The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 117. Adjustment
Beep—beep—
I pressed 167.
Confirmed. The standby temperature of the connected Filling Line automatically shifted.
I could see it with my own eyes.
And at the same moment.
‘So that’s why we need someone who understands the Factory.’
Now I understood why people were necessary. They expanded the areas I didn’t know. This was quite enjoyable.
‘In my past life, this would have been difficult to know.’
Back then, collaboration was nearly impossible.
Perhaps that’s why I’d developed such a deeply ingrained habit of doing everything myself from start to finish.
In a good light, it was proactive.
In a bad light, it could be called a lone-wolf approach.
But this opportunity was opening my eyes to something different.
Collaborating with fields I didn’t know felt quite refreshing.
‘I like this.’
To keep that feeling alive.
I’d need to continue this enjoyable collaboration.
“We need to reduce the frying time too. Three seconds. Is that possible?”
“Ah, that’s even easier. Adjusting the rollers is simpler than changing the temperature.”
“This is fun.”
“Here, here. The timer is right here.”
Han Jae-won opened the adjacent panel.
From 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 7 seconds.
His movements were practiced, as if he were working in his own Factory.
He understood everything.
“Jin-woo.”
“Yes!”
“Write down what I tell you.”
Jin-woo pulled a pen from his pocket. A notebook appeared from somewhere as well.
‘That guy.’
The diagram’s going to look great.
I spoke loudly, making sure he understood.
“Frying temperature 167 degrees. Time 2 minutes 7 seconds.”
“Noted!”
I knew the microphone would catch all of it.
But this was a display.
That Oh Tae-sik with the furrowed brow.
See that we’re moving forward right now.
* * *
‘When you pierce, you have to pierce it properly.’
Just fixing this one thing would change the taste.
But that wasn’t going to cut it.
“Should we check the next line too?”
“Really? The next one needs fixing as well?”
“That’s right. The settings are… I mean, these are supposed to be done by experts, but I don’t understand why it’s like this?”
“Ha ha. It could happen if they rushed through it.”
“Exactly? They must have rushed it. I mean, there’s no reason to manipulate anything or have to operate it differently, right? Oh, I mean machine operation.”
“Ha ha, of course. What other meaning could there be?”
We walked toward the sauce blending line, laughing.
‘Let’s see.’
I wanted to check the ratio at which the sauce was being injected from the filler.
I could see it with my own eyes, but—
“I’ll pull it up for you. That’ll be easier.”
Oh Tae-sik displayed it on the panel. PD Ga made sure the camera caught every detail.
Both of them had impeccable instincts.
‘Just as I thought.’
The plum extract ratio was lower than the recipe called for.
Exactly as my palate had detected. A sugar substitute had been used instead.
“The plum extract is missing. There’s far less than what should go into the original recipe. It’s almost just a flavoring agent at this point?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It looks like they added sugar instead.”
“Sounds like cost-cutting?”
“Probably? It might be written that way in the documents too?”
“Documents? Ah. Those documents! I haven’t seen them yet, so I wouldn’t know. Ha ha.”
“Me neither. But I understand. If you’re going to donate a lot, you have to cut costs somewhere. Well, it was probably well-intentioned.”
“Ha ha. I’m sure it was.”
We conversed freely, but the Factory Worker was visibly uncomfortable.
Han Jae-won glanced toward the worker.
“We just need to switch the line from sugar to plum extract. We should have a separate plum extract line anyway.”
“Sounds good.”
“Excuse me, worker. You have a separate plum extract concentrate line, right?”
The worker squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.
“Show me. Where’s the panel?”
“H-here it is.”
“Then I’ll open it up, so please prepare the materials.”
“…Y-yes.”
The moment Han Jae-won spoke, the worker moved immediately.
To factory workers, the words of a fellow industry representative carried more weight than even a chef’s.
“Jin-woo. Switch the sauce blend to plum extract. Remove the sugar substitute.”
“I wrote it down right away! Want to see?”
“Really?”
“I made it big. Visible from far away. Whether you’re Jang or not, you’ll definitely see it.”
“Good work.”
Next came the flounder processing line.
The aging period was already fixed.
‘I have to think about this seriously—for mass production, it’s unavoidable.’
I couldn’t change two days to three days.
But there was one thing I could change.
“We need to remove the surface moisture before loading the trays.”
“Remove moisture?”
“Yes. Do you have a way to do that?”
“Let me see. I think there might be something….”
Han Jae-won nodded.
“Ah, here it is. Mesh drying.”
“Mesh drying?”
“Yes. If we adjust the speed, three minutes should do it. It’s an extra step, but you save a day of aging.”
“That’s great. Can we do it right now?”
“You there, the worker? There’s mesh sheeting in the warehouse, right?”
“Huh?”
“A food factory wouldn’t be without it, would it? Right?”
“…I’ll bring it.”
Han Jae-won spoke to the worker, but the answer came from Oh Tae-sik.
“Yes, right away!”
The worker took off running.
When he returned, he was carrying a roll of mesh.
Han Jae-won measured the size himself and cut it to fit the tray specifications.
His movements were swift.
‘This person really knows the factory floor.’
He wasn’t the type who only looked at numbers in an office.
These were the hands of someone who had walked the factory floor.
‘This is interesting. A different kind of expert from me.’
I read, and Han Jae-won made.
The numbers I grasped through instinct, he translated into the language of machinery.
A chef’s tongue and a businessman’s hands.
An odd pairing, yet they meshed. Perfectly aligned with each other.
* * *
It wasn’t long after.
Whirrrrrr—
The line began to turn. Smoothly.
Splat. Thwack.
Flounder slid across the conveyor belt.
These were the ones that had spent three minutes on the mesh.
‘I thought they’d be damaged, but they look fine?’
The surface wasn’t damaged at all—it was fluffy. I could see it clearly.
“Now, we fry!”
Into the frying oil. 167 degrees.
The sound was different from before.
“Hmm….”
Lighter than before, more even, and the oil didn’t splatter violently. The aroma was better too.
“Wow. You’re a magician.”
“Can you see the results?”
“Well, it’d be strange if you couldn’t. Haha.”
Han Jae-won tilted his head slightly at the sound.
The corners of his mouth were raised. He clearly recognized the difference now.
“Hmm….”
“Is it working?”
“Something seems different?”
Three or four Factory Workers stood beside the line, watching.
They could all sense that the sound was different.
“This is exciting.”
Han Jae-won stood beside me.
He crossed his arms again, but his posture was different from before.
Before, it was the stance of an observer.
Now, it was the stance of someone working alongside others.
A single shift in posture transformed how a person appeared.
“Hehe. All the secrets are in these hands!”
Jin-woo held up his notebook.
It was packed. Temperatures, times, mixing ratios, moisture removal duration.
Everything was written down.
It was an amusing sight.
And soon.
It would be time for the finished product to emerge.
* * *
Clank. Clank.
Listening to the mechanical sounds, Oh Tae-sik stood at the end of the line.
“Hmm….”
His arms were crossed, but his posture was different from before.
Before, he’d been relaxed. Now, it was the opposite—utterly defensive.
‘Why is Han Jae-won suddenly over there? He was just watching the whole time, and now he suddenly pops out? Is he the protagonist or something? What’s with this nonsense!’
Han Jae-won’s involvement running this deep was not part of my calculations.
I knew he wasn’t the type to meddle like this.
I knew he wasn’t the type to meddle like this.
‘Why is he doing something he never does!’
The Chef hesitated in front of the panel.
Eventually, he couldn’t even touch it and retreated.
He was humiliated on camera.
That was the picture I had painted.
But then Han Jae-won stood beside him, and the picture changed.
‘Damn it…!’
He opened the panel. Changed the numbers. Ran the line.
As naturally as if he were in his own factory.
Han Jae-won was a judge and observer at the competition, maintaining a certain neutrality.
‘He came to the factory today just to watch, didn’t he? He wasn’t trying to learn from us?’
But now he was inside the line, moving in sync with Kim Seon-woo.
And he was producing results.
‘…Damn. Damn it.’
The truth was, he had experience.
I could tell without even looking.
Whoooosh— whoosh—
The sound of the machinery was different. Smooth.
The sound of flounder entering the frying oil.
Lighter than before. No sharp crackling.
All the Factory Workers turned their heads to look this way. As if asking what to do about this.
I hated that look in their eyes.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
But eventually, it would have to come out.
The results would emerge soon enough.
‘If that happens. Ah….’
Reducing the cost of materials becomes a problem, and the improved quality becomes a problem.
It all came out on camera earlier.
Even if I don’t release the documents.
‘…They’ll figure it out anyway.’
It’s as good as already exposed.
And if the quality improves on top of this situation?
‘What do I do….’
From that point on, it’s beyond what I can manage.
Sweat beaded on Oh Tae-sik’s back.
The Factory was cold, but his back burned like fire.
That was when it happened.
The Factory Manager standing beside me spoke quietly.
“Director. It looks like it’s working.”
Oh Tae-sik looked at the Factory Manager.
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer.
“…Sigh.”
I wanted to turn away from reality, but finished products were coming off the line.
One. Two. Three.
All the same color. All the same size.
Completely different from what had come out before.
‘What am I supposed to tell Jang Owner?’
My mind was spinning.
But no answer came.
Three cameras were capturing the entire line.
Four if you counted Sonny’s selfie stick.
I shoved my hands into my pockets.
They were trembling.
A Chef from the Apocalypse Ventures into the Food Business
Author |
Heunghaeng
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260206001
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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