Like the two, Ah-Fei was assigned to the room beside theirs, sharing it with another newcomer name Tian Wenhao. But unlike them, this newbie was a local resident of Nanyao City, not a refugee like them.

Of course, that didn't mean he would be exempted from the room rental.

Tian Wenhao came from the West District. From what he shared with them, he was the oldest child in the family of seven. As the eldest brother, Tian Wenhao naturally had the responsibility to come out for employment early on to take a share of his parent's financial burden.

(Author's Note: Another name Pun of mine here. Tian = Sky. Also, mean the act of writing/recording words down. Wenhao = Question mark. His name roughly translates to "writing down the question mark here...)

In addition, the Golden Expanse House is just a district away from his parent's home.

Still, Tian Wenhao chose to stay in the Escort Agency to avoid burdening his parents with the living cost. After all, the food required by a working adult is twice as compared to a kid and elderly.

Since meals and accommodation were provided to the agency members, why would Tian Wenhao choose to not enjoy this benefit?

The next morning, the four went straight to the canteen for breakfast. Nick and Shen Mi Kang excused themselves afterward and went into the back kitchen. Because Rou Mian Fen had already paved the path for their employment, it required no additional effort from them to start working.

They were given a few stations to choose from, and Shen Mi Kang immediately picked the boiling room without consideration.

As for Nick, he naturally picked the ingredient preparation station because that was his forte.

Meanwhile, Ah-Fei and Tian Wenhao followed Rou Mian Fen elsewhere for their employment. Apparently, Tian Wenhao awakened a Turtle Base Beast Spirit and was also in need of training.

...

"Whoa! Is this guy real?" a few kitchen helpers were in shame while looking at Nick in awe. They could hardly believe that there's actually a genius in food cutting.

This was Nick's first day, but to someone who lived all his life in the kitchen back on Earth, Nick's knife skill is naturally better than almost everyone here. In addition, most of the ingredient he was responsible for was all vegetables.

Since there was no demand for delicate knifework, he naturally aced his first day. Compared to the others, Nick only needs half the time to finish his assignment.

Even the canteen's vice chief was shocked by the performance. To make it more surprising, there's no fault for the chef to pick on Nick.

Feeling that he should have a word with Nick, the vice chief called Nick to follow him to the side.

"Boy, is this your first time working in the kitchen? You don't look like a tender stem at all..." said the vice chief. Even he, with fifteen years of working experience in the kitchen, couldn't repeat what Nick had done.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Naturally, that's obvious. After all, Nick had been working in the kitchen since he was ten. If they were comparing the years of experience, Nick was eleven years more senior than the vice chief.

"Yes, vice chief. Please do not hesitate to correct me if I am crossing the line. After all, it was my first day." Nick humbly replied to the vice chief without being overly proud and excessively devaluing himself.

After all, true skill is like a polished gem. It would be difficult to hide the glimmer even if you tried.

"Hahaha, if I had to pick something, that would be how lazy you look. Since it's still early, why don't you take another person's task? I'll double your pay for today!" the vice chief laughed.

"I will go back to work now, vice chief." Nick bowed slightly at his superior and returned to his station again.

This time, the number of ingredients was much more. And surprisingly, the inventory keeper also added a Yuan Qi Turquoise Fruit.

"Eat it. I heard from Fatty Rou that you had a Knife-base Tool Spirit, correct? Since your knifework is so good, why not go to the extent and refine your compatibility with the Innate Spirit? You'll quickly notice the different." the inventory keeper said.

To Nick, getting his hand on a free Yuan Qi Turquoise Fruit is a good thing to him. And without any hesitation, he loaded the grape-like fruit into his mouth and gave it a chew before swallowing.

Nick's eyes immediately brightened when the fruit turned out to be the sweet one, where the chance of getting it was around one in every ten.

After returning to the station, Nick waited for a few minutes to allow the burning sensation to gradually appear around his abdomen. Once it happened, he repeated what he was taught by the apprentice and summoned the Tool Spirit into his hand.

This was Nick's second time holding the Tool Spirit. And apparently, the bond between them was much greater than before. He felt he had been using this knife throughout his life and was confident of its sharpness.

It was even more comfortable than his own chef knife back on Earth, which was tailormade especially for him by the most well-known kitchenware master.

Nick felt nothing he couldn't cut with his Tool Spirit. But the reality quickly hits him with another bitter truth.

Although the Tool Spirit was exceptionally sharp, it gradually got blunt the more he used it. At one point, the Tool Spirit's edge got so dull that it could hardly cut into the shell of a coconut-like ingredient.

"Huh... Huh..." Nick began to run out of breath. Apparently, he could only maintain the Tool Spirit's sharpness and usefulness for ten to eleven minutes before it vanished into thin air.

"Not bad for a newcomer. How does it feel? Exhausted in both mind and body?" a familiar voice came into Nick's ears while he tried to take as much oxygen into his lungs. The fatigue lasted for a while, and he was slightly better after resting for fifteen minutes.

"Supervisor... Is this normal?" Nick asked. He felt that his hand was still shaking from the excessive fatigue. It is even worst than the one he had before back on Earth.

At least, the fatigue back there only made him collapse and fall asleep. But here, it came with a traumatized headache, a body so dehydrated and sore in all his muscles.

(Author's Note: Around his hands, of course. Stating all his muscles was only a word to describe how serious it seemed)

"It is. But at the same time, it's not. You can only blame it on how terrible your body's fitness and stamina are. Well... You're not the only one feeling this. The other three of them had collapsed and lying in a building nearby. You're the only one still on your feet." Rou Mian Fen said.

"Do you want to take a rest, or finish what you had in hand?" he added.

"I'll... Finish them..." Nick replied.

To be honest, Nick was on the verge of collapsing. But perhaps because he had already gotten used to these feelings, he found the exhaustion addicting.

Still, it took Nick two hours to finish preparing the ingredients on his workstation. When he left the canteen's kitchen, he immediately collapsed into Rou Mian Fen's arms.

When he opened his eyes again, it was about time for dinner.