The midnight bell on top of the Dry-Well Capital Clock Tower rang twelve times. Every chime sent a warm wave of sound across the paved streets, the glowing streetlamps, and the steaming late-night noodle stalls of the capital.
Up on the palace roof, Pei Xuan leaned back in his fused rocking chair and took a slow sip of cold plum juice. Around a huge copper hotpot table ten feet away, his top helpers were still fighting with their chopsticks over the last three beef meatballs.
“That meatball has my name on it!” General Tie Zhan roared, his thick iron-like chopsticks clamping down like giant pliers. “I ran fifty miles inspecting the new train tracks today! My stomach is completely empty!”
“Empty?” Hong Ling slapped his chopsticks away with her heavy silver ladle and scooped the meatball into her own bowl. Above her head, her status bar glowed bright green: [Hong Ling — Rank 5 Peak Foundation Establishment | Loyalty: 100/100]. She glared at the big general while chewing happily. “General Tie, you ate forty-two pork buns before dinner and six plates of sliced mutton during dinner. If you eat one more meatball, Auditor Su will have to widen the doors of the war room tomorrow morning!”
