough yet! Let’s watch a few more. How about we stick to food? What’s good to eat in the capital?"

"Of course. Remember how I said there are different regional styles of hot pot? The northern style is mainly meat sliced thin and cooked in a copper pot, and the dipping sauce is sesame paste. Alright, I’ll show you a few food vlogs from the capital."

Maybe it was because he’d been drinking too fast, or perhaps the alcohol from the izakaya was finally catching up to him, but the world had begun to spin slightly. He didn’t even notice that Erica was still draped over him.

Erica, having quieted down after her excited bouncing, also felt the world spin. Her head came to rest on Lin Chen’s chest, and she could hear the strong, slightly frantic beat of his heart. The room suddenly felt hot and stuffy.

On the bright phone screen, a steaming copper pot began to give off wisps of vapor. Shaped like a miniature volcano, it had red-hot charcoal burning in its central chimney as clear broth slowly came to a boil in the surrounding ring.

A pair of chopsticks dropped a paper-thin, snow-white slice of lamb tail fat into the pot, and a layer of milky-white grease immediately bloomed across the surface of the clear broth.

The cooked slice of fat curled up, wrinkled. It was then swirled through a thick, smooth sesame paste. Droplets of the brown paste dripped down from the snow-white fat, a sight that made one’s mouth water uncontrollably.

She had never tasted it, but a voice in her head kept insisting that it had to be absolutely delicious.

Just like the braised pork knuckle from yesterday, the Da Xia People had an unparalleled genius for preparing fatty meats.

GULP.

The sound of Lin Chen swallowing was exceptionally clear in the darkness. He seemed to hear it himself and, slightly embarrassed, grabbed his glass. He tilted his head back, only to realize it was already empty.

Erica held out her own glass, which still had a few drops left at the bottom.

Lin Chen, completely oblivious to the faint lip print on the rim, took the glass and tipped the last drops into his mouth.

Erica watched as he finished the last of the wine from her glass. For some reason, the image of him in the restaurant kitchen that afternoon, calling another woman "beauty," flashed through her mind.

An impulse surged through her. In the instant that Lin Chen was still savoring the taste, she suddenly leaned in.