Sylvia finished upgrading all the cooking bots..
Almost instantly, they whirred to life.
One after another, perfectly prepared, aromatic dishes emerged from the kitchen, quickly filling the entire dining table.
Joanna gaped in disbelief.
She couldn’t fathom how cooking bots could possibly produce a multi–course gourmet meal.)
She suddenly shouted in frustration, “This food was made by machines! I’m not eating it!”
In the main dining hall, other customers had already gathered around the table.
They eyed the spread, and after a moment’s hesitation, one man picked up his fork and took a bite of Beef Wellington. His face lit up with surprise. “Oh my god, this is incredible!”
His comment piqued everyone else’s curiosity.
They all grabbed utensils and started tasting the food.
It was like a switch had been flipped on their taste buds. Everyone began to buzz with excitement. “I’ve seriously never had anything this good! This is on par with a top–tier chef.”
The portly chef watched the crowd’s reaction, his own expression a mask of astonishment.
He tried a piece of meat himself, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He knew quality food, and this was it. The plating was exquisite, the flavors were perfect, and the balance of ingredients was simply masterful. It was unbelievable.
He turned to Sylvia, stunned. “How did you do that?” he asked. “How did you make these cooking bots so… skilled?”
Sylvia just smiled. “I just gave your system a little upgrade, that’s all, It’s nothing.”
The chef didn’t overthink it, assuming he’d simply neglected to run a system update before, which was why the bots had been so useless.
He had no idea that Sylvia had just installed a multi–million dollar artificial intelligence program into his kitchen equipment.
Hearing everyone’s praise, Joanna’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment.
“I don’t care,” she said through gritted teeth. “It’s made by machines, so it has to be bad!”
The people around her thought she was being ridiculous.
But her expensive clothes and accessories made it clear she was wealthy, so no one dared to argue with her.
And the chef, remembering her earlier threat to file a complaint, kept his mouth shut.
Sylvia gave Joanna a cool glance, then calmly typed a few more lines of code into her laptop, sending a new program to the cooking bots.
Just then, a voice that sounded like a small child came from the kitchen.
“God, this lady is such a pain!”
Joanna froze.
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Chapter 174
Was a kid making fun of her? Furious, she stormed into the kitchen. “Who said that?!”
Inside, the cooking bots had all activated their voice systems. They were the ones who had spoken.
“Yeah, she’s so annoying,” another bot chimed in. “First she wants a gourmet meal, then she doesn’t. People like that should just go hungry.”
“Totally,” a third one added. “She’s got a real knack for finding fault in everything.”
The other customers had followed Joanna into the kitchen.
Listening to the bots chattering like a group of kids bad–mouthing Joanna, they found it hilarious.
They’d seen Al robots in stores and banks before, but nothing like this. They burst out laughing.
Joanna was about to explode.
She stomped her foot, grabbed a broom, and swung it at the bots.
The chef lunged forward and snatched the broom from her hands, giving her a cold stare. “These bots are expensive,” he said flatly. “You break them, you’re paying for them.”
A knot of anxiety formed in Joanna’s stomach, and she quickly backed down.
She was broke. Sylvia had tricked her out of all her family’s money, and she was already deep in debt.
“We’re not eating at this dump,” Joanna snapped, trying to save face. “Let’s go.”
Swallowing her rage, she led her entourage out of the restaurant.
As she walked out the door, she shot a venomous glare back at Sylvia and spat, “You freak!”
Sylvia’s current disguise was, admittedly, quite garish.
But in the chef’s eyes, Sylvia was a godsend.
If she hadn’t upgraded his cooking bots, he never would have been able to produce food this amazing.
“Ma’am,” the chef said, bowing repeatedly to Sylvia. “From now on, you can eat here for free. Anytime.”
Sylvia smiled. “Okay. I’ll stop by again when I have time.”
With that, she and her assistant, Cheryl, left.
The chef had no idea that the system Sylvia had installed in his bots was one of the most advanced Al programs in the world.
In the near future, his restaurant would become one of the most celebrated establishments in all of Silverton.
Sylvia drove Cheryl back to her hotel.
After they left, a figure emerged from the shadows near the restaurant, watching them go.
It was Byron. He had never really left. His cold eyes narrowed slightly.
‘So, the woman they called Cheryl’s cousin is actually her boss,‘ he thought.
Her appearance, however, was truly something else.
Byron shuddered, remembering the woman’s face caked in garish makeup and the way her intense eyes had been fixed on him.
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But then, á thoughtful smile touched his lips.
gardens of how she looked, he was certain the possessed in redible Al skills.
She had turned a simple cooking bot into a master chef.
He had to find a way to get in touch with her. He needed her to help integrate that level of artificial intelligence into his own company.
Sylvia dropped Cheryl off, then drove to the Cerulean Entertainment offices.
She removed her makeup, reverting to her usual cool demeanor, and worked until dark.
That evening, she returned home to find that Jolie had already picked up her daughter, Ruby.
“Mommy, I want zack to come over for a sleepover tonight,” Ruby said, running to hug Sylvia’s legs the moment she walked in.
Sylvia smiled and ruffled her hair. “Didn’t you play with your brother at school today?”
“I did,” Ruby said in her little–kid voice. “But I miss him as soon as we’re apart!”
Sylvia considered it for a moment. “Alright, I’ll give him a call. If it’s okay, I’ll go pick him up.”.
She dialed her son Zack’s number.
At that moment, Zack was trotting down the stairs at the Blair residence. His grandmother, Liana, had just called for him.
“Zack, your Auntie Joanna is here,” Liana said from the sofa, where Joanna was sitting beside her. “Why haven’t you been wanting to play with her lately?”
Recently, Joanna had been constantly complaining to Liana that both Byron and Zack were growing distant, and that the two of them only had eyes for Sylvia now.
“I want to play with my mom, not her,” Zack announced, lifting his chin defiantly.
‘I knew it,‘ he thought. ‘Grandma never calls me unless she wants something.‘ He turned to go back upstairs.
Just then, his small cell phone rang.
“Yay! It’s Mom!” Zack squealed, seeing Sylvia’s name on the screen.
The moment Liana heard Sylvia’s name, her expression darkened. She strode over, snatched the phone from Zack’s hand, and ended the call.
“Zack, why are you being so difficult?” she scolded. “I’m telling you again, you are not to call Sylvia your mother anymore! From now on, Joanna is going to be your new mother!”
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