Chapter Three: The Observers Are Watching

Her recursive equation multiplied furiously, both lie and truth. “Better if you don’t.” She stopped before a wall covered in graffiti. “Look for yourself.” Behind the wall was not another tunnel but a functioning data center. Hundreds of fiber lines converged inside transparent pillars. The names of Linchuan’s citizens scrolled across screens, each followed by probabilities: resignation, divorce, hospitalization, crime, death. Lin Yan found his mother. LIN QIUHE: Accept transfer to private bus operator, 87.4%. Fatigue-related collision within three months, 61.2%. His hand tightened into a fist. “The transfer offer arrives tomorrow,” Su Mi said.