2026-07-31 06:45:20Barnes smiled as he led the way.
“Come with me.”
Ethan and Manager Lewis followed him through the restaurant.
The closer they got to Table Twelve, the quieter the employees became.
Some of them whispered to each other.
“Do you think the new owner can fix this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mr. Harrison has a terrible temper.”
“If he walks out today, we’re finished.”
Ethan heard everything but kept walking.
Soon, they arrived at a private dining area.
A man in his sixties sat alone at Table Twelve.
He wore a dark blue suit and had neatly combed gray hair.
Although he looked calm, his fingers tapped the table impatiently.
The untouched glass of water in front of him showed just how long he had been waiting.
Barnes stepped forward with a fake smile.
“Mr. Harrison, thank you for your patience.”
The old man looked up.
“I’ve been patient for one hour.”
“How much longer do you expect me to wait?”
Barnes forced a laugh.
“Our chef had a small emergency.”
“I don’t care.”
“I came here because your former owner promised me the best seafood risotto in the city.”
“If you can’t even serve your signature dish, then this restaurant isn’t worth my time.”
Manager Lewis lowered his head.
“We sincerely apologize, Mr. Harrison.”
The old man stood up.
“No.”
“I’ve invested in this restaurant for years.”
“I’ve brought business partners here.”
“I’ve recommended this place to my friends.”
“And today, this is how I’m treated?”
He picked up his suit jacket.
“I’ll take my business elsewhere.”
The employees nearby looked worried.
If Mr. Harrison walked away today, Golden Spoon’s reputation would suffer badly.
Barnes secretly smiled.
He glanced at Ethan.
“Mr. Cole.”
“Looks like your first day isn’t going very well.”
Ethan ignored him.
Instead, he looked at Mr. Harrison.
“Sir.”
The old man stopped walking.
“What?”
“I know you’ve been waiting for a long time.”
“And you’re right to be upset.”
Mr. Harrison looked at him.
“And who are you?”
“I’m Ethan Cole.”
“The new owner of Golden Spoon.”
The old man raised an eyebrow.
“So you’re the young man who bought this place?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Harrison studied him for a moment.
Then he sighed.
“You look too young to run a restaurant.”
“Maybe.”
“But age doesn’t decide whether someone keeps their promises.”
The old man folded his arms.
“What promise?”
“You came here expecting the best seafood risotto in the city.”
“I’ll make sure you get it.”
Barnes laughed.
“You?”
“You can cook?”
Ethan answered honestly.
“No.”
Barnes burst into louder laughter.
“You don’t know how to cook, but you’re promising him dinner?”
Some employees also looked confused.
Manager Lewis became nervous.
“Mr. Cole…”
Ethan calmly raised his hand, asking him not to worry.
At that exact moment, the system appeared.
Mission Accepted.
Reward Available: Master Chef Skill.
Would you like to use the skill now?
A smile appeared on Ethan’s face.
“Yes.”
A strange warmth spread through his body.
Countless memories suddenly filled his mind.
Knife skills.
Cooking techniques.
Recipes from around the world.
The perfect way to prepare seafood.
The exact temperature for every ingredient.
It all happened in just a few seconds.
Ethan slowly opened his eyes.
It felt as though he had spent thirty years working as a world-famous chef.
Barnes was still laughing.
“What?”
“Did you suddenly become a chef?”
Ethan looked at him calmly.
“I’ll prepare the dish myself.”
The entire restaurant fell silent.
One waiter almost dropped the tray in his hands.
Manager Lewis blinked in surprise.
“Mr. Cole…”
“You can cook?”
Ethan smiled.
“I’ll let the food answer that.”
Without waiting for anyone to stop him, he walked toward the kitchen.
Barnes shook his head.
“This is ridiculous.”
“We’re finished.”
Mr. Harrison returned to his seat.
He looked interested now.
“Very well.”
“I’ll give him one chance.”
“If he disappoints me…”
“I’ll never come back.”
Manager Lewis nodded respectfully.
“I understand.”
Inside the kitchen, everyone stepped aside as Ethan entered.
The chefs looked at one another.
One of them whispered,
“Does the boss really know what he’s is doing?”
Another shook his head.
“We’re about to find out.”
Ethan washed his hands, put on a clean white chef’s coat, and stood in front of the cooking station.
He looked at the fresh seafood on the counter.
Without hesitation, he picked up a knife.
The moment the knife touched his hand…
His movements became smooth and confident.
Slice.
Slice.
Slice.
Every cut was clean and perfect.
The kitchen staff stared in disbelief.
One chef’s mouth slowly fell open.
“Those knife skills…”
“They’re incredible.”
Even Barnes, who had followed him into the kitchen to watch him fail, slowly stopped smiling.
For the first time…
A small feeling of unease appeared in his heart.
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Chapter 109: Legacy Reawakened
The blue screen flickered.It was unstable.Unlike the flawless interface Ethan had relied on throughout his journey, this one was fractured.Tiny cracks spread across its edges as though the system itself had suffered tremendous damage.The familiar mechanical voice spoke again.It was weaker than Ethan remembered.Yet…He smiled.After everything that had happened…It still sounded like home.Legacy System…Emergency Restoration… 7% Complete…Warning… Core functions unavailable…Reason… Legacy sacrificed during the Final Convergence…Ethan’s heart pounded.“So…”“You survived.”The screen remained silent for a moment.Then…A new sentence appeared.Correction…This unit did not survive.This unit… was remembered.The words struck him harder than any attack ever could.Remembered.Not rebuilt.Not repaired.Remembered.The blue screen slowly continued.Human belief…Shared memories…Legacy fragments carried within countless lives…Emergency reconstruction successful.Ethan finally un
Chapter 108: The Sky Breaker
The crack spread across the blue sky.It didn’t happen all at once.Thin fractures crawled outward like veins across glass, stretching from one horizon to the other.Each new crack released a faint silver light.The peaceful meadow beneath Ethan’s feet trembled.Birds that had been singing moments before suddenly took flight.The gentle breeze vanished.An unnatural silence swallowed the world.Ren’s small hand instinctively reached for Ethan’s.His fingers were trembling.“They found us.”Ethan looked down.“Who?”Ren swallowed.“The ones who don’t want us remembered.”Another deafening roar echoed overhead.This time…It was closer.The sky shattered a little more.Chunks of blue light drifted downward before dissolving into countless glowing particles.Ethan had seen worlds collapse before.He had watched stars disappear.Yet…There was something uniquely terrifying about watching the sky itself come apart.Not because it looked destructive.Because it looked…Wrong.Like reality w
Chapter 107: The First Face
Every step echoed inside Ethan’s helmet.Crunch.Crunch.Crunch.The lunar dust compressed beneath his boots as he followed the countless footprints stretching toward the enormous black doorway.Mission Control remained connected through his communicator.“Ethan, your oxygen levels are stable.”“Heart rate elevated, but within acceptable limits.”Dr. Brooks’ calm voice filled the silence.Professor Orion spoke next.“Distance to the structure: four hundred meters.”“Proceed carefully.”“I will.”Ethan answered.He never took his eyes off the doorway.The closer he came…The larger it became.From orbit it had looked massive.Standing beneath it…It was overwhelming.It rose into the endless darkness above him like a mountain carved from midnight.Its surface reflected nothing.Not sunlight.Not stars.Not even Ethan himself.It was as though the doorway refused to acknowledge reality.Back on Earth…Sophia stood inside Mission Control.Her hands remained folded tightly together.She h
Chapter 106: The Man Who Walked Through Silence
By sunrise…Ethan had made his decision.He would go.Not because he trusted the beings beyond the black doorway.Not because he believed they meant no harm.But because he had seen something in the message that no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.They had asked.Twice.First…May we speak?Then…One may come.An enemy didn’t ask permission.An enemy simply invaded.Whatever waited beyond that door…It wanted to be heard.Whether that was a blessing or a trap…Only one way existed to find out.The launch facility came alive before dawn.Floodlights illuminated the enormous launch pad while engineers hurried around the silver shuttle.Unlike the bulky spacecraft used during the early years of space exploration…This one had been built after the Seven Days.Human technology had advanced dramatically with knowledge recovered from the Architects.Its engines were cleaner.Its shields stronger.Its navigation system could cross the distance between Earth and the Moon in less than th
Chapter 105: The Invitation
No one celebrated.Although the footprints had stopped appearing…Although the black doorway had remained closed…Not a single person inside Mission Control believed the danger had passed.If anything…The silence felt heavier.It was the silence of two strangers looking at one another across a great distance.Waiting.Wondering who would speak next.Dr. Elena Brooks stood beside the communications console, replaying Ethan’s transmission.“My name is Ethan.”“You asked if you could speak.”“You can.”She listened to it three more times before finally muting the speakers.“I’ve worked in aerospace for seventeen years.”She slowly shook her head.“I spent my entire career preparing for first contact.”She smiled weakly.“I never imagined it would begin with… permission.”Professor Orion nodded.“Neither did I.”Hours passed.The black doorway did not move.The Moon remained quiet.Scientists continued monitoring every satellite, every telescope, and every sensor aimed toward the far sid
Chapter 104: Beyond the Black Door
The three knocks echoed through Mission Control.Slow.Steady.Deliberate.Every person in the room froze.No one spoke.No one breathed.The sound wasn’t coming from the speakers anymore.It seemed to resonate through the walls themselves.Three knocks…Yet it felt as though something enormous had struck the fabric of reality.Then…Silence.Emergency lights flickered back to life.Rows of monitors rebooted one after another.Technicians hurried to their stations.“Power is returning!”“I’m reconnecting to the lunar station!”“Signal stabilizing!”Dr. Elena Brooks leaned over one of the consoles.“Get me visual confirmation.”The largest monitor flashed.Static filled the screen.Then the image cleared.Everyone stared.The giant black doorway still stood on the Moon’s far side.Exactly where it had been before.Silent.Motionless.Almost…Innocent.Kai slowly let out the breath he had been holding.“I hate doors.”Lyra looked at him.“You hate everything.”“I especially hate mysteri
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