For a full thirty seconds after the Hunger Spirit dissolved, I just stood there.
Cleaver still in my hand.
Breathing like I had run ten blocks.
The kitchen smelled normal again.
Soy. Oil. Caramelized fat.
No rot.
No alley stench.
No sludge creature made of trash trying to eat my face.
Which meant one of two things.
Either I had finally lost my mind.
Or this was real.
I lowered the cleaver slowly.
The back door hung off one hinge, crooked and embarrassed. Cold air slipped in through the gap, carrying the distant hum of traffic.
"Great," I muttered. "Add that to the bill."
The plate of Ember-Braised Pork still glowed faintly on the counter.
Not bright anymore.
Just warm.
Like it was cooling down.
I looked at my hands.
Still shaking.
"Okay," I said out loud. "Step one. Confirm reality."
I picked up the cleaver and pressed the flat of the blade against my forearm.
Cold steel.
Solid.
I winced and pulled it away.
"Real enough."
The blue interface flickered back into view.
[Host: Kai Jin]
[Level: 2]
[Spiritual Essence: 2 Units]
[Golden Wok Integrity: 9%]
[Active Buff: None]
[New Passive: Ingredient Detection (Minor)]
I squinted at it.
"Nine percent?"
[Correction: Previously Six Percent.]
"That's not comforting."
[Improvement Detected. You Are Welcome.]
I stared at the words.
"...Did you just sass me?"
[Observation: Sensitivity Level High.]
I scrubbed a hand down my face.
The adrenaline crash hit all at once. My legs felt weak. My head throbbed faintly.
I leaned against the prep table and exhaled.
"Okay. Fine. System. Explain something useful."
The interface shifted slightly.
[Lesser Spirit Core: Obtained.]
[Description: Condensed residue of neutralized Hunger Spirit.]
[Use: Basic reinforcement. Minor upgrades. Fuel for low-tier recipes.]
[Note: Do Not Attempt To Eat.]
"Wasn't planning on it."
[Uncertain.]
I pushed off the table and walked toward the back door.
The alley outside was damp and dim under a single flickering streetlight. The dumpster near the wall sat slightly ajar. Black garbage bags overflowed.
Something about it felt... heavier.
Not visibly different.
Just wrong.
Like when a room has bad energy and you cannot explain why.
The system pulsed faintly.
[Environmental Scan Incomplete.]
[Contamination Present.]
[Recommendation: Address Soon.]
"Soon like tomorrow soon? Or soon like I die soon?"
[Answer: Yes.]
I stared at the text.
"Helpful."
I stepped back inside and closed the damaged door as best as I could, wedging a mop handle through the broken frame to keep it from swinging open.
The kitchen looked mostly intact.
Mostly.
A few scorch marks on the tile. A cracked crate. Nothing catastrophic.
Which was strange.
A monster made of urban decay just tried to eat me.
And the Golden Wok still stood.
I glanced at the altar.
My grandfather's photo stared back at me.
Unimpressed.
"Yeah," I muttered. "I saw that too."
The system flickered again.
[Upgrade Option Available.]
[Golden Wok: Minor Reinforcement (Cost: 1 Spirit Core).]
[Effect: Increased Structural Stability. Reduced Future Damage.]
I paused.
"You're telling me I can reinforce the restaurant itself?"
[Correction: You Can Attempt To.]
"Encouraging."
I hesitated.
If this was real.
If this was not a breakdown.
Then that thing in the alley would come back.
Or something worse would.
I looked at the broken door again.
Then at the floating text.
"...Fine. Do it."
The Lesser Spirit Core icon glowed once.
The air shifted.
It was subtle.
No explosion. No dramatic light show.
Just a soft pulse that spread outward from the kitchen floor.
The walls felt... steadier.
Like the building exhaled.
The system updated.
[Golden Wok Integrity: 9% → 11%.]
[Structural Stability: Slightly Improved.]
[Comment: Acceptable First Decision.]
"Was that praise?"
[Do Not Get Used To It.]
I huffed out a laugh before I could stop myself.
Then immediately stopped.
Laughing in a half-ruined kitchen at three in the morning was not exactly normal behavior.
My phone buzzed again.
My sister.
You okay?
I stared at the message.
My thumbs hovered over the screen.
I almost typed:
I just fought a garbage demon.
Instead I wrote:
Door got damaged. I'll fix it.
Three dots appeared immediately.
You don't have money for repairs, Kai.
That stung more than it should have.
"I know," I muttered.
The system pulsed faintly in the corner of my vision.
[New Quest Available.]
[Purge The Source Of Localized Rot.]
[Location: Alley Behind Golden Wok.]
[Reward: Increased Integrity + Recipe Unlock.]
[Penalty For Ignoring: Escalation.]
I stared at the word escalation.
"Define that."
[Definition: Bigger Problems.]
"Of course."
I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
I wanted to sit down.
Sleep.
Pretend this was stress-induced hallucination.
But the back of my neck still tingled.
The alley felt wrong.
Like something was gathering itself.
Not attacking yet.
Just watching.
I walked to the sink and splashed water on my face.
Cold.
Real.
When I looked up at the mirror above the sink, my reflection looked the same.
Same dark circles.
Same stubborn jaw.
Same guy who could not keep his father's restaurant afloat.
Except now—
There was something sharp behind my eyes.
Not confidence.
Not yet.
Just awareness.
The system flickered again.
[Ingredient Detection Activated.]
The kitchen shifted subtly.
The world looked... outlined.
Faint threads of dull gray hung around the trash bin in the corner.
Around the back door.
And strongest—
Through the crack leading into the alley.
I swallowed.
"That's the rot?"
[Affirmative.]
I exhaled slowly.
So this was not random.
The eviction notice.
The smell.
The rot.
The spirit.
It was all connected.
Which meant this was not just about rent.
Something was feeding on this place.
On Chinatown.
And I had been too busy drowning in debt to notice.
Anger flared unexpectedly.
Hot. Fast.
"I'm not done yet," I muttered.
The system did not respond.
For once.
Silence settled in the kitchen.
Almost peaceful.
Then—
Knock.
Not loud.
Not desperate.
Controlled.
Three deliberate taps against the ruined front door.
My spine stiffened instantly.
That was not a customer.
Customers banged. Or called out.
This was precise.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A pause.
Then a voice.
Calm.
Clear.
"Mr. Jin?"
My blood ran cold.
"I need to ask you a few questions about the energy spike recorded at 2:14 AM."
The system flickered faintly in the corner of my vision.
[External Variable Detected.]
[Recommendation: Do Not Lie Poorly.]
I closed my eyes briefly.
"...You're not helping."
The knock came again.
Softer this time.
But more certain.
And for the first time since the monster dissolved—
I was not sure which was worse.
The thing in the alley.
Or whoever was standing on the other side of my front door.