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IGO!
His hand caressed the silver letters on the surface of the metal suitcase, and Xia Yu discovered that the combination lock wasn't fastened.
With a click, he lifted the lid, revealing two booklets and a bank card inside.
The top booklet had a thin layer of black metal on its cover, and most importantly, it still bore the 'IGO' logo.
"What is this?"
Xia Yu wondered, picking up the certificate-like booklet and flipping it open, then gaping wide.
The booklet contained only one page of information. At the top was Xia Yu's personal portrait, followed by text in both Japanese and English:
"Xia Yu, nationality: China, long residing in Neon, currently 16 years old. Specialty in Chinese cuisine."
"One-star Chef."
"IGO International Culinary Organization Certification."
The page's content was straightforward, with a scribbled personal signature in the lower right corner. Xia Yu could barely make out that it was Shinohara Shigetaro's name.
Furthermore, the signature bore two red stamps, one from the IGO Neon Department and another from Shinohara Shigetaro's personal work seal.
Stamps were often needed in Neon, so agencies frequently advised foreign students to get a stamp before going to Japan.
Of course, the stamp wasn't the point. Xia Yu focused intently on the text line "IGO International Culinary Organization," drawing a sharp breath.
He finally recalled that IGO was the abbreviation of a certain terrifying culinary organization.
International Culinary Organization!
In "Food Wars," this culinary organization even controlled the global order, surpassing the United Nations Organization with member countries spread across over 360 nations.
But that was the original manga plot. Of course, the real world didn't have that many countries, and Xia Yu hadn't heard anything about IGO over the years.
From this, one could deduce that IGO wasn't as powerful in this world as it was in the original manga. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been suppressed by the governmental machinery, unable to make its voice heard.
He slapped his forehead.
Xia Yu realized that the smiling detective uncle, Shinohara Shigetaro, before him at the counter, was the manager of the IGO Neon Department, and he stopped guessing randomly. With so many questions, he decided to ask directly.
"IGO? International Culinary Organization?" Xia Yu restrained his surprise quite well, deliberately using a questioning tone.
"Yes."
"You are now an IGO-certified international one-star chef, eligible to know of our IGO's existence," Shinohara Shigetaro said slowly. "Our IGO became a completely independent international organization shortly after the end of World War II, detaching from the United Nations."
"We have our own publicity department, affairs department, legal department, management department, finance department, development department, and defense department."
"Of course, that's the headquarters' structure. The Neon Department is relatively simpler, with only a defense department, management department, and legal department."
"Take a look at the second manual, it's the restaurant qualification book of the IGO International Culinary Organization."
Shinohara Shigetaro pointed to the second black-covered manual in the metal box.
Xia Yu's heart skipped a beat. He picked up the certificate and flipped it open, and sure enough, his personal portrait was also affixed on the page, with his personal and restaurant information beneath it.
"Now, you will take over Xia's cuisine shop. Since Xia Qing has temporarily left Neon, we can only rate your small shop as a 'one-star restaurant' according to your current chef level."
"One-star?" Xia Yu asked tentatively, "How many levels are there for restaurants?"
"Typically nine stars, beyond that are restaurants directly affiliated with the IGO organization," Shinohara Shigetaro said.
"So what use is your star rating?"
Xia Yu was still unsure about the impact of the IGO organization in this world.
"Quite simple. With our certificate, you can safely continue running your small cuisine shop without worrying about business licenses from other government agencies," Shinohara Shigetaro smiled and said. "If any issue arises at your small shop, such as a fire or food safety, and government personnel come knocking, you can present the IGO certificate. Matters will then be handled by the IGO Neon Department's management department, dealt with internally."
"Your grandfather has everything arranged."
He then stood up, extending his hand toward Xia Yu and said, "Hand me your phone."
Hearing this, Xia Yu handed over his phone, puzzled.
Shinohara Shigetaro took out his phone as well, seemingly activating a Bluetooth data transfer. A newly installed phone application app appeared on Xia Yu's phone home screen.
"Open it. The login name is your real name, and the password is your residency card number."
Huh?
When he got his phone back, the app was already open, requiring him to enter his account and password on a simple login interface. Xia Yu went upstairs to find his residency card, which was almost equivalent to a household register in Neon.
"Welcome to IGO Online."
After logging in, a pleasant female voice spoke in standard Neon language.
The top left corner of the app interface automatically displayed location information: Neon Tokyo.
A row of module names appeared on the screen:
[Ingredient Market]
[Food Duel]
[New Ingredient Application and Recipe Development]
The last module seemed to be a leisure comprehensive forum, apparently a place for IGO-certified chefs to chat and share tips, divided into different regions. Surprisingly, the latest post count in the Neon region had over a hundred entries.
"Ingredient Market?"
These words just happened to hit on the issue Xia Yu was most concerned about.
Without hesitation, he clicked in, and—oh, Xia Yu discovered that it was similar to certain food delivery apps, with various ingredient shops filling the list, covering the entire realm of Neon, from Hokkaido to Kyushu Island and Okinawa Island.
He clicked into a store named 'Tokyo Seafood,' discovering numerous reviews from IGO-certified chefs, some anonymous, while others used their real names.
"Consistently positive."
A female chef with a kind portrait commented, "Thanks to Mrs. Chishou, every batch of goods is strictly supervised, and our Mist House uses the freshest seafood to create Neon cuisine that satisfies our guests."
Mist House, why does this sound somewhat familiar?
Xia Yu froze, then focused on the portrait of the seemingly kind female chef and her ID, which wasn't anonymous, and couldn't help but slap his forehead.
Qian Rixiangzi.
Known as the 'Mist Empress,' a famous female chef skilled in Neon cuisine.
Crucially, she was the second seat of Far Moon's 80th generation, part of the 'Ten Masters of Far Moon'!
"Far Moon graduate!"
Immediately intrigued, Xia Yu carefully examined her ID below, silently counting five little stars in total, indicating that Qian Rixiangzi was a five-star chef with the IGO International Culinary Organization.
He couldn't help but be astonished.
The former second seat of the Far Moon Ten Masters, after graduating for so many years, only held a five-star qualification.
Originally his focus on ingredients shifted to exploring Far Moon graduates. Xia Yu became somewhat engrossed in reading reviews in various ingredient shops to find familiar personalities.
Shigong Xiaoci Lang, six-star chef.
Mizuhara Fuyumi, five-star chef.
Kikuchi Sankaku, four-star chef.
Kazasaki Tatsuki, four-star chef.
...
Xia Yu primarily focused on current Ten Masters and the superb talents from the 69th generation, yet only found Ichise Hui in a certain curry ingredient shop review.
Ichise Hui was a three-star chef.
However, according to that guy's personality, he likely concealed his true skills, which were probably at the four-star level.
"Dojima Yin, Saito Chiyokuro, and Tiqie Ji are not there. It seems Far Moon's older graduates prefer to be low-key, or perhaps rarely use IGO's mobile software," Xia Yu mused.
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