The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

As Pei Guang spoke, he casually pulled out a set of pots, bowls, and utensils. At the same time, Stelle instinctively pulled out her War-flaming lance, as if she already knew what was coming.

Pei Guang had only recently discovered this method of cooking. After all, throughout their journey, they were constantly fighting, and food was always readily available—there was never a need for him to cook.

After dealing with Phantylia, he had some time alone and started thinking: since he had already stitched together all sorts of skills, including the creation of that absurd pot that could synthesize literally anything, then what about those open-world game mechanics where you just toss ingredients into a pot and magically get a dish? Had that been stitched together as well?

A quick test confirmed his suspicion: it was added in. The only difference was that, unlike his bizarre synthesized pot that could fuse anything, a normal pot could only be used for actual cooking.

As for the logic behind it, Pei Guang couldn't be bothered to investigate. It was a game, after all. As long as it worked and followed some level of common sense, that was enough for him.

Look, you put ingredients into a pot, heat them up, and out comes delicious food. 

Totally reasonable.

To demonstrate a player's approach to cooking, he tossed a few raw chicken drumsticks into the pot, poured in a small amount of oil, and placed the lid on top. Instantly, the pot erupted with a crackling, sizzling sound.

By the time the sound died down and he lifted the lid, Sushang and Mingxi were utterly stunned.

They had both clearly seen Pei Guang put in just a few drumsticks. How had it turned into an entire roasted chicken?! And he had only used a tiny bit of oil—how had it turned into deep-fried crispy chicken?!

Not only that, but the chicken looked incredibly golden and crunchy, and the rich aroma wafting from the pot made the two women instinctively swallow their saliva.

Both of them wore expressions of pure shock, as they had never truly witnessed the bizarre nature of Pei Guang, The Player.

Meanwhile, March 7th, Stelle, and Bailu found this completely unsurprising. It was something Pei Guang had made—of course, it worked.

That was Bailu's mindset as she stared at the freshly fried chicken, inhaling the irresistible scent. She pointed at herself and asked, "Ah Guang, can I eat this chicken?"

Pei Guang grinned. "Of course you can!"

Hearing his permission, Bailu eagerly reached out and grabbed the fried chicken. Strangely enough, even though it had just come out of the pot, it wasn't scalding hot—it had the perfect fresh-out-of-the-fryer warmth.

She couldn't hold back any longer. The aroma was too tempting! Just the scent of the crispy skin and rich oil was enough to make anyone's mouth water. And she was no exception.

She sank her teeth into the drumstick, and at that moment, the juicy, tender meat flooded her mouth with flavor.

There was only one way to describe this chicken: perfection!

Pei Guang had created an absolutely flawless fried chicken! Bailu had no idea how he had done it, but it didn't matter. As long as it worked, that was enough. Besides, the Vidyadhara had records of their ancestors being able to craft exquisite dishes, even altering the appearance of food itself.

If the ancient Vidyadhara could do it, then what about Pei Guang transforming a few drumsticks into a whole chicken? That was just basic logic!

Watching Bailu devour her food with such enthusiasm, March 7th couldn't help but ask, "Ah Guang! What kind of chicken did you make? Bailu looks way too into it!"

Everyone had been traveling with Bailu long enough to know that she was a serious foodie. If she was this fixated on eating the fried chicken, then it had to be good.

Pei Guang smirked. "It's the perfect fried chicken! But my cooking method does have some drawbacks—I can only make dishes I've already learned, and I need to have enough ingredients on hand."

Stelle nodded in understanding. "I see! It's convenient, as expected of Ah Guang! You make things happen so effortlessly."

Seeing Stelle and March 7th's completely unfazed expressions, Sushang couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Wait, aren't you guys even the least bit weirded out? He just put in drumsticks, and an entire fried chicken came out!"

Mingxi hesitated. "I… I also saw drumsticks go in…"

Sensing their confusion, Pei Guang nodded. "Yeah! Drumsticks are chicken meat, fried chicken is also chicken meat. I just used drumsticks to make fried chicken. That's perfectly normal, isn't it?"

Sushang thought about it for a second. "I mean… that does make sense. Wait, no—it absolutely doesn't!"

She felt her brain getting scrambled, but March 7th, who had far more experience in dealing with Pei Guang's antics, pulled her aside. "Relax~ don't overthink it. There are way too many weird things in this universe. Pei Guang tossing in some drumsticks and pulling out a whole chicken? Sounds pretty normal to me."

Stelle nodded. "Exactly. As long as it's tasty, edible, and doesn't have any side effects, who cares? Ah Guang, your fried chicken doesn't have any weird side effects, does it?"

Pei Guang smirked. "Absolutely not! This is perfect fried chicken! Other than tasting incredibly delicious, it doesn't do anything special. You won't suddenly start blasting music, dancing, rapping, or playing basketball. You also won't randomly scream 'Whatcha doing?!' It's just plain, simple, and filling fried chicken. But! In my expert opinion, fried chicken paired with a carbonated drink is the most satisfying combination."

While they were chatting, Bailu was happily hugging the fried chicken, her face beaming with joy. "I feel like after eating Ah Guang's fried chicken, I won't be able to eat anyone else's ever again! It's too perfect!"

Pei Guang waved his hand. "Hey, you can't say that! My fried chicken is just a pre-set program—it has no soul. Compared to food made by real chefs, it may taste perfect, but it's missing that little something. You have to understand—soul is the most important part of a dish. Oh, speaking of which! If we're making fried chicken, how can we not give it soul? March! Play the ad. Let's inject some soul into our fried chicken."

Somewhere, deep within the cosmos, certain creatures would've wholeheartedly agreed with this statement—specifically, the Antimatter Legion minions that Pei Guang had roasted to perfection using Savory Truefire.

On Earth, in a distant canned food factory, those same roasted Antimatter soldiers were now being processed into canned meat. And even then, their "dish" had soul—its taste was leagues apart from ordinary Voidrangers.

Somewhere else in the galaxy, a group of misguided Abundance cultists had been fooled into feasting on these roasted Voidrangers. They enthusiastically chowed down, praising the soulful flavor.

Of course, that "soul" came from the fact that their health points were being directly deducted as they ate. If that wasn't an out-of-body experience, what was?

Back at Aurum Alley, March 7th, hearing Pei Guang's cue, pulled out the recording they had gotten from Jing Yuan.

As Bailu happily munched away, the device in March 7th's hand suddenly blared out an incredibly catchy tune:

"Crazy, crazy Aurum Alley~ Fried chicken, only 99~"

The brainwashing jingle, combined with Bailu's blissful expression as she devoured the fried chicken, created a strangely mesmerizing scene.

At the same time, Jing Yuan's ridiculously catchy voiceover somehow did inject a soul into this fried chicken.

Sushang and Mingxi both started feeling the urge to take a bite.

However, as that thought crossed her mind, Mingxi's expression gradually became more serious. She could clearly tell that Pei Guang and his group were far beyond the capabilities of ordinary people. Yet, she had a feeling—no, a premonition—that if Pei Guang got involved, Aurum Alley would still be Aurum Alley… but what it became afterward was anyone's guess.

And then, amidst the looping jingle of 'Crazy, Crazy Aurum Alley,' Mingxi suddenly picked up on something—the voice in the ad.

It sounded so familiar.

She knew she'd heard this voice countless times before. It was a voice she was certain she recognized, and yet, no matter how hard she thought, she just couldn't place who it was. That feeling of something being right on the tip of her tongue, yet impossible to recall, was driving her insane.

As the two of them were struggling with their thoughts, Pei Guang casually continued frying up more chicken, this time for Sushang.

Didn't she say she couldn't contribute anything to Aurum Alley's revival? No problem—he'd make sure she got a taste of this chicken. And then, once she took a bite, March 7th would be standing by to record her reaction.

A girl like her, with such a pure and untainted gaze? Capturing her expression as she tasted something this good?

That would be the best promotional material possible.

In fact, Pei Guang was already considering whether, in addition to revitalizing Aurum Alley and paying off the debts, he should also start a restaurant and create some food review videos to promote it online.

Sure, food review content was everywhere in Xianzhou—but none of them had someone like Sushang.

That untainted, wide-eyed innocence?

That mix of sincerity and an almost childlike sense of wonder?

That kind of expression was rare. Not just in Xianzhou, but even in his original world—you'd only find it in certain university students.