Chapter Three: Twelve Water Stations

They split up and met every ten minutes in the equipment room. Lin Xi counted the stations: one in East Three, one in East Seven, two in the south, three in the west, four in the north, and one hidden beneath the VIP stand. Twelve. Each bore the divided-circle symbol. It looked less like a logo than a closed eye. Photos showed bare walls where the cartons stood. Notes on her arm dissolved into tiny silver droplets. Finally, she tied twelve differently colored strips of seat-sealing tape to her belt. Physical markers remained—for now. At 6:43, beneath the VIP stand, she found a silver-vested promoter feeding a clear hose into a carton. Its other end disappeared into a load-bearing pillar that should have been solid.