My Gourmet Restaurant in Another World

A small, dusty shop stood inconspicuously in this bustling city. Its worn wooden door and leaky roof added to its dilapidated appearance, and the only light source was the bright moonlight filtering in. "Sigh," Karen muttered, sitting on the only shabby chair, surveying the modest room. Just hours ago, he had been competing in the World Gourmet Chef Championship, but now, after returning to his hotel for a rest, he found himself here upon waking. This strange world and the rundown shop were his only solace. Brushing off the dust on his clothes, he grumbled at the state of the place, sighing inwardly without saying much more. Navigating through the cluttered hall, Karen focused on the kitchen, the area he cared about the most. Fortunately, it was relatively intact. At the back of the shop was a hidden, narrow staircase just wide enough for one person to pass through. The staircase wasn't long, and in a few steps, he reached the second floor. The lighting here was much better than downstairs. The small second floor was divided into three rooms, not crowded at all. Blessings were written on the white door panels, though the colors had faded over the years. "Click." An ear-piercing sound echoed. The only clean thing in the entire bedroom was the double bed, with the blanket neatly arranged. Karen looked disdainfully at the dust on his clothes, took out a change of clothes from his bag, and headed to the second-floor washroom. He washed his face at the sink, his mature face reflected in the mirror. He looked about thirty, with deep, captivating eyes exuding maturity and calmness. After washing up, Karen lay on the bed, feeling a bit restless, starting to miss his family and friends from the other world. As the sky outside darkened, he closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. "Beep beep, detecting stable mental state of the host, suitable for binding. Binding initiated. Binding complete." A peculiar electronic voice suddenly echoed in his mind, and Karen opened his eyes, filled with surprise. "System?" he whispered. "Yes, host, I am here," the cold, serious electronic voice responded in his mind. "Dear host, hello. I was your phone on Bluestar. Due to the spatial-time traversal, I have been transformed into a God of Cooking system. Now, I will initiate your first task." "Wait, wait, what system?" Karen asked calmly, sitting up on the bed. "The God of Cooking system. To conserve energy, this system will now appear in the form of text in your mind. Just focus to view." The cold electronic voice completely disappeared. Text explanation: "This system knows you were a famous chef on Bluestar. However, due to the spatial turbulence, all your chef recipe memories are lost, retaining only ordinary memories." Objective: "This system will help you learn all Bluestar dishes and combine them with this world's ingredients to become the world's number one God of Cooking." Host: Karen (Ordinary human) Gender: Male Physical fitness: C Cooking talent: Unknown Cooking skill level: Novice [Task] Own a shop of your own. [Reward] Egg Fried Rice skill. "A shop of my own?" Karen thought, looking at the two-story building, feeling it was a gift from the gods. Seeing the reward, Karen felt a bit disheartened. "Egg Fried Rice? Isn't that something many people can make?" System text: The world's most delicious egg fried rice. "How is it delicious?" Karen asked earnestly. This time, there was no explanation, only a solitary line of text: Please complete the task first. The next morning, after freshening up, Karen went downstairs, looking at the dusty tables and chairs on the first floor. Sighing, he went back upstairs to the wardrobe to search. He pulled out one item after another, finally finding cleaning clothes after a few minutes. Holding the clothes, Karen spaced out for a moment. The clothes were dark blue and resistant to dirt, making them easy to clean. Quickly changing, Karen donned a baseball cap and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. "Snap." He turned on the dusty switch on the wall, and several lamps emitted bright light. The first floor was still dirty, with a clear silhouette on the yellow tiles. The place was about thirty square meters, with the kitchen and hall separated by a meter-wide door, directly facing the front door. The hall had six red long tables, each with four chairs, but none in their original positions. The wallpaper on the walls was peeling, and the kitchen had a double stove gas range, its usability uncertain. Three hours later, Karen was covered in dust, with patches of dirt on his face, a cobweb hanging from his hat, and a towel in hand that was unrecognizable. His shoes were thick with black grime. Standing at the staircase, he smiled with satisfaction. Looking at the clean and tidy hall and kitchen outside, the shop had taken shape. He threw the dirty white towel into the trash bag and stretched his aching body, heading upstairs. The first thing he did was go to the bathroom to wash up, not daring to enter his room in this state. Half an hour later, with his hair still dripping, Karen sat on a chair, jotting down tasks for the next day on a white paper. After organizing everything, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep immediately, not even bothering to cover himself with a thin blanket. The weather in this other world in April was perfect, neither too hot nor too cold. Barely a minute on the bed, Karen opened his eyes again. Feeling good, he began to wash up and prepare to complete the tasks he had set the previous night. Opening the front door, Karen fully saw the outside world for the first time. This other world was quite similar to Bluestar, with bustling, friendly neighbors. He pasted a sign prepared the night before on his door: "Bluestar Gourmet Shop." Stretching, he returned to the hall and checked the task display. [Task] Own a shop of your own [Completed] Before Karen could rejoice, the system text appeared in his mind. System text: "Initial task completed. God of Cooking system officially activated, entering shop renovation mode." "Clang, clang, clang." "System, what does renovating the shop mean?" Karen asked urgently, hearing noises from the kitchen. System text: "The system will upgrade your shop for free, allowing you to provide better dishes to customers." Watching the tables and chairs disappear, Karen felt a surge of excitement, seeing the hall and kitchen undergoing renovation. He opened the task reward and claimed it directly. The words "egg fried rice" turned into a book-like shape. As Karen focused on it, the book exploded into a bright light, enveloping his mind and disappearing. Egg fried rice is a basic Chinese dish that almost everyone who can cook can make.