NABC Chapter 41: That's it? One big white ball?
Chapter 41: That's it? One big white ball?
A large, smooth, mirror-like sphere, about twenty centimeters in diameter, stood upright in the porcelain plate.
"That's it? Just a big white ball?"
"What kind of dessert is this? Even a street vendor making sugar paintings could make it!"
"Does it have to be cut open to reveal anything, like that main course, the cheese-baked chicken?"
"Tch, after all that, it's just another gimmick? It gets boring after a while, all this pretentious mystification."
Liu Dazhu said impatiently, "Hurry up, find a hammer and crack it open, don't waste time!"
After a brief silence, a cacophony of voices erupted.
Lin Shuyao ignored him, calmly took out a match and handed it to the expert Ivanov, saying in Russian, "Please light the top of this ball."
Ivanov, still somewhat skeptical, struck a match and brought the flame close to the top of the sphere. The moment the flame touched the sphere, a miracle occurred!
The white sphere melted rapidly, like a falling curtain, revealing the scene inside the sphere—
A clear, ethereal music box melody filled the air, and a miniature stage sculpted from chocolate began to rotate, on which a girl in a ballet dress danced gracefully to the music.
The melted white chocolate shells flowed to the bottom of the plate, reflecting the rotating stage like Swan Lake.
The faint fruity aroma of mousse cake gradually filled the air.
Sight, hearing, and smell achieved perfect harmony at this moment.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide, staring blankly at the dreamlike scene before them.
"This dessert is called Swan Lake. The outer shell is made of chocolate, and the inside is a mousse cake base."
Lin Shuyao spoke in a sweet voice as she introduced her work.
Ivanov exclaimed in disbelief, "How...how did you manage to make the desserts play music?"
Lin Shu-yao: "The internal mechanism uses the mechanical device of a music box, but don't worry, I wrapped the device with a thin film, so it won't contaminate the food."
"This is absolutely amazing!" Ivanov was still speechless with astonishment.
Not only him, but everyone else was still immersed in shock. Master Ji, who had been calm and collected just moments before, had his pupils constrict as he stared intently at the rotating stage.
I thought his carving of a clock tower was already an amazing creation, but I never imagined that someone could make desserts play music and even spin!
The smugness and mockery on Liu Dazhu and his apprentices' faces froze, turning them as pale as paper.
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
How could this be? How could this happen?
How could Shen Qing design such an innovative dessert!
This is something I've never heard of or seen before!
But the Ivanov experts haven't announced who won or lost yet! They absolutely refuse to admit defeat!
Liu Dazhu snapped out of his daze. "Desserts are for eating, not for looking at. What's the point of just looking fresh? You have to taste them to know how they taste!"
Several apprentices quickly chimed in, "That's right! Shen Qing is good at coming up with these fancy but useless things. Comrade Ivanov, don't be fooled by her gimmicks."
"What mousse cake? We've never even heard of it. Shen Qing must have made it up to fool us."
"Shen Qing, why don't you let the experts taste it? You've been standing there for ages without moving. Is this mousse cake really that bad?"
Lin Shuyao scoffed, took out a knife, cut the mousse cake into small pieces, and placed them on dessert plates borrowed from a Western restaurant, along with a small silver spoon. She then distributed them to several Soviet comrades to taste.
Ivanov picked up the small silver spoon, gently scooped a bite of mousse cake, and put it in his mouth.
The next second—
"Clang!"
The silver spoon slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a crisp sound. He felt as if all his strength had been drained away, his legs went weak, and he fell backward to the ground!
His grey-blue eyes stared straight ahead, his expression blank, as if his soul had left his body.
Immediately afterwards, with two thuds, the translator and assistant next to him, after taking a bite, had the exact same reaction, both falling to the ground, their eyes glazed over, almost dropping the plates in their hands.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone!
Liu Dazhu was the first to react. After a brief moment of astonishment, a surge of joy suddenly welled up in his heart!
He jumped up, pointed at Lin Shuyao, and roared, "Shen Qing! You heartless woman! To win the selection competition, you dared to poison the Soviet experts in the cake!!"
These words were like cold water poured into a hot oil pan, instantly igniting the entire room!
"Oh my god! This is terrible! If the Soviet experts are poisoned here, the Soviets won't let us off the hook. Could this lead to World War III?!"
"My God, this is insane! Shen Qing is about to cause an international disaster!"
Factory Director Zhou turned pale with fright: "Quick! Go call the security department! Arrest that crazy woman, Shen Qing! She's going to ruin the whole factory!"
The union director quickly organized: "Help the experts up! Get them to the infirmary! No, directly to the hospital! Hurry!!"
Several bolder employees rushed forward to help Ivanov and the others who were slumped on the ground, but found that their bodies were stiff, their eyes were blank, and they did not respond to the calls and help from those around them. They just sat there blankly, their lips moving slightly, as if they were immersed in their own world.
This is terrible!
The poisoning is quite severe!
Panic spread like a plague, and all the blame was instantly directed at Lin Shuyao. Eyes filled with shock, anger, fear, and condemnation almost overwhelmed her.