Chapter Four: The Knee He Chose Not to Heal

Pendulum had no star, but moved like one body. They did not attack Han's knee or trap Zhou. Whenever Su began calling, they changed rhythm: fast, slow, fast again. By the time she solved one pattern, it had stopped. Four-zero. Seven-two. “They're attacking my calculation time,” Su gasped. Zhou's Forecast failed too. Every defensive tendency reversed into bait. At nine-four, Pendulum's captain set the ball down and waited three seconds. Zhou shaded left. The man remained still until Zhou reset, then drove right. Ten-four. Match point. “I can't calculate people without a pattern,” Su said. “There is one,” Han answered. He had hedged twenty-seven times, his knee swollen against the brace, but his voice remained steady.