Chapter Four: More Doors, Narrower Roads

“I don't know.” “And the thirty million?” “The same channel.” After a silence, she said, “You don't refuse because you don't know. You refuse because you won't tell me. Those are different.” She did not press him. Instead, she canceled their launch and arranged for Anhe to publish the experiment while Bright Mirror released code hashes and audited accounts. If they could not explain a miracle, they could at least prove they had not fabricated it. That evening, Jiming went to see Gu Wanqing. Headquarters scanned his ID and flashed red: RISK SUBJECT—APPOINTMENTS PROHIBITED. Wanqing waited in the downstairs café as if she had known.