The retaliation came faster than expected.
Three hours after the auction ended, Lin Chen's temporary laboratory lost power.
Not a blackout.
A targeted shutdown.
---
[System Log: External Interference Detected.]
[Method: Infrastructure-Level Control.]
[Source Probability: Consortium Subdivision.]
Lin Chen didn't look up from the operating table.
"Predictable," he said.
---
Cutting the Lights
Emergency lamps flickered on.
The experimental subject lay unconscious, vitals stable.
Lin Chen adjusted the dosage by instinct alone.
He didn't need machines.
Machines were conveniences—not necessities.
---
A voice echoed from the corridor.
"Doctor Lin. This facility is no longer authorized."
Footsteps.
Professional. Calm.
Private security.
---
[System Log: Threat Units — 6 Identified.]
[Lethality Assessment: Moderate.]
Lin Chen finished suturing before turning around.
"Authorization," he said evenly,
"is context-dependent."
---
First Move
The door slid open.
Six men in dark suits.
No visible weapons.
But their posture told the truth.
The leader smiled politely.
"You've crossed a line."
Lin Chen walked past him.
He stopped two steps away.
Then spoke.
"You cut power to a medical procedure," Lin Chen said.
"That's a declaration."
The man's smile froze.
---
[System Log: Sovereign Field — Localized Activation.]
The air pressure shifted.
Not enough to knock them down.
Enough to make breathing… uncomfortable.
One man coughed.
Another instinctively stepped back.
Lin Chen didn't raise his voice.
"Leave," he said.
"And the subject stays."
---
Escalation Denied
The leader clenched his jaw.
"You think force will protect you?"
"No," Lin Chen replied.
"I think liability will."
He tapped the wall.
Lights snapped back on.
Cameras activated.
Red indicators blinked.
---
Screens across the room lit up—
live feeds routed to multiple external nodes.
Hospital boards.
Regulatory offices.
Media dead drops.
---
"You're standing in an illegal shutdown," Lin Chen continued.
"Documented. Time-stamped."
A pause.
"If anything happens here," he said calmly,
"your names become public."
Silence.
Then, slowly, the men stepped back.
---
A Different Kind of Power
The leader exhaled.
"This isn't over."
Lin Chen nodded.
"I know."
The door closed.
Power stabilized.
---
[System Log: Conflict Resolved Without Lethal Force.]
[Authority Validation: Increased.]
[Consortium Risk Assessment: Revised Upward.]
Lin Chen returned to the table.
The subject's heartbeat was steady.
---
Message Sent
Minutes later, Lin Chen's phone vibrated.
A new message.
"You are more troublesome than anticipated."
Lin Chen typed a single reply.
"You interfered with my work."
Then he turned off the phone.
---
Outside the lab, plans were already shifting.
The consortium would adapt.
So would he.
But now, they knew something important.
Lin Chen was not a rogue doctor.
He was a system-level variable.
---
[System Log: City Control Progress: 12%.]
[Next Objective: Establish Independent Medical Node.]
Lin Chen washed his hands slowly.
"Now," he said softly,
"we build."
---
End of Chapter
---