* * *

He gave a short command.

“Plate.”

Cha Eun-seo, the part-timer, quickly placed a plate for fried rice next to him.

“Here you go!”

He picked up the frying pan and transferred the fried rice onto the plate. After shaping the rice with a spatula, he garnished it with a few vegetable pieces that had been set aside earlier.

“All done.”

Cha Dong-seok stuttered in surprise.

“Huh? Huh? Already….”

Freshly cooked fried rice was prepared faster than using frozen fried rice.

Cha Eun-seo clapped her hands.

“Wow! Even the plating is perfect!”

Cha Dong-seok, still bewildered, told Cha Eun-seo.

“Take it to the customer.”

“Sure!”

***

The customer, who was engrossed in a game, didn’t turn his gaze away when Cha Eun-seo brought the fried rice. He was in the middle of a crucial final battle and couldn’t afford to look away.

Despite his efforts, he lost the battle. There was no turning the game around now.

He let go of the mouse, blaming his team members in the game.

“This idiots.”

Grumbling, he turned to the fried rice.

“Might as well eat… huh?”

He was taken aback. He had indeed ordered fried rice, but what appeared was far from the usual frozen fried rice. The fried rice looked exceptionally well-made, with intricately arranged vegetable pieces on top.

“Uh… I just ordered fried rice?”

Cha Eun-seo stood there, curious about the customer’s reaction.

“Yes, this is what you ordered.”

“Wow…”

They say food that looks good tastes better. The customer took a spoonful of the fried rice, eager to try it.

As soon as he bit into it, the savory flavor hit him.

“Huh? This tastes like home?”

There was another familiar taste. It reminded him of the crispy fried rice he’d have after finishing a meal of dakgalbi at a restaurant.

He looked closely at the fried rice on the plate. Some grains were lightly browned but none were burnt.

Before he knew it, the rice in his mouth had disappeared. He took another spoonful.

It was delicious. The oiliness was just right, and the combination of flavors was excellent.

He was genuinely impressed.

“Wow! This is amazing! This PC bang’s fried rice is a hidden gem!”

His voice was quite loud.

The aroma was enticing too. Someone nearby remarked,

“I need to get some fried rice too.”

Orders for fried rice started pouring in. Suddenly, there were eight orders.

Owner Cha Dong-seok, looking flustered, asked him for a favor.

“Uh… sorry, but could you handle these new orders too?”

He whispered to his AI combat support,

“Can you make eight servings?”

[Field cooking recipes are originally designed for large quantities.]

“Why is that?”

[The essence of field cooking is threefold. On the battlefield, you can’t make individual servings, so you cook a large amount at once for the whole unit. You can’t spend a long time cooking, so it has to be quick.]

“And?”

[It has to be delicious. There’s not much for soldiers to enjoy on the battlefield. Good food greatly boosts morale. After risking their lives, if they only get subpar food, it’s demoralizing.]

“That field cooking skill is pretty handy.”

[By purchasing additional cooking skills, you can prepare a variety of modern dishes.]

“It’s 2022 now, but aren’t those skills sold 60 years in the future?”

[Correct.]

“Never mind that, let’s just make the fried rice. I’ll give you control of my hands again, so start.”

[Making eight servings?]

[Let’s make it ten to be safe.]

Using the remaining ingredients in the fridge, the AI assistant began making fried rice again.

In battlefields with poor supply conditions, you have to make the most of whatever ingredients are available. The AI assistant efficiently utilized the remaining ingredients to prepare the fried rice.

This time, two deep frying pans were used simultaneously. One was on the electric stove, the other on the gas stove.

Ingredients were added first and stir-fried before adding the rice. The heat was turned up to maximum again.

He held the spatula and alternated mixing the ingredients. This time, the spatula moved incredibly fast, almost as if it were just being waved around. Even so, the ingredients mixed swiftly as if in a blender.

Occasionally, he lifted the frying pans and shook them. Each time, the fried rice would rise and fall, yet not a single grain fell out.

Cha Eun-seo marveled.

“Wow. It’s like a machine is cooking.”

Thanks to the maximum heat, cooking didn’t take long. Soon, a delightful aroma filled the air.

“Plate.”

Cha Eun-seo quickly lined up eight plates.

He served the fried rice in individual portions and garnished them with the remaining vegetables.

Cha Eun-seo excitedly delivered the plates to the customers and returned, beaming.

“The customers say it’s really delicious! They’re all super impressed!”

Owner Cha Dong-seok made a request.

“Uh… could I have a bit too…?”

“I made plenty from the start.”

He divided the remaining fried rice onto two plates and handed them out.

Cha Eun-seo took a bite first, her eyes widening. She gave a thumbs-up.

“Amazing! It’s delicious! Way better than the frozen fried rice we used to sell. Are you a professional chef?”

“I’m just pretty good at this.”

“Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“In a war zone?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“Don’t people eat combat rations in war zones?”

“How can anyone live eating just that every day? When there’s time, you cook properly.”

She understood his words differently.

“Aah. So it means that life is a battlefield and reality is a warzone, not just actual war. You must have lived very diligently.”

Cha Dong-seok eyed the fried rice tensely with his spoon in hand.

‘Just how good is it for everyone to react this way?’

He cautiously took a spoonful and put it in his mouth.

“Aah… this taste…”

It was delicious. Much better than the frozen fried rice he had sold before and even better than the fried rice from the nearby restaurants.

But he had tasted fried rice of this caliber before.

“There’s a small provincial city I occasionally visit, and there’s a Chinese restaurant there that I always go to. Their fried rice is really good.”

Cha Eun-seo asked.

“Is it the place you mentioned before? The one where you can’t order a single serving and have to get at least two?”

“Yeah, that place. But this fried rice is just as good as theirs.”

“Wow. So our chef’s skills are on par with the head chef of that famous restaurant?”

Cha Dong-seok glanced at the kitchen refrigerator.

“No, the ingredients in our fridge are cheaper than the ones they use. Yet it’s just as tasty as that Chinese restaurant.”

Cha Eun-seo agreed enthusiastically.

“Our chef made ten servings at once. With limited ingredients and in large quantities, if it tastes this good, his cooking skills are amazing, right?”

“They are amazing. I can’t understand it. How does it taste this good with these ingredients and this environment?”

The AI Zinji spoke softly, so only he could hear.

[On the battlefield, ingredients are often scarce rather than plentiful. Extracting flavor in such conditions is Natural Robotics’ field cooking tactic.]

Cha Eun-seo asked him.

“So, can it get even tastier here?”

The AI Zinji explained.

[If the cooking tools and ingredients are secured, it can be cooked more deliciously.]

He answered.

“Of course.”

President Cha Dong-seok declared.

“Hire immediately! Let’s start working now!”

“I didn’t bring my ID.”

“You can bring it tomorrow! What’s your name?”

He couldn’t remember the name. Yet, he answered unconsciously.

“Kang-In.”

“Kang-In?”

“Na Kang-In.”

“Ah, Mr. Na Kang-In. Please work at our shop. Please.”

***

A place to stay was secured for now. A new customer entered, prompting Cha Dong-seok and Cha Eun-seo to leave the kitchen first.

The AI Zinji asked.

[Did you remember your name?]

Na Kang-In replied.

“No, I just said what came to mind.”

[You’ve already stated your name as Na Kang-In.]

“Until I remember my real name, let’s use Na Kang-In.”

[Understood.]

President Cha Dong-seok hurriedly came in.

“Mr. Na Kang-In. More fried rice orders came in, can you handle it?”

“There’s no rice in the rice cooker.”

“Oh… right? No rice?”

“We also need more cooking tools.”

He had just used two appropriately sized woks simultaneously. To handle large-scale cooking more easily, he needed larger cooking tools.

“What do you need? Order everything.”

“I’ll go to the store and buy them myself.”

“Wow, professionals really need to see and choose with their own eyes? Buy. Buy everything you need. Today’s special dish was just a free tasting service, so it’s over now.”

President Cha Dong-seok called his niece.

“Eun-seo! Take this card and go with Mr. Kang In to the store that sells kitchen tools. You know the big wholesale store up ahead? Go there.”

Cha Eun-seo raised her arms in excitement.

“Right now? Awesome!”

“No, after your shift. You have ten minutes left.”

***

Ten minutes later, the two left the PC bang.

A store specializing in kitchen tools like frying pans and pots was nearby.

Na Kang-In entered the store and looked around. The AR lens overlayed a translucent blue light image over the large frying pans and large stockpots used in Chinese restaurants.

[Acquire the marked equipment.]

Na Kang-In gathered the cooking tools. He picked up knives and several other tools.

Cha Eun-seo lifted a frying pan and worried.

“Isn’t this too heavy? If you fill it with rice like earlier, it’ll be too heavy to shake.”

Na Kang-In easily lifted the large wok, spun it around lightly, and put it down.

“It’s light.”

“Wow. You’re incredibly strong.”

She lightly touched Na Kang-In’s arm.

“Your arm feels like steel.”

They bought two large woks. Since they bought many other items, the store agreed to deliver them to the PC bang.

The two left the store and headed back to the PC bang.

Cha Eun-seo suggested.

“We should stop by the mart and get some groceries too. We mostly used frozen food, but since you’ll be cooking, we need more ingredients.”

“Let’s go.”

The mart sold various ingredients. When he reached the vegetable section, the AR lens displayed selection marks around certain vegetables.

[Acquire the marked items.]

“What’s the reason for the selection?”

[Freshness.]

Translucent text appeared next to the vegetables. Some were at 100%, others around 90%. Nothing below a certain freshness level was marked.

[Displayed the freshness of recommended products.]

He filled the cart with various ingredients. He also picked out seasonings.

“The seasonings from 2022 might be different from those used in 2082, right?”

[It doesn’t matter. Field cooking tactics use anything edible.]

They bought plenty of ingredients. It was too much to carry back, so the mart agreed to deliver it to the PC bang.

On the way back, Cha Eun-seo waved the credit card.

“Since I have this card in my hand, hehe. Shall we grab a coffee?”

“Is it okay to use that card freely?”

“The boss is my uncle. So, it’s okay. I’m doing this part-time job because my uncle asked for help.”

“But you can get coffee at an internet café too.”

“This place tastes better. The desserts are good too. Oh, do you know how to make desserts?”

The AI, only audible to him, explained.

[Delicious food boosts a soldier’s morale. Providing desserts in the battlefield makes soldiers believe their supply lines are secure, thus boosting their morale. When the situation is dire, it can also serve as the last supper…]

Na Kang-In interrupted the AI and answered Cha Eun-seo.

“Yes, I can make them.”

“Wow. What kind?”

“Um… I’ll make them for you later, so look forward to it.”

“Okay!”

After walking a bit more, the AI spoke.

[Additional clothing is necessary.]

Na Kang-In knew. He needed a change of clothes.

Right in front of him was a clothing store having a clearance sale. Among the items were cheap tracksuits. Since they were on clearance, he could get a set for ten thousand won.

The money he earned singing on the street was exactly ten thousand won. He had gotten back the money he initially spent at the internet café.

Na Kang-In picked up a tracksuit on clearance. The price was ten thousand won.

The AI spoke.

[Purchasing this clothing will exhaust your entire budget.]

“I know. But this is the cheapest here.”

* * *