Guo Shanni was attractive — ordinary person, no Activity evolution, but she carried herself with a soldier's bearing that the uniform complemented well. An undeniable vitality to her.

Shen Cong noticed. Then he remembered who had sent her and why, and the appreciation curdled immediately into something cold.

A honey trap. Obviously.

He hated this feeling. He could choose on his own terms to ally with someone larger and more powerful — that was his decision to make. What he would not tolerate was other people maneuvering to control him from the outside. His instinct toward Guo Shanni was immediate and disproportionate: he wanted her removed from the situation permanently.

He didn't act on it. He wasn't that far gone. He just let his tone drop another degree.

Nobody registered the killing intent beneath the surface. The atmosphere held.

Sun Kai asked: "What does the Colonel need to purchase?"

"Steel cable. As much as you have."

"Let's check the trading area — I honestly don't know if anyone has cable in stock. Most transactions here run on barter, and iron person independents are thin on the ground. Cable keeps well enough, but storing it ties up space, so most people order it specifically rather than carrying inventory."

They walked toward the trading area, Guo Shanni falling into step immediately behind Shen Cong with the quiet efficiency of someone who had already appointed herself his shadow. The camp was small; they covered the distance in a minute. Sun Kai sent his staff to canvas the companies and independents for cable.

The camp administrator's role was platform management — keeping trade legal, maintaining order, running the storage facilities. He had limited formal authority over the companies and independents operating within it, and rarely involved himself in individual transactions.

The staff came back. "Only one seller — Firewheel Trading Company has a batch they just finished servicing. They're offering it."

"Price?" Shen Cong asked.

"Fifty a meter."

"How many meters?"

"A hundred and twenty."

Shen Cong pulled out six thousand greenbacks and held them out. "I'll take all of it."

Sun Kai accepted…