Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 37 Canteen

The meeting ended just as everyone was still feeling a bit reluctant to leave. Huo Xuan told them to put on their training uniforms and assemble at position number one on the parade ground at 6:30 the next evening.

Then we heard Captain Qin Chuanfeng's speech over the loudspeaker. He first talked about the three-month training camp, then explained the rules for physical fitness and the exam. After ten minutes, he finished his speech and told the students to go back to their dormitories to rest at 10 o'clock sharp.

Exhausted after a long day, Jin Xiaoyue took a shower and fell asleep immediately. Before drifting off, she murmured weakly, "Dengdeng, let's talk again tomorrow..."

"Okay." Chu Deng replied with a smile, even though it wasn't her usual bedtime yet, and continued to read today's news on her personal terminal.

Chu Deng swiped her finger across various news articles, quickly browsing the information and searching for what she wanted to know.

She watched the news reports about the fire in the Jinshui residential building on Xiong Yi Avenue in Shanghai last night, as well as reports about farmers in Henan Province experiencing unexplained increased yields in their fields, and videos of the sandstorm in Xinjiang Province.

Regardless of whether it was official announcements or public entertainment, Chu Deng scrolled through the information from yesterday, silently calculating the events suspected to be caused by superhumans. After determining the proportion, she sighed inwardly and moved the matter of helping Jin Xiaoyue awaken forward again.

It was studied in the past that the awakening of superpowered individuals can influence each other, creating an awakening wave. Ordinary people with little hope can also take the opportunity to make a final push with the help of crystal cores.

Chu Deng gave Jin Xiaoyue a one-month deadline; if she hadn't awakened by then, they would try this method.

The next day, Chu Deng attended classes as usual. Their lunch break was shortened to one and a half hours, and afternoon classes were moved up to 5:30 pm, giving them an hour to rest and prepare for the evening's physical training.

Tu Leqi and Zhang Mengmeng were not used to the new class schedule. After class, they did not plan to eat and went back to the dormitory to sleep. Chu Deng heard that there were changes in the cafeteria, so he took Jin Xiaoyue to the cafeteria.

Upon arrival, the two saw a window lined with people, the queue stretching all the way to the cafeteria entrance.

Based on the principle that it must taste good with so many people, Jin Xiaoyue first asked Chu Deng to go to the front to check the situation, and then prepared to queue up and buy two portions herself.

Chu Deng squeezed through the crowd and saw on the electronic screen at window number 32 in the cafeteria that it was limited to one serving per person. She leaned closer to take a look.

Behind the window, a fat man wearing a chef's hat was placing plates of braised beef on the food counter in front of the window. Each plate contained only three pieces of beef the size of a mahjong tile.

"Master, could you give me another plate? The portion is too small, I'm not full!" A tall man was pleading with the window.

The chef glared, raised his iron ladle, and made the tall man look at the electronic screen above his head. He placed a plate of beef on the tall man's plate, waved his hand, and told him to hurry up and leave, as there were still many people behind him!

The tall man had no choice but to give up and left with his tray.

As Chu Deng passed by, she smelled the aroma of the limited-edition braised beef. The spicy and irresistible fragrance hit her head, the braised sauce was enticingly colored, and the beef's texture was clearly visible. It was perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

"Master, I'd like three servings!" the person serving the food shouted.

"One serving per person! You have to help yourself if you want to eat!" Before the chef could even make a gesture, the people behind couldn't help but remind him.

The person who wanted three portions left disappointed, with only a plate of braised beef.

Chu Deng quickly passed by the crowd and joined the queue. Fortunately, no one came in to queue during the two minutes she was gone. Perhaps they saw that there wasn't enough time and they would be late for evening training, so they stopped queuing.

"Dengdeng, what does this team sell? It looks like we'll have to wait a long time. Maybe we should just grab something quick, or we might be late for training." Jin Xiaoyue said hesitantly, feeling that the team's progress was slow.

Chu Deng swallowed hard and said firmly, "We have to eat, even if it's late!"

This master chef's skills are truly exceptional; he made the mutated beef so delicious. I should find a chance to get to know him sometime.

Chu Deng could sense the fire element contained in the beef, which should be a mutated fire bull. She didn't know what level it was, but she knew that the higher-ups had gone all out this time. Mutated animals were always stronger than ability users of the same level. Even a level one mutated fire bull would require ten level one ability users or three level two ability users to hunt.

Chu Deng estimated that even the official team might not be able to supply them all, yet the higher-ups were giving it to these ordinary students who hadn't awakened yet. It seemed they really had high hopes for them.

Because they are rare, and because eating mutated animals is beneficial to both ordinary people and those with superpowers, such a good thing might happen only a few times, so one shouldn't miss it if they encounter it.

That's why Chu Deng was determined to lead Jin Xiaoyue to queue up; physical training had to take a backseat to the mutated beef.

Perhaps it depends on individual luck, or perhaps it's simply a matter of limited resources. Those who knew the inside story didn't let everyone come to the cafeteria to eat this dish, and those who came to the cafeteria but gave up eating it didn't know what they had lost. It was like a kind of first screening hidden in the shadows, truly proving the saying that "luck is also a part of strength."

"Call Tu Leqi and Zhang Mengmeng, and also call Pei Hanxing and Meng Qiuhe."

Chu Deng glanced at the iron bucket the head chef had placed at the back and calculated how much beef was left in the bucket based on the length of the spoon the head chef had inserted. She had just passed by 185 people from front to back, and there was still beef left. Chu Deng simply asked Jin Xiaoyue to notify all the people she had some connection with.

"I posted in the class group that the limited-edition beef in the cafeteria was delicious," Chu Deng added.

Jin Xiaoyue didn't ask why, but with the mindset of sharing delicious food, she did everything Chu Deng said.

After all, they had been classmates for almost three years. Chu Deng had done what he needed to do; the rest was up to them to decide whether they could handle it.

"Okay, I'll take Mengmeng to the cafeteria right away." Tu Leqi didn't refuse when she received the call, but agreed immediately. "Will you have time to change into your combat uniforms after you finish eating? I'll take both of yours over. You can change your clothes in the restroom in the teaching building faster."

Because they lived in temporary dormitories, which were teachers' dormitories far from the teaching buildings, and it took at least ten minutes to walk from the canteen. The playground and canteen were closer to the classrooms.

"Okay, thank you Leqi then," Jin Xiaoyue replied, and after hanging up the phone, she called Meng Qiuhe again.

"Go to the cafeteria? But Xing and I have already had snacks." Meng Qiuhe immediately refused, finding it a bit troublesome.

“We’ll go now. Is it window number 32 in the first canteen?” Pei Hanxing’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Yes,” Jin Xiaoyue replied.

"Okay, thank you." After Pei Hanxing finished speaking, she heard the sound of clothes rustling on the other end, probably someone changing into their training uniform.

"No, Xing! I'm not hungry and don't want to eat..." Meng Qiuhe's reluctant voice came to an abrupt end on the other end of the phone.

Jin Xiaoyue couldn't help but laugh, "Meng Qiuhe has been a picky eater since he was a child, I didn't expect him to be so picky all these years."

Chu Deng followed the group forward.

Jin Xiaoyue was led a few steps forward by Chu Deng. While she was notifying the others, the line kept moving. Fortunately, there was no one else in line behind them, otherwise they would have been looked down upon.

Jin Xiaoyue posted another message in the class group, and to her surprise, the previously quiet group suddenly became lively. Upon closer inspection, Jin Xiaoyue saw that several members of the food club were talking.

"You absolutely have to try what President Kim recommended!"

"If Xiaoyue likes to eat it, then it must be something Chudeng likes to eat. Wait for me, I'll be right there!"

"Limited supply? When has our school ever done this? I need to check it out."

"What is that? Where is it?"

"It's listed above. Braised beef is limited at window number 32 in the first canteen."

"I'm coming!"

Jin Xiaoyue has eaten countless delicacies since childhood, a fact known to many members of the food club. If you can get her praise, it must be delicious.

Most of the members of the food club are foodies who usually explore various restaurants in their spare time. They were worried about what to do during the three-month closed training, but then a canteen beef restaurant suddenly appeared, and they all came excitedly.

Many students in the class were also drawn in by the crowd; some came for the food, and others for the lanterns.

When Jin Xiaoyue sent the message, she specifically reminded her classmates that she might be late for the training camp. Someone asked if Chu Deng was with her, and Jin Xiaoyue replied with a laughing-crying emoji and added, "Deng Deng said she still has to eat even if she's late." This completely triggered the herd mentality, and almost two-thirds of the people started rushing to the cafeteria.

The remaining third either fell asleep and didn't check their messages, or were worried about being late and leaving a bad impression on the instructors.

Finally, the head chef scraped all the broth from the bottom of the pot. Seeing that there were still two or three students in line who couldn't get any, he couldn't bear it, so he shared some of his own reserved portion, which allowed every student in line to have three pieces of braised beef.

As a result, Huo Xuan's face darkened when he saw that a third of the students were late, and Qin Chuanfeng, the captain who hadn't had a proper meal with his old friend, also darkened his face.