Chapter Sixteen: A New Trait—Chef’s Apprentice

Chapter Sixteen: A New Trait—Chef Apprentice

"Is there really an item related to the kitchen?"

Chen Ye’s gaze immediately fixed on the “spatula” in the trade menu, and relevant information appeared on the left side.

[Spatula: A spatula that can be used for cooking!]

Chen Ye furrowed his brow slightly, pondering whether to exchange for it.

Just then,

The Eye of Fortune detected the spatula, emitting a faint, colorful glow like a shimmering mist, strands of light subtly connecting and merging with itself.

The scene was truly mystical.

Chen Ye instantly realized that this “spatula” might hold a different significance for him!

“So my Eye of Fortune can observe through the screen?”

Chen Ye felt a surge of delight.

Although the Blood-Red Phone provided scant information...

Combined with the Eye of Fortune, the amount of information he could glean was vastly different!

While others might not perceive the true value of certain items, Chen Ye could—giving him the chance to snatch a bargain!

“Accept invitation.”

Chen Ye quickly approved the other party’s trade request.

The next moment,

A chat window popped up at the center of the Blood-Red Phone screen—

[Player ‘Nine-Tailed Fox’s Pen’ requests to open chat interface…]

Chen Ye hesitated for a moment, then chose “Accept.”

Soon, a message appeared in the chat box.

[Nine-Tailed Fox’s Cat: “Greetings, master. I want to exchange this spatula for your food.”]

[Chen Ye: “Okay.”]

[Nine-Tailed Fox’s Cat: “However, I need at least a week’s supply of food and water. Is that acceptable?”]

So it was bargaining time...

But this was quite normal, after all, the spatula might be an item tied to a special trait.

His food was merely consumables to barely sustain life.

Since Chen Ye wanted to trade low-value food for a rarer item, the other party naturally sought to negotiate for more food to reduce their loss.

Chen Ye thought it over and replied.

[Chen Ye: “I can prepare a week’s worth for you, but these candied chestnuts have strong satiating power; one can sustain a whole day easily.”]

[Nine-Tailed Fox’s Cat: “Seven pieces... isn’t that a bit too few...”]

[Chen Ye: “I’ll also include seven days’ worth of drinking water.”]

[Nine-Tailed Fox’s Cat: “But this spatula costs me a whole month’s salary. Since your candied chestnuts are so effective, can you give me more?”]

[Chen Ye: “Alright, I’ll give you twenty-one chestnuts—three per day, about two liters of water, plus a copper coin. This is the maximum help I can offer; I worked hard to gather these resources and have no more.”]

[Nine-Tailed Fox’s Cat: “Fine... I accept the trade...”]

At this early stage,

Exchanging surplus survival resources for items imbued with special functions was never a loss.

The rarity was on an entirely different level.

In fact, Chen Ye had over fifty candied chestnuts in that bag.

Not even worth the price of a single song.

Yet, he managed to trade for a spatula that radiated a seven-colored aura of fortune—no matter how you looked at it, it was a great gain.

Though he wasn’t sure if Nine-Tailed Fox’s Cat was telling the truth...

If the spatula truly represented a month’s salary, it must hold special value.

The player was just starting out and couldn’t yet unlock the spatula’s full potential.

But the aura of fortune connecting it to Chen Ye himself hinted at a unique function.

As for the two liters of water...

Nearby, the old erhu player snored thunderously, seemingly dead to the world.

Without hesitation, Chen Ye took the entire bucket of water.

Along with a copper coin.

In truth,

A copper coin wasn’t worth much—he could earn three copper coins just by performing a single song.

But pairing it with candied chestnuts and water gave the coin a sense of security, making the trade seem less one-sided.

The “Black Market” had special rules—since trades were agreed upon by both parties after careful consideration, even if there was a value discrepancy, it was regarded as an equivalent exchange, causing no further issues.

The Blood-Red Phone’s trading platform was called the [Mysterious Black Market], precisely because it operated outside the official rules.

Chen Ye also knew that in the world of The Strange Era, some unofficial trading channels existed that could bypass the equivalence principle.

Both sides accepted the trade.

The next second...

The Blood-Red Phone flashed a notification—

[Congratulations on acquiring “Spatula” through Black Market trade!]

[New trait detected, ready for fusion!]

[Spatula] + [Apprentice] = [Chef Apprentice]

[Would you like to fuse this trait?]

“Really can fuse into a new trait!”

Chen Ye was overjoyed. With a sudden thought, he immediately chose “Fuse!”

[You have gained a new special trait—Chef Apprentice!]

[Chef Apprentice (New): You have gained the ability to cook ingredients. As you repeatedly practice cooking skills, you will create increasingly delicious dishes.]

“So this spatula is a semi-trait item.”

“A semi-trait item means the object itself is not inherently a trait item.”

“However, it possesses partial functions of a regular trait.”

“For example, this spatula may have once been used by a chef but was later discarded. Though the spatula itself isn’t a trait item, it has absorbed some trait energy, so when it encounters a compatible trait, it can grant a new trait.”

“I now possess the [Chef Apprentice] trait, though my identity isn’t that of a chef.”

“However, because I have the [Apprentice] trait, it can fuse with the spatula, granting me [Chef Apprentice].”

“Having [Chef Apprentice] makes my chef-related traits more complete. If I later acquire a full [Chef] trait item, I might be able to fuse into the true chef profession, instantly unlocking multiple trait abilities—much more complete!”

“This is the advanced core gameplay of The Strange Era—progression through trait accumulation and fusion.”

In The Strange Era,

Different professional sequences are not fixed and unchangeable.

As long as you obtain neutral traits and find trait items they can fuse with, you can combine them...

Then,

Upon acquiring a complete professional trait,

You can continue seeking trait items related to that profession to unlock new careers.

For example, Chen Ye’s current profession is [Wandering Musician], possessing both the original [Wanderer] and [Apprentice] traits.

But [Apprentice] is a neutral trait that can fuse with other professions like [Chef].

Thus, when Chen Ye obtains trait items like the “spatula,” he can unlock a chef-related trait—[Chef Apprentice].

However, merely having [Chef Apprentice] is insufficient to become a true chef; it’s just a single corresponding trait, not a complete profession.

Yet, at this stage, Chen Ye can fuse many chef-related traits. With enough conditions, he has a chance to unlock the full professional identity.

He can then embark on the upgrade path of this sequence!

This greatly broadens his options.

It’s like upgrading from [Wanderer] to [Wandering Apprentice], gaining two distinct career paths.

It’s an expansion and development.

“Today’s gain is really impressive!”

Chen Ye smiled heartily, delighted as he looked at the newly added trait in his personal interface, feeling utterly content.