Chapter 31 - Dad Had Programmed My Destiny
Nobody said anything for several seconds.
Jian looked older than he had inside the furnace.
Eli looked at the red command glowing in his system log.
[PRIORITIZE PRESERVATION OF SEATTLE HEARTH ENGINE OVER BEARER WELFARE.]
"You put that in me?"
"Not in you. In the Ledger."
"That is not better."
Jian rubbed both hands over his face.
Twenty-three years earlier, after Mei survived the Hollow Pearl, Jian realized any future child might inherit compatibility with Hunger Qi. The Ledger had no bearer at the time. He modified its emergency selection rules so that if Seattle's Hearth Engine began failing, it would seek the nearest compatible member of his bloodline.
Eli laughed once.
"So it didn't choose me because I was special."
The system chimed.
[Host remains moderately special.]
"Not helping."
Jian continued.
"I thought I was building insurance. I never expected to become the Keystone myself."
"You still wrote a rule telling my system to sacrifice me before the city."
"I was twenty-six."
"At twenty-three I can already tell that's bad parenting."
Mei crossed her arms.
"I told him not to."
Eli turned. "You knew?"
"I told him very loudly."
"This family is unbelievable."
Ren, still partially bound by Victor's chains, looked delighted by the argument.
"For once, I have nothing to add."
Victor did.
"Jian was correct. A Hearthkeeper exists to serve the greater population."
Eli looked at him.
"Nobody asked you."
The Ledger offered a command removal path.
[Foreign directive may be deleted through System Override at Hearth Core Realm.]
[Current Realm: Steam Meridian III]
[Estimated conventional cultivation time: 3.4 years]
"I have one hundred twelve days before Dad dies."
[Correct.]
"Can I speed it up?"
[Yes. Risk of exploding increases.]
"How much?"
[Would a percentage improve your decision?]
"No."
[Then no.]
Madam Sato explained a faster method: a Culinary Dao Trial. If Eli demonstrated complete understanding of Flame, Knife, Taste, Intent, Covenant, and Shared Table, he could condense a Hearth Core early.
There was one venue recognized by the old laws.
The Moonlight Market.
A hidden culinary cultivation market that opened only once each month beneath Pike Place after midnight.
Victor laughed.
"They will never admit him."
"Why?"
"Because he has no sponsor, no lineage registration, and currently owes the consortium forty-seven covenant violations."
Eli stared at Madam Sato.
"Forty-seven?"
She looked away.
"Some were creative."
The Market required a sponsor token worth roughly fifty thousand dollars.
Eli had thirty-one dollars after ingredient expenses.
Then Reggie cleared his throat.
"Remember your viral video?"
Donations had arrived for the community kitchens.
A lot of them.
$186,000.
Eli's eyes widened.
"We are not spending community money on my magic cooking tournament."
"Good," Reggie said. "Because that's felony-adjacent and Dana would murder us. But people also bought your shirts."
"What shirts?"
Tasha held one up.
A cartoon rice cooker said FEED PEOPLE, ANNOY BILLIONAIRES.
Merchandise profit after expenses: $54,302.
Eli stared.
"We're a brand?"
Tasha smiled. "Unfortunately."
The system chimed.
[Income stat upgraded: Less Embarrassing.]
They could afford the token.
Then Grant received a message from the Moonlight Market.
He read it twice.
"You don't need to buy one."
"Why?"
"Someone already sponsored you."
The sponsor name appeared on-screen.
VICTOR VALE.
Eli looked at Victor.
Victor smiled.
"If you're going to challenge my philosophy, Mr. Chen, at least become strong enough to make it interesting."
Eli did not believe generosity for one second.
The dangerous question was not why Victor wanted him admitted.
It was what Victor expected the Trial to do to him.
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