Veins of Betrayal and Iron Walls

The interrogation chamber deep beneath Xingzhao's command center was not built for pain but it was built for precision. Stainless steel walls absorbed every sound, and the light overhead flickered with unwavering brightness, giving no comfort to those seated within.

Lu Shiming sat, bound not with rope, but with magnetized cuffs anchored into the floor. Before him stood Song Lian, and Yun Zhen, flanked by Captain Zhao Wenlan, commander of the Internal Guard.

Lu Shiming's eyes darted between them, wild with desperation. "I didn't mean to betray the town. I was only trying to understand where the power came from! The truth! People talk, and Wen Ji only asked for…"

"You don't get to plead ignorance," Song Lian said coldly, her voice razor sharp. "You opened a classified containment case. That wasn't a curiosity, Lu Shiming, it was sabotage."

Yun Zhen stepped forward, folding his arms. "You were promised favors. Promised independence. What else were you promised? What else did you give him?"

"I gave him nothing," Lu Shiming snapped. "Just… just one look! I never sent anything back!"

Captain Zhao raised a brow. "But you were preparing to. And the Yun Court wouldn't leave a single thread hanging."

She laid down a small device on the table, a compact transmitter found hidden inside Lu Shiming's quarters. The screen still blinked red, its signal blocked the moment it activated.

Lu Shiming slumped in the chair, defeat washing over him. "What happens to me now?"

Song Lian stared at him, unreadable. "You won't be executed. But you will never again leave this facility. You'll live, Lu Shiming but not as a citizen of Xingzhao."

Council Assembly – Later That Morning

The inner council gathered in the glass-paneled chamber at the heart of Xingzhao. Holographic displays projected the eastern sector's schematics, Lu Shiming's attempted path, and surveillance footage from the past week.

"I warned we moved too quickly with trust," said Minister Lin Jiahao, head of civil affairs. "Our ID system wasn't strict enough. The envoy may be gone, but his poison lingers."

"He left his knife behind," muttered Minister Han Yueqin, chief of communications. "That assistant Wen Ji should be detained."

Song Lian shook her head. "Not yet. If we detain him, they'll know we're aware. We let him roam for now but under tighter surveillance. We'll tag him with a synthetic biometric and replace his access device with a mock one. Any attempt to breach data will lead him nowhere."

Yun Zhen leaned forward, voice low and calm. "It's time we move from defense to active countermeasures. We have the technology, the infrastructure. Let's ensure no one can ever infiltrate Xingzhao again."

Song Lian nodded. "Then we enact Project Iron Wall."

Over the next few days, the town became a living machine of construction and efficiency. The Outer Wall, already formidable, began to grow reinforced with carbon-composite armor and buried seismic sensors.

New turrets were discreetly mounted, camouflaged to look like traditional towers but with precision target acquisition systems hidden inside.

Every road leading into and out of Xingzhao was equipped with layered checkpoints and scanning drones overhead, pressure-sensitive pavestones beneath, and trained guards operating with enhanced vision helmets. The Smart ID system was upgraded.

Newer cards included multi-factor biometric chips, voiceprint verification, and retinal pattern locks. All systems were linked to the TownCore, the AI control center Song Lian had hidden beneath the command dome.

For every visitor or applicant, a deep screening protocol was introduced.

Backgrounds were verified using satellite scans, and psychological profiling became mandatory. Even the market vendors received upgrades purchasing terminals now flagged anomalies in buying patterns or restricted items.

Song Lian personally oversaw the programming of the AI's suspicion matrix. It wasn't just about catching spies it was about predicting unrest before it took root.

Wen Ji – Under Watch

Wen Ji strolled through the Central District, admiring the new defensive additions with an air of feigned innocence. He paused often, chatting with merchants, watching engineers set up surveillance pylons.

But he knew he was being watched. Still, he smiled. If they don't arrest me, it means they want me to believe I still have control.

That suited him just fine. What Song Lian and Yun Zhen didn't know yet was that Wen Ji had already planted a different kind of seed. Doubt. And in time, doubt bloomed.

Yun Zhen – Private Study

Yun Zhen sat alone that night, a candle flickering beside him. Reports from the wall, troop formations, training logs it was all going well. Almost too well. His thoughts drifted not to battle, but to Song Lian. She had changed so much still brilliant, still driven but now harder, more closed.

He remembered her smile the first time she'd offered him shelter in that crumbling shack in the woods. That smile was rarer now. He wished to tell her how much she meant to him. How every day at her side carved away the burden of exile.

But now, with the empire stirring, and spies within their gates, there was no room for feelings. He closed the file on his desk, breathing deeply. There would be time for hearts, later. If they survived what was coming.