Chương 39: Who's Tonight's Hero

Cheering, screaming, hugs and high-fives. The Blue Team kitchen was, in that moment, like the locker room of a team that had just won the championship — full of the wild joy of survival. Jack, the six-foot-three giant, hugged Jessica, a head shorter, as excited as a child. Owen and Sarah pounded each other's shoulders, doubled over laughing. Chris didn't join their revelry. He just leaned against the cold counter, breathing greedily the air mixed with smoke, sweat, and the smell of victory.

His body was exhausted — exhausted enough that he wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep at once. But his spirit was more exhilarated than it had ever been. He looked at these teammates, their smiles so genuine, so radiant. A few hours ago they'd been a sheet of loose sand, blaming each other, on the verge of collapse. And now they'd become a real team. And he was the man who'd made the miracle.

The feeling satisfied him ten thousand times more than writing the most perfect code or finishing the most complex project.

"Chris!" Sarah's voice broke his thoughts. She, Owen, Jessica, Jack, and Mia — all five — came up to him together. They didn't speak, only looked at him. In their eyes were gratitude, admiration, conviction, even a thread of… worship. Jack — the man who'd once looked down on him most, who'd most wanted to throw him out of the kitchen — was the first to step forward. He looked at Chris, his expression complicated, but in the end he drew a deep breath and bowed to Chris, solemn and deep.

"I'm sorry." His voice was a little rough.

"Before, I was too arrogant. And… thank you."

"Thank you, Chris!"

"We won! You led us to win!"

"You're our real captain!" The others called out too, all at once. Chris looked at them, and the hardest place inside him seemed to soften. He wanted to say something, to say it wasn't his achievement alone — but before he could open his mouth, the kitchen door was flung open. Gareth Vane walked in with the other two judges and the full rosters of both teams. The celebratory mood froze in an instant. Every gaze fixed on Vane's unreadable face.

The Red Team members were dejected, every one of them — especially their captain Ethan, pale-faced, his eyes hollow, like a king who'd just lost his whole kingdom. And Leo, who'd burnt the cakes by losing focus, had all but buried his head in his chest.

"Service is over." Vane's voice rang unusually loud in the silent kitchen.

"First, I want to congratulate all of you. You all survived. Tonight we served over three hundred guests and sent out more than a thousand dishes. That's a remarkable achievement." He paused, his gaze sweeping over each of them.

"But this is a competition. And where there's a competition, there's winning and losing." His gaze fell on the huge electronic display between the two kitchens. Every heart climbed into every throat. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. On the screen were the two teams' final numbers.

Red Team Total dishes: 185 Average ticket time: 13 min 45 sec Bad reviews: 4 Blue Team Total dishes: 178 Average ticket time: 15 min 10 sec Bad reviews: 1 By the numbers, the Red Team led on both total output and average time. Seeing it, a flicker of hope appeared on the Red Team's faces. Leo even secretly raised his head, a glint of luck in his eyes. And the Blue Team's just-kindled joy was instantly half doused. Their hearts sank.

"It looks like the Red Team won, doesn't it?" The corner of Vane's mouth curved into a playful smile.

"They did more, and they did it faster."

"But—" his tone turned sharply, his voice rising abruptly, "I don't give a damn about quantity. I care about quality! About the guest's experience!" He jabbed at the "bad reviews" on the screen.

"Four! Red Team! You have four bad reviews! One for an overcooked steak, one for a fishy salmon, and two for that damned chocolate cake that looked like volcanic rock!"

"And the Blue Team," his gaze turned to them, "one. Only one bad review. And that one came in the first ten minutes of service, over too long a wait. In the two hours and forty minutes that followed, their performance was perfect. Zero bad reviews!" He walked to the whiteboard bearing the final result and picked up a red marker.

"Tonight's competition wasn't about who runs faster. It was about who doesn't fall before the finish line.

"Red Team, you led by a mile in the first half, and then you tripped yourselves at the final sprint. Your team collapsed midway.

"And Blue Team — your start was a disaster. For a moment I genuinely thought you'd become the first team in Burning Kitchen history to be eliminated in full within the first hour of service. But you steadied. You caught up. In the second half, you showed championship-level performance." He turned and looked at every Blue Team member.

"So tonight's winner is…" His marker drew a heavy circle beneath the name "Blue Team."

"The Blue Team!" After a brief silence, the Blue Team erupted in a cheer fiercer than before. This time it was the unreserved revelry of winners. Jack lifted Chris high and threw him into the air. Chris felt like he was on a roller coaster, the world spinning — but what he saw was every face laughing in pure joy. On the other side, the Red Team sank into a dead silence. Ethan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in pain. Leo's legs gave out, and he slumped straight to the floor.

"Red Team, all of you will enter tomorrow's elimination challenge." Vane's voice was cold and merciless.

"Now, take off your aprons and go clean the kitchen. The Blue Team's performance tonight has won them a night's rest, and the right to watch from the second-floor gallery as you tear each other apart." With that, he turned and left with the other two judges. The Red Team, as if their souls had been drained, silently cleaned up the wreckage. The Blue Team, guided by the crew, walked up the stairs to the second-floor lounge in high spirits.

Just as Chris was about to climb the stairs, Vane's voice came suddenly from behind him.

"Chris, stay." Chris's steps halted. He turned to see Vane standing alone in the center of the empty kitchen, looking at him. He told Sarah and the others to go up first, and walked back into the kitchen himself.

"Is there something, Chef?" he asked. Vane said nothing. He only circled Chris once, those hawk's eyes seeming to read him through, inside and out.

"Pittsburgh steak, liquid-nitrogen salmon, and that damned, near-perfect kitchen choreography…" Vane stopped in front of him, the distance close enough to feel each other's breath.

"Tell me, Chris. Who exactly are you?" The question was almost identical to the one he'd asked a week ago, throwing Chris out of the kitchen. But that time, his tone had been full of contempt and fury. This time, his tone held pure, undisguised curiosity and… excitement. Like a top chess player who'd found an opponent his equal. Chris looked at him, and thought of the system, of Data Eye, of all those nights of frantic practice in his rented room. He smiled and answered.

"I'm a chef, Chef." Vane laughed too. He reached out and clapped Chris hard on the shoulder.

"No. Tonight you weren't a chef.

"Tonight you were a goddamn hero." With that, he turned and left the kitchen laughing, leaving Chris alone, standing there, staring blankly at his back. [Ding! Hidden quest "Blue Team's Victory" complete! Final rating: S (epic reversal)!] [Quest rewards issued!] [Gained: Arena Points 200.] [Gained: one-time skill "Absolute Heat Control (Short Duration)" ×1.] [Gained: special item "Vane's Approval" (Passive): when facing Gareth Vane, your stress tolerance receives a small boost, and he will be more inclined to hear out your explanation rather than cut you off.] [Main quest updated: Become the champion of Burning Kitchen.] Chris looked at the string of system rewards scrolling through his mind and let out a long breath. He knew that in this war, he'd won not only victory, but the respect of his strongest opponent.