Chapter 41: The Omni-Kitchen

Because the raw materials for making seasonings were limited, all the seasoning workshops ceased operations after working for about an hour.

Opening the regional chat channel, she found it flooded with introductions and discussions about The Supreme Shop.

"Boss Rhodes is still the ultimate badass. I can’t believe she brought out so many good things all at once."

"I used to be a total carnivore. I never ate a single bite of vegetables because I always thought they tasted weird. This is the first time I’ve ever found vegetables so delicious. You can just eat them plain! Seriously, I’m not exaggerating at all."

"My Talent is Appraisal. These vegetables are all mutated varieties. They’re huge, taste great, and are incredibly nutritious. They’re perfect for the elderly and kids. It’s just a pity that the quantities are so small."

"Definitely too small. I only managed to snatch two cabbage leaves."

...

Reading through these comments, Lily Rhodes felt extremely satisfied. Then, she checked today’s harvest and felt even more pleased. Aside from Crystal Cores, she had also received two Skill Books: the Fireball Technique and the Fire Spray Skill. Both were Fire Element Skill Books.

Originally, she wanted to learn them, but because she had already learned Water Control—a Water Element skill—the System determined there was an elemental conflict, making her unable to learn Fire Element Skill Books.

"I didn’t expect this kind of restriction."

Lily frowned but wasn’t too disappointed. After all, she didn’t really like these two skills to begin with; she only wanted to learn them to increase her overall strength. Since she couldn’t, she decided to let it go.

She let out a yawn. Having stayed up all night, a heavy wave of drowsiness washed over her. Without even bothering to eat breakfast, she headed straight back to her room to sleep.

Sleeping all the way until two in the afternoon, Lily finally opened her eyes and stretched lazily in bed.

Instead of getting up immediately, she opened the backend of The Supreme Emporium. The vegetables, fruits, and seasonings had sold out long ago, but the tools and clothes produced in The Commons Workshop were still highly popular. People were constantly buying them, and the demand had even reached the point where pre-orders were required. As for the Healing Water, many were scrambling to purchase it as well—especially the Healing Essence. While she was asleep, it had been traded for quite a few items, including the remaining two fragments of The Omni-Kitchen.

As these two fragments of The Omni-Kitchen appeared, a prompt popped up in front of her.

[You now possess five fragments of The Omni-Kitchen. Do you wish to synthesize them?]

"Yes."

In the next second, a miniature version of a kitchen materialized before her.

[Detected that your vehicle is a special vehicle. Do you choose to integrate The Omni-Kitchen?]

The previous two structures hadn’t offered such an option. Although confused, Lily still selected "Yes." After all, this was The Omni-Kitchen. Since it was "omni," it should be able to cook automatically, right?

Following that, she quickly scanned the other traded items. Among them were several types of seeds, specifically for mutated plants. Golden Rice, Green Wheat, and Blood Velvet Garlic. The first two were staple foods that could rapidly restore Energy when consumed.

They had arrived in this world as Survivors, but ever since awakening their Talents, their bodies had begun to evolve. The most obvious sign of this evolution was an increase in appetite. The portions of food they once couldn’t finish were now barely enough to tide them over. At times like this, foods that inherently contained Energy became the top choice for Survivors. Blood Velvet Garlic, on the other hand, could temporarily boost combat power and explosive strength when eaten. These were all excellent mutated seeds.

With a mere thought, she sent the three types of seeds to the vegetable plot to be planted. Then, she executed a swift kip-up, springing off the bed. Slipping on her slippers, she trotted down to the first floor to see just how "omni" her newly acquired The Omni-Kitchen really was.

Upon reaching the first floor, Lily’s initial reaction was that the kitchen had expanded in size. It was now filled with various cooking utensils—some she recognized, and others she vaguely didn’t. The moment she stepped inside, a panel popped up in front of her again.

[Currently available dishes: Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Sliced Meat in Chili Oil, Stir-fried Seasonal Vegetables, Fruit Platter, Steamed...]

"I can actually order off a menu." Seeing this, Lily’s eyes lit up. "Then I’ll have a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, sliced meat in chili oil, a random vegetable stir-fry, a fruit platter, and a bowl of rice."

Her stomach had been growling in protest for a while now. The Omni-Kitchen worked incredibly fast. In less than ten minutes, all the dishes she ordered were served on the table.

Looking at the exquisite meal before her—perfect in color, aroma, and taste—her appetite surged. She scarfed everything down like a whirlwind, clearing the table completely. Full and hydrated, she slumped into her chair and let out a satisfied burp. With her stomach satisfied and her body replenished with ample Energy, her mind became clearer.

Given her current situation, because she needed to build a defensive wall, she was still desperately short on Crystal Cores despite having earned so many. If she wanted to quickly gather the required number of Crystal Cores for the wall, she had to exhaust every possible method to make money. Now that she had The Supreme Shop, her income had skyrocketed, but it still wasn’t enough.

Lily looked over at the automated kitchen currently washing the dishes. Perhaps, this was another selling point. With this in mind, she first opened the Advanced Supplies Exchange Group. Although there were few people in this chat, every single one of them was a premium client. She absolutely couldn’t give them up.

Rhodes: "I’m planning to launch a three-meals-a-day catering package in The Supreme Shop. Do you guys want to subscribe?"

Anyway, Lily’s identity had long ceased to be a secret to these people.

Vaughn: "A three-meals-a-day package? Tell us more."

Rhodes: "Basically, you place an order with me, and I take care of your three meals a day. The subscription starts at a minimum of one month. The packages are divided into individual and family plans. For the individual plan, you’ll get at least three dishes and one soup per meal every day.

"For the family plan, you need to provide the number of family members.

"If you have a bigger appetite, you can request extra portions in the notes, but it will cost extra."

Lily’s pitch quickly caught the interest of the others.

Grant: "Interesting. Payable in Crystal Cores?"

Rhodes: "Of course. Would you like to subscribe, Mr. Grant?"

Grant: "How many Crystal Cores for a family plan?"

Rhodes: "That depends on the number of your family members and their appetites. You can also mention any dietary restrictions. I’ll release ten slots in The Supreme Shop in a bit. If you guys want to subscribe, just grab one there."

Just as Lily finished typing and was about to close the chat, Mr. Hayes suddenly spoke up.

Hayes: "Everyone, there might be changes in the weather recently. Be careful."

As soon as he sent that, the others immediately initiated transfers—one hundred Crystal Cores per person. Seeing this, Lily followed suit and sent a hundred Crystal Cores as well.

This was the rule of this group: any information could be shared, but it came with a price. Mr. Hayes’s news just now was a prime example.

It seemed their next challenge would be a trial by weather.

And that was exactly what Lily worried about the most.