Chapter 196 Processing
Lai He's unusual changes did make Xu Qing alert.

But in addition to vigilance, there is also the joy of meeting a worthy opponent.

Xu Qing's extraordinary five senses give him a huge advantage no matter who he faces.

This also allowed him to continuously defeat powerful enemies and create many miracles.

At this moment, Lai He relied on the secret methods of the dark cooking world to make a drastic change in his own strength, and also made his five senses become extremely sharp.

This was the first time Xu Qing met someone with similar abilities.

This made him feel more excited and nervous than ever before.

Lai He said: "The ingredients for this cooking competition are giant squid, and the cooking method is the same as the first game, stir-frying."

Stir-frying is the fastest of all cooking methods and it is also what Lai He is best at.

In the first game, he and Xu Qing tied. From the technical level, there was not much difference in strength between the two sides.

But at this moment he is several times stronger than before, and the outcome of the duel will inevitably be different from before.

Lai He continued, "The rules are the same as the Lobster Three Contest. The one who finishes the dish the fastest wins. If both are finished at the same time, the winner will be determined by taste."

Xu Qing nodded, "Okay."

Both of them came to the water tank, and the man in black handed them the prepared harpoon.

Lai He threw away the harpoon, jumped directly into the tank, and grabbed the swimming giant squid with his bare hands.

His arms were like iron hoops, tightly holding the giant squid.

The giant squid was several times taller than Lai He, but in Lai He's hands it was like a powerless child. No matter how hard the squid struggled, it could not break free from Lai He's restraints.

Lai He stretched out his hand and threw the squid out of the water and onto the ground.

Several men in black immediately stepped forward, grasped the squid with their hands and lifted it aside.

Processing the giant squid requires every second, so Lai He immediately picked up a kitchen knife and started cutting the squid.

Xu Qing glanced at the harpoon in his hand and threw it aside.

The harpoon will damage the squid's flesh, and if you are not careful, it may even cause the squid's death.

Only by using tremendous force to subdue the squid, as Laihe did, can the meat be preserved to the greatest extent possible.

It’s just that Xu Qing doesn’t have the same strength as Lai He, but he has his own way.

Xu Qing found a round-headed wooden stick from the stove, which is the rolling pin usually used to make pasta.

Xu Qing held a wooden stick and waited quietly by the water tank.

The squid swam freely, unaware of the danger it was about to encounter.

The moment the squid swam in front of Xu Qing, Xu Qing immediately swung the rolling pin in his hand down, hitting it right in the center of the squid's eyes, where its brain is located.

The squid's eyes rolled back and it fainted, its huge body floating on the water.

Only then did Xu Qing carefully scoop up the squid with a harpoon.

After all, it just says that you can't kill the squid, not that you can't knock it unconscious.

Lai He, who was busy processing the squid, looked up with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Such precise technique and timing, combined with a subtle amount of force, was enough to stun the squid without killing it.

Lai He asked himself that even before he received the secret strengthening technique, he might be able to do what Xu Qing did after several training sessions, but it would be difficult for him to succeed on the first try, and he would not be able to do it as easily and casually as Xu Qing.

As he expected, this kid's five senses were sharper than those of ordinary people. However, after being strengthened by the secret method, his five senses also became extremely sharp, not to mention that he was strengthened in all aspects, and it was not just his five senses that became stronger, but his overall strength.

Xu Qing dragged the giant squid to the stove.

Next comes the process of processing the squid.

To process squid, you must first remove the black film on the surface of the squid, as well as the internal organs, teeth, ink, etc. These organs will make the squid meat smell fishy and affect the taste.

Giant squids are more time-consuming to handle due to their huge size. It takes a lot of time just to remove the black film on the surface.

Black film is a common term for the skin of squid. Generally, squid is dark in color, so its skin is called black film. This black film is relatively hard, which affects the tender taste of the squid. At the same time, bacteria will adhere to the black film, so it is healthier to remove it.

The general method to remove the black film is to apply a layer of salt on the squid's skin. The black film will shrink when it comes into contact with salt, making it easier to remove.

However, Xu Qing and Lai He, who need to race against time, said that applying salt would waste time, especially since the giant squid is so huge that it would take a lot of time to apply the salt all over.

Therefore, the two men did not do any prior preparation and directly removed the black film from the squid.

Xu Qing found the subtle junction between the skin and the squid meat, gently lifted the squid skin, and then slid the kitchen knife downwards. The skin of the giant squid was completely cut off, revealing the white and delicate squid meat inside.

The whole process takes only a few seconds, almost in the blink of an eye, and you can see the squid's meat and skin separate, as smoothly and naturally as taking off a piece of clothing.

Mary's eyes sparkled as she watched. It was like a magic trick, and the smooth and natural movements made people feel relaxed and happy.

Jidi saw the trick. It is not so easy to remove the squid skin. The skin and the meat are tightly attached. It is difficult to tear it off by brute force alone, let alone tear it off so completely and beautifully.

The only one who could achieve such a level was Xu Qing’s extremely exquisite knife skills.

This is true.

When Xu Qing was separating the squid skin, the kitchen knife produced slight vibrations with his wrist. When the blade of the knife fell, the slight vibrations broke the tight adhesion between the meat and the skin, allowing the skin to separate from the meat and be easily removed.

Xu Qing's technique is extremely delicate and subtle. From the outside, there is nothing special about it. All the magic happens in the smallest and most imperceptible corners.

On the other hand, Lai He's methods were very bold and aggressive.

He didn't use a kitchen knife, but just relied on the brute force of his hands to tear off the squid skin.

No, not just brute force.

Lai He constantly adjusted the strength in his hands while tearing the squid skin, so that the squid skin and meat could be separated without using too much force and tearing the squid skin.

Tearing off the squid skin in an instant will not cause secondary damage to the meat, thus ensuring the perfection of the meat to the greatest extent.

Both of them used knives or their hands to process the squid skin in the shortest time possible.

From this perspective, the two are tied.

However, Lai He still has the advantage of time.

After all, he was the first to catch the giant squid, although only a minute or two faster than Xu Qing.

But at this moment, let alone one or two minutes, even a difference of one or two seconds is a huge advantage.

As long as Lai He maintains this advantage, he will be able to prepare the dishes faster than Xu Qing and secure victory.

Xu Qing also knew this very well, so he couldn't just be on par with Lai He, but needed to be faster than him to make up for the time difference.

But when it comes to processing the squid, it is difficult for him to be faster than Lai He.

It seems that we can only catch up in the cooking stage.

On the other side, the man in black had already prepared a brass stove for Lai He. Eight ferocious beasts were swallowing and spitting out sparks, brewing raging fire in their bellies, waiting for the moment to erupt.

(End of this chapter)