Chapter Two: Stealing a City in Forty Seconds

Arclight City rose from darkness. District after district illuminated beyond the arena, a blue-white tide crossing the river. Red beacons resumed their rotation atop the hospital. The crowd did not cheer at first. They seemed afraid to believe. Then Lu Yao tore off her headset and threw herself toward Yanhui, and her first sob ignited the stadium. Her arms could not pass through the monitor, yet Shen Yan felt a real impact against his chest. [REWARD: TACTICAL TALENT ACQUIRED — GLOBAL TIMING.] Numbers flooded his awareness. Without opening a panel, he knew every cooldown, the moment each wave would collide, the end of every recall. The information no longer required calculation. It felt as natural as breathing.