Rain returned to the megacity the way secrets always did _ still, persistently, as if it had noway truly left.
Horizon Gate glowed in tableware wastes of water, its towering glass walls reflecting the restless stir of the thoroughfares below. Outside, still, the structure held a careful stillness. Exchanges were softer. Steps more measured. The air itself sounded to hear.
Xinyue stood at the center of it all, undecipherable.
Jun's voice came through her earpiece at exactly 712 a.m.
" They've moved from observation to positioning. "
Her aspect
Lifted from the tablet in her hands. " Define positioning. "
" They've fitted a deputy. "
Li Wei, leaning against the marble rail near her office door, uncurled. " Inside Horizon Gate? "
" Not directly, " Jun replied. " Through a consulting attachment that mates with our Southeast expansion branch. The deputy is n't high- ranking, but they're impeccably placed. "
Xinyue considered that. " Low visibility. High access. "
" Exactly. "
Li Wei's jaw tensed. " So the shadow eventually stepped into the room. "
" Not the shadow, " Xinyue said vocally. " Their hand. "
The deputy arrived just after ten.
His name was Shen Kairu.
Mid-thirties. Crisp suit. Neutral smile. A background that read clean but too quiet _ no contestation, no egregious ambition, no visible edge.
Which made him dangerous.
Xinyue met him in the small sunlit conference room overlooking the swash. Li Wei sat beside her. Jun covered quietly from three bottoms below.
Shen bowed politely. " Ms. Li. Mr. Wei. It's an honor. "
Xinyue returned the nod with royal poise. " Drink to Horizon Gate. "
He smiled gently. " Your character precedes you. "
" And yours, " she replied.
Commodity faint flitted behind his eyes.
They spoke of logistics. Of effectiveness. Ofcross-border threat control. He offered suggestions that were precise, helpful _ and just slightly deranged with Horizon Gate's usual inflow.
Xinyue noticed incontinently.
He was measuring her.
Not her answers. Her responses.
He was n't harkening to what she said.
He was harkening to how she said it.
Jun rumored into her observance as Shen spoke.
" He's feeding responses into a delayed relay channel. Someone is harkening through him. "
Xinyue gave no sign.
She leaned back slightly. " Your recommendations are thoughtful, " she said to Shen. " But they would bear us to alter some of our core blessing pathways. "
He jounced fluently. " adaption is survival. "
Li Wei fitted smoothly, " But stability is durability. "
Shen smiled again. " Both are true. "
The triangle of ganders formed compactly.
And in that moment, the air stoned.
At exactly 1142 a.m., Jun's defenses burned .
" Signal triangulated, " he muttered. " Someone is harkening to this room. "
Xinyue placed her hands on the table sluggishly.
" also let's give them commodity to hear. "
She looked directly at Shen.
" You're not then because of your résumé, " she said calmly. " You're then because someone wants to understand how Horizon Gate bends. "
Shen's eyes widened just enough to be seen.
Li Wei gobbled sprucely.
Jun set.
Xinyue's voice remained gentle.
" You can tell whoever transferred you that they're welcome to speak to me directly. "
Silence stretched.
Shen dithered. Also reached into his jacket and removed a thin black device, placing it on the table.
" It was noway my intention to deceive you, " he said still. " I was told you would know. "
The device actuated.
A voice filled the room.
Filtered. Unisex. Calm.
" So, " the shadow said. " You eventually looked up. "
Li Wei moved slightly near to Xinyue.
Her posture remained impeccably still.
" I've been apprehensive of you since you opened my door, " she replied.
A faint sound _ nearly horselaugh _ echoed through the speaker.
" You're delicate to destabilize. "
" You're inexperienced at choosing targets, " Xinyue said.
Jun rumored urgently. " Trace lock acquired. "
The voice continued. " Your company is emotional. But it's not what interests me. "
Xinyue listed her head. " also you've wasted your coffers. "
" No, " the shadow replied. " You're what interests me. "
Li Wei's fritters coiled slightly.
" You're not trying to take Horizon Gate, " Xinyue said vocally. " You're trying to understand me. "
" Understanding leads to control. "
" Control requires influence. "
" Everyone has influence. "
Her lips twisted noiselessly.
" So far, you've only set up my walls. "
The voice broke.
Also " Your history. "
Xinyue's aspect
Hardened.
" My history is n't influence, " she said. " It's my evidence. "
Silence.
Also the voice softened.
" You're not the girl who ran presently. "
" No, " she said. " I'm the woman who erected the place you're standing in. "
Jun rumored, " gesture narrowing. They're pulling back. "
The device crepitated.
" You're intriguing, " the shadow said. " Which means this will continue. "
Xinyue leaned forward slightly.
" It will, " she replied. " But coming time, you wo n't be hiding behind someone differently. "
A faint hum.
Also silence.
The device went dark.
Shen exhaled shakily.
" I did n't know who you were, " he admitted.
Xinyue stood.
" Now you do. "
She looked at Li Wei, also Jun.
" They've shown their face, " she said still. " Which means they believe they're ready. "
Li Wei met her eyes. " And are they? "
Her smile was slow.
" They will be. "
Outside, rain slid down the glass walls of Horizon Gate, blurring the megacity into gutters of light.
Nearly unseen, the shadow withdrew to recalculate.
And Xinyue stood unbroken at the center of it all _ no longer a question mark, no longer a riddle _
But a presence.
A warning.