Chapter One: The Fixed Diet

Everday occupied a narrow cut between two office towers. At six that evening, Zhiwei entered its kitchen under the shortened name Shen Wei. The head chef showed her the cold room, preparation counters, and labeling station. Everything was weighed precisely: salt to a tenth of a gram, meat cut along muscle fibers, even vegetable-washing water logged for mineral content. Only the basement was missing from the floor plan. Behind a wine rack she found a narrow door with an antique brass lock and a modern iris scanner. Cold air seeped through its edges, carrying the faint odor of rust. “That is not part of the kitchen,” someone said behind her.