Nobody who saw the Seer smile ever lived to talk about it. Yet, as unbelievable as it was, Liu Feng was seated beside Sasha with a very contented look as Zen took his order. The sniper almost fainted when Zen didn't immediately do as told. Instead, he demanded something in exchange.
"My character profile card? Sure. I have nothing to hide so you can see it first."
===
Name: Liu Feng (Wind) "Seer"
Age: 18
Abilities: Bone Crushing
Credits: 9,200
Items: NA
Rank: 9
===
Zen raised a brow. "Bone crushing? What kind of skill is that?"
Then, he paled. The title of "Seer" and rank 9 belonged to one of the three monsters in the academy that Sasha told him to be wary of before they came to the kitchen. Why was one of the three terrors acting like a coy kitten, sipping on oolong tea before him?
Liu Feng was surprised to know that someone in this academy didn't know who he was and what he did.
"Oh? You didn't know? It's a traditional skill passed down in my family. It's a type of martial arts that allows me to be verrry familiar with the human body."
Zen shuddered. Did this man just purr the last part? It must be his imagination. For some reason, the Seer's image was very different from how Sasha described him to be. If Zen didn't know better, he would think that the Chinese Triad young master was flirting with him!
"In other words, I also have some medical knowledge because I'm well-versed in human anatomy."
Zen didn't know what to think about that smile. The image that he gave was completely different. If they were not in a mafia school that encouraged murder, Liu Feng would have been a very chill customer that Zen would have loved to service.
"Your dumplings are ready," Zen announced and Liu Feng took a whiff. His mouth watered.
"That was fast," the Seer commented with a wide smile. Zen felt that something was missing and stopped him before he could eat.
The young chef returned with a small saucer full of vinegar sauce with thinly sliced ginger strips and spring onion garnish. "Here," he pushed the sauce over to the Seer. "It tastes better with the sauce."
Liu Feng nodded. This was the thing that they served back home. Not many people knew about the Chinese culture. Zen was clearly Japanese. Perhaps there were similarities in their culture?
The dumplings were piping hot, and the meat juices burst into Liu Feng's mouth in the first bite, dribbling down his chin. Yet, the young triad master couldn't maintain his dignity when his senses were assaulted by the taste of a Michelin Star dish.
Sasha was fascinated. Who exactly was Zen? Initially, she thought that the ranked 100 kid was someone who made it in by luck. However, anyone who could reduce the Seer into a shuddering and moaning mess was no ordinary person. She too dug into her burger and couldn't help but react similarly.
"Too good! It's too good! It's better than the chefs back home!" Sasha moaned and took another big bite.
Liu Feng was moved to almost tears. At first, the plate of steamed dumplings didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. They were hot and fresh out of the steamer just like any ordinary dish. However, when Liu Feng held the dumpling with his chopsticks, the weight told him a different story. Hidden within the folds of these slippery soft dough skin was a shy beauty waiting to be discovered!
The first bite was always the toughest, filled with anticipation, anxiety and doubt. Would this man satisfy the desires of this troublesome tongue? Would he fall short just like everyone else? Liu Feng didn't know. Still, like an explorer in a forsaken land, the triad young master took the leap of faith.
With a gentle bite, Liu Feng sank his teeth fully into the tender dough skin, breaking it open and laying the insides bare for his tongue. Almost at once like unbridled passion, the scalding hot meat juices gushed out,scalding his tongue and overflowed, dribbling down his chin, leaving hot traces where they explored. There was no mistaking this savoury flavour with a hint of mystery in the meat. It was not just an ordinary dumpling filling. The chef hid more than just the tease of salt and pepper. Spring onions! Like a dash of youth to accentuate the nature of a pure virgin maiden, Zen added spring onions and ginger into the mix, creating a harmonic flavour between the savoury meat and the soft plain dough skin. What a masterpiece!
It was at this moment that Liu Feng knew. He had to take this man home! Once he took him home, Liu Feng was going to tie him up in a golden cage and never let this angel go. This beautiful creation made by those small and weak hands… Liu Feng wanted everything Zen had to offer!
Zen watched as the two scary mafia representatives wolfed his food down. Sasha had sauce all over her lips, and Liu Feng had meat juices trailing down his chin like something forbidden.
[The Godfather is impressed by your man-seducing techniques. You have been awarded 100 credits.]
[The Godfather likes your cunning information-gathering strategy. You have been awarded 100 credits.]
Seeing the notifications, Zen smiled. This was as good as a green light to continue his information-gathering technique. If he could exchange a meal for character profile cards, he could save his credits and use them to redeem game highlight clips instead!
Seeing how much Sasha and Liu Feng enjoyed Zen's cooking, the crowd growing at the door couldn't resist. By now, the delicious smell had spread all over the building, and the hungry students dissatisfied with the piss-quality cafeteria food came flocking.
"Thank you for the food," Liu Feng praised as he wiped his mouth. He'd never felt this satisfied before. As a gourmet, it was difficult to find anyone who could please his palette.
Sasha watched as Liu Feng washed the taste of dumplings down with a cup of oolong tea and looked at her empty plate.
"Seriously, Zen. Are you sure you've never cooked before in real life? That was professionally done! It was almost magic…"
Zen chuckled nervously and looked at the rest of his potential customers by the door. "I did say that this was my unique skill. It's not very useful, but I thought I would thank you for teaching me this much."
When Liu Feng heard it, he smirked. So the meal was a thank you gift for helping Zen? If he, the Seer, offered assistance and protection to this little cook, would Zen cook for him every meal?
Sasha froze when the Seer made a proposal to Zen. Never before did she hear of the three terrors making deals. Who exactly was Zen Taro?!
"Protection?"
Liu Feng nodded. "Yes. It's not a bad deal, right? There are currently two camps in the school. The first camp, led by Johan, wants to kill everyone and become the only survivor to succeed as the next Godfather. The other camp belongs to the Death Princess who intends to survive and clear all the trials prepared. I was originally on the fence, but after eating the food you made, I have my reasons to side with the Death princess instead."
Indeed, it wasn't a bad deal. However, Zen didn't know why one of the three terrors were being so nice to him.
"Are you sure all I have to do is cook for you every meal? I'm not a professional, and you're not short on credits either with your ability."
Liu Feng laughed breezily. "Yes. Your cooking is a valuable talent. As long as you cook every meal for me, I will take excellent care of you."
Again with the purr! This man was really more like a cat than a killing machine. Zen didn't have a reason to refuse and accepted the terms.
"Good!" Liu Feng was delighted. "Let's seal this agreement with an omerta! Vow it on your name, and you can call me "Wind". That's my English name because Liu Feng might be hard for you to pronounce."
At this, Zen hesitated.
"Not willing?" Wind asked.
Zen shook his head. "That's not it. I just don't know what an omerta is…?"
Sasha deadpanned. There was something seriously wrong with the upbringing of her younger brother. He didn't even know what an omerta was? How did someone so civilian-like survive in the underworld?!
The silence stretched as the trio wondered what was going to happen next.