Intel Secured

18. Intel Secured

The synthetic meat curled at the edges on the grill, turning a charred brown. Its crisp skin puffed slightly, like pastry licked by flames. Cheap sauce boiled under the high heat, raising dense little bubbles like dark-red lava rolling through the seams of the meat, gurgling until every fiber was soaked in rich sweetness and salt.

Carl gave it a light flick with her tongs, and the chunk of meat obediently sprang up, translucent grease still clinging to its edge and stretching into thin golden threads through the air.

The instant she bit down, she first heard a faint crack—the caramelized crust shattered between her teeth, followed immediately by a burst of scalding meat juice.

Rich fat melted across her tongue with a savory saltiness. The excessive MSG in the cheap sauce acted like a fuse, instantly setting off an explosion of umami across her taste buds. Yet the aftertaste strangely carried a hint of charred fragrance, like fire-scorched straw mixed with the roughness of industrial fuel, making the flavor unexpectedly more layered.

Carl narrowed her eyes, her throat bobbing.

It tasted unexpectedly good.

Whenever Carl ate something delicious, she felt as if her spirits could be lifted. This place was clearly one of those establishments that served food capable of perking her up.

I really came to the right place.

Even as she thought that, Carl regretted that she could not fully savor the food, because there were people beside her she needed to watch and listen to.

The young people at the next table clearly knew far more about grilled meat than Carl did.

They used modified mechanical fingers to tear apart chunks of meat directly, dipping them in double-strength orange sauce. When the unmarked synthetic liquor slid down their throats, it left a trail