My Restaurant's Guests are All Abnormal

Chapter 496: Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty-Six: So, Will Drinking Soup Kill You?

"Professor, in addition to goji berry red tea, would you like anything else?" Betty asked Professor Moriarty with a smile, rubbing her belly nonchalantly as she felt hungry again.

"Hmm... Then bring me a serving of this Wen Si tofu, a light cheesecake, and this Starry Sky Cake," Moriarty glanced at the menu, which often had new dishes, but his favorite was still having some sweets with his red tea.

"Certainly, please wait a moment," Betty nodded and then slipped into the kitchen with the menu.

Moriarty leaned on his cane, his mind on what Chen Ze had just said, that Holmes was a persistent man. But as far as Moriarty knew, Holmes had never met the store manager before. So, could the manager have deduced Holmes’s character just by reading books?

That didn’t make sense. Even Moriarty himself wouldn’t be able to summarize someone’s character by reading their books. After all, even the foolish assistant of Holmes who writes those books doesn’t necessarily portray the scenes accurately, as there would always be some artistic embellishment.

"Interesting," Moriarty chuckled and placed his cane aside.

He would leave the intrigues and battles of wits for another time; here, Moriarty only wanted to enjoy the tranquil atmosphere and those delicious desserts.

Meanwhile, Chen Ze was still busy making cakes in the kitchen. He planned to finish both the light cheesecake and the Starry Sky Cake first and then start working on the Wen Si tofu. The tofu was more challenging, and this arrangement seemed appropriate, as it would help Chen Ze save time.

Before long, Chen Ze put the light cheesecake into the oven and set the completed Starry Sky Cake aside. Now he could begin working on the Wen Si tofu.

Wen Si tofu required precise knife skills, but Chen Ze was no longer the novice chef he had once been when he first encountered Wen Si tofu. Moreover, his cooking skills had significantly improved, so he chopped quickly and skillfully.

"Betty, come and take this dish out," Chen Ze worked swiftly and soon finished a beautiful serving of Wen Si tofu.

Next, Chen Ze began the finishing touches on the light cheesecake and the Starry Sky Cake, at the same time glancing at his Dragon Worm Void Soup.

"...This doesn’t seem quite right, does it?" Chen Ze felt a pang in his stomach as he observed the liquid in the pot transform from white to a white and black mixture, reminiscent indeed of a Tai Chi pattern.

The smell that emanated from it, though, was atrocious. Chen Ze didn’t even feel the slightest desire to drink it, which wasn’t to say that the soup smelled so rotten or nauseating.

In fact, from a certain perspective, the soup’s aroma was rather pleasant. But just as there’s a fine line between pleasure and excess, the same was true for this soup. The overwhelming fragrance was like mixing dozens of perfumes, using way too much of each, and then releasing them all in a tiny five-square-meter room. It was suffocating and sickeningly sweet.

"Ugh..." Chen Ze quickly closed the pot lid, preventing the "biochemical weapon" from continuing to unleash its potency. He felt that even the bad perfume smell at the subway station was better than this.

Chen Ze shook his head, suspecting that his culinary experiment with the soup was likely a failure. Yet, how could a chef judge a dish solely by its smell? To Chen Ze, evaluating a dish meant tasting it. Just like with stinky tofu—smelling bad but tasting delicious—he wondered if this soup might be the same?

Chen Ze looked at the soup with conflicted eyes. Although that was indeed what he believed and the logic seemed sound, the thought of actually tasting it made Chen Ze feel like he might drop dead on the spot.

Chen Ze fumbled in his pocket, pulling out an IOU. Betty had to borrow money from Chen Ze to redeem Lindsay, and even though he had deducted quite a bit since then, Betty still owed him a thousand Gold Coins.

"Sigh, I guess I’ll have to impose on you, Betty," Chen Ze sighed, then took out the finished light cheesecake and the Starry Sky Cake and placed them on plates. He called Betty in to serve the two desserts. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

When Betty came back to set the plates down, Chen Ze stopped her.

"What’s up, Boss?" Betty turned around, puzzled. The boss hadn’t really called her much before.

"Betty, do you think you’re a good employee?" Chen Ze looked at Betty with a meaningful gaze, making her feel a bit uneasy.

A good employee... Betty felt she probably was, although she also knew that what she ate every day likely cost more than her wages. Plus, with Chen Ze’s generous benefits, it was like a fortune.

"Uh... Boss, if there’s anything you need, just tell me. I, Betty, will definitely do it!" Betty patted her chest, and Chen Ze thought he heard the sound of someone banging on steel.

Chen Ze subconsciously touched his own nose. Thankfully, it was Betty.

"Look, you still have an IOU here with me, a thousand Gold Coins. Today, if you just take a sip of this soup, I’ll give the IOU back to you, to burn it. How about that?" Chen Ze showed an ’you’re making a killing’ expression, waving the IOU in his hand.

Betty glanced at the pot of soup Chen Ze was pointing at. Have to say, the black and white colors were quite beautiful.

"Boss, I just have one question, please answer me honestly." Betty looked at Chen Ze, the temptation of a thousand Gold Coins for one sip of soup was really big.

"Ask away." Chen Ze looked at Betty, had she gotten smarter?

"This soup... Is it deli... no, if I drink it, will I die?" Betty stared earnestly at Chen Ze, determined not to miss any change in his expression.

"This..." Chen Ze hesitated a bit, and seeing Chen Ze’s hesitation, Betty wore an ’I understand’ expression on her face.

"I’ll drink! Lady Lafra is on the second floor; I don’t think I will die." Betty opened the lid of the pot and scooped up a spoonful of soup with lightning speed before stuffing it into her mouth and swallowing it with a gulp.

Chen Ze held his nose, then hastily covered the pot again. This smell was fine for poisoning him and Betty; there was no need to trouble Professor Moriarty with it.

"How does it feel?" Chen Ze asked Betty, a bit expectantly.

"..." Betty had no reaction, standing there stunned, completely motionless.

"Betty?" Chen Ze pushed her a little, and with a blank face, Betty fell to the ground, her face bearing a happy smile, but she passed out cold.

"Looks like it’s not drinkable." Chen Ze silently stored the pot of soup in the warehouse stone, sighing deeply.

Dragon Worm Soup doesn’t seem to go well with Void Ginseng.