Chapter 001: The Depressed Patient's Strange Encounter

"Host meets the activation conditions for the Mad Chef God System. Please choose a system activation task, pick one out of three.

1: Control your condition and ensure you don't lose your temper for three days.

2: Maintain good sleep for seven consecutive days.

3: Work at a top-tier local restaurant, in the kitchen. (Note: Internships also count as completing the activation task.)"

"Another hallucination!"

Suffering from moderate depression and mild mania, David Carter was panting heavily, feeling a bit irritable. If he weren't in class, he would have rushed out to find that quack doctor!

And they said he was a new expert at Chudu Hospital! Another fraud! Even after taking his so-called miracle medicine, he still had hallucinations!

And this time it was even worse—not only hallucinations, but now auditory hallucinations too! That quack once said this was a sign of impending schizophrenia!

Clenching his teeth, frowning slightly, David Carter's face was full of worry.

The strange line of text that had just popped up finally disappeared, but he didn't let his guard down. He looked around sharply, making sure that Old Harris at the podium and his classmates in the classroom were all real, not hallucinations.

"Classmates!"

Homeroom teacher Old Harris struck the blackboard hard with a piece of chalk: "Today, you are about to leave school and enter the most crucial internship phase!"

"Is internship scary? NO! As students of Qingxiang Technical School, and especially as students of the culinary class, you should have enough confidence!

Let me say it again, Qingxiang's flagship major has never been excavator operation!

That's right, it's our chef major! This is one of the few professions with the honorific 'shi' (master)! Think about it: lawyer, accountant, architect... these are all synonymous with professional talent!

All you future professionals, this final year of internship will determine whether you can graduate smoothly and obtain the Level 5 Chinese Culinary Chef (Cook) Professional Qualification Certificate...

Facing the upcoming internship, tell me loudly, are you nervous? Are you afraid? Tell me loudly!"

"No! No! No!"

Old Harris's motivational skills were top-notch, and the students responded enthusiastically.

"Very good! So, remember what your teacher said: you can choose any of the twelve out of thirteen internship institutions. As 'top students' from Qingxiang, you have this confidence!

But, whatever you do, don't choose 'Jiuzhou Dingshi'... That's right, Jiuzhou Dingshi is the only five-star restaurant in Chudu (Pengcheng) City, but it's not suitable for you..."

Huh? The students looked at each other—Old Harris sure changed his tune quickly!

But no one objected. They were about to leave the school where they'd spent three years for their internships, and they would surely miss Old Harris in the future. Who would nitpick him at a time like this?

"As your homeroom teacher, I hope you all graduate smoothly.

It's true that Jiuzhou Dingshi is the only five-star restaurant in Chudu, but you need to know that such a high-end restaurant has extremely strict internal management. Even interns are held to rigorous standards and treated harshly!

Once you enter Jiuzhou Dingshi, the school's reputation and the teacher's connections mean nothing. Jiuzhou Dingshi won't go easy on you just because you're Qingxiang interns—on the contrary, they'll be even stricter!

So ever since all our Qingxiang interns were wiped out at Jiuzhou Dingshi three years ago, I no longer recommend students intern there."

Old Harris glanced at his students and said, "In short, put away your arrogance and blind confidence. Choosing a more reliable internship platform is the smartest move. Now, I'll hand out the internship application forms for you to choose your internship institution.

Remember what your teacher said: unless you have a national Level 3 or higher chef qualification, don't even think about going to a place like Jiuzhou Dingshi! Because as far as I know, even many Level 3 chefs can only work as 'kitchen assistants' at Jiuzhou Dingshi!"

"Damn, even with a Level 3 qualification you can only be a 'kitchen assistant'? Jiuzhou Dingshi is way too hardcore, better not mess with them..."

"Forget it, as the class genius, I've decided to listen to Old Harris and not try something so suicidal. Graduating smoothly is more important than anything..."

"Yeah, yeah, Chuanxiang Restaurant is pretty good, right? There are plenty of skilled master chefs there, and it's easier to get through the internship. I'll pick Chuanxiang Restaurant..."

"Dujude Chudu chain store is my first choice. As the saying goes, 'master one skill and you can eat anywhere.' Maybe I'll learn the true art of roast duck during my internship? That would set me up for life."