APTnovel Chapter 311 Collapse
Chapter 311 Collapse
Chapter 311 Collapse
The people of Daman City are always warm and welcoming.
Alchemists are an exception.
Scholars pour all their passion into knowledge, and therefore they often lack empathy for people.
Therefore, François disliked staying in the Deathstroke Alchemist's underground laboratory, but he didn't mind being ordered around by others.
However, most of them are arrogant and conceited, and indifferent to others.
François constantly felt ostracized, even though it might have been a misperception.
However, this dislike was by no means a misperception.
Therefore, whenever he had the chance, François would linger outside the laboratory.
The time spent going out to buy groceries was undoubtedly the happiest time of François's day.
He could walk on bustling, noisy streets, blushing as he looked at the belly buttons of the girls on the street, and occasionally sneak in some street performances for free.
He can also use the moon language of his feet to communicate with the locals.
Oh! Of course, you must be careful not to get scammed by the people here!
It may not be fair to say that they are full of lies, but it is certainly not an exaggeration to say that they often do not tell the truth.
François never forgot why he came to this land.
He is a chef, and he must hone his culinary skills.
François is Duke Kethy's man. If he can master the art of cooking, he should be able to return to the kingdom, right?
Daman City is great in every way, except for one thing: it's not his hometown.
The people here speak a language that François cannot fully understand, believe in gods that François has never heard of, and celebrate festivals that he has never experienced.
The cultural gap caused François a great deal of struggle.
Therefore, even though he was a weak man, he would occasionally secretly resent Mr. Mosley.
It was he who left François alone on this land.
So, François wanted to go back.
And now, he has started learning to cook.
François arrived at a two-story house and knocked on the door.
Soon, a woman with a small mole on the corner of her mouth opened the door.
Yelena greeted François with a broad smile the moment she saw him:
"Oh! Mr. François, you've come!"
"Yes, madam," François greeted Yelena with a bow, "I hope I haven't disturbed you?"
"Oh! Of course not, I was counting on you to help operate the stove, you know," Yelena said, shaking the child in her arms. "A mother can never manage everything."
"Okay, then I'll come in."
François met Ylena at the vegetable market, where the vendor was planning to sell him an ingredient he had never seen before at a high price.
Yelena suddenly stood behind François, exposing the boss's despicable behavior and restoring justice for François.
François remembered her kindness.
Then one day, he happened to see several men who were planning to corner Lady Yelena in an alley.
François was worried, but also afraid of getting involved.
Finally, he mustered his courage and, pretending he had just noticed, greeted Yelena loudly.
The men immediately left Yelena.
Yelena thanked François and invited him to her home.
François was really bad at saying no, and in the end, Yelena dragged him home.
She greeted him with a nod that François had never tasted before.
François was captivated by the deliciousness and immediately asked Yelena what it was.
Yelena said it was a cream cake.
At that moment, François found the meaning of his visit.
And I made up my mind to learn how to make butter cakes.
If he lets the Duke of Cassius taste the cream cake, the latter will probably never drive François away.
François immediately asked Ylena to teach him how to make the cake.
Yelena readily agreed and led François to the kitchen.
Making cakes requires a special oven, and François wanted the Duke of Kethy's grand castle to have one as well.
After that, François began learning to make all sorts of cakes at Ylena's house.
François later learned that Yelena's husband loved cake, and the two had met in a cake shop.
Therefore, she often made cakes, troubling her husband.
However, Yelena also frequently complained to François:
"Everything has gone wrong since the baby was born. I feel like I'm going crazy every day. Everything is in chaos."
"My husband is completely inconsiderate of me. He's never home, and when he does come home, he takes care of the kids and then just collapses into bed—"
François had no children and had never even been in contact with a woman, so he couldn't really understand Yelena's thoughts.
As for why her husband had become like this, François couldn't explain it either.
So François could only listen and then operate the furnace according to Ylena's instructions.
At this moment, the two had already arrived in the kitchen.
François began beating eggs, kneading dough, and preparing all the ingredients needed to make the cake.
Yelena said, "Today I'll teach you how to make caramel cake."
"caramel?"
"It's a slightly bitter sugar that needs to be caramelized from regular sugar until it's slightly browned," Yelena said. "This requires a lot of skill in controlling the heat, and it's not easy to master. However, you should be able to learn it."
After all, François had been a chef for many years, and mastering the control of heat was a basic skill for him.
He nodded to Yelena, and then began to operate according to her instructions.
As he finished making the cake base and put it into the oven, the child in Yelena's arms suddenly woke up.
She went outside the kitchen to soothe the child.
For now, all that's needed is to wait, François strolled around the kitchen.
This kitchen isn't big, but it's not just for making cakes; it also has a regular stove.
The vegetable basket next to it was filled with a lot of ingredients.
Some of these ingredients are also frequently used in alchemy. For example, lettuce and atractylodes macrocephala can only be used as alchemical materials for food. Their medicinal properties are generally not strong, and they are used as auxiliary ingredients.
And tomatoes, which are an ingredient found only in the Far East.
It has a slightly sour taste, yet also a fruity aroma.
However, François felt that the taste would be even better if the acidity of the tomatoes could be neutralized during cooking.
Tomato juice is also an ingredient in some alchemical medicines, and it is quite commonly used.
Another item worth mentioning is sugar.
François had known about the existence of sugar for a long time, but he only came into contact with it after arriving in the Far East.
In the Kingdom of Giants, sugar seems to be a luxury.
Because of its irresistible sweetness, yet extremely difficult to produce, it is very expensive and generally only affordable to nobles and wealthy merchants.
Generally speaking, the kingdom's chefs use honey instead of sugar.
However, the situation is completely different in the Far East.
Sugar is not only inexpensive, but there are also countless processed sugar products.
Therefore, even ordinary people like Yelena would keep sugar in their homes.
The federal government appears to have mastered an efficient way to produce sugar, but it also restricts the export of sugar and its derivatives, thus controlling the price of sugar.
Unless it is impacted by something, the Federation's hegemonic position in "sugar" will remain unshakable.
What can impact sugar?
François racked his brains, but could only think of spices.
The crying subsided, and François thought that Yelena's child must be asleep.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
No one had ever knocked on Yelena's door during François's visit.
Who is it?
If he were Yelena's husband, wouldn't it be polite for him to say hello?
With that in mind, François went to the living room.
Yelena went to open the door, and the two nodded to each other.
Just as the door was about to spring open, a powerful force suddenly pushed it open.
Several men dressed in colorful robes rushed into the room.
Yelena, her brow furrowed, demanded, "Who are you?"
The other person did not answer, but locked the door after entering.
They sat down on the chairs without waiting for Yelena to greet them.
Yelena frowned: "What do you want to do?"
The men stared at Yelena for a moment, then turned to François and chuckled mockingly.
"Your husband is cheating on you with other women, and you bring men home too? You two are a match made in heaven!"
Yelena roared, "My relationship with him isn't what you think! And what about your claim that my husband is having an affair?"
"He tricked our boss's daughter and defiled her," the leader said. "He's been arrested by our boss now."
"You set him up!" Yelena shouted, her voice trembling.
"You'd set up a scheme involving our boss's daughter?" The man's eyes widened menacingly. "The boss is furious and has already ordered him castrated."
But this isn't over yet. Hey woman, do you want your husband to come back alive?
Yelena burst into tears and knelt before them:
"Why are you so cruel? What do you want? You want compensation? I'll give you the money right now!"
The man smiled and said, "Compensation is of course required, but let's keep things separate. Since he dared to lay a hand on someone else's daughter, it would be unfair if his own woman didn't suffer some kind of consequence."
Yelena fell backward to the ground: "W-what do you want to do?"
The man didn't explain, he just waved his hand, and the others rushed forward and pinned him to the ground.
"This~"
Then came the sound of clothes being torn.
The man said, "You have to take good care of all of us."
Yelena began to cry helplessly, and finally, she turned her gaze to François.
Then the others turned to François as well.
"Don't do that, Madame Yelena," François thought uneasily. "I have nothing to do with this!"
François was terrified. He backed away repeatedly, accidentally retreating back into the kitchen. He quickly closed the door and leaned against it.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry, madam," François thought uneasily, "I can't help you."
Immediately, he heard mocking laughter coming from outside the door:
"Haha, you expect that fat pig to save you? He's probably even more cowardly than a pig! Relax, madam, you might even feel more comfortable."
François plugged his ears and walked away from the door.
He went to the oven and found that the bread dough had burned, so he quickly turned off the oven and took it out.
Then he saw the ingredients in the vegetable basket.
François suddenly remembered that these ingredients might be able to make a bottle of alchemical potion.
Of course, he didn't have a ready-made recipe.
However, the book "Basic Alchemy" states that one need not be bound by a specific formula in order to create alchemical potions with a certain effect.
Therefore, complex things are all made up of simple things.
Certain special things, when combined, can produce unexpected results.
It's important to remember these exceptions; in fact, recipes can be derived and rewritten.
Similarly, alchemy is best performed with the right tools and in the right environment.
But these are not the core of alchemy; they are merely icing on the cake.
In the process of alchemy, the most important things are often the most basic things.
François walked toward the ingredients.
If we could concoct a potion, it might save Lady Yelena.
She taught François how to make many different cakes, but François never had the chance to express his gratitude or repay her.
However, François had never practiced alchemy before. Could he really use these ingredients to concoct an alchemical potion without a recipe?
François lacked confidence, but he still followed his intuition and began to give it a try.
Well, François thought, just treat this as a cooking session.
He started preparing the ingredients, lighting the fire, adding water to the large pot, and then throwing all the ingredients in.
"don't want!"
"Damn it! She dares to resist! Hold her down!"
The noise outside was getting louder and louder, but alchemy takes time, could it be done faster?
The book "Basic Alchemy" states that an alchemist's determination can often catalyze the creation of alchemical elixirs.
Am I not determined enough?
François approached the large pot and continued to get closer until, before he could react, his hand was already gripping the scalding pot.
He was startled and quickly pulled his hand away.
But they discovered that he wasn't burned at all.
He tried again, and it was the same.
I'm no longer afraid of high temperatures?
François found it incredible, yet he felt a sudden weakness.
It was as if that giant cauldron was rapidly draining his energy.
Just seconds later, a purple mushroom cloud shot out of the pot.
He stared back.
What was originally a large pot of contents is now reduced to a small amount of bubbling, yellowish-green liquid.
François caught the liquid in a cup; he knew it was enough to kill the people outside.
But we must be careful not to accidentally hurt Lady Yelena.
François pushed open the door, and one of the men had already pulled out his dirty things.
François immediately splashed some liquid on him, and he screamed in agony.
Seeing this, the others attempted to attack François.
François then used the alchemical potion in his hand to kill them all.
At this moment, François's pounding heart finally calmed down.
This is absolutely terrifying.
But Lady Elena must be even more afraid.
François picked up her torn clothes to cover her up.
But to François's surprise, Yelena pulled him over and hugged him tightly.
Yelena began to weep.
François tried to comfort her: "It's alright, madam."
"It's over, everything is over, this family is finished."
Upon hearing this, François dared not offer any further words of comfort.
In this situation, it's hard to believe how things can possibly get better.
Therefore, he sadly left Yelena to rely on.
Suddenly, François felt something soft on his lips.
He was startled, stared wide-eyed at Yelena, and quickly pushed her away.
"What are you doing, madam!"
Yelena pounced on him, saying, "François, take me."
"This...this...how can this be? You have a husband!"
"So what? He slept with other women and ruined this family. Can't I get my revenge?"
But François thought, I am innocent!
By the time he realized what was happening, Yelena was already taking off his clothes.
"Madam, please don't do this—"
"don't want--"
"No....·
"Hmm—."