Chapter Two: Thirteen Milliseconds Before the Prophecy

00:00:00.000 PUBLIC CACHE VISIBLE It confirmed his upstream-event model. One final line read: OBSERVER GY-0713 REACTIVATED. GY matched Gu Yan's initials. 0713 was the employee suffix Chengtu had never published. Ye Ning disconnected the network, half a second too late. Every washer stopped. The fluorescent lights died. The payment screen displayed a single message: OBSERVER, PLEASE RETURN. The rear electronic lock engaged. Gu Yan picked up a fire extinguisher but did not swing it. He checked the evacuation map, the sprinklers, then the last washer. Its dark glass reflected a pinprick of red light that did not belong in the shop. A camera hid inside a REPAIR QR code.