Ghouls (2-in-1)

For example, the Chimera Arc in "Fullmetal Alchemist" is one of the most memorable and heartbreaking moments, leaving many readers with a psychological scar. It's a deeply sad and hopeless part of the story.

Such a cute little girl being turned into a monster by her father is incredibly distressing.

"Not bad," Ren smiled contentedly after seeing the first work.

A great start. Ren looked at the next work with satisfaction.

"Kiss x Sis"

This work was fantastic and was Ren's first exposure to manga in his previous life.

It tells the story of a romantic relationship between step-siblings in a remarried family.

However, it didn't quite fit Ren's current image.

The last title made Ren's spirit soar.

"Tokyo Ghoul"

This work was banned in Ren's previous life due to its gore and other elements. Before he transmigrated, searching "Tokyo Ghoul" on Baidu wouldn't bring up its Baidu Encyclopedia page.

"Tokyo Ghoul" tells the story of a group of mysterious, human-eating creatures called "ghouls" who secretly expand their influence in Tokyo.

The protagonist, an ordinary college student named Kaneki, is nearly killed by a ghoul attack. A doctor performs an organ transplant on him, but the donor is a ghoul...

When Kaneki wakes up in his hospital bed, he quickly realizes something is wrong. The food he used to enjoy now tastes terrible. At first, he doesn't feel hungry even after several days, but soon, severe hunger pangs begin to torment him. He realizes something is wrong with his body.

This story was relatively easy to adapt; by changing some everyday elements, it would be ready.

Unfortunately, the system's version of this work was incomplete, ending around the point where Kaneki is tortured by the ghoul Jason and abandons his humanity and gentleness.

But that was enough. The prestige required wasn't much.

Without hesitation, Ren exchanged for "Fullmetal Alchemist" and "Tokyo Ghoul."

Of course, he didn't plan to release too many works at once.

Even a genius producing so many storylines simultaneously would raise suspicions. People might think Ren had ghostwriters and was taking credit for their work.

Moreover, managing so many projects at once would be exhausting. Even with assistants, Ren would still need to handle scripts and character designs. The workload would be overwhelming.

Ren wanted to expand his wife's company, but he also wanted to enjoy life.

Since "Cooking Master Boy" was almost finished, he would start "Tokyo Ghoul" next, which was only twelve chapters. Then, he would work on "Fullmetal Alchemist" after "The Legend of the Seven Heroes."

Ren planned to work on one long series, one short series, and let his assistants handle one or two other series. The system didn't always provide great comics, so Ren wasn't worried about accumulating too many unaddressed works.

March 12th.

Ren returned home from the filming of "Ultraman Tiga."

He reached his doorstep and noticed the house's dark windows, which surprised him.

"Is anyone home?"

He thought maybe his wife had taken their daughter out.

He unlocked the door and felt for the switch in the dark.

"Click."

Along with the sound of the switch, there was a louder sound in front of him, making Ren jump.

"Daddy, happy birthday!"

Yueyue popped out from behind the sofa, giggling at Ren's startled reaction.

Usually, it was her dad scaring her; today, she finally got to scare him.

"Happy birthday, Ren," Jada said, pushing a cart with a cake. She placed a crown on Ren's head, "We've been planning this for a long time. I didn't let Yueyue say anything to you because I was afraid she'd spoil the surprise."

"Today's my birthday?"

Ren realized only after Jada put the crown on him. He had forgotten.

But this made him feel even warmer.

It felt good to be remembered.

Ren hugged Jada and kissed her.

Yueyue covered her eyes but peeked through her fingers.

She didn't understand why kids had to cover their eyes when people kissed, but since it happened in the shows she watched, she did the same.

"Don't make a scene, Yueyue's here," Jada chided, making Ren remember and turn to Yueyue.

Yueyue, feeling shy, walked up and pulled out a well-wrapped package from behind her. "Daddy, I have a gift for you too. You have to like it, okay? No rejecting my gift!"

She handed it to Ren, her eyes full of hope.

Ren unwrapped it to find a drawing.

It depicted five people, clearly identifiable despite the crude artistry: him, Jada, Yueyue, Ren's dad, and Ren's mom.

In the background was a farmyard, complete with Little White, the yellow dog, and a goose.

"I hope Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, Grandma, and I will always be together, and Little White… Even though the goose is annoying, I kind of like it too."

Yueyue explained, her eyes wide with anticipation. "Daddy, do you like it?"

"Of course I do," Ren said, lifting her for a kiss, "It's wonderful. Yueyue will be a great artist someday!"

"Really?" Yueyue beamed, satisfied with her achievement.

Ren took a picture of the drawing and posted it on Weibo, proudly showing it off.

Comments quickly flooded in.

"As expected of the master's daughter, her drawing is amazing!"

"Wow, such a cute kid. Can I call you father-in-law, Porter? I don't mind waiting twenty years."

"Today is the Porter's birthday? I didn't know."

"I forgot to send you razor blades!"

"Ugh, how can you praise such an ugly drawing?"

There were always trolls online, but their comments were quickly drowned out by others

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Time flies quickly.

To draw new manga, Ren specifically asked Jaz and the others to speed up their work on "Cooking Master Boy," increasing the release from two chapters per week to three. With this pace, the story, already near its conclusion, quickly approached its end.

In the manga, Cooking Master Boy and his friends learned from Inspector Li that the Dark Cooking Society had extended its influence to the capital. They hurried to Beijing.

However, they didn't expect the Dark Cooking Society to have inside help. First, they imprisoned Inspector Li, then aimed to seize the position of head chef in the imperial kitchen.

When Cooking Master Boy and his friends unexpectedly crashed the new head chef's inauguration ceremony, they were shocked to find that the person was none other than Ah Fei, who had previously helped Cooking Master Boy.

The comments section exploded.

"Wow, what's going on? Ah Fei is with the Dark Cooking Society?"

"No way, I always thought Ah Fei was too kind to be part of the Dark Cooking Society. Why would he help Cooking Master Boy if he was?"

"I bet Ah Fei has a good reason, like his loved ones being kidnapped by the Dark Cooking Society or being controlled."

"I agree."

Many couldn't believe that Ah Fei had genuinely joined the Dark Cooking Society.

Even though Ah Fei didn't appear often, his handsome looks and excellent cooking skills had attracted many readers. Of course, his looks were the main draw.

The imperial cooking showdown required them to prepare one hundred dishes in three hours. Ah Fei, using the theme of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, quickly got to work, while Cooking Master Boy pondered what the emperor truly liked.

Seeing Ah Fei's skilled cooking and his assistants helping him, the readers grew anxious.

But when Cooking Master Boy glanced at the emperor, he suddenly found the answer and started preparing his dish.

However, a sudden change occurred.

Though the emperor didn't finish all of Ah Fei's dishes, he tasted each one.

Remember, this was one hundred dishes! Even just a bite of each would fill his stomach.

But after much pleading from Cooking Master Boy, the emperor agreed to taste the porridge he presented.

"It's just ordinary porridge," the emperor said, tossing the spoon aside in boredom after one sip.

This made the readers' hearts sink.

Could this really be the end?

Just as readers feared the worst, the emperor, as if awakened, saw a flash before his eyes and asked for another dish from Cooking Master Boy's selection.

The emperor's request gave the readers hope.

As time passed, he went from tasting a bite of five dishes to wanting more, eventually fully awakening his appetite with Cooking Master Boy's Crystal Phoenix dish.

Ignoring his chief eunuch's objections, the emperor leaped down, grabbing plates to eat.

Finally, it was revealed that Cooking Master Boy's theme was medicinal cuisine. Seeing the emperor's frail state, he used medicinal dishes to invigorate him and won the challenge.

It turned out Ah Fei had been controlled by the Dark Cooking Society's evil drugs. Cooking Master Boy used three legendary cooking tools to make a soup that saved Ah Fei.

In the end, under the emperor's orders, Ah Fei joined Cooking Master Boy and his friends on a journey to find other legendary cooking tools.

After reading the latest chapter, the readers left their thoughts.

"I knew it, Ah Fei was being controlled!"

"I'm excited to see Cooking Master Boy's next adventures to find the legendary cooking tools."

But soon, some noticed something strange.

"Hey, doesn't it feel like something's missing in this 52nd chapter?"

"I feel the same, but I can't pinpoint what's missing."

"Wait, I got it! Every chapter used to end with 'to be continued,' but this one didn't."

"Could it be the end?"

"No way! They haven't found all the legendary cooking tools yet."

"Exactly!"

Many couldn't believe it. To them, there were still many unresolved plot points, like the fate of other members of the Dark Cooking Society and the remaining legendary cooking tools.

Why would the Porter rush to end the series?

A large group quickly flooded the official site to ask about it.

The response they got was...the manga had indeed ended!

Soon, many readers questioned Ren on his Weibo.

Ren responded, not deceiving the readers with promises of a sequel.

He straightforwardly explained the reason for ending it.

He said he had run out of inspiration for the recipes in Cooking Master Boy.

And he promised that a new food-themed manga would be coming soon.

Yes, "Tokyo Ghoul," also known as "Tokyo Eater," fits the bill as a food manga.

Some readers accepted this explanation, understanding that the creative, fantastical recipes in Cooking Master Boy weren't easy to come up with on the spot.

The glowing food and over-the-top reactions were crucial to the series' charm. Missing either would greatly reduce its appeal.

Given the promise of a new food-themed manga, they didn't complain much, only urging Ren to release the new work soon.

By mid-April, "Cooking Master Boy" officially ended.

Douzhir.com rated it 8.9, and its single-volume sales exceeded one million.

This culinary manga set a new record for food-themed comics in China.

Some even asserted that among Chinese manga artists under 30, Ren was the most creative.

This view gained a lot of support, eventually leading to discussions comparing Ren to other young manga artists, debating who was the best.

However, Ren himself wasn't very interested in such titles. Being the number one young artist didn't translate to food or drink; it was just a hollow title.

But during the subsequent voting, Picca Comics employees, from the boss to the staff, all voted for Ren.

After "Cooking Master Boy" ended, a manga company quickly approached Ren to adapt the work.

Though the animation company was relatively new, its productions were top-notch, and Ren was very satisfied.

Barring any surprises, the anime adaptation of "Cooking Master Boy" would be handled by this company.

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For 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/angelictranslating