Chef (9)

[⏰⏰⏰Ding!⏰⏰⏰]

[Waystation Task (Daily): Make a Meal at the Waystation and Feed the Guard Dog!]

⏰⏰⏰⏰Time Remaining: 2:45:36⏰⏰⏰⏰

[Description: Make sure to feed the guard dog an edible meal made in the waystation.]

[Penalty: 💀Permanent Termination of Employment💀]

Cyril woke up in a completely groggy state, staring at the flashing holographic screen in front of his eyes.

Oh yeah. There was that task to feed the silly dog.

His thoughts were completely blurry as he tried to wake up fully. It was just that this was the most perfect sleep in his life, and right now, he was warm, cozy, and could do it again if it weren't for the obnoxious task message.

The time continued running downwards as he yawned before reluctantly heading to the bathroom to do his morning(?) routine. After a hot shower that scalded him pink, toweling off with a soft towel, and wearing comfortable white clothes, he felt completely at peace before heading down.

As he stepped into the bar area, the only person there was Alexei, dressed in a grey suit with a black turtleneck, drinking a liquor bottle from god knows where while fiddling with a tablet.

Alexei poured the liquor directly into his mouth before he began speaking in a grumpy tone that he would never use in public.

"Congrats on not looking like the walking dead anymore. As a side note, I'm hungry."

Naturally, Cyril ignored the nonsense coming out of his mouth.

"Where's the dog?"

"Outside. I think it doesn't like me very much." The words were said with a gentle smile, and Cyril rolled his eyes.

"I don't like you very much either. Didn't you eat?"

"I did. But I'm still hungry, so make me something. Preferably with meat."

"I'm charging you."

"And adding a 50% tip?"

"70% for being annoying."

"Tch Scammer."

At Alexei's snort of annoyance, Cyril laughed.

As he entered the kitchen, the bag given by H.E.L.P. Apocalypse Co was sitting on the ground.

Cyril reached inside, thinking of what he wanted before pulling out the body of the rabbit fox thing and placing it on the sink, following the strange intuition.

The tail was immediately discarded, and then he began processing the rest of the body.

Washing it, draining the excess blood, knowing how to position the knife to get the skin off, and even removing the insides along with the bullets.

Although he wasn't skilled, he was barely strong enough to break through the monster meat, and his clothes had become a red and white tie dye project; with the strange skill guiding him, he got several steak-like pieces that he quickly threw on a pan with salt, pepper, herbs, and butter.

As the meat cooked, a familiar delicious smell similar to lamb filled the room, and Cyril felt his stomach growling hungrily.

"Smells good. Make mine medium. Triple servings, if possible. I also want a salad, no onions." A blond head poked through the doorway and began dictating as if he were at a restaurant.

"You'll eat what I give you." Cyril immediately shut him down.

"Terrible customer service. No wonder the place is empty. I'm dropping my tip down to 10%"

Cyril: ಠ_ಠ

"Get. Out."

"5%"

As the first steak finished, Cyril put it on a plate.

Although he was tempted to eat it, he would first have a good friend taste-test it for poison.

He promptly made a door in the kitchen wall and placed the plate down.

“Here, puppy, puppy, puppy. I made some food.”

The guard dog wasn't in sight, but a quick stretch of his sense alerted him that it was by the lake.

Unbothered, Cyril spoke into the air.

"I made the guard dog some food, and whether it wants to eat it or not, my task should be complete, right? Something respecting free will, right?"

[…………]

[Task is complete.]

Seeing the delayed response, Cyril smiled happily.

After bathing and changing once more, he assembled a salad, cooked more steak, and took some water from the tap, giving it to Alexei and watching him closely.

The moment Alexei took a bite, he began asking questions.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

Munch. Munch.

"How about now?"

"Obviously, the same as five seconds ago."

"Any nausea, stomach pain, numbness, or dizziness?"

At the suspicious barrage of questions, Alexei stopped eating while glaring at him.

"…are you using me as a poison taster?"

"Obviously. Is it delicious? Do you feel poisoned? Any shortness of breath? Or heart palpitations? On a scale of 0-10, how healthy are you?"

Alexei: (ಠ_ಠ)

"0. Just like the tip you're getting."

"Stingy boomer."

Seeing that Alexei wasn't dying and had even moved onto his second plate, Cyril took a small bite.

It was….pretty good?

No pause, it was actually delicious~

Like a high-quality lamb, it was minty and tender and made him want more.

As he began scarfing the meat down…

[🔔Ding!🔔]

[Intern Remote Orientation Task 4: After wasting enough time for fish to evolve into humans and for a star to be born, you have completed the task - Eat and Drink Something Produced at the Waystation!]

[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]

[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]

[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]

[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]

[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]

Enough!

THUD!

As his vision was filled with a rain of wow emojis and confetti, Cyril slammed his fork on the bar top.

Alexei reached for a new plate of steak before breaking the silence.

"Cyril, I let it go earlier, but how are you alive?" the question was asked with complete certainty that he was dead.

"Am I supposed to be dead?"

Blue eyes met amber eyes, and Alexei took a bite of his steak before responding.

"I got a job offer from a sketchy company. The reward was resurrecting someone who had died within the timespan of a week back to life. The offer was brought to me by someone wearing your face. You do the math."

"Does this company name have something to do with four people riding horses?"

"At the roundabout way of speaking, I guess you're acquainted with that sketchy business. Don't tell me you agreed to be an employee? Have I thought you nothing?" Alexei glared at him.

"Well, I'd be dead if I wasn't. And I declined several times but was forcefully recruited."

"….Let me see the contract. if they're claiming to be a corporation, they're bound by the rule of law somewhere." At the attorney-like response, Cyril burst out laughing.

"There's no contract, at least for now, and I've seen what happens if I reject them. I plan on doing my task and then quitting once my time is up. After that, I'll sue them to oblivion."

"What's the task?"

"Run this for a year," Cyril gestured to the entire waystation. "I'm supposed to build it out and complete tasks, and after 365 days, my life is mine."

Alexei was silent for a bit before tapping on the counter….

"Sasha."

"Hmm?"

"Let's be frank with each other."

"Sure."

"You've made a deal for me to guard you for 6 months and probably plan to make me stay for the year?"

"Of course."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Your battle ability is probably subpar, or is it nonexistent?"

"Completely nonexistent outside of this place."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"They forced you into the job?"

"Yep. Faked my voice and everything."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The fork in Alexei's hand slowly tapped against the plate as he stared at something that only he could see.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"What team did you say you were on?"

"Life preservation team."

CRACK-

The plate shattered as Alexei began smiling the gentle smile he was known.

However, his voice was completely vicious.

"You must have completely lost your mind. Should I just blow up everything?"

Cyril: ?????

Alexei didn't respond at all, staring ahead as if reading something before finally meeting his eyes.

"You need to figure out how to make me an extra bedroom. You know my style, and the cost isn't a problem, but I'd like it to be self-contained. I'll pay upfront. The duration is a year, give or take. So charge me for the room you're using now and the new one. Of course, a 50% tip is included. When I come back, we can settle up, including food."

Alexei stood up and began walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"It seems that I need to go quit my new job with the president. And get some items."

"Before you quit, I need you to take me somewhere."

"Where?"

"Before that…was the food filling? Comparable to what you ate given by the government? Still feeling hungry?"

Alexei was silent for a moment as if gauging his body.

"I'd say about 20-30% more filling. It's tastier too."

"Okay. Then, I need you to take me to Costco. And any warehouse grocery store in the area."

"Why?"

As Cyril glanced at his next task and the new employee store that had just opened, he smiled mischievously.

"Secret."

"You look like you're about to scam somebody."

"I prefer the term creatively earning money."

Unlike his usual scowl, Cyril had a bright smile on his face that displayed how good of a mood he was in.