Universe Infinite Canteen

This afternoon, someone bored and idle was on B site looking for videos to watch, when the name of a live stream caught his attention—Black Boss: Slaughtering Guests.

This game, Black M, had sparked interest again recently, chiefly because its first trailer was released four years ago, creating quite a stir at the time.

However, it had since fallen into obscurity, with the official account only occasionally "playing dead," leading some to categorize the game as a scam. Last month, Black M suddenly revived, announcing a release date and scheduled to launch in eight months.

So, the skeptics were quarreling again with the fans.

The naming of this live stream was clearly trying to ride on the coattails of Black M's popularity. But the name did pique his interest as well, considering football could be watched anytime, he clicked into the live stream first.

To his surprise, although it was a new account, there were already more than 500 viewers in the room, enthusiastically chatting away.

"Wow, this is that popular Universe Infinite Canteen I've heard about recently. Looks like the title wasn't wrong after all."

"Hey, is this restaurant a rip-off?" asked a newbie who stumbled into the stream.

"Yeah, it's not just a rip-off; it's legendary. Magic Seal's last exploratory video was shot here. They charge 168 for a plate of ham and potato pancakes, and there aren't even that many pieces."

"Damn, that is pretty extreme, but why do I see quite a few people dining despite that?"

"I don't know, maybe rich people are just silly."

"I know about this. It seems like the restaurant spent millions on marketing, hired a bunch of shills to leave positive reviews everywhere, and got many food influencers to help them scam customers.

"But this time they probably bit off more than they can chew... hehehe, Tang Rijie's tongue is notoriously venomous, and now he's a major influencer with over ten million followers. He definitely won't be bought." Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"What, the spicy investigative critic Tang Rijie is here? Where, where?!"

"Are you blind? Can't you see him at the second table on the left, with Teacher Tang's signature pot belly?"

"No way, that's Teacher Tang indeed, and he's already eating... but why does he look like he's enjoying it? It's making me hungry."

"Yeah, it's the first time I've seen Teacher Tang devour food that quickly and in such amounts in an exploratory visit," said a fan of Tang Rijie.

"What you've seen is all edited; maybe Teacher Tang always eats this fast."

Someone immediately retorted.

Boosted by Black M and Tang Rijie, the number of viewers in the live stream soared quickly, breaking a thousand in no time.

The skyrocketing viewer count would in turn push the platform's algorithm to give this new live stream better recommendations and more exposure, drawing even more viewers.

Tang Rijie had done live streams before, but they were mostly about selling products, chatting, or teaching cooking. His exploratory visits were always in edited videos.

This was everyone's first time fully witnessing his exploratory visit process, so many were watching with great interest.

But as they watched, someone finally raised a question.

"Who actually opened this live stream room? Could it really be the owner of Universe Infinite Canteen, and what's his agenda? Does he want to add some fun to our boring lives, or does he want to be remembered by the internet forever?"

"Hahaha, maybe he's just bizarrely confident. Remember when Teacher Tang visited places before, we've seen those arrogant owners who think there's nothing wrong with their food and refuse to admit it; they even sent Teacher Tang a lawyer's letter afterward, which was hilarious."

"Ah, I remember the one you mentioned. It really was entertaining, Teacher Tang really knows how to create a buzz."

"You see, Teacher Tang is at it again, even pretending to be stuck. Did he realize the boss is live streaming? Hurry up, we want to hear the sharp critique."

In the video, Tang Rijie had just put down his chopsticks and said to the camera, "This dish is good, very refreshing, just a bit too little, didn't quite satisfy my appetite. Maybe the boss wants us to save room for the dishes to come."

Everyone around him laughed accordingly.

However, there wasn't much of a joyful atmosphere in the live stream room.

"Ah, that's it?"

"Is it because there were no flaws, so he could only nitpick the price at the end?"

"It's all stuff Magic Seal has said before, not interesting. I was hoping for some professional bashing."

"Don't rush, it's just a small dish. Teacher Tang is building up here, he must be saving something big for later."

Although the audience in the live stream room was generally not very satisfied with Tang Rijie's performance just now, there were still many who, due to Tang Rijie's significant achievements in the past, insisted that he was either creating a buzz or brewing a big move.

In movies, this is called suppressing before promoting.

Fortunately, they didn't argue for too long before Tang Rijie began tasting the second dish—Four Treasures Beef Tail Soup.

The dish looked extremely appealing; it had already attracted a lot of attention when it was laid on the table, with creamy white broth decorated with red goji berries.

The fatty beef tail bones were half submerged in the broth, half sticking out, proudly showcasing their voluptuous forms, teasing the taste buds of the diners.

Tang Rijie first skimmed the fat off the top with a soup spoon and took a small sip, followed by a second, a third… His face rippled with a smile of happiness.

During this, the livestream host took the opportunity to give Tang Rijie a close-up. Under the high-definition camera, every pore on Tang Rijie's face seemed to expand.

"No way, is it that good? Old Tang looks like Zhu Bajie eating a ginseng fruit," someone commented in the chat.

"It must be just an act." Even the suppress-before-promote group was a bit uncertain now, mainly because Tang Rijie was enjoying it too much.

"If it really is an act, then his acting skills could probably land him a teaching job at the Beijing Film Academy," someone assessed.

Just then, the voice of Tang Rijie's photographer came through the live stream, "Say something, Teacher Tang, don't just eat."

Tang Rijie snapped out of it, "Oh, oh, oh, let's shoot it again." He paused, then added, "Wait, let me think about what to say."

Tang Rijie pondered for almost five minutes, with the audience in the live stream getting a bit anxious, before he called the photographer to start filming again.

Tang Rijie in front of the camera had regained his usual calm demeanor, casually scooping a spoonful of beef tail soup into his mouth.

"Um, not bad, the flavor is rich and intense. Everyone, when making beef tail soup, definitely don't boil the beef tail directly. Searing it first will enhance the flavor and reduce the gamey taste. Also, the chef here didn't blanch the beef tail but used a pre-soaking method to remove the blood."

"The blood was very thoroughly removed. It must have been soaked for at least 5 or 6 hours, and the water was changed 2 or 3 times. During cooking, the scum was also skimmed off very cleanly, so the soup doesn't have any impurities."

"Nowadays, many restaurants fear the hassle and always try to cut corners where customers can't see, but once you cut corners, the taste of the dish will definitely decline, either still retaining some gamey taste or the beef flavor not being as rich and intense."

Tang Rijie spoke from experience, and it was his routine to first point out the positives and then the negatives. But this time, the positives seemed to have accidentally been a bit too many, especially since he was on a mission.