The Golden Plate (3)

After Lillian and Sophie's entrance, groups of people streamed in one after another.

8 couples. 3 girls by themselves. And a teenager...

Some people played board games at the long table.

Some formed smaller groups, holding drinks, chatting.

By the looks of it, Jeff was not the only new guy to this group.

Walking around, Jeff greeted and chatted with his guests. Making a drink behind the counter, Jeff looked up.

It's that teenager. Apparently, he was the little brother of a KMR member. His name - Alex. With supernatural tier psychic abilities, Jeff had no trouble remembering everyone's names here.

"Wait. Are you the Mission Machine?" The teenager hesitantly asked. It's as if he had wanted to confirm this information this entire time.

"It's Jeff. But yeah, Mission Machine is my codename."

"Woah!" The teenager's eyes brightened up. "Can I take a picture with you? I'm your biggest fan."

"Sure thing." Jeff lifted his cup.

*Snap* *Snap*

The teenager took two selfies with Jeff. "Mission Machine, sir, can you enter your lightbulb mode? Please? I heard it's super cool. Can you blind monsters with it? Like a flash grenade?"

Jeff's cheek twitched a little. 'Lightbulb mode... Well... That didn't age well.'

"Erhm." Jeff cleared his throat. "It's actually Simultaneous Activation of Fending Energies mode."

"In short..." Jeff squinted. "It's SAFE mode."

Like turning a light on, Jeff started to emit a warm golden glow. "Remember it."

"Cooooool..."

*Snap* *Snap*

"Hey Mister Jeff. I'm hosting a new year's party... And all of my friends are your fans too. Can you come to my party? Can you come, please? please? please?"

Jeff: ... 'Is this how fan boys act?'

"Sorry. But I'm afraid I'm busy..."

"But it's new years! How can you be busy when it's new years." Alex seemed really disappointed.

"It's good times children won't understand" Jeff put on a mysterious smile and winked.

Mixing his drink a bit, Jeff was ready to leave.

"After new years, can I be your sidekick then?"

Jeff raised his brows. 'This kid needs to cool down a bit...'

"Look kid." Jeff put on a serious face. "I'm just a cold-blooded monster-killing machine. Alright? Not a superhero."

"That's even more cool!"

Jeff: ...

"Hmm... I like your attitude. You can be my wingman when you hit S-rank."

"Yes!" The kid fist-pumped.

But in reality, this kid was not gonna hitting S-rank.

He only had a D-rank energy level. Unless something drastic happens (like near-death experiences), he was going to be stuck in D-rank. By the looks of it, there's simply no training guides or meditation guides in this world. Can't rank up through training here.

But Jeff was not going share this insider information.

"Mister Jeff. Mister Jeff. Can I train with you? I think I'm pretty talented and strong. I've got potential." The kid pleaded.

Tingling~ Tingling~

Alice was tapping a spoon onto her glass of wine. Looking at Jeff's direction, the girl subtly flicked her brows a few times.

"Alright guys. Looks like you are enjoying the party. But let's break from your small bubbles for a moment."

"Let's gather up, and do something fun together."

"But before that. A quick toast to our friendship." Alice lifted up her glass of wine.

"To everyone here. I wish you health, wealth, and fortune in the upcoming year!"

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Wuuuuuuhuuuuu~"

*Gulp* *Gulp* *Gulp*

"Jeff, come here and do your magical trick."

"You've got it." Jeff walked into the circle of people.

Clap.

5 feet of big Jenga blocks popped into existence.

"Woah!"

"Cool!"

"Now make it disappear!"

"You've got it."

Clap.

"Woah!"

"How did you do that!" A girl brushed her hand through air, at where the blocks used to be.

"Now make it reappear!" It's a dude with reddened face.

Clap.

Poke. A block moved.

"Woah!"

...

...

2 AM...

Sitting on their couch, Jeff held Alice in his arm. Their leaning heads touched together.

The radio played Christmas music in the background. This girl smelled like fresh oranges.

In the kitchen, floating plates washed by themselves. Telekinesis sure made Jeff's life convenient.

"Wanna open the gifts before we go to sleep?" Jeff popped a gift box into existence. "It's already Christmas."

"Sure." Alice took over the box.

Seeing the size of this box, feeling its weight, the girl threw a suspicious look at Jeff.

"... You didn't get me a set of cookware for Christmas right?"

Jeff's smile froze.

"Huh." Alice pulled open the ribbon. Flipping the box open...

Pam!

Plastic confetti shot up into air.

Golden light shot out of the box.

Two laminated tickets gradually floated out of the box.

Alice's eyes widened. The girl held her breath.

"Are those..." The girl looked at Jeff in disbelief.

"Yep." Jeff nodded.

These were Food Tour + Cook Off Competition tickets.

"B-B-But" Alice's voice became high-pitched. "I heard it's reserved for top-notch chefs and food critics. And And And. We-"

"Yep." Jeff nodded again. "But it turns out, if you throw credits at Berrystone's Association of Dining Services, they're pretty flexible about it."

"And the final price for winning the competition is a golden plate trophy, as well as the handwritten draft of the 1st edition of Chef's Encyclopedia. I thought you might have wanted it."

(Chef's Encyclopedia: Finished collecting the information. Still in the organizing and sorting phase. Not published yet. Before publication, this draft will give the winner a huge competitive edge in the dining business)

"Jeff?"

"This is Jeff speaking."

"I love you."

"Love you too." Jeff snapped his fingers. The lights in this room slowly dimmed.