Chapter 03

By 11:45 a.m., the summer sun outside the university felt unnaturally heavy. The air rising from the pavement radiated a stagnant, suffocating dryness that made pedestrians pause and wipe their brows with confused frowns.

“It’s only July,” a student muttered as he passed the library doors. “Why does it feel like standing in front of an open oven?”

I stood near the entrance, a leather tote bag pressed against my side. I already knew why. The heat wave had not yet broken any official records, but the upper atmosphere was beginning to warp. In three months the heat would no longer cause mere discomfort. It would collapse power grids and turn rivers into cracked beds of mud.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[DAILY QUEST ISSUED: FOUNDATION OF THE OASIS]

[TASK 1: SECURE 100% LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF A PERMANENT BASE LOCATION]

[TASK 2: STOCKPILE 5 TONS OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES & HIGH-PROTEIN PRESERVES]

[TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS]

[COMPLETION REWARD: SPATIAL UPGRADE — LEVEL 2 + 500 LITRES OF SPIRITUAL SPRING WATER]

[FAILURE PENALTY: SYSTEM FREEZE FOR 72 HOURS]

My eyes narrowed slightly as the translucent blue panel flickered at the edge of my vision. The System was no longer content with passive gifts. It was actively driving my preparation. Spiritual Spring water with extreme-heat tolerance would be priceless once temperatures crossed 150 degrees.

“Young!”

Arthur’s voice cut through my thoughts. He jogged up the library steps, smoothing his tie, a confident smile already in place. He looked polished, handsome, and completely oblivious.

“Sorry I’m ten minutes late, sweetheart.” He caught his breath and took my hand. “I was on the phone with Clara. She’s already looking at catering options. She’s over the moon that you’re doing this for her.”

“Is she?” I offered a small, gentle smile and let him lead me toward his sedan. “I’m glad she’s happy. Family is everything, isn’t it?”

“It really is.” He opened the passenger door. “And honestly, I knew you’d come around. You just needed a little time to see that my mom only wants what’s best for all of us.”

I sat down. The trapped heat inside the car bit at my skin until he switched on the air conditioning. “Where are the property documents?”

“Right here.” Arthur reached into the back seat and pulled out a blue folder. “I downloaded the half-share transfer deed. All we need to do is sign it in front of the clerk, and you can take it to the bank tomorrow for the loan.”

I opened the folder and scanned the pages. There it was—the legal description of the two-story townhouse where Beatrice and Elijah currently lived.

“You brought the original tax receipt from last year, correct?” I asked lightly as he merged into traffic. “The bank will want proof there are no outstanding liens before approving a fifty-thousand-dollar loan.”

Arthur’s hands tightened on the wheel for a moment. “There was a small municipal tax assessment last winter. Maybe three thousand dollars. I haven’t gotten around to settling it yet because of Elijah’s car repair. It’s nothing serious. The bank won’t care about a tiny delay.”

A tiny delay.

He had ignored it for over fourteen months, assuming the city would never bother with such a minor residential debt. He had no idea that under local property law, any co-owner who paid the full delinquent tax held the immediate right to force a judicial buyout of the remaining shares.

“I see,” I murmured, turning the page and signing my name neatly on the line marked Co-Grantee. “Let’s get this registered today so I can submit the loan paperwork first thing tomorrow.”

Arthur glanced at me sideways as he drove. “You seem… different today. Calmer.”

I kept my expression soft. “I’m just trying to be better. For the family.”

He relaxed and smiled, clearly choosing to believe the version of me that suited him. “That’s my girl.”

The Municipal Property Registry Office was crowded for a Friday afternoon. The air-conditioning units rattled loudly, barely holding the lobby below eighty degrees. People sat on plastic chairs, fanning themselves and complaining about the weather.

Our number was called.

We stepped up to Window 3. A tired clerk took the documents and scanned the parcel number.

“Adding Eternal Young Alexander as fifty-percent co-owner on Parcel 884-B, correct?”

“Yes,” Arthur said smoothly. “She’s my wife.”

He signed first with a flourish. I signed beneath him.

[SYSTEM TASK PROGRESS]

[TASK 1: SECURE 100% LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF A PERMANENT BASE LOCATION — PENDING RESOLUTION]

The clerk printed the updated title certificate and stamped it with a raised seal. “Ownership is now officially split fifty-fifty. Here’s your official copy.”

Arthur pulled me into a quick hug. “I knew we were a real team. I’ll drop you at the lab so you can finish your seed inventory, then I’m going to tell my mom the good news.”

“Actually,” I said, pulling back with a warm, obedient expression, “you go ahead and celebrate with her. I need to stop by the central bank downtown for the loan forms. It’s only a few blocks from here.”

He hesitated for half a second, studying my face, then checked his watch and nodded. “Alright. Don’t stay out in this heat too long.”

He kissed my cheek and hurried out into the blistering afternoon, already reaching for his phone—almost certainly to call Chloe.

The moment his car disappeared, my gentle smile vanished.

I walked back into the building and headed down the secondary hallway marked Tax Enforcement & Debt Settlement.

The officer behind the desk was a stern woman in her fifties with sharp eyes. She listened without interruption as I explained the situation and placed the new title certificate and my bank statement on the counter.

“Fourteen months delinquent,” she said, typing. “Total with penalties: $3,420. Paying it in full gives you the right of first refusal. An administrative buyout is possible, but I’ll need the full appraised equity of his share deposited into escrow today, and the paperwork will take time to process.”

“I understand. The tax-appraised value is $180,000. His half is $90,000. After subtracting the $3,420, the required deposit is $86,580. I am prepared to pay it in full right now.”

She looked at me more carefully. “Most people don’t walk in here with that kind of liquid cash and this much knowledge of the code. You’re certain about this?”

“I am.”

She studied me for another long moment, then nodded slowly. “Very well. I’ll process the payment and initiate the buyout. Title will transfer to sole ownership under your name within twenty-four hours. Standard notice for tax-default recoveries is fourteen days. The occupants will be served tomorrow.”

I signed the forms, completed the transfer, and walked out of the office holding the certified documents that named me the sole legal owner of Arthur’s family home.

Arthur believed he had just secured fifty thousand dollars for Clara’s wedding.

In less than two weeks a city sheriff would knock on Beatrice’s door. When she called her son, he would discover that not only had he lost the house, but the buyout funds were locked in a municipal escrow account that required my secondary signature to release—a signature I would never give.

I stepped back into the oppressive heat, the official papers cool against my palm, and allowed myself the smallest, coldest smile.