The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 48

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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 48. A New Siege
“What if you tried attacking this time instead of just defending?”
“Attacking?”
“Yes. Instead of a defensive strategy like last time—just blocking their advances—this time you’d go on the offensive. You’d wield your cooking as a weapon and march in to destroy them all. A siege, if you will.”
How did he know the last one was a defensive battle?
‘This guy’s instincts are really sharp.’
With instincts this good,
I couldn’t understand why he was still stuck as an ambiguous YouTuber.
Regardless, it was intriguing.
“Just lay it out for me. You’re saying it’ll really be fun?”
Hyeon-seung’s eyes gleamed as he continued.
As if proving he’d prepared this beforehand, what Hyeon-seung had conceived was surprisingly concrete.
“First, the concept for this offensive is breaking seals.”
“Breaking seals? That hits hard just hearing it.”
At least the name was good.
“Yes. I’ll set the stage for you. There are plenty of people in this world obsessed with anything delicious, renowned gourmands with picky palates, or those who deliberately nitpick, right?”
Hyeon-seung swallowed hard.
“Then I’ll bring those people to you.”
“Oho. Keep going.”
“After that, it’s simple. Once they arrive, you just shove your cooking into their mouths. Like, ‘Let’s see you handle this.'”
This isn’t just a mukbang.
This is war. I’m supposed to make their tongues and stomachs surrender with my cooking.
“No script? No direction? It’s all real. You just go, observe, and frankly, cook whatever feels right and feed it to them. Until they’re like, ‘I’m losing my mind, I’m so full. Please, have mercy.'”
“That’s actually fun.”
Back in the apocalypse days,
my specialty was filling hungry bellies and making them submit.
Even beasts raging like animals became docile lambs after one bite of my cooking.
‘Well, truthfully, if they didn’t become docile lambs back then, they would’ve starved. Either way, they surrendered, didn’t they?’
It was quite intriguing. It had been a while since I’d thought about the past.
“Not bad. But why’d you come up with a concept like that?”
“Pardon?”
“You don’t do mukbangs. You only do those little restaurant reviews. How’d you suddenly come up with this?”
“Uh….”
At my question, Hyeon-seung’s expression darkened slightly.
It seemed I’d struck a nerve.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled bitterly.
“You wouldn’t know, hyung, but actually when I first started YouTube, I blew up doing mukbangs.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Why else would I put my name on the channel!”
“I thought you did that because you’re an attention seeker….”
“No, attention-seeker? Well, I’m not exactly an attention-seeker, but… anyway, since I ate so well at first, I put my name on it. In the beginning, I really did eat well. I couldn’t eat because there wasn’t enough.”
“And then?”
“At some point, it just stopped going down.”
Hyeon-seung rubbed his own solar plexus.
“I force myself to eat for the broadcast, pretend tasteless food is delicious.”
Just thinking about it caused stress.
My expression darkened.
“So my stomach must have gotten ruined. Or maybe my brain did. Eating isn’t enjoyable anymore—it just feels like labor. When I see food, nausea rises.”
“A kind of occupational disease?”
“Maybe so.”
A gourmet who’d lost the joy of eating.
This was quite a provocative patient for a chef.
“So I switched to exploring delicious restaurants. In the middle of all that, doing something like that… maybe some resentment built up and I did it. Ah, you can think of this as an excuse. I know I did wrong.”
“That matter is settled. Anyway, keep talking.”
“Honestly, I still have lingering regret. I really do love eating. Desperately.”
He lifted his head and looked at me.
The playful glint in his eyes had vanished, leaving only seriousness.
‘This bastard…’
His eyes held a desperately earnest light.
“But your cooking was different. Even with that life-changing ramen last time, when I eat here, my stomach feels at ease.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. There’s no heaviness, and most importantly… my heart races again.”
Hyeon-seung clenched his fist tightly.
“So I’m gathering courage to try. With your cooking, I think I could eat again like before—crazily, joyfully. Please restore my lost stomach, hyung. It’s funny, right?”
“It’s not funny, damn it.”
A kind of rehabilitation therapy. Self-healing disguised as a challenge.
Defeating an opponent with cooking and making them submit—yet that ultimately saves them.
‘Hmm.’
This isn’t just a broadcast appearance.
It’s therapy.
Feeding rice to the hungry.
Wasn’t that my work in my past life and my joy in this one?
‘My interest is suddenly piqued. Does this guy have talent as a planner too?’
And that look in his eyes.
It’s genuine. Not some scheme to squeeze out a few more views.
A hand extended because he truly wanted to live, to eat.
That was the moment.
An unexpected response came back.
* * *
The system responded.
Ding!
[A Hidden Quest has occurred.]
[Quest: Finding the Lost Palate]
Grant true gastronomy to one who has lost the joy of eating.
-Condition: Successfully complete the stamp challenge
-Hidden Condition: Heal Lee Hyeon-seung’s trauma (achieve 100% satisfaction)
-Reward: Factory Canteen recognition greatly increased, 3 Skill Points, Basic Luck +3, Lee Hyeon-seung’s affection
As expected. The system reads my mind too. The rewards are quite generous.
‘I like everything about this except that last part.’
There was no reason to refuse now.
“Alright.”
I set down the dish towel with a slap and grinned widely.
“Let’s do it. That stamp challenge.”
“R-really?”
Color returned to Hyeon-seung’s face.
“Yeah. But there are conditions.”
“What are they? Just say the word! Revenue split? Or advance payment for appearance fees?”
“Forget the money. Since it’s a stamp challenge, I choose the menu entirely.”
“Ah, that’s exactly what I wanted!”
“Good. Then no complaining about the food. And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Leave nothing behind, or you’re dead. Food is sacred.”
Hyeon-seung burst out laughing at my words.
“Pfahahaha! Of course! I’ll eat with the resolve to die. No wait, I’ll eat to live!”
Life sparkled in his eyes.
That’s right. Eating is living.
Rule number one of apocalypse survival. You live well by eating well.
That law held true even in this peaceful world.
“Then let’s prepare right away. Who’s the first target?”
“Ah, the first one is me. The second one will come at once too.”
“Wow. The second one all at once?”
“Honestly, I’m a bit nervous too. To not leave anything behind, I need to bring big eaters. Why? Are you nervous?”
“Me? Bring whoever you want.”
“Haha. You’ll regret it?”
“Regret what.”
“Great. I have some people in mind! The second, third, maybe even more?”
“Go ahead. Do whatever you want.”
A new hunting ground had opened.
A real mukbang hunting ground.
“This should be fun.”
For me, it was a deeply satisfying outcome.
* * *
“Hehehehe….”
KBN Entertainment Department Meeting Room.
PD Ga hummed a carefree tune, his face brimming with satisfaction.
It was only natural.
‘When should I schedule this? Maybe I’ll add a slight variation to the concept?’
Among South Korea’s self-employed business owners, none would refuse his recruitment.
Success was an absolute constant.
The only variable was the filming schedule.
The moment Assistant Director Min-su entered, PD Ga asked him.
“You’re back?”
“Yes. I’ve returned.”
“So, when did you set up the meeting?”
But the answer that came back was unexpected.
“Well… PD.”
Assistant Director Park Min-soo’s complexion had turned ashen.
‘What’s this? Is he feeling unwell? Did he ask to postpone?’
At this point, PD Ga instinctively sensed something had gone wrong.
He needed to hear it first.
“He turned us down.”
“…What?”
PD Ga’s hand froze in mid-air. Had he misheard?
“Who turned down whom?”
“He said he has no interest in broadcasting and won’t do it. He was very firm about it.”
A hollow laugh escaped him.
The great PD Ga’s recruitment offer rejected at the door?
“You didn’t mention my name, right?”
“…No, I didn’t. You told me not to.”
“But you at least dropped some hints about it, didn’t you? You’re good at that sort of thing.”
“Yes, I did. I mentioned that the head PD was launching a new program.”
“And… he still turned you down?”
“…Yes. He didn’t even listen properly.”
A self-employed business owner, struggling with daily sales, had kicked away a windfall that had rolled right to his feet.
A scratch to his pride?
No, this was different. Something had stirred his instincts.
‘Now this is interesting.’
After all, nothing easy was ever fun.
There was a thrill in the resistance, a satisfaction in the conquest.
PD Ga’s eyes gleamed with renewed interest.
“Min-su.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go back and bring him no matter what.”
“Sir? When I checked earlier, he really wasn’t having it… He wouldn’t budge at all.”
“Whether you have to beg, pitch a tent in front of his store, or give him all the sales—”
The means and methods? Those didn’t matter.
For a broadcast producer, rejection was merely the opening signal for another recruitment attempt.
“Get him sitting in front of me one way or another. If you don’t, your desk is gone.”
It was a declaration of war.
* * *
A few days after persuading Kim Seon-woo.
Lee Hyeon-seung moved about his studio with enthusiasm.
‘I’m going to hit it big this time!’
He couldn’t hide his excitement, bouncing his leg as he made calls.
“Hey, hyung. It’s me. I’ve landed something huge this time.”
-What now? Another delicious restaurant tour? Man, that’s stale. The views aren’t coming in anymore.
“No, not that. This time we’re on defense.”
-Defense?
“Yeah. Aren’t you tired of going to tasteless places and forcing smiles while reviewing them? This time a real chef is going to absolutely demolish our palates and stomachs.”
The voice on the other end of the line, which had been lukewarm, began to shift.
-A chef? Who?
“Remember that video I showed you before? The Ramen Case owner at the factory canteen.”
-…Are you insane? Why go there again? And that guy doesn’t do broadcasts anyway. Will it even work?
“I already got him on board. Hyung, this is guaranteed to blow up. I’ve laid all the groundwork. You just need to add your touch.”
Hyeon-seung spoke persuasively, spittle flying.
The other party was a mukbang YouTuber with 500,000 subscribers called ‘Meokkkae TV’.
Though initially skeptical, he eventually caved to the name ‘Ramen Case’ and the concept of ‘unlimited assault’.
-…Really? That does sound fun. I’m in. But the timing is a bit….
“Tsk. I was hoping you’d go right away?”
-Sorry, but could I go second?
See this? Second?
“You’re testing the waters, aren’t you?”
-Geez. Why do you always say things like that?
From the tone of his voice, he was definitely testing the waters.
‘Damn. That’s unfortunate. Tsk… People are slowly backing out one by one.’
This wasn’t the first time someone was testing the waters.
Everyone liked the concept, but simultaneously they all hesitated about being the first to go.
And so it was.
Over the past few days, he’d only succeeded in half his recruitment attempts.
Everyone had agreed, but then they all scrambled to back out.
It meant I couldn’t find anyone to go out on Route 1.
“Damn. My brother was supposed to go with me and film it for the first time, but this is a shame.”
-Hey. Sorry. But I’ll still handle Route 2, yeah? How’s that?
“Okay, I’m in!”
After hanging up, Hyeon-seung clenched his fist tightly.
‘It’s a bit risky to test the waters like this. But still, I’ve secured one guest appearance, haven’t I?’
A YouTuber with 500,000 subscribers was impressive.
Having secured them meant I was already halfway there.
‘If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just adjust the schedule a bit. Or I could go out solo first.’
Hyeon-seung wanted to expand the operation ambitiously.
‘I need to show them something real. Something those broadcast station guys can’t show.’
That’s when it happened.
Zing- zing-.
The smartphone on the desk vibrated loudly.
Hyeon-seung’s eyes widened as he checked the caller’s name.

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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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