Chapter Three: Ninety-Three Lives and One Drop of Metal

A drone skimmed the floor, projecting arrows. Zhou lifted the frame with artificial muscle fibers that multiplied his strength sixfold. The trapped man stared. “Don't gawk,” Zhou snapped. “Hydraulic exoskeleton. Domestic prototype.” It sounded plausible enough in a burning building. Firefighters reached them at the east stairwell. Four yellow points became green. Then nine. Sixteen. Twenty-six. Zhou moved again and again through the burning floors. Drones opened jammed doors while disguising the cuts as electrical damage. Silver cable held fallen slabs while cameras saw ordinary steel line. When his suit deflected a red-hot beam, he immediately covered it with fire foam. Technological superiority was not showing everyone a miracle.