Chapter Four: Cohabitation at the Three-Meter Line

"To prevent uncontrolled activation, you must live together." When Yaochuan Neurotechnology's chief engineer said it, Xu Zhi thought she had misheard. A map of Lancheng hovered above the conference table. For the past forty-eight hours, whenever Xu Zhi and Gu Yanchen came within three meters, nearby devices showed a 0.3-second signal hijack. Yet if they remained apart for six hours, the system increased its transmission power and searched for the other "key." Last night, with them on opposite sides of the city, smart speakers across half of Lancheng had repeated one subjectless word: come back. "We believe phase two requires stable contact between the samples," the engineer said, sweating. "Prolonged separation may cause continuous disruptions."