SailorStar9: Well, I've uploaded Chapter 12, and here's Chapter 13. So, read and review. Come on boys and girls, is it so hard for you to leave a review other than putting this on your favorited lists and alerts?

Disclaimers: Me no own, you no sue.

Chapter 12: The Decisive Catfish Noodles

"Is it okay to use that?" Mei Li wondered, seeing Mao take the dried cuttlefish from its serving tray.

"Maybe." Mao replied.

"Maybe?" Mei Li echoed. "When did you ever use it? In Szuchuan, maybe?"

"Today's the first time I'm using it." Mao admitted. "But I tasted it once in a dish before. But it should work. I'm sure of it." with that, he set to work.

"Time is up!" Reika declared.

"I somehow managed to finish it." Mao breathed in relief.

"It's now midnight and the mock noodles are ready." Reika addressed the contestants. "We will begin the grading. We will use a mutual grading system. You will taste each other's dishes and then give them a grade. This means, you're both an examiner as well as an examinee."

"I see." Fei noted. "This is indeed a fitting method for the Super Chef Exam.

"That's right." Mao realized the same this. "Until now, I was concerned about making delicious dishes. But if I can't properly assess the dishes of others, then I am not qualified to be a Super Chef."

"Based on your palate, you will rate each dish on a scale between one to ten," Reika explained. "The grading will be done after all the dishes are tasted. Che Lin will go first. Everyone else, please take a seat." she gestured to the chaired around the round table placed before them.

"This is..." Mao blinked, seeing the jet black noodles on the plate before him. "The noodles are completely black.

"This is squid ink vermicelli." Che Lin replied. "The 'noodles' are actually fried vermicelli, which is made of powdered rice. The dark color is added to the noodles by adding in some squid ink, wine and seasoning. As the calligraphy suggests, noodles are made by kneading wheat flour and stretching it out over a flat surface. However, my noodles are different. It's made of rice flour and formed through the power of gunpowder. This is how I fulfilled the conditions for mock noodles. Please have a taste."

"Rice and squid ink, huh?" Tang mused and took a bite, before he and Huang were feverishly gulping down Che Lin's dish.

"Enough with your nonsense!" Fei glared at the female chef as he and Mao spat out their mouthful of vermicelli. "You call this a dish, you vixen?"

"This is unforgivable!" Mao snapped. "Che Lin did something a chef must absolutely never do! You are not a chef!"

"Mere hearsay." Che Lin snorted.

"Mao, what's wrong?" Mei Li pulled him back. "What are you so upset about?"

"This dish contains a prohibited seasoning." Mao declared. "There's poppy in it!"

"Are you saying she used the infamous poppy, which opium is made of?" Reika inquired and took a taste.

"Latex sap collected from the poppy seed pods contain narcotic substances." Fei added. "Adding it to a dish will make people eat it as if possessed. However, as they continue to eat more, they get addicted to it."

"Using such a substance in a dish." Mao retorted. "You're the lowest form of chef there is! I may be inexperienced, but I keep to the rule my mother taught me: a chef gives happiness to people. But this dish brings harm to people. Needles!" he and Mei LI gaped when Ya Xue pulled Che Lin's cloak off, making her needle pouch fall to the ground.

"Just as I suspected." the bond-servant glared. "It was you!"

"It's like the one used on Mao!" Mei Li gasped.

"Reika-sama." Ya Xue turned to Reika. "Not only does this wretch use drugs, she also uses cowardly methods. She pricked Mao-sama's nerve cluster with a needle to paralyze his sense of taste."

"Is this true, Che Lin?" Reika asked. "Not only have you used prohibited ingredients in your dish, but you obstructed others and violated the sanctity of this Cooking Arena. Che Lin, not only have you failed, but I also revoke your license to cook! You are hereby expelled from Canton for life! Take her away." she told the guards."

"Wait, let me go!" Che Lin roared as she was led away. "What's so great about a Super Chef? Isn't it a chef's mission to make people eat dishes at any cost, and by force if need be? You'll pay for this! I'll triumph over all of you. Just you wait."

"Let us continue with the taste test." Reika declared after Che Lin was dragged off. "Next up is Tang."

"What's this?" Mei Li peered at the strangely shaped dish. "What a strange shape."

"So, this is the first time you've seen this." Tang snorted. "It's called a Cat's Ear. The name is derived from its shape, which is similar to a cat's ear. It's a rare secret noodle from a certain village of Shanxi Province. An old chef I met there taught me how to make it when I traveled there in pursuit of more knowledge. It's made from wheat dough. Each noodle is snapped off using the thumb, a feat that requires strength and sophisticated skills to accomplish. Then I baked it and added in a secret sauce from the Xiaolin Kuan restaurant. This is my unique and refreshing mock noodle. Now, taste it."

"What's the matter, everyone?" Mei Li asked, looking around when no one moved. "Why don't you eat it?"

"What's the matter?" Tang demanded. "Go ahead, eat it quickly."

"You fool." Huang chided. "There's no need to try it. It's a failure."

"What was that?" Tang glared. "What do you mean by that?"

"Even if you change the shape of the wheat flour, it's still a noodle." Ya Xue shook her head.

"The servant-girl is right." Huang agreed. "It's laughable for you to call this a mock noodle. Your idea is too simple."

"That's right." Reika concurred. "No matter how unique it is, a noodle is a noodle. This test isn't that easy. Trying to disguise this with an outrageous performance won't do you any good. You pathetic idea and indulgence in your skills is fatal for a chef. Tang, there is no need to mark your dish. Try again four years from now."

"Next, you will taste Huang's dish." Reika declared after Tang made his way out.

"Are these egg noodles?" Mei LI blinked at the huge bowl.

"Instead of wheat dough, I made noodles by cutting beef along the grain of the muscle." Huang explained. "I added scrambled eggs on top. Try it, it's good."

"I can't see the noodles because of the scrambled eggs." Mao stirred his bowl. "So these are the noodles made from beef. Delicious." he beamed, after a taste. "It's just beef in the shape of a noodle, but it's quite refreshing. The smoothness of the egg allows the noodle to enter my mouth easily. After each bite, the beef's juices mix with the scrambled eggs to create a deep taste."

"It mortifies me to admit, but it tastes great." Fei added, drinking the soup. "A refreshing discovery is concealed in such a simple idea."

"That's rare for you." Ya Xue was surprised at Fei's praise.

"Good, next up is Fei." Reika declared.

"There's no steam?" Mao blinked.

"My mock noodle dish is made of mashed potatoes." Fei explained. "I finished it in a cold broth."

"So, noodles made from potatoes can be this clear..." Mao mused. "But Fei, how can you create such elasticity with potatoes?"

"After mashing the potatoes, I forced them through a mechanical press to form noodle strands." Fei explained. "It's boiled in hot water, and immersed immediately in ice water. This shrinks the noodles and makes them elastic."

"So, that's why you used a cold broth." Ya Xue nodded.

"What do you mean?" Mei Li asked.

"Hot broth would take away the elasticity." Fei noted.

"Mei Li, this is great." Mao gushed. "There's even pumpkin mixed into the noodles. This is cool and tasty. Fei is great, just as I expected."

"Good," Reika stated. "Bring in Liu Mao Xing's mock noodles."

"My mock noodles were created from ground catfish flesh." Mao explained.

"Catfish?" Huang snorted. "Kid, this must be the extent of your ability, because your inexperience has finally showed itself. You've made a fatal mistake at last. How can it be?" he stood up after tasting the mock noodles. "How can a noodle made from catfish have such elasticity?"

"It's impossible to create this elasticity from catfish." Fei agreed.

"How do you do it?" Huang looked at Mao.

"There's something in the noodle's core." Fei bit off a portion of a noodle strand.

"Every single noodle has one." Huang inspected several noodle strands. "What is this?"

"It's dried cuttlefish." Mao replied. "I softened the dried cuttlefish with hot water and chopped it into thin strips. To compensate for the lack of elasticity in catfish, I inserted cuttlefish strips into the core of every noodle."

"In every one of these noodles..." Fei was impressed.

"The noodles were made by combining catfish and cuttlefish." Mao continued. "The broth was made from red snapper; seafood noodles."

"Catfish was chosen because it doesn't have a muddy of fishy smell." Fei related. "Creating such excellent broth with red snapper stock is great, too. But to perform such an experiment in a place like this, and actually succeed, his talent is unfathomable."

"This ends the taste test." Reika declared. "It's now time to make the grades. Grade the other two dishes out of ten and write your results on these scrolls. Please wait here until the scores are released." she instructed once her assistants handed the scrolls back. "Now, we will release the total score of the three candidates." she announced on the top of the arena wall. "Huang of Dung Jiang Kuan, ten points." she recited as three large parchments were rolled down the wall. "Mao of Yousen Shuka, nine points. Fei of Da Tung Kuan, nine points."

"What in the world..." Ya Xue was shocked.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.