Chapter 3 Creamery Creamer

• ...What was that?
• Sylvia frowned, annoyed that she had failed to break through directly. Before she could even check the situation, a voice rang out in her mind.
• [Please provide more energy... System repair successful... Susu will continue upgrading... Please provide more energy...]
• “Susu, drop the act,” Sylvia called coldly to the system she had brought with her from the apocalypse world. “You absorbed my beast core. Your power should already be fully restored by now, probably even stronger than before, right?”
• [...Yes, Host. My deepest apologies.]
• The voice in her head became much smoother.
• It no longer sounded like a cold mechanical program. Instead, it carried the sweet, playful tone of a teenage boy.
• [When the system detects energy, it will automatically absorb it during hibernation, so Susu did not do it on purpose—]
• Sensing Sylvia’s icy expression, Susu did not dare finish the sentence.
• “How strong are you now?” Sylvia brushed the powder off her hands and began moving her body again.
• There was no point crying over spilled milk. She needed to understand the situation as quickly as possible.
• [All previously locked system functions have now been reactivated. The artificial intelligence has evolved a simulated personality. At present, Susu’s personality possesses intelligence equivalent to that of a human teenager.]
• Sylvia nodded.
• That was good news.
• The system could evolve by absorbing beast-core energy. Even if she herself had to retrain this weak body from scratch, Susu, having evolved with the power of an SSS-rank beast core, could still recall the massive collection of recipes Sylvia had once mastered in the apocalypse world.
• More than that, thanks to the system’s built-in cloud-sharing function, Susu could also gather and present recipes Sylvia had never personally learned.
• Even those recipes that belonged to the whole of Earth’s lost civilization.
• It looked like, from now on, she would need to think seriously about gathering more energy that could help both of them grow stronger.
• “Since you evolved using my beast core,” Sylvia said to Susu, “activate the memory archive from the apocalypse world. Organize all the recipes from Earth’s civilization and upload them to my personal terminal.”
• [As you command, Host. I will also integrate the information network of this era at the same time.]
• As Susu got to work, the terminal on Sylvia’s wrist began to warm slightly.
• While waiting for the data transfer, Sylvia opened the current era’s starnet and started browsing ingredients and raw materials for food production.
• If she was going to start a food company, then naturally, the first thing she needed to know was what ingredients were available.
• To her surprise, everything was there.
• Rice. Meat. Vegetables. Fruit. All kinds of seasonings.
• And all of it was incredibly cheap.
• In comparison, nutrient injections were priced a hundred times higher, sometimes even a thousand.
• That only confirmed her guess.
• A food company with real recipes had enormous potential.
• Sylvia closed the page, then casually used what little money was left in the account to order more black clothes.
• She liked black.
• In the apocalypse, black clothing was durable and harder to stain.
• As for the original owner’s closet full of bright, expensive dresses, Sylvia planned to resell them. At the very least, it would help reduce some of the financial losses.
• By the time she finished sorting the clothes, Susu had completed the recipe transfer.
• Sylvia headed downstairs.
• Asher was still waiting for her.
• Clearly, he had remembered his promise with his sister. His eyes were bright, and he stayed close by her side.
• “Sis...”
• He did not seem to know what to say. He just looked up at her with pure admiration.
• Sylvia rubbed his soft, fluffy hair.
• “How about I cook something for you?” she asked quietly. “Something special. I think you’ll like it.”
• Asher nodded hard.
• He had no idea why his sister, who had never stepped into the kitchen before, suddenly wanted to cook, but he believed she would succeed.
• In fact, even if she served him a plate of burnt charcoal, he would probably still say he loved it.
• The delivery service in the Starry Sky Empire was extremely efficient. By the time they finished talking, Bai had already brought all the ingredients and kitchenware Sylvia ordered into the kitchen.
• Seeing the reluctance in Asher’s eyes, Sylvia lifted him onto a child’s chair and had White keep watch over him.
• That way, even while she worked in the kitchen, he could stay somewhere safe and still watch her.
• She took out the chicken, washed it clean, trimmed off the extra fat and skin, then marinated it with salt, pepper, sugar, and cooking wine. After that, she coated it in egg wash, dusted it with flour, and dropped it into hot oil.
• The pale chicken quickly turned golden and fragrant, and the rich scent of meat and oil drifted out of the kitchen.
• Asher swallowed hard.
• He had just had a nutrient shot not long ago, so why was he hungry again?
• He waited eagerly for his sister to bring out the plate of golden fried chicken, but instead Sylvia picked up a kitchen knife and chopped green, red, and yellow peppers into jewel-like pieces. Then she tossed them into the pan with the chicken.
• The golden chicken turned a light caramel brown, and the sweet, savory aroma of the meat grew even richer.
• Then Sylvia quickly mixed up a sauce.
• It was like angels of sweetness and spice scattering flower petals through the air.
• Sweet, tangy, spicy sauce that made Asher want to drool from just one sniff.
• And that was not even counting the large plate of golden fries, crisp and perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Sylvia carried the food to the table and poured each of them a glass of juice.
• Asher noticed that his portion of fries had a tiny colorful flag stuck in it, and he could not help lowering his head with a shy smile.
• Everything about it looked so cute. So tempting.
• His stomach had never felt this hungry before, and yet he was so happy he almost felt full already.
• “What is this, Sis? It looks so good... I knew you could do it! Sis, you’re amazing!”
• Even with his mouth stuffed full, Asher kept eating.
• Sylvia laughed when she saw that. “These are fries and General Tso’s chicken. No need to hurry. I’ll make you something different tomorrow.”
• “It’s so good! I want to eat this again tomorrow!” The boy narrowed his eyes in pure satisfaction.
• “Tomorrow, I’ll make you even more good food,” Sylvia promised. “From now on, there’ll always be more.”
• Carrying the sweet expectation of getting to eat more delicious food, Asher played with Bai for a while before falling asleep peacefully.
• Sylvia cleaned everything up as well and enjoyed her first night in the Starry Sky Empire.
• The next morning, Sylvia got up early and made breakfast.
• Homemade bacon sandwiches, boiled egg salad, omelets, and a protein milkshake.
• Asher had school that day, so Sylvia kept an eye on how much he ate and did not let him finish everything at breakfast. Instead, she packed part of it up for him to take as lunch.
• The moment he heard that he could eat food made by his sister at noon instead of taking another nutrient shot, Asher got so excited that his little legs swung under the chair nonstop.
• Even when it was time to leave for the school shuttle, he kept turning back, wanting to sneak a few more looks at his sister.
• Sylvia sent him off with a smile and a wave.
• Then she looked at the business plan on the table.
• It should be about time for Mike to arrive.
• Mike looked even more exhausted in person than he had on the holographic screen, but the moment he saw Sylvia, he still did his best to seem energetic.
• “Good morning, Sylvia.”
• “Good morning, Uncle Mike. I just sent Asher off to school, so now’s the perfect time to talk about the new company,” Sylvia said.
• In Mike’s memory, Sylvia had never really cared much about Asher before, but he was more than happy to accept these changes for the better.
• They sat down at the Austen family’s dining table.
• Sylvia brought over a lunch box. That morning, besides making food for herself and Asher, she had deliberately prepared one extra portion for Mike to try.
• She had even brewed coffee for him as a special treat. Now, the rich aroma drifted through the hall like warm sunlight.
• The smell of real food immediately lifted Mike’s spirits.
• Still, thinking of the Austen family’s grim financial situation, he cautiously asked, “Sylvia, did you buy all this from somewhere? You really didn’t need to spend money on me like this...”
• “As a matter of fact, the chef is sitting right in front of you, Uncle Mike.” Sylvia smiled faintly. “This is also part of the product line I want to talk to you about. But first, please taste it.”
• Mike’s appetite gave the best possible answer.
• He cleaned out every last bite.
• He was so satisfied he almost wanted to sigh out loud.
• How could food taste this good? Since when had this girl learned how to cook? Honestly... look at her.
• How adorable. Mr. Austen, your daughter really is a treasure.
• Only after they had both settled in with their morning coffee did Sylvia place the business proposal in front of Mike.
• “I want to start a food company using the recipes I have,” she told him. “And this is only the beginning. I have many more recipes, and they’re all easy for robots to learn, which means they can be standardized and scaled for production.”
• “I believe you can make it work,” Mike said with a nod. Then he raised the obvious concern. “But to keep a company running, we need capital. And with our current financial situation...”
• Sylvia had already thought of that.
• “Then let’s make money on the interstellar virtual network first. What do you think?”
• The interstellar virtual network connected people from different planets, much like the internet had in the apocalypse world.
• As long as someone entered a login pod and chose a virtual avatar, they could experience all kinds of activities on the starnet and interact with people from everywhere, almost like stepping into a fully immersive holographic game.
• Because people could experience taste, smell, and the other senses there just like in real life, virtual storefronts on the starnet had become hugely popular.
• For many companies, that was where their first fortune began.
• Seeing the thoughtful look in Mike’s eyes, Sylvia smiled.
• “I’m going to call the shop Creamery Creamer.”