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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Latest Chapter
Chapter 146: The Woman Who Was Never Sophia
The blade pointed at Ethan’s throat.He did not move.The woman sitting across the table watched him with eyes that held centuries of anger, though she looked no older than twenty-five.“Tell me,” she repeated. “Why did you steal my name?”Ethan glanced at the system message still floating above the table.[FOUNDATIONAL VICTIM: IDENTIFIED.][NAME: SOPHIA.][STATUS: DECEASED BEFORE FIRST CREATION.][CAUSE OF DEATH: UNKNOWN.]The woman followed his gaze.“That thing has always been a liar.”“Then tell me your name.”She laughed bitterly.“You still think a name is something you can demand.”“No. I think it’s something you have the right to give me.”The blade stopped moving.For the first time, uncertainty crossed her face.Ethan continued carefully.“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what happened between us. And I won’t pretend I remember something I don’t. But if you believe I took your name, I need to understand why.”She studied him.“Do you remember the first woman you loved?
Chapter 145: The Million Lives He Could Not Remember
The screams did not stop.They came from every direction, pouring through the doors that had appeared across the white space. Some were filled with rage. Others carried the terror of people who had waited too long for someone to remember them.And some were silent.Those were the worst.Ethan stood motionless as millions of faces stared at him.He recognized none of them.Yet every time he looked into someone’s eyes, something inside him recoiled as if it remembered being responsible for their pain.The boy lay at his feet.The silver blade had shattered, leaving a dark wound in his chest. Blood spread beneath him, but the wound did not close.Ethan dropped beside him.“Stay with me.”The boy looked up at him.“You’re doing it again.”Ethan froze.“What?”“You’re looking at me like saving me will make everything else disappear.”Ethan glanced at the doors.The faces behind them were still screaming.“I won’t let you die.”The boy closed his eyes.“That’s what you said before.”Ethan s
Chapter 144: The Boy Who Died Before Creation
Ethan couldn’t breathe.The boy kneeling in the white space had his face.Not a resemblance. Not another version of him created by the machine. Not an alternate possibility that had taken a different path.It was Ethan.The same eyes. The same mouth. The same small scar beneath the left eyebrow that had appeared after his reconstruction. Even the way the boy held his shoulders, as if preparing for a blow he knew was coming, was painfully familiar.But the boy was younger.And there was a blade buried in his chest.Ethan stared at the blood spreading across the white floor.“No.”The boy looked at him.“You said that before.”Ethan took a step forward.“No, I didn’t.”“You did.”The boy’s voice was weak, but there was no confusion in it.“You said you weren’t going to let me die.”Ethan stopped.Behind the boy, the original First Choice stood silently, watching them with an expression that was almost satisfied.Noah struggled to move toward Ethan.“Don’t listen to him,” he said.The si
Chapter 143: The Choice That Should Never Have Existed
Noah screamed.Ethan had heard people scream in pain. He had heard them scream in fear, in anger, and in the final moments before death.This was different.Noah’s scream came from somewhere deeper than the body. It tore through the white space beyond the beginning and reached every reality connected to the original agreement.For one terrible moment, every world went silent.Then the doors in the Hall of Unchosen Lives began slamming shut.One after another.Thousands became hundreds. Hundreds became dozens. Behind each closing door, a possibility lost its connection to the world that had allowed it to exist.Ethan stood before the silver door, his hand still pressed against its surface.“Noah!”He struck the door with his fist.“Open!”The door did not move.A system message appeared before him.[COMPLETE AUTHORITY RESTORATION: 100%.][THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACTIVATED.][FOUNDATIONAL AUTHORITY: FIRST CHOICE.][ENDING AUTHORITY: FIRST ENDING.][WITNESS AUTHORITY: UNRECOGNI
Chapter 142: The First Sin Was Mine
For several seconds, Ethan forgot how to breathe.The child stood beside the little girl, holding her hand as though they had known each other for years. His face was identical to Ethan’s, but his eyes carried a sadness that did not belong to any child.He pointed at Ethan.“The first betrayal was committed by someone who wanted to make sure you could never choose freely.”Then he said the words that shattered the silence.“That person was you.”Ethan stared at him.“No.”The child did not look away.“You don’t remember.”“I remember the first choice. I remember the white room. I remember leaving the girl behind.”“Those are the memories you were allowed to keep.”The child’s voice was quiet.“But you don’t remember what happened before the white room existed.”Caelum stepped forward.“Who are you?”The child turned toward him.“You know who I am.”Caelum’s face went pale.“No. You were destroyed before the First World began.”“That’s what you were told.”“I watched Sophia end your ex
Chapter 141: The Woman Who Taught Death to Choose
Ethan could not move.The woman stood at the end of the corridor with one hand resting on the little girl’s shoulder. Her face was calm, almost gentle, but the words she had spoken continued to echo in his mind.I am the reason you were never supposed to become human.Behind Ethan, the stranger who had called her Mother remained motionless.The little girl clutched her drawing against her chest.Nobody spoke.Then Ethan took a careful step forward.“What do you mean?”The woman studied him.“You have spent your entire existence trying to understand what you are. You have searched through memories, questioned authorities, and challenged every rule that threatened someone you wanted to protect.”She paused.“But you have never asked the most important question.”Ethan’s voice was tight.“Which is?”“Why did you need to become human in the first place?”He stared at her.“I was created to experience a life.”“By whom?”“Adam.”“Adam created the conditions that allowed your existence. He
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