Lam Minh returned to Lac Hong Base just before nightfall. He handed the bag of Stone Mushrooms to Head Chef Cuong, who had been pacing anxiously all afternoon.
"Oh my god! You're back!" Head Chef Cuong ran out and hugged him tightly. "You had us worried to death! Are you okay? Did you run into any danger?"
"I'm fine, sir," Lam Minh smiled, his face looking a little "tired." "The path was just a bit hard to find. Luckily, I didn't encounter any Madakaros."
Everyone in the kitchen let out a sigh of relief. They had no idea that their "hero" had just gone "mushroom picking" and conveniently eliminated a scholar of the enemy race, earning nearly 5,000 Immortality Points in the process.
"Good! Very good!" Head Chef Cuong clapped him on the shoulder. "We have the ingredients! Now it's all up to you, Expert Lam!"
Lam Minh wasted no time. He immediately got to work.
He instructed the other chefs to grind the Type-Z rations into a fine powder. Then, he personally prepared the Stone Mushrooms, using a hint of Dragon qi to remove their bitterness and stimulate their natural sweetness. He also finely chopped various dried vegetables, mixing all the ingredients together according to a golden ratio he had calculated in his past life.
The giant kitchen of Lac Hong Base operated at full capacity. The aroma of spices, of baking dough, of vegetables began to spread, dispelling the tense atmosphere of a day of fighting.
Lam Minh, in the guise of a professional chef, commanded a whole team of assistant cooks, creating thousands of nutritious baked cakes and dozens of pots of hot soup.
When the first dishes were delivered to the Xa Tinh outpost, the soldiers there, who had been mentally preparing to gnaw on rock-hard rations for a week, couldn't believe their eyes.
"What... what is this? Baked cakes?"
"There's soup too? It smells so good!"
They took a bite of a cake. The light sweetness of the Stone Mushrooms, the nutty flavor of the grains, and the rich taste of the spices blended together, creating a wonderful flavor. It wasn't just delicious; after eating, they also felt their bodies warm up, and their fatigue seemed to melt away.
"Oh my god! This is so delicious! This is the best food I've ever had on the front line!"
"I feel so much better after eating! It's like I just got a vitamin shot!"
The morale of the entire regiment at the Xa Tinh outpost soared. They fought more fiercely, their defenses more solid. The story of the "miracle dish" and the "hero chef" Lam Minh quickly spread throughout the Western Front.
At Lac Hong Base, To Quyen and Quynh Nhu also heard the story. They went to the kitchen and found Lam Minh wearing an apron, his face smudged with flour, but with a very bright smile.
"I never knew you had this talent," Quynh Nhu said, holding a freshly baked hot cake. "This is really good! If you're unemployed in the future, you could open a bakery."
"It's just a few simple dishes," Lam Minh smiled.
To Quyen, however, looked at him with different eyes. She saw not just a hero, a genius, but also a warm man who cared about the simplest things. The image of him in an apron, cooking attentively, had a strange charm.
"You've worked hard," she said, gently wiping a smudge of flour from his cheek with a cloth.
Her intimate gesture made Quynh Nhu, standing beside them, let out a "tsk" sound, but she said nothing.
Lam Minh felt the care from the two girls, and a warmth spread in his heart. He looked at the soldiers happily enjoying the food he had made, and a sense of satisfaction and contentment washed over him.
This feeling was even better than receiving several thousand Immortality Points.
In his past life, he was a warrior who only knew how to kill. He had witnessed his comrades fall from hunger, from exhaustion, from despair. He understood better than anyone how important morale and spirit were in a long-term war. A good meal, a word of encouragement, sometimes had more value than an advanced weapon.
In this life, he didn't just want to be a fighting machine. He wanted to be a pillar of support, a source of encouragement for everyone. He wanted to protect them not just with his strength, but also with his heart.
"Hey, what are you thinking about so seriously?" Quynh Nhu nudged him. "Is being a chef too tiring?"
Lam Minh turned and smiled. "It's nothing. I just feel that being a chef is sometimes very enjoyable."
He looked out into the distance, towards the front line, where the sound of gunfire still echoed relentlessly.
He knew he had found another reason to fight. Not just for revenge, not just for survival. But to protect these smiles, to protect these simple moments of peace.
The war was still long, but he no longer felt alone. Because he knew that behind him were millions of smiles that he needed to protect.
...
The legend of Lam Minh's "miracle dish" became a tale told all over the Western Front. He was not only loved by the soldiers but also received special attention from the high-ranking generals. They realized that this kid was not just a combat genius, but also possessed strategic thinking and an extraordinary ability to inspire. He understood that war was not decided by guns and bullets alone, but also by the will and spirit of the soldiers.
When the volunteer campaign ended, the student group returned to a hero's welcome from the entire city. But this time, the one who was cheered the most was not the "hero" Lam Minh, but the entire collective. The stories of To Quyen's silent contributions at the hospital, Quynh Nhu's bravery on patrols, and even Hung 'Map's' sweat in the loading zone... all were recognized and commended.
Lam Minh happily stepped back, letting his friends have the spotlight. He much preferred this role of a "silent hero."
On the day of their return, as he was packing his things at Lac Hong Base, Colonel Dung came to see him privately.
"You're about to leave?" he asked in a friendly tone.
"Yes, sir, Colonel."
"I have a gift for you," Colonel Dung said, handing him a small wooden box. "This isn't military merit or a reward. This is a personal thank you from me and the brothers at the Xa Tinh outpost."
Lam Minh curiously opened it. Inside was a grayish-silver piece of metal. It looked very ordinary, but when he held it, he could feel a pure and cool energy radiating from it.
"This is..."
"It's a piece of 'Spirit Stone' that we recovered during an ambush on the enemy," Colonel Dung explained. "According to the scientists, this is the type of energy ore that the Madakaros use for cultivation. It's extremely rare. We don't know what to do with it, but I heard you're researching these kinds of energies, so I'm giving it to you. I hope it will be useful."
Lam Minh's eyes lit up. A Spirit Stone! This was exactly what Mak'lar had told him about! It was the "rice" of cultivators, containing pure spiritual energy that could be absorbed directly to increase one's cultivation level, a hundred times more effective than absorbing it from the air! This small piece was more valuable than ten tons of gold.
This was truly a priceless gift.
"I... thank you, Colonel! This gift is too precious!" Lam Minh said, his voice full of gratitude.
"It's nothing," Colonel Dung smiled. "Compared to what you've done for us, it's nothing at all. Keep up the good work, young man. The future of humanity depends on your generation."
Lam Minh carefully put the Spirit Stone away, his heart filled with excitement. With this Spirit Stone, plus the nearly 5,000 points he had just earned, breaking through to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm was no longer far away.
The bus ride back to Sai Gon City.
"Hey, what did Colonel Dung give you in that wooden box?" Quynh Nhu asked curiously, leaning close to him.
"It's a secret," Lam Minh winked. "A personal gift, can't be revealed."
"Tsk, so secretive," Quynh Nhu pouted, but didn't press further.
To Quyen, sitting beside him, just smiled. She knew he had another secret, but she was no longer too concerned. She trusted him.
When he got home, after greeting his parents, Lam Minh immediately slipped into his room and locked the door. He took out the Spirit Stone.
He sat cross-legged and placed the Spirit Stone in his palm. He began to operate the "Primeval Dragon God Art."
Instantly, a rich and pure stream of spiritual energy flowed from the Spirit Stone into his body like a waterfall. It didn't need to go through the process of filtering and transformation like when absorbing from the air, but flowed directly into his meridians and merged with the Primary Core in his dantian.
His Primary Core, which had been spinning slowly, began to accelerate. It frantically absorbed the spiritual energy, becoming shinier and more solid.
"Wonderful!" Lam Minh felt refreshed all over. "This speed is a hundred times faster than cultivating on my own! This small piece is almost equivalent to a whole month of my hard cultivation."
He immersed himself in the feeling of his cultivation level rapidly increasing.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Minh! You have a friend here to see you!" his mother's voice called.
Lam Minh was startled and quickly stopped his practice, putting the Spirit Stone away. He went to open the door and saw his mother standing there with... Ly Thien Ba.
"Master!" Ly Thien Ba was delighted to see him. "I heard Master just got back from the front, so I came to visit. I brought some gifts."
He handed Lam Minh a large bag filled with all sorts of high-end health supplements.
"What are you doing here?" Lam Minh asked.
"Well, besides visiting Master, I have a favor to ask of you," Ly Thien Ba said, his expression a little serious.
"What is it?"
"My girlfriend... uh no, the girl I'm pursuing, she has a very important combat match coming up. I was hoping Master... could come and be her coach, teach her a few moves."
Hearing this, Lam Minh almost fainted.
"Are you crazy? I don't even have a girlfriend, and you're asking me to go coach yours? I'm not going!"
"Please, Master," Ly Thien Ba pleaded. "She's also a huge fan of yours! If she knew that you were personally teaching her, she would be so happy. Just help your disciple this one time!"
He begged and whined, giving Lam Minh a huge headache.
"Alright, fine," he reluctantly agreed. "But only for one session."
"Yes! Thank you, Master!" Ly Thien Ba was overjoyed.
Lam Minh sighed. The life of a "celebrity" was truly endlessly troublesome. He didn't know that this reluctant "coaching" session would bring him a new set of troubles and comical situations.