The night settled over Horizon Gate like a held breath.
From the outside, the tower gleamed — flawless, disciplined, untouchable. Inside, the corridors whispered with subdued energy, like a creature that knew it was being watched but could not see its predator.
Xinyue stood alone on the observation balcony.
Below her, the city stretched endlessly, veins of light threading through steel and glass. She held her tea untouched in both hands, the porcelain warming her palms, though she barely felt it. Her thoughts drifted in slow, precise patterns — reviewing, predicting, shaping.
Nothing was wrong.
And that was what unsettled her.
She sensed it in the way the markets had stabilized too quickly. In the way internal audits returned flawless. In the way even Jun had become… careful.
Stillness was never neutral.
Stillness meant someone else was holding the storm.
Behind her, Li Wei approached quietly.
"You've been here a long time," he said.
She did not turn. "Does the building feel different to you?"
He considered. "Quieter."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "It is listening."
He stepped closer. "Listening to what?"
"To us."
He smiled faintly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You always think the world is plotting."
"And you always think love makes us invisible."
His hand stilled.
Their reflections hovered in the glass — two figures framed by endless light. To anyone else, they were untouchable. But Xinyue felt the first invisible tremor pass through the bones of Horizon Gate.
Far away, inside encrypted channels neither of them could see, a new designation had been issued.
PROJECT: FITMO-ALIGNED SURVEILLANCE
STATUS: INITIATED
No alarms rang.
No warnings flashed.
Only silence deepened.
And the storm took its first breath.