Chapter 13 Grilled Fish
[Extreme Cold Disaster: Day 6, Temperature: -30℃, Number of Players: 8653/10000]
Zhu Yu rarely got up early today.
Ever since Jing Miao was hired as the receptionist, she could finally relax a little and even sleep more soundly.
As soon as she woke up, her habit remained unchanged. The first thing she did was to check the temperature changes and the survival status of the players.
The number of players was still stable, but when she saw that the temperature outside had dropped to -30℃, she couldn't help but frown slightly.
"With this temperature, it seems we need to update the furniture in the shelter and the hot pot restaurant."
Zhu Yu thought for a moment, opened the system mall and searched for suitable items.
Soon she found a blue quality thermal floor.
This floor has an additional warming function, which can effectively isolate the cold, reduce the loss of player's body temperature through heating, and prevent the invasion of cold air on the soles of the feet.
After seeing the introduction of the item, Zhu Yu felt happy. Isn’t this a floor with built-in underfloor heating?
Without hesitation, she spent 1,200 gold coins to replace the floors of the shelter and hot pot restaurant with blue-quality floors that had an additional warmth-retaining effect.
The new floor had just been laid. Zhu Yu got out of bed and the warmth immediately spread to his feet through the soles of his shoes.
She took a few tentative steps, and sure enough, she felt warm with each step, just like walking on a white beach bathed in sunlight.
Zhu Yu then spent another 250 gold coins to exchange the inflatable sofa he brought from camping for a blue quality plush sofa.
The introduction of this sofa is: it is made of thick plush material, which is soft and comfortable, and has a warm effect.
When sitting on the couch, the player's body temperature will gradually rise, which is perfect for a short break or nap.
Zhu Yu thinks this sofa is especially suitable for her to relax after returning from fighting monsters.
After purchasing the new furniture, Zhu Yu went to the bathroom to wash up briefly, and then went to the hot pot restaurant for breakfast.
When she arrived at the store, she happened to meet Jing Miao who was also there for breakfast. The two greeted each other, then found a table and sat down to order food together.
Four new snacks were just released last night, and this time the snacks still have corresponding additional effects.
[Ice Powder: Reduces player fatigue by 10%, lasts for 35 minutes. Trigger rate: 20%.
Tomato Borscht: Increases player strength by +1 for 40 minutes. Trigger rate: 30%.
Red Bean and Barley Porridge: The player becomes immune to cold effects for 1 hour. Trigger rate: 25%.
Fennel Fritters: Increases player movement speed by 5%, lasts for 30 minutes. Trigger rate: 20%. 】
Zhu Yu had a bowl of hot red bean porridge, while Jing Miao chose hot borscht, and they also shared a plate of fennel fried dough sticks.
Since they had just woken up and their stomachs had not yet fully moved, the two of them tacitly agreed not to choose cold desserts such as ice jelly.
Not long after breakfast, it was opening time for the hot pot restaurant. Customers gradually started to come to the restaurant. Jing Miao was busy at the front desk, while Zhu Yu was not in a hurry to go out and fight monsters.
Her last fishing attempt failed halfway, so she decided to go to the river again today to see if she could catch some fish and shrimp to improve her diet. After all, she was a little tired of eating hot pot recently.
She walked to the place where she had prepared to cast the net last time with ease and threw fish food and fishing nets into the water.
Looking at the ripples on the water, Zhu Yu suddenly remembered that it was daytime. If she left the net there, some players might come and take advantage of it.
So she squatted in the bushes nearby, observing her surroundings vigilantly, always paying attention to whether there were any players approaching, while hoping that a few fat fish would swim into the net.
However, as time passed, the water surface remained calm and there was no movement in the net.
Zhu Yu frowned, feeling a little confused.
She collected the net, changed her position and cast the net again to scatter fish food.
The result was still unsatisfactory, and the nets were always empty-handed after several attempts.
The cold air made her fingers a little stiff, and she couldn't help feeling a little impatient.
996, who had been observing her quietly for a long time, finally couldn't help but speak:
"Host, you won't catch anything if you keep going this way. Go 200 meters upstream. There are a lot of fish and shrimps there. Try that way."
After 996 finished speaking, he seemed to be worried about something, and the ball of light disappeared in the air.
Zhu Yu called it a few times and found that it was pretending to be dead in the system space again.
But 996's words are still quite valuable. She put away her fishing net, followed the advice, and walked 200 meters upstream along the river bank.
When she arrived at the new location, she cast her net again and waited patiently.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the net started to feel heavy.
Zhu Yu carefully pulled up the net and saw that there were not only a few fat fish in it, but also a few lively shrimps.
She was delighted and decided to use these fresh ingredients to make a spicy grilled fish today.
After returning to the shelter, Zhu Yu first processed the fish, scraped off the scales, removed the internal organs, and then rinsed it with clean water.
Then she went to a hot pot restaurant and ordered a few dipping saucers. She poured the onion, garlic and other seasonings on the fish, spread them evenly, and set them aside for them to absorb the flavors.
At the same time, Zhu Yu dug out the various tools she had used to grill fish when she went camping.
She skillfully turned on the gas stove, placed the pot on it, and gently put the marinated fish into the pot. With a "sizzling" sound, the surface of the fish began to turn golden and crispy.
She turned the fish carefully, making sure each side was evenly cooked and fried until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
After the fish was almost fried, she added a piece of spicy beef oil base she bought from the hot pot restaurant.
As the butter gradually melted, the air was filled with a spicy aroma.
The fish skin gradually becomes crispy and shiny, and the aroma of the fish meat becomes more tempting with the help of chili oil.
Zhu Yu would occasionally use a brush to apply some of the chili oil from the bottom of the pot on the fish to ensure that the spicy flavor penetrated deeply into the fish meat.
Then she added shrimp and some of the vegetables she likes to pair with grilled fish, such as baby cabbage, bamboo shoots and squid, which she also bought from the hot pot restaurant.
After the fish and ingredients were all cooked, she returned to the hot pot restaurant and got a serving of osmanthus wine jelly and a serving of sweet and sour pineapple jelly.
When Zhu Yu met Jing Miao in the store, he smiled and invited her to eat grilled fish together, but Jing Miao shook her head and refused her because she couldn't eat anything spicy.
However, Xiaoju, who was playing, heard the noise and immediately meowed at her.
Zhu Yuteng reached out her hand to rub Xiaoju's belly, then took out two small fish from the bucket that she had specially reserved for Xiaoju.
"Go eat now."
Xiaoju rubbed Zhu Yu's hand happily, then ran to the side with the fish in its mouth and started to enjoy its delicious meal.
After returning to the shelter, Zhu Yu couldn't wait to pick up a piece of fish and put it into his mouth. He was instantly conquered by the rich and spicy taste.
The skin is crispy on the outside, and the tender fish meat on the inside has a hint of numbing flavor. The spicy taste goes straight to the tip of the tongue, and the bright red luster of the fish body makes people's appetite increase at the sight of it, and people can't help but eat one bite after another.
Eat grilled fish with a spoonful of ice jelly; the cool sweetness neutralizes the spicy stimulation and instantly soothes the taste buds.
Just as Zhu Yu was enjoying her lunch, System 996 suddenly appeared. A white ball of light slowly floated in front of her.
"Wow, this grilled fish looks delicious." There was a hint of envy in the mechanical voice of 996, and the ball of light floated up and down.
"Of course, I made this myself, so it must be delicious. Otherwise, why would I have worked so hard to catch fish this morning?"
Zhu Yu picked up a piece of soup-soaked squid and handed it to 996, saying jokingly, "Come, smell it. It counts as tasting it. After all, you contributed a lot to this fish."
996 light ball moved slightly closer and sniffed pretentiously: "Hmm, it smells really good! Host, your cooking skills are indeed amazing."
"By the way," Zhu Yu was eating grilled fish when he suddenly remembered something and said to 996, "I noticed that every time you gave me a hint, you were sneaky and disappeared immediately after you finished speaking, as if you were afraid of being caught by someone."
"I can't help it." 996's light ball flickered slightly. "The monitoring mechanism of the game is too strict. I can't reveal too much information casually."
Zhu Yu lowered her head and thought about it. It seemed that her guess was correct. The system itself must have its own tasks, otherwise 996 would not have to take the risk to give her these reminders.
She picked up a piece of asparagus from the pot and continued, "I didn't expect that even your system was bound by the rules of the game. I thought you were all in the same group."
996 did not notice the temptation in Zhu Yu's words. Seeing that Zhu Yu seemed a little disappointed, it shook the ball of light and comforted him: "Host, don't worry. As long as you work hard to upgrade, my energy will increase. When the energy is enough, I can materialize, and then we can discuss the game openly."
Oh? Zhu Yu paused, raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "It seems that I have to work harder to kill monsters and level up, so that I can see you materialize sooner."
She chatted with 996 for a few more words, then finished the last bite of grilled fish and put down her chopsticks with satisfaction.
She glanced at the still cold weather outside and put the pots and dishes in order.
"Okay, now that we've had enough to eat and drink, it's time to go out and kill monsters and level up."
Zhu Yu glanced at his experience value progress bar. After a few days of hard work, he was only less than fifty experience points away from successfully advancing to the next level.
Just as she opened the curtain of the shelter and prepared to go out, a voice suddenly came to her ear: "Zhu Yu, you'd better save more money. There will be a big update in the middle of the dungeon, and it will be useful then."
These words seemed to float along with the wind and snow, and instantly dissipated in the cold air.
Zhu Yu almost thought she was hallucinating, but she quickly realized that this was 996 secretly giving her a hint again.
She silently took note of the information, then put on her coat, put on her mask, picked up her bow and arrow, and walked quickly into the snow outside.
Her luck was not good this time. She searched in the snow forest for a long time before she encountered an E-level monster.
Fortunately, she defeated it easily with a few moves and finally successfully upgraded her level to D.
Zhu Yu checked his new level and felt happy.
However, when she clicked on the hot pot encyclopedia, she immediately decided to stop fighting monsters and walked towards the hot pot restaurant.
Because of this upgrade, the hot pot restaurant unlocked her favorite tomato soup base!
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