Chapter 5

Braden slid his clean blade back into its sheath. The metal clicked sharply in the quiet alley.

"The lower district at night is a death zone," Braden warned, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "If you wander out here again, I won't waste a bullet saving you."

He crossed his arms over his broad chest, his eyes narrowing. He braced himself for the inevitable. He waited for the spoiled, toxic princess to start screaming, to throw a tantrum, to curse him for his insolence.

But she didn't.

Charity didn't frown. She didn't raise her voice.

Instead, she took a deep breath, stood as straight as her aching back allowed, and folded her hands neatly in front of her. She bowed to him. A deep, formal, and entirely respectful bow.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Braden," Charity said. Her voice was calm, steady, and completely sincere. "Thank you for saving my life twice tonight."

Braden's pupils contracted sharply. The vicious insult he had prepared died instantly in his throat.

He stared at the woman standing before him. She was covered in mud, her face marred by scabs, yet her eyes were startlingly clear and resolute. It felt like he was looking at a complete stranger.

Braden shifted his weight awkwardly. His jaw tightened. He looked away, unable to hold her steady gaze. "No need," he muttered, the words forced and stiff.

He turned his back to her, eager to leave this bizarre, unsettling encounter behind.

He took one step.

"Wait," Charity called out.

Braden stopped, his shoulders tensing. Here it comes, he thought. The demand. The entitlement.

Charity pointed a trembling finger at the massive lynx corpse bleeding out on the concrete. "If you don't need that carcass," she asked, her voice tight with anticipation, "can I have it?"

Braden turned his head slowly, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. The meat of low-level, polluted beasts was toxic garbage. Even the military dogs refused to eat it.

He let out a cold, disbelieving laugh. "If you want to poison yourself eating that trash, be my guest."

Charity completely ignored his mockery. Her eyes lit up. "Thank you," she said again, her tone filled with genuine gratitude.

Braden stared at the look of pure joy on her face. She looked at the rotting beast like it was a pile of pure gold. His brow furrowed deeply, a strange, unnamable discomfort settling in his chest.

He didn't say another word. He turned and walked quickly into the dark street, his posture rigid.

The moment Braden's shadow disappeared, the system chimed in Charity's head.

"Ding! Emotional fluctuation detected in genetic partner Braden Dickson. Affection +20."

Charity blinked in shock. She pulled up the panel. Braden's affection had moved from -100 to -80. Just by saying thank you?

"Congratulations to the host for completing a hidden node: Shattering a partner's inherent bias," the system announced.

"Reward distributed: [Top-Tier Biological Culinary Skill]."

A massive, overwhelming flood of data crashed into Charity's brain. It wasn't just recipes. It was the complete anatomical knowledge of thousands of alien species, the precise methods to extract toxins, and the exact thermal techniques to break down tough muscle fibers.

Charity closed her eyes, letting the knowledge settle into her synapses. When she opened them, she wasn't just a starving woman anymore. She was a master chef looking at raw ingredients.

She looked down at the terrifying lynx beast. She didn't see a monster. She saw a clear anatomical diagram. She knew exactly where the poison sacs were, which cuts of meat were the most tender, and which bones would make the richest broth.

Charity rolled up the sleeves of her oversized coat. She walked over to the beast and grabbed its thick, heavy hind leg.

She abandoned the idea of dragging the entire massive carcass. Instead, she gritted her teeth, her muscles screaming in protest as she hacked off one thick, heavy hind leg and a prime section of the backstrap. Driven by the pure, intoxicating promise of real food, she began the agonizingly slow process of dragging the heavy cuts of meat back to her safe house, having to stop and lean against the damp walls every few yards just to catch her breath.