The twin consoles glowed, bronze casings radiating heat. The air was thick with solvent and ozone. The sodium lights hummed. Crisp, authoritative footsteps announced the real proctor's arrival, his robe a sharper cut than the fake Supervisor's, whose own steps were still off-cadence. The panel above the consoles flashed: "Bind under challenge — supervisor override pending."
Qin Ye executed a Quiet Pivot, a micro-adjustment that solidified their triad formation. "Public route parity remains in effect. Clause 3.2."
---
His boot scuffed the base of the dual console pedestal.
[Daily Sign-In available.]
[Location: Dual Console Pedestal.]
[Sign-In? Yes / No]
Yes.
[Ding! Sign-In successful!]
[Reward: Bind Thread (Lv.1, 25 breaths — boost clause-citation timing & registry hand speed) + Parity Seal Token (1 use — simultaneous squad time-stamp on multi-console actions).]
---
Identity Nick → Procedural Freeze.
The Device Witness orb caught the fake Supervisor's badge again—the number still mismatched the chest plate. He moved to use his key. The Echo Lock's protection was gone.
"Public verification. Open-hash display required," Qin Ye stated, his voice a surgical instrument.
The real proctor stepped forward. "Display the key hash. Now."
A stamp hit the log.
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Force the Hash Open."]
[Reward: +150,000 Spirit Stones; Appeal Resistance +2% (situational).]
---
First Console — Route Parity Finalize.
Strategic priority: lock the route. Qin Ye activated the Bind Thread. Time seemed to slow, clauses and procedures lining up in his mind. He willed the Parity Seal Token to activate.
In a single, fluid motion, he, Lin Xiu, and Yue Hong pressed their wrist passes to the right-hand console. Three time-stamps chimed in perfect unison. A silent choreography of compliance.
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Seal the Route as Three."]
[Reward: +150,000 Spirit Stones; Squad Coordination +3% (situational).]
The panel updated: "Route parity locked — closed benches disallowed."
---
Interference & Clean Reversal.
"Crowding! Safety reset!" the fake Supervisor called, a note of desperation in his voice.
"Reset requires a logged cause. Clause 8.1," Qin Ye cited, already moving. A Quiet Pivot and a soft Blade Nudge maintained their spacing without halting. The real proctor stamped the log: "No reset."
As the fake Supervisor gestured, a palm-smear of Null Crest ink was visible on his sleeve cuff.
---
Second Console — Registry Bind Under Challenge.
The left console text scrolled: "Bind challenge: legacy key + masked user (—)."
Qin Ye and Lin Xiu flowed into a Shadow Duet Step, positioning themselves at the console. Yue Hong hesitated for a breath. A single, sharp tap of Qin Ye's thigh brought him into phase. They executed a clean tri-confirm sequence, reaffirming the Live Ledger Bind on the "Null Crest."
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Tri-Confirm the Bind."]
[Reward: +200,000 Spirit Stones; Procedural Presence +1 (situational).]
---
Legacy-Key Gambit II → Public Anchor.
The fake Supervisor attempted a final, legacy-key supersede. Without the Echo Lock, Qin Ye countered. "Open-hash mirror on console. Public view. Demand anchor hash from proctor badge."
The real proctor complied, pressing his badge to the reader. The console screen split, showing two distinct, mismatched hashes. The supersede failed.
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Anchor the Bind to Badge."]
[Reward: +150,000 Spirit Stones; Chain Continuity +1 (situational).]
---
Corridor Squeeze.
A vent surge roared. A rolling bin drifted into their path, threatening to break their line-of-sight to the Device Witness.
Qin Ye and Lin Xiu moved as a single hinge, their Silent Steps creating space. A Blade Nudge steadied Yue Hong. "Maintain line-of-sight," Qin Ye said, his eyes locked on the glowing orb. The witness feed never wavered.
[Ding! Optional Objective unlocked: "Complete Twin Consoles with zero resets & zero halts." — Reward: Technique Cache (procedural, advanced, locked).]
---
Bind Finalization.
Qin Ye executed the final stamp. The console echoed the Nameplate Mark: "Null Crest — under audit (public)."
The Device Witness orb replayed a swift, clean montage: the package seizure, the annex residues, the die, the supervisor hash mismatches. A tapestry of evidence, woven in public view.
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Bind in the Open."]
[Reward: +150,000 Spirit Stones; Proctors: Reputation +1 (situational).]
---
Climax — Badge Pull & Standdown.
"Badge presentation. Now," the real proctor ordered the fake Supervisor.
The man hesitated. The Device Witness framed his face, the badge number failure now undeniable. He was procedurally contained, surrounded by the log and the evidence. No brawl was necessary. The path ahead cleared. The sodium lights seemed to cool a degree.
[Ding! Side Quest updated: Trace the Hand — handler contained; registrar still masked (—).]
---
Ending.
The Integration Timer pulsed. Sixty breaths remained.
The Final Gate's indicators flipped from amber to a clean, white audit light. A small holoplate to the side flickered on, displaying a registry terminal tree. One node, positioned above Procurement Sub-Unit 2, was still masked, labeled only "—".
From beyond the Final Gate, footsteps echoed—measured, unhurried, and utterly unlike the fake Supervisor's.
The gate seals parted a finger's width, and the masked node pulsed like a heartbeat waiting to be named.
[Ding! Integration Timer — 60 breaths remain.]