Chapter Five: The Price of Seeing

Shen cut power before the freight lift reached the third floor. The museum's fire pumps still ran, however. Lin removed a sprinkler-main cap and used the pressure kick to force the platform through its mechanical brake. The charity auction had become a battlefield. Guests crowded sealed exits. Obsidian guards held the corners, and the Night Watch formed a white semicircle. Overhead, the Prism painted everyone's choices across the glass walls—escape, betrayal, death by the next stray bullet. Han Duo appeared as a hologram onstage. “Relic 0007 is causing cognitive contamination. Delegate your wallet permissions to Obsidian, and we will protect you.” Every phone displayed an authorization page. ACCEPT filled the screen; refusal hid six menus deep.