The Registry inspector arrived in red robes, carrying a sealed order and a tray of sweet cakes. He set the tray on the command table and praised Yan’s ability to withstand the furnace.
“You are a national treasure,” he said. “The order assigns you to as many cycles as you can sustain. The crew will attend you.”
He spoke as if the matter were settled. He told Han the order itself was sufficient and that command authority could be withdrawn from anyone who resisted.
Yan looked at the cakes. “Are those part of the official ration?”
Bai turned the tray and found the same supplier mark as the kidney tonic. The inspector dismissed the connection, but Qinghe wrapped one cake in cloth for testing.
“The food is not the order,” she said. “We can deal with both.”
Her measurements showed that the furnace took real vitality from ordinary workers. The inspector’s plan would make Yan’s exceptional body the excuse to keep them beside him as attendants.
Yan was willing to power another cycle if the crew received relief and Qinghe’s readings went into the official log. The inspector called those minor conditions and reached for Han’s signature.
