When Yu Mian mentioned the small game in his live broadcast, quite a few viewers immediately reacted.
[I’ve played it! It’s really fun. I spent an entire afternoon grinding and cleared all the current levels. I even collected all the available ingredients!]
[It’s just a shame that it’s incomplete. But was this game developed by Huanyu? The quality is so high it feels like an official release. Teacher Fish Soup Noodles actually played it too?]
“It’s because Huanyu is indeed considering developing a game adaptation for the new book. We’ve been trying to contact the developer but haven’t been able to reach them. If you’re watching the live broadcast, could you message me privately?”
After Yu Mian seriously extended the invitation, Derqin hesitated, repeatedly opening and closing the private message window, struggling with the decision.
Derqin, a mysterious and independent freelance developer in the industry, had come to Federation Star purely out of a passion for programming. Among the elves, he was an anomaly.
It all started when he accidentally stumbled upon a live broadcast from Federation Star and ended up reading “God of Cooking”. From then on, he became deeply captivated by the interstellar pastoral life described in the book.
In fact, Yu Mian’s new book “God of Cooking” had the potential to strongly appeal to a particular race…
The elves, who had always loved nature!
As a cyber elf who had left his people to live on Federation Star, Derqin felt an overwhelming emptiness after binge-reading the entire book. He wished it could go on for thousands more chapters so he could keep indulging in it.
So, he put his professional skills to use, burned through half a month of effort, and created a fan-made game, which he uploaded to star network.
He never expected that his favorite author would actually notice it.
But he really didn’t want too much contact with the Federation people.
After all, based on his experiences, his elven appearance would always cause unnecessary trouble and entanglements whenever he met others in person.
Just as Derqin was struggling with whether or not to reach out, an incredibly rich aroma suddenly filled the live broadcast, even affecting the barrage.
Because Yu Mian had started cooking hotpot!
Various fresh and delicious ingredients were placed into the copper hotpot one after another. As they sizzled in the soup base and were then dipped into the pre-mixed sauces, the taste was simply indescribable.
[So this is hotpot?! This lamb roll is so delicious, and even the bamboo shoots, tofu, and carrots taste amazing when dipped in sauce!]
[It looks both fun and delicious. You get to cook it yourself, then fish it out and eat it while it’s steaming hot. It seems like the perfect meal for a family gathering during the holidays!]
[The best part is that this doesn’t even test your cooking skills. As long as the soup base is prepared and the sauces are ready, all you have to do is cook the ingredients in the hotpot!]
“Be careful, everyone. It might be really hot. For this giveaway, we’ll be sending out a set with both types of soup bases and a variety of ingredients. The Food Research Institute has also sponsored a hundred copper hot pots which will be sent out as well.”
Yu Mian smiled as he gave the reminder, watching the barrage flood with comments from people who had burned their tongues but were still exclaiming about the taste.
As food live broadcasts gained popularity, the sales of various ingredients from the Food Research Institute had indeed increased a lot.
More and more interstellar residents, who once found cooking too troublesome, started becoming curious and trying various cooking methods.
Some followed the recipes in “God of Cooking”, while others even started innovating, a result the Food Research Institute hadn’t anticipated but welcomed.
[Cilantro~ Cilantro! Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, we haven’t added cilantro yet! I really want to try it!]
As the live broadcast room’s viewership continued to climb, someone quickly reminded Yu Mian not to forget about the cilantro sitting off to the side.
“Ahem, alright, let’s add some cilantro next. But don’t rush to try it immediately because some people might not like it…”
However, for some overly eager fans, Yu Mian’s warning came too late. As soon as the cilantro was dipped into the soup and coated in sauce, countless foodies rushed to experience its virtual taste.
And the moment they did, the already lively live broadcast room exploded.
[Fuck, this is terrifying, wuuu. What is this taste?! It’s so weird! Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Teacher, did we put in the wrong ingredient?! (clings to Teacher Fish Soup Noodles while crying)]
[Oh my god, I have found my true love! Cilantro is really fragrant and delicious! Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, hurry up and throw the whole bowl in!]
The two completely opposite reactions immediately sparked curiosity among the viewers who hadn’t yet tried it.
What kind of magical ingredient could cause such extreme reactions?
They had to taste it too!
With curiosity at its peak, more and more fans tried the cilantro, prompting even several acquaintances to pop up in the barrage.
[Noel: Help! What is this bizarre taste? I…I need to drink a few cups of milk tea to cleanse my palate!]
[Interstellar Medal: I actually think it’s delicious? The hotpot Soup base really brings out the fragrance…it’s a strange but amazing taste!]
[Lilith: So weird. (crying)]
The feedback from Noel and the others made many of their fans extremely curious and they rushed to the live broadcast room to see what was so magical.
[Hahahahaha, my god, even Miss Lilith thinks it’s weird?]
[As expected, Teacher Stellar Medal has always had a heavy taste!]
[I really wish God Noel would start a live broadcast so we could see his reaction to eating cilantro! But honestly, I actually kind of like the taste?]
Under the extremely polarized situation, the popularity of the topic #DoesCilantroTasteGood?# skyrocketed, even surpassing the popularity of the hotpot itself.
“Uh… despite everything, our cilantro stock somehow sold out?”
The Food Research Institute was completely caught off guard by the outcome.
Most people had loudly claimed to dislike it, yet somehow, cilantro had sold out almost instantly?
Was this Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ powerful ability to sell products?
[It’s because I won’t buy something that tastes bad, I have to buy something that tastes so bad that it’s legendary and try it for myself! I need to see what was awful enough to make God Noel sound like he was in pain! Hahaha!]
[Same! I’m just too curious about what cilantro actually tastes like. And will Lu Zhen end up cooking cilantro dishes in “God of Cooking”? That would definitely shock a lot of people. (smirking while waiting for the update).]
[No, no, no. I think everyone should stay far away from cilantro eaters. If they can eat cilantro, who knows if their next step will be eating people! (hugging head with fear)]
The cilantro controversy escalated far beyond what even Yu Mian had expected, reaching several times the popularity of past food-related hot searches.
Even the serialization of “God Of Cooking” saw a surge in attention, with countless people expressing their anticipation for Lu Zhen’s inevitable cilantro dish.
Moreover, Yu Mian gave away 100 servings of hotpot in the final live broadcast lottery, and the envy, jealousy and hatred these 100 lucky winners received were unprecedented.
One winner even started live broadcasting his tasting session, and the moment his face twisted upon trying the cilantro, the screenshots created a great comedic effect.
“Everyone, please be rational. Don’t force yourself to eat something you don’t like.”
At the end of the live broadcast, Yu Mian chuckled as he reminded the many fans who were already trying it at home.
[But Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, do you like it?]
“Uh… I guess I’m neutral? There are actually a lot of different cilantro-based dishes, and when used just right, the taste can be pretty good.”
“But this guy can’t eat it at all.”
As Yu Mian tidied up, he pointed at Huo Ting beside him, making the barrage lively once again.
[Hahaha, okay, okay, it turns out I actually have something in common with Boss Huo…we all hate cilantro!]
