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墨書 Inktalez
The figure that emerged from the Mirror Gate was indeed skilled in using drugs, and their movements were incredibly swift; I couldn't even comprehend what was happening.
Since it had come to this, there was no time to waste—I had to search!
I quickly scanned my surroundings. This was clearly a place for preparing meals, with stoves, counters, and all sorts of pots and dishes. Before the people inside collapsed, they had been handling ingredients, as evidenced by the vegetables and fruits scattered all over the floor.
If these were precious ingredients, they shouldn't have been left out in such an obvious place.
But wait?
My gaze was drawn to the various semi-finished dishes on the counter. Among the beautiful array of utensils were exquisitely crafted dishes that I had never seen or smelled before in modern recipes!
I picked up a pale pink bowl made of an unknown material—thin, slightly transparent, and smooth like rose petals. Inside was pure white cheese, speckled with bits of red cherries that had been pitted. The faint fruity aroma combined with the creamy scent wafted up to me, making it impossible to resist.
In the middle of winter, there were actually cherries! It was clear that the Chef had put a lot of effort into sourcing ingredients.
I took a spoon from the counter and scooped a bit of cherry cheese into my mouth. It felt refreshing and cool on my palate, and the seasoning was exquisite. My taste buds were instantly conquered; amidst this crime scene in the dead of night, I felt a surge of happiness.
Ancient chefs were truly remarkable! If these ancient recipes could be passed down to modern times, they would surely become a sensation! Just as I was marveling at this, someone beside me handed over a light green shallow dish. I turned around to see the sweet-toothed thief smiling at me.
The dish contained peeled and diced apples. For some reason, they hadn't changed color at all just sitting on the table. Not wanting to be polite, I picked up a piece with my fingers and popped it into my mouth. Ah, it turned out they had been soaked in honey and spices—deliciously sweet! Suddenly, I felt a pang of jealousy towards Li Shimin.
Since Li Shimin ascended to the throne, public opinion about him had been quite favorable. It was said that he wasn't very particular about his food or clothing. From my time spent with him at Wanzi Mountain, he certainly gave off that impression. After glancing through the Imperial Kitchen's offerings, I found that the main ingredients were indeed quite ordinary. The rare and out-of-season items were in very limited quantities; it seemed that the chef had specially sourced them out of passion for experimentation and to let those in the palace have a taste of something new.
Ordinary ingredients can yield vastly different results depending on who prepares them. Having this royal chef in the palace is like possessing an invaluable treasure; the happiness index would surely rise!
I wandered around, tasting various dishes, my culinary enthusiast tendencies kicking in as I pondered the methods behind these creations. It wasn't until I caught the intrigued gaze of Night Phantom that I realized, to my shock, that I had forgotten my purpose for being here! How could I be so easily distracted?
After a rough estimate, I realized we had been here for at least half an hour. He had mentioned having an hour's time earlier, and now there was hardly any left. Why didn't he remind me?
I shot him a resentful glance, which only made him smile in confusion. Night Phantom raised his hand and pointed to a rather inconspicuous dark wooden cabinet in the corner.
The cabinet was wooden, with slatted ventilation holes on its side, looking quite old. As I approached, I noticed it seemed to be made from a peculiar type of wood that had not been painted; it retained the color of raw wood but appeared dark and devoid of any grain, exuding a faintly refreshing scent.
The cabinet doors were secured with two large locks.
This special cabinet, guarded by heavy locks, must hold the chef's secret! My success or failure hinged on whether this cabinet contained mysterious ingredients that transcended time and space.
I contemplated that the key to the cabinet might be hidden somewhere in this room or perhaps with someone else. However, after searching every corner of the large room, I found no key.
This meant that the Culinary Master was not among those who had fainted in the room. It made sense; being a master chef, he wouldn't be working night shifts without a special occasion.
So I turned my attention to the large locks on the cabinet.
As a Criminal Investigation Major student, I was no stranger to locks. In certain situations, detectives need to infiltrate criminals' lairs swiftly and discreetly; at such times, skilled lock-picking becomes crucial to achieving their objectives. Thus, we had a lock-picking elective course during our studies.
I have always been extremely interested in technical courses, so there was no way I could skip this one. The class happened to be taught by my instructor, Old Liu. It lasted for an entire semester, and the schedule was bizarrely set for the evenings, which made for quite an unforgettable experience.
During the lock-picking class, we gathered in a classroom at night, under the cover of darkness, forming a circle with various styles of locks scattered around us. Old Liu sat in the middle, his gaze unfocused as he absentmindedly fiddled with a Crescent Lock, clicking it open and closed repeatedly. The Crescent Lock is recognized by the industry as one of the most difficult locks to pick. Despite Old Liu’s scruffy appearance, his hands were more sensitive than anyone else's. In contrast, we each clutched a lock, our faces displaying a range of expressions as we struggled to pick them.
However, this was not the beginning; the course actually started with making our own lock-picking tools. We spent an entire month refining and crafting these tools before we could even begin to practice picking locks.
I won't go into detail about how to make the tools, lest you learn something you shouldn't. In short, the success rate and speed of picking a lock depend on the lock's structure, the precision of the tool-making, the feel of the tools in hand, and even luck. Generally speaking, the easiest locks to pick are the commonly used cross locks found in residences. Additionally, the Three-Nan Magnetic Door Lock and Flat Anti-Theft Three Magnetic Lock Core are also relatively easy to open. However, locks like the Crescent Lock core, double-sided groove lock core, single-sided double-groove lock core, AB Lock Core, and flat pull groove lock core are much harder to pick. Yet for skilled practitioners, they can still be opened quickly. So when you go out, remember to use your keys to lock your doors for safety.
I ultimately received an excellent grade in this course because I practiced a lot due to my poor hand skills. If someone dared to do better than me at something that started from the same point, I couldn't help but feel a surge of anger and had to secretly work harder until I surpassed them. However, this so-called excellence wasn't really that impressive; it was mainly because my classmates were all struggling too. Among a group of underperformers, I stood out as exceptional.
Zhang Yang was astonished when he heard we had a lock-picking class and praised its establishment highly. But after we demonstrated our lock-picking techniques, his admiration was immediately replaced by disbelief. He collected our unique tools and scanned them before casually tossing one-third of them straight into the trash can. With what remained, he picked up a few at random and effortlessly opened twelve different locks on the table within three minutes as if he were playing a game.
As far as I know, even skilled practitioners take about thirty seconds to pick an easier lock. Yet he managed to open twelve locks in three minutes, some of which were quite challenging—an almost surreal feat.
I pulled my thoughts back and reached for one of the two locks in front of me, aligning its keyhole towards myself. The keyhole seemed to mock me with its challenge. This was my enemy today!
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