Chapter One: At Midnight, the Chips Spoke

Beneath Feng’s cuff was a black wrist module with a silver sun. It transmitted an encrypted order: erase the last ten minutes of low-level logs. Yesterday, Chenzhou could not have seen it. Now the command burned in the darkness. “This isn’t the first warning you’ve suppressed,” he said. Feng’s pupils tightened. Chenzhou picked up his toolbox. When a guard reached for him, every rack in the cold aisle shrieked. Lights turned red in sequence, like hundreds of eyes. “Do not touch him,” the chips said. Only Chenzhou heard them. “I won’t sign,” he told Feng. “And you can’t erase every copy.” He left Skyvault at midnight. Rain turned the city’s neon into a flowing circuit board. His phone confirmed the termination of his employment.