Chapter Five: Applause, Calculated

For the first time, Jiming told someone the entire truth. Cheng Ye did not look amazed. “Liang insults you, you get thirty million. Gu closes a door, you get credentials. What are all our sleepless nights worth?” “They turn what it gives us into something real.” “And now, because Xu Zhi doubts you, you throw away the real thing.” “Not because of her. We cannot sell customers a security system whose own foundation we cannot explain.” Outside, Xu Zhi did not enter. He did not know how much she heard. That afternoon Gu announced that, due to compliance risk, its platform rejected every Bright Mirror access application and reserved the right to sue. This rejection came from the conglomerate, not Wanqing personally. Silver text covered the wall.