perf(net): own one pooled async receive

Replace timeout-polled in-world UDP receives with one cancellable caller-buffered socket operation. Transfer only right-sized pooled datagrams through the FIFO, return every ownership edge deterministically, and send caller spans without a transport copy while preserving handshake pacing and ACK order.

docs/plans/2026-07-25-modern-runtime-slice-h.md

@@ -135,6 +135,19 @@ behavior is outside this performance-only unit.
 
 ## 4. H-c — ordered, allocation-conscious network I/O
 
+H-c is executed as three independently reversible units:
+
+1. **H-c1 — pooled receive owner — COMPLETE.** One cancellable async socket
+   receive, a retained full-size edge buffer, right-sized pooled FIFO
+   datagrams, unchanged blocking handshake cadence, and direct span sends.
+   Evidence:
+   [`../research/2026-07-25-slice-h-c1-pooled-receive-owner.md`](../research/2026-07-25-slice-h-c1-pooled-receive-owner.md).
+2. **H-c2 — borrowed decode — ACTIVE.** Parse and verify headers, optional
+   fields, and fragments as borrowed views. Copy only multi-fragment state
+   that must survive the current datagram.
+3. **H-c3 — direct outbound framing — PENDING.** Write packet and fragment
+   framing into caller storage and remove intermediate payload arrays.
+
 Retail/transport invariants:
 
 - one outstanding receive;

docs/research/2026-07-25-slice-h-c1-pooled-receive-owner.md

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Slice H-c1 — cancellable pooled receive owner
+
+## Result
+
+The in-world transport now has one asynchronous socket receive owner:
+
+```text
+one retained full-size socket buffer
+    -> ReceiveFromAsync(cancellation token)
+    -> copy actual datagram length into a right-sized ArrayPool bucket
+    -> FIFO Channel<PooledInboundDatagram>
+    -> render-thread decode/dispatch
+    -> return bucket exactly once
+```
+
+The synchronous `PumpOnce` handshake path keeps its existing 250 ms pacing,
+but receives into a temporarily rented caller buffer rather than accepting a
+fresh `UdpClient.Receive` array. The normal in-world path no longer wakes four
+times per idle second and no longer uses `SocketException(TimedOut)` as its
+heartbeat.
+
+`NetClient.Send` also consumes its caller's `ReadOnlySpan<byte>` directly
+through `Socket.SendTo`; the transport-only `datagram.ToArray()` copy is gone.
+Higher-level outbound framing allocations are intentionally left to H-c3.
+
+## Retail and protocol boundary
+
+Behavioral invariants remain unchanged:
+
+- one outstanding receive;
+- kernel arrival order is FIFO channel order;
+- decode, ISAAC, fragment assembly, ACK decisions, and event dispatch remain
+  on the existing render/update thread;
+- ACK generation remains inside `ProcessDatagram`, immediately after decode
+  acceptance;
+- `LinkStatusHolder::OnHeartbeat` (`0x004113D0`) last-heard placement remains
+  immediately after successful decode;
+- blocking `PumpOnce` handshake cadence is unchanged.
+
+The initial design review caught that 484 bytes is a fragment limit, not a
+safe UDP receive limit. Named-retail `CNetLayerPacket` (type 3705 in
+`acclient.h`) contains a separate `ProtoHeader` plus `m_Data[65484]`.
+Accordingly the socket edge retains a full UDP buffer. Only the received byte
+count crosses the queue boundary, preventing small queued packets from each
+pinning a 64 KiB bucket.
+
+Holtburger's receive/finalize path remains the cross-reference for
+ACK-per-accepted-packet ordering. The transport ownership mechanism is a
+modern .NET adaptation; it does not change AC wire behavior.
+
+## Deterministic evidence
+
+- real loopback `ReceiveAsync` writes a 1,500-byte datagram into caller-owned
+  memory;
+- cancelling an idle receive terminates the one outstanding operation;
+- a scripted recoverable `SocketException` does not kill the receive owner;
+- three accepted packets retain arrival order and produce ACKs in the exact
+  sequence `41, 42, 43`;
+- blocking handshake timeout behavior and cached socket-timeout tests remain
+  unchanged;
+- graceful confirmation drain releases every consumed pooled datagram, and
+  shutdown cancels/joins the receive task before returning unread buffers.
+
+## Remaining H-c work
+
+H-c2 removes `Packet`, `BodyBytes`, `PacketHeaderOptional`, `List`, and
+single-fragment payload copies from the production decode path using borrowed
+memory with an explicit lifetime boundary. H-c3 writes fragment and packet
+framing directly into caller storage.
+