Chapter Four: The Nine O'Clock Review

“Underground rings use these to trip people fleeing a raid,” he told the cameras. “Check the corridor footage.” Beyond's safety director flinched. The equipment failures were real: a frayed cable, a broken treadmill stop, loose floor bolts under a squat rack. “Planted too?” Ma asked. “No.” Lin Ran hung red OUT OF SERVICE tags on them. “A real defect gets admitted. Iron Dome won't survive by lying.” The Data Wall separated every issue into repair, isolation, and substitute training. Han called procedures. Ghost moved machines. Tang published purchase receipts. Zhou summoned licensed repairmen. Lin Ran redirected waiting members into equipment-free classes.