American forensics, but the gourmet system

Russell graduated with a master's degree and headed to New York to build a career as a forensic pathologist—a life surrounded by blood, bodies, and the secrets of the dead. But his grim profession takes an absurd turn when a strange Culinary System binds itself to him, stubbornly treating every corpse on his table as an ingredient awaiting preparation. His protests accomplish nothing. He insists, again and again, that he is a pathologist, not a chef—that he is dissecting a corpse, not processing food. Yet the line blurs more than he would like: the human bones on his examination bench do, after all, need to be handled. Then the New York gang corners him in an underground parking garage, a dangerous encounter the system apparently logs as "conquered" the moment Russell cuts his attackers down with swift, masterful American Iaijutsu. Later, gazing at his stunning, wavy-haired American sweetheart in the bedroom, Russell falls into deep thought. If the system counts that as "conquering" as well... then by its logic, his life in New York has worked out impossibly well. And with sudden clarity, he offers his gratitude: "I owe it all to you, Chinese Culinary System!"