Chapter Three: One Crate of Medicine Buys a City

Hundreds of emergency lamps flared between the shelves. Volunteer drivers poured from every exit, all their cameras aimed at the intruders. “We're live on thirty-seven platforms.” Tang Li sat atop a forklift and waved her laptop. In the first cycle, the network engineer had disappeared after exposing polling anomalies. This time, Lin had found her early. “Mr. Gu, would you like to smile for four million viewers?” The attackers froze. For the first time, Gu lost his smile. His power depended on influence—and was constrained by it. “You won one night,” he said. “No.” Lin watched his unconverted public trust continue to rise. “I only proved your rules can bite you too.” The city began voting on the seventh night.