Chapter 1 - Six Dumplings and a Firing
Eli Chen learned there were several ways to lose a job.
You could be late.
You could fight a customer.
You could drop a tray of oysters worth more than your monthly rent.
Or, if you worked at Golden Ox Prime in downtown Seattle, you could put six untouched pork dumplings into a plastic container after closing and get called a thief by a man wearing a watch worth thirty thousand dollars.
Chef Roland Pike held up the container like evidence in a murder trial.
"Company property," he announced.
The kitchen had gone quiet. Line cooks pretended to wipe counters. The pastry chef stared very hard at a tray of empty ramekins.
Eli rubbed dishwater from his hands. "They were going in the trash."
"Not your trash."
"My mom barely ate today."
Roland's mouth curved. "Then perhaps your mother should improve her financial planning."
That got a few uncomfortable looks.
Eli felt heat climb his neck. He wanted to say something heroic. Something sharp enough that the cooks would repeat it for years.
What came out was, "Seriously?"
Roland pointed toward the back door.
"You're done."
Eli stared at him.
"My shift ends in twelve minutes."
"Your career ended twelve seconds ago."
That line actually got a laugh from Bryce, the sous-chef whose main culinary talent was agreeing with Roland.
Eli took off his apron.
He left the dumplings on the stainless counter because pride was free and groceries were not.
Outside, rain glazed the sidewalks. His phone showed three notifications: one from his landlord, one from the community college about unpaid tuition, and one from his mother asking whether work had leftovers tonight.
He typed: Bringing dinner. Don't worry.
Then he spent nine of his remaining eighteen dollars on eggs, green onions, and a bag of discount rice.
At home, his mother Mei was asleep on the couch beneath two blankets. She had lost weight during the past year, though every doctor blamed stress, nutrition, or "something viral." Eli blamed being poor because poverty was the one diagnosis nobody needed a medical degree to recognize.
Their rice cooker had died two months earlier.
The replacement came from a thrift store: dented steel, cloudy lid, faded red characters on the side. Twelve dollars because the cashier said it "probably worked."
It had never worked.
Tonight Eli hit the button anyway.
The apartment lights flickered.
The rice cooker clicked.
A cracked digital display glowed gold.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
Eli stared.
"Nope."
[Host response noted. Denial does not cancel onboarding.]
He unplugged it.
The display stayed on.
"Absolutely not."
[Heavenly Kitchen Ledger has recognized a starving host.]
"I'm not starving."
His stomach growled loudly.
[System appreciates honesty.]
Eli sat down.
A second message appeared.
[First Rule: Feed the truly hungry.]
[Starter Quest: Prepare one sincere meal.]
[Reward: 1 Gratitude Qi.]
[Failure: Remain broke.]
Eli looked toward his sleeping mother.
"That's not much of a threat."
He washed rice, fried an egg, chopped green onion, and made the cheapest dinner he knew.
When Mei ate the first spoonful, color returned to her face.
When she finished, her hands stopped trembling.
Eli smiled.
Then golden text appeared over her chest.
[Ingredient Appraisal awakened.]
[Hidden contaminant detected.]
[Borrowed Lifespan: 41 days consumed.]
[Source: NourishNow Meal Program.]
Eli's smile vanished.
His mother had eaten NourishNow soup at the clinic every Tuesday for months.
A final system message appeared.
[New Quest: Find who seasoned your mother with death.]
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