"Override protocol. Escalate control."
The unfamiliar male voice cut through the comms—
—and the air inside the store tightened instantly, like something invisible had just been pulled taut.
Qin Zheng's backup device at his waist flickered red, buzzing with static.Outside, the second team snapped upright almost instinctively.Even Pei Wan's expression darkened.
This wasn't a supervisor stepping in.
This was someone higher.
Much higher.
"Identify yourself." Qin Zheng's voice turned cold.
A brief pause.
Then the reply came—flat, mechanical, stripped of anything human:
"Central Command. Zhou Xubai."
"From this moment on—sealed objects, anchor structures, potential contacts, and suspected stabilizers…"
"All are placed under Level-One temporary control."
"Cease all unauthorized exchanges immediately."
Each sentence landed harder than the last.
Su Yu tightened her grip on Sui Sui, knuckles turning white.
He Qing's breathing hitched.
Even Zhou Qiming shut his eyes for a split second.
Because they all understood—
This wasn't negotiation.
This was a sweep.
Everything tonight—everyone who saw, touched, survived—
—was about to be taken.
And yet—
Lin Wu didn't even blink.
She was still looking down at the grey reply board in front of her, pen hovering over the "Price" column—
—as if everything else was just background noise.
"Lin Wu," Qin Zheng said quietly. "Pause."
"Why?"
She finally looked up.
"Because right now—"
"Because someone thinks they can price my goods for me," she cut in.
Then tilted her head slightly toward the comm.
"Mr. Zhou, right?"
Silence.
Just for a second.
As if he hadn't expected anyone—at this point—to speak back like that.
Then his voice returned, colder than before.
"Store owner Lin Wu."
"The most rational choice you have right now is to cease all contact beyond the door and remain in place for processing."
"Processing?" Lin Wu let out a soft laugh. "That's an unfortunate word."
"Terminology is irrelevant. Outcome is not," Zhou said evenly."Once you continue forming transactional rules with unknown entities beyond the door…"
"You cease to be merely an operator."
"You will be classified as—"
"What?" Lin Wu interrupted.
A brief pause.
Then:
"A living interface."
The store fell silent.
That phrase—
—was worse than anything before.
Living.Interface.
Translated, it meant only one thing:
You're no longer just human.
You're becoming part of the door.
But Lin Wu just nodded lightly.
"Alright."
"So you admit I'm the interface."
She leaned slightly forward.
"Then when the interface is setting prices—do outsiders usually get to interrupt?"
Qin Zheng: "…"
Pei Wan turned away, shoulders trembling just slightly.
For the first time—
Zhou Xubai didn't answer immediately.
Lin Wu didn't give him time.
She tapped the system panel.
[Enable: Shopkeeper Priority Override?]
Perfect timing.
[Enabled.]
The next second—
Zhou's voice in the comm dulled abruptly, like it had been forced behind glass.
A system prompt followed:
[Shopkeeper pricing in progress][All remote override, forced commands, and price interference downgraded]
Good.
Lin Wu's mood improved instantly.
She glanced at Qin Zheng.
"You can listen," she said."But don't make decisions for me."
He stared at her, jaw tight—
—but said nothing.
Because he knew.
In that single moment—
she had taken control back.
"Alright," Lin Wu said, lowering her gaze again."Local queue waits. The door comes first."
Behind the special shelf—
—the grey mist shifted slightly.
As if even the other side had accepted that priority.
"Don't lowball," Cen Dong muttered from the side.
"I won't."
Of course she wouldn't.
If Grey Tower let her name the price—
then she would name one that was sharp, grounded—
—and impossible to ignore.
Too low? She loses the store.
Too high? They walk away.
So it had to be exact.
Her pen finally touched the board.
First line:
Store Name: Black Market
Second line—
she paused.
Then wrote, clean and steady:
Price: Three Safe Routes + Grey Tower Client Registry
Every gaze in the room froze.
Three routes—that was expected.
But the registry—
That wasn't a price.
That was leverage.
A client list.
Access control.
The entire system of who gets to knock, who gets to trade—
who gets to exist at the door.
Pei Wan's eyes sharpened instantly.
Zhou Qiming swallowed.
Even Qin Zheng muttered under his breath:
"You've got guts."
Lin Wu didn't look up.
"They're already eyeing my door.I'm just asking for their customer list."
Ridiculous.
Perfectly logical.
Because once the door stabilized—
the most valuable thing was no longer goods.
It was access.
Third line:
Terms: Routes negotiable. The door is not.
The moment the final word landed—
the board shimmered.
A thin silver edge lit up—
like something, somewhere far away—
had seen it.
And accepted.
[Grey Tower response generated][Send?]
"Send."
The board dissolved into mist—
—and slipped through the gap behind the shelf.
The wind outside howled louder.
The lights flickered.
Not like power loss.
More like—
something massive, distant—
had just taken notice.
Silence filled the store.
Seconds stretched.
Then—
the mist split.
A thinner, colder slip of grey-white paper drifted out—
and stopped midair.
No writing.
Then—
letters began forming on their own.
First line:
[Three routes accepted]
Second:
[Registry denied]
Then—
the third line appeared slowly:
[First route delivered tonight]
And at the bottom:
[Inspection requested, shopkeeper]
Lin Wu's eyes lit up.
Good.
Very good.
No rejection.
No suppression.
No "know your place."
They followed her rules.
This wasn't pressure anymore.
This was a deal.
"What's the first route?" Pei Wan asked quietly.
"You'll see."
The moment the last word settled—
a large snow-salt crystal on the shelf trembled slightly.
Crack.
Not breaking—
but inside it—
a thin, glowing line began to form.
Not random.
Structured.
A map.
[Route collateral detected][Content: White Tower Outer Ring Safe Path (Night Route)]
The entire room shifted.
"They actually pledged a route…" Cen Dong whispered.
Qi Ye said nothing—
but his gaze darkened.
Because now two things were clear:
Grey Tower was willing to negotiate.
And they had better routes than anyone else.
Lin Wu only cared about one thing.
Her price had landed.
Perfectly.
Then—
Zhou Xubai's voice came back through the comm.
Lower this time.
Heavier.
"Lin Wu."
"Who did you just make a deal with?"
She didn't even look at the device.
Just lifted the crystal, inspecting it under the light—
a faint smile forming.
"Get in line."
"When it's your turn—I'll price you too."
Silence.
Two full seconds.
Then—
his voice dropped colder than before.
"Do you understand what you're doing?"
"Yes," she said immediately.
"I'm making money."
The entire store froze again.
Qi Ye lowered his head slightly.
Pei Wan closed her eyes.
Qin Zheng just stared at her—
because absurd as it sounded—
that was exactly what this was.
She had taken a containment order—
—and turned it into business.
Then—
the empty black ticket box at the bottom shelf snapped shut.
A faint line appeared:
Second Route Pending
Every eye locked onto it.
This wasn't a one-time exchange.
Grey Tower had acknowledged—
this door—
was open for continued trade.
Lin Wu closed her ledger, slowly looked up at the comm—
voice calm.
Almost gentle.
"Mr. Zhou."
"You see it now?"
"You wanted to take my store."
"But they're already delivering goods."
She smiled slightly.
"So if you want to talk—"
"You'll have to match their price."