Gently placing the empty cup back on its shelf, Yutai hoisted the straps of his rifle over his shoulder. It nestled into place, comfortable and familiar against his back. The cooling vents were on full blast, just as his parents liked it while they slept.

  Yutai crept out of the refreshment room and down the silent corridor. He felt guilty about his short time at his family’s home, barely a night’s stay. But it had become the norm for him.

  On the left was his parents’ bedroom. His fingers brushed over the sleek control panel beside the door, expecting it to slide open with a familiar hiss. Instead, it flashed red. Locked.

  Neither of his parents was awake. No goodbyes this time.

  Pressing his ear against the cool surface of the door, Yutai heard the low rumble of his father’s snores. A small smile tugged at his lips as he continued his journey down the dim corridor.

  The living space was next – an area filled with entertainment screens and plush sofas, currently steeped in darkness. He moved through it with practised ease, careful not to disturb the furniture. The front door was just ahead, but there was one more room he wanted to check before he left for the tower. He tapped on a little panel by a door to his right, and it slid open with a whisper. Warmed air spilt out, caressing his face with a comforting heat that was a welcome respite from the chilled air his parents favoured. Pangfua had the heater turned on overnight in his room. He lay cocooned in a blanket, emitting soft snores.

  Yutai offered a silent prayer, a plea for the Light to protect his brother before he closed the door once more.

  Turning his attention to the front door, he opened it and stepped outside. The satisfying buzz of the locks engaging behind him echoed in the early hours of the coming work-cycle.

  Yutai usually stayed in his own home in the Kingmaker tower, but he still recalled the route from his academy days, when he had lived in the quiet suburbs of Yu with his family.

  As he trekked toward the towering silhouette of Yu Tower, always present above the tops of Yu’s short groundscrapers, the narrow, pristine streets of the fourth level stretched before him. Intricately designed window frames adorned the smooth sandstone walls of the streets at regular three-metre intervals. Between every third or fourth window was a sliding door that led to apartment units, where most residents were still sleeping in the early hours of the work-cycle.

  The day lamps on the left wall of the street flickered to life, their soft glow signalling the end of the sleep cycle and the start of a new day. The inner-west end of District Yu was home to most of its citizens, families of respectable wealth and status. Unlike the wealthy families of the northern districts, these citizens had generational ties to the Emperor’s royal family. If they didn’t have a son or daughter currently serving as a Kingmaker, someone in their family once did. Even after their Kingmaker connection died or retired, these families could remain in Yu indefinitely.

  Reaching a fork in the corridor, Yutai walked right and ventured into the heart of Yu’s financial district. The corridor gradually broadened and the ceiling rose and arched into multi-levelled sides, revealing a plaza where people walked back and forth. Offices and corporate buildings lined the corridor, interspersed with a variety of shops yet to open. The smooth sandstone underfoot gave way to grey-tiled cement slabs. The atmosphere around him was slow and tranquil, with early risers preparing for the cycle’s business in the heart of the district’s commercial sector.

  Yutai moved unnoticed through the sparse crowds of yawning Yu residents. For a Kingmaker, this anonymity was a rare luxury, but in District Yu, it was the norm.

  Here, Kingmakers garnered little attention, as many citizens had immediate relatives within their ranks. This personal connection demystified their status. However, outside of Yu, encountering a Kingmaker was a rare and extraordinary experience. Most Kowloonis lived and died only hearing legends of the golden-striped Kings. They were not just seen as skilled enforcers capable of shifting entire political landscapes with their unique talents, but also as wealthy, eccentric playboys. Whether it was making appearances as team sponsors in high stakes zuche games, or dominating tables with smug confidence on the top floor of the Mazu City Star Casino. They were the living, breathing essence of Kowloon’s legends and myths, as ancient as the city itself.

  Yutai fought back a yawn as he journeyed towards the tower. His sleep was stolen by something major. For the first time in his Kingmaker career, he received a summons from the Emperor himself. He was certain it had to do with his involvement in the events of two nights ago, when he’d had an unexpected showdown against the Ibilis.

  If that’s the case, the rest of the detachment must be on their way, too.

  A mild headache pulsed in sync with the fight flashing back in his mind. His left arm still ached from when the Ibilis had almost snapped it in half. He remembered how it had felt pushing against the relentless tide of the masked man’s savage blows, predicting Yutai’s every manoeuvre perfectly.

  He retraced the entire fight in his mind, seeking a crack in the inexplicable flow of the Ibilis’s movements. An explanation.

  How did he hold me off for so long?

  He tried to connect the style to different schools of martial arts, but nothing came to mind. Even the question as to how the Ibilis had escaped the lab while it was hailing down with gunfire and then run past the Tien Tao Rioters storming the building at the same time, remained unanswered.

  It’s as if the Ibilis had already choreographed his fight against me. Did I show my hand too early? Unlikely…

  Every Kingmaker was a master of misdirection in combat, their moves as unreadable as an encrypted code. The training was rigorous and secretive, taught by living legends in the martial arts scene. The average Kingmaker knew more fighting forms than the average person could name. Yet, the Ibilis seemed to predict Yutai’s strikes as if reading an open book. It hinted at something more sinister. Some sensory-base cybernetic implant that could outperform even the best fighters, a new fighting style, or perhaps something far more frightening… Kingmaker training itself.

  Knowing the Ibilis had come close to death multiple times during the whole ordeal, Yutai felt a surge of frustration.

  Would I have survived the fight if General Denzhen hadn’t intervened?

  Yutai never imagined there could be anyone in Kowloon capable of killing a Kingmaker in single combat. The mere possibility made him break out in a sweat.

  Before long, the mouth of the Yu Tower loomed before him, a colossal portal that was always open, ingesting and releasing a constant flow of Kingmakers and civilian students headed towards the Yu Library on the second floor. The ground floor lobby was a sprawling nerve centre that branched into the lifeblood of their Kingmaker gang – offices, classrooms, weapons vaults, research laboratories, server rooms, dojos, and dormitories.

  Yutai wove his way through the lobby, a solitary figure among a sea of Kingmakers walking in pairs.

  Navigating into a corridor, Yutai greeted almost every face that waved at him, but no one noticed his uncharacteristic lack of interest in conversation. His journey ended at the eastern set of lifts. The bustle around him seemed unusually vigorous as he waited for the lift to come down.

  I bet it’s because of what happened in Ho Man Ting Square. All these lazy Kingmakers who haven’t seen a day of action since graduation are probably answering calls from the Dragons now.

  With a ding, the elevator doors slid open, and released three large Kingmakers. Yutai slipped inside the metallic chamber before any others could share the ride, his finger stabbing the button for the 28th floor, the sanctum of the Emperor himself. He only entered the throne room once before; his centurion graduation ceremony nearly two annui-cycles ago.

  Reaching the 28th level, Yutai stepped into the lobby of the throne room, where the grand double doors awaited wide open for him. As he walked into the narrow, red-carpeted hall, he could see Emperor Puyin atop his throne with three other men standing before him. His muffled footsteps still managed to echo off the walls and thin jade pillars, and as he got closer, he saw the backs of the three men more clearly. They were wearing green trench coats, the attire of the Dragons. He clenched his jaw as the magnitude of this meeting dawned on him.

  Rows of the Emperor’s elite Manchukuo guards stood ramrod straight at precise intervals down the hall, their imposing figures casting massive silhouettes against the dark walls. Overhead, additional guards glared down at him from the balconies. These Manchukuo guards were Kowloon’s most esteemed warriors, their skills unquestioned, forming the steel backbone of the royal family’s protection. They were former Lieutenant Kingmakers, hand-selected by the Emperor for his royal guard.

  Yutai’s reverie was broken by a clearer sight of the Emperor, sprawled on his throne. His lustrous red hanfu robes cascaded down the throne steps, their silken waves converging on the sprawling carpet that stretched down the hall.

  At the foot of the throne steps, the three esteemed figures turned their heads at Yutai’s approach. Generals Denzhen, Han Xi, and the seldom-seen General Cao.

  But even rarer than seeing Cao himself was the sight of three Dragons in one room. Something significant was unfolding, and Yutai was standing at its epicentre. However, the eldest of the generals was missing – General Qin Shi.

  ‘Shehui Yutai!’ General Han Xi called out in a low voice as Yutai took position on his right side. ‘It’s good to see you.’

  ‘Likewise, General,’ Yutai whispered back as he bowed deeply to the Emperor.

  General Han Xi was Yutai’s favourite general out of the four, but that was considered the basic preference amongst Kingmakers. Everyone adored the man, an old-timer who remained young at heart.

  Looking at the Emperor, Yutai saw deep lines of worry etched on his face. His long, dark goatee was also unkempt, betraying a rare lapse in his meticulous grooming.

  Strangely, the Emperor’s advisor, Grand Chancellor Lin Zexu, was absent. It was most suspicious, as he seldom left his master’s side.

  The soft chime of the elevator echoed down the hall and broke Yutai’s train of thought. The low hum of conversation slowly descended into the hall. Yutai turned his head and spotted the figures of Keung, Cheng, Ushi, Tao, and Shing, accompanied by General Qin Shi leading them.

  So, all four generals ARE here, Yutai thought as his skin prickled with nerves.

  The new entrants lined themselves up in a neat row next to Yutai, while General Qin Shi stood beside General Denzhen at the other end. Bowing in unison before the Emperor, the Emperor’s audience fell into an expectant silence. But the Emperor’s chin remained propped on his knuckles, as if finishing his current thoughts were more important than starting the meeting.

  He looks more worried than I thought he’d be, Yutai thought.

  ‘I bear disturbing news,’ the Emperor’s voice suddenly filtered through the hall. ‘Earlier yesterday, a few hours before the work-cycle started, we received a message… from the surface.’

  A collective gasp rippled through the room. Eyes widened, breaths hitched.

  Did I hear that right? Did he say the surface?

  This was enormous; apart from the first-hand accounts of Prophet Dong’s miraculous pilgrimage over 600 annui-cycles ago, there had never been any confirmations of life on the surface. Many of Kowloon’s secular scientists believed it was desolate and inhospitable, no different from No Man’s Land, leaving everyone to speculate what mysteries awaited them up there. The room felt as though it had plunged into a deep, icy abyss, silence ringing in Yutai’s ears as he struggled to comprehend the enormity of the news.

  The Emperor continued, ‘It is the first communication exchange in history. Neither of us were aware of each other’s existence until recently.’

  ‘How can we know for certain they’re from the surface?’ General Cao asked.

  ‘We traced the source of their signal to nearly a kilometre above us. They also allege an attack from Kowloon, a plague they believe is of our making.’

  ‘Your Majesty, how could we have attacked them if we didn’t know they existed?’ General Han Xi’s query sliced through the stunned silence.

  ‘I don’t know. But the city above us has the very name that Dong mentioned in the Book of Lumen: Hong Kong.’

  No way. Yutai’s jaw fell slack. THE Hong Kong?

  According to scripture, Hong Kong was the first mythical city Dong had entered on the surface. One of Dongism’s greatest criticisms was the supposed impossibility of the prophet’s journey to the surface. Despite his meticulously journaled four-year pilgrimage, sceptics claimed Dong had merely hid for four annui-cycles before reappearing and telling everyone he’d returned from the surface. The many places he’d allegedly visited, Hong Kong, Rome, Narakyo, Annapuram, many consider myths. But if people from Hong Kong had contacted the Emperor, it would be the first concrete evidence supporting a key narrative from Kowloon’s most dominant religion, breathing literality into scripture.

  The Emperor continued, ‘Their leader has told me that diseased corpses have flooded their lakes and rivers. Tens of thousands of them. And they tracked them to here.’

  ‘Of course…’ General Qin Shi interjected. ‘We have never truly known where our Memorial Pipes go. Dong claimed they lead to some mythical body of limitless water, where departed souls eventually float to the Light. If they led to surface civilisations this entire time, it would’ve happened millennia ago. Why now?’

  ‘I could take the Ditu and investigate down the Memorial Pipes,’ General Cao suggested.

  ‘That isn’t necessary, at least not yet, Cao.’ The Emperor sat up straighter on his throne. ‘For the time being, we’ve quelled suspicions of malice on our part, but their leader has made a list of demands. They want to evaluate Kowloon. Our manpower, our population size, our cultures and beliefs. If they are as an advanced society as Dong said they were, we have to coexist peacefully. Chancellor Zexu is already compiling the requested information.’ The hint of strain in the Emperor’s voice suggested he was struggling to maintain his composure amidst the escalating crisis.

  ‘Emperor, why is my team here?’ Keung finally voiced the question that had been simmering in Yutai’s mind.

  ‘If the Yang find out about this, there’s no telling what they will do. Given how reluctant your team has been to achieve anything meaningful, I’m issuing a new order.’

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  What reluctance? Yutai thought. Didn’t we just catch Jian for him?!

  ‘Forget any lead you have on minor Yang targets. That masked fool from Ho Man Ting has my city in an uproar. I want his head within the next 100-cycles! All your team has done is kill Jian and turn every goddamned King in this tower sour! I want his mask hanging in the Yau Museum of History before my Zhaisheng reaches its zenith! Do I make myself clear, son of Denzhen?’

  ‘Yes, Emperor.’ Keung gave his uncle a deep bow.

  A knot of apprehension coalesced in Yutai’s gut he grappled with the enormity of the Emperor’s demands.

  100-cycles? He’s asking for the impossible.

  Looking at his generals, the Emperor said, ‘In these turbulent times, it’s crucial that we present an image of unwavering strength, at least until my Zhaisheng is complete. Then everything will align as it should. As some of you may know, the lord of District Pik recently passed away. His son is being crowned as the new lord. Normally, this wouldn’t concern me, but the east has a tendency to forget who their Emperor is. Denzhen, I want you to ensure there is a Kingmaker presence at the ceremony. Make it clear our attendance sanctifies the coronation. And remind the new runt who holds Kowloon’s reins.’

  General Denzhen nodded. ‘Yes, Your Majesty. It will be done.’

  ‘Thank you, brother. When Dong returned from the surface 600 annui-cycles ago, the revelation of people living on the surface scared Emperor Hongwu into creating defensive outposts around key points of entry between Kowloon and No Man’s Land. These were manned for about 200 annui-cycles before being deserted. Now that we know the surfacers are a threat once more, we need to reestablish the Hongwu outposts. Cao, go to the records and find out where they were. Take some Kings and bolster these locations with local gangsters.’

  ‘Understood, your Majesty.’

  ‘General Qin Shi, you are to meet with the southern warlords and get them to secure their Wildlands border. Border crossings are to be halted. Kowloon is under secret lockdown; no one enters or leaves my kingdom. I don’t want to stress about infiltration while I am in talks with their leader.’

  General Qin Shi bowed. The Emperor turned his gaze to General Han Xi.

  ‘Han, assist Zexu with compiling the data requested by the surfacers. We don’t have everything they want right now. Contact census organisations, data centres, and any group or company with statistics on Kowloon. Ignore any pleas for privacy; this takes precedence!’

  General Han Xi bowed. ‘Noted, Your Majesty.’

  Yutai tried to imagine the thoughts swirling underneath the Emperor’s grim countenance, but realised he would probably never understand the tensions of a ruler protecting almost a billion people.

  The meeting ended with tensions in the air. After final bows, Keung’s team formed a single line and vacated the throne hall, with the generals trailing behind.

  Outside, as the doors to the hall closed, the generals took the lift down while the rest of Keung’s team lingered in the waiting room..

  ‘What now, sir?’ Tao asked Keung. All six had formed a rough circle, awaiting orders from their silent lieutenant.

  ‘Sir?’ Yutai prodded. ‘What’s the plan?’

  ‘100 work-cycles?’ Ushi rubbed the back of his neck. ‘The Emperor must think we are the granter of miracles!’

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ Cheng said. ‘The surface… they’re actually up there. Not some Dongist metaphor for the afterlife. There are actual civilisations above us, right now.’

  ‘Next, it’ll be dancing sewer rodents,’ Shing snarked.

  Keung activated his holocommunicator and initiated a call. All six pairs of eyes hovered over the holographic display that shimmered above his wrist. It was a call to Han Shizhou, the Tai Li commander from Yau.

  ‘Lieutenant? How did the meeting go?’ A digitised voice crackled through the tiny speaker.

  ‘Could’ve been better. Meet me in lecture room 40 on the 13th floor of Yu Tower an hour before the work-cycle lamps dim. And bring Jin with you; we have a lot of work ahead of us.’

  ‘Sounds good, Lieutenant. We’ll see you there. Good day.’

  The comms line went silent, and Keung looked up at everyone else who had listened to the call.

  ‘You all heard me. We’re meeting to follow up on this lead in Ho Man Ting an hour before the dimming. Let’s pray to the Light that it leads us somewhere.’

  ‘Yes sir,’ Cheng said. ‘You heard the Lieutenant, everyone. Get some rest! I want no late-comers to the meeting!’

  With that, they all dispersed towards the various elevators at the end of the hall, some in pairs, others alone, each wrapped up in their own thoughts about the daunting task that lay ahead. But right now, they all wondered how they might kill time until the meeting started.

  An hour before the dimming, Yutai thought.

  Before Dong’s birth, Kowloon had never slept. The hundreds of thousands of lamps strung across buildings never turned off. People would sleep whenever they felt the need to and stayed awake for as long as their jobs and daily needs demanded.

  When the great prophet and philosopher Dong Songzhu returned from the surface, he spoke of their universal sleeping times, dictated by a single holy light that shone on the world. And Emperor Hongwu fell in love with the idea.

  He was fascinated by the enchanting tale of an omnipresent and divine light governing the rhythms of life. No company-mandated sleep-cycles for workers, no cultural and tribal sleep times, no longer sleep-cycles for the rich and shorter sleep-cycles for the poor; just one single cycle for all. A realm where all beings would rest and work in harmony, unencumbered by the whims of status or circumstance.

  So, Emperor Hongwu set out to bring this vision to Kowloon, replacing discord with unity and cohesion. Within an annui-cycle, they programmed all lamps to turn off after a full waking 16-hour work-cycle, and turn back on after a 10-hour sleep-cycle.

  In 626 A.T. 3, not long after Dong’s great return from the surface, all of Kowloon had their eyes open at once and gathered below the thousands of hanging lamps throughout every district. Every level of every street of every groundscraper in Kowloon was filled with people, everyone looking up at the lamps that always shone constantly.

  They witnessed it dim to a soft orange light, and Kowloon experienced its first twilight. The cityscape, a hive of relentless activity, was now suspended in hushed silence. As the lamps dimmed, so too did the world, its vibrancy giving way to a serenity that seemed almost foreign. It was a major turning point in the public perception of Dong, who was starting to be taken seriously. This man claiming to have returned from the surface could potentially transform Kowloon forever.

  Everyone made their way back home that night, and for the first time ever, all of Kowloon slept at once.

  ‘Have you searched the homes of her immediate family? In-laws, cousins?’ Yutai held his wrist near his mouth for clear communication. Opposite him, Shing lounged, his outstretched legs crossed atop the table of the smoky dama den. He toyed with the smoking pipe in his hand, exhaling slow rings of smoke that danced in the dim light. In the middle of their table was a slim glass fixture. Smoke spiralled upwards from a clear liquid in the bottom, feeding into a flexible pipe.

  ‘My Black Jackets have turned every district and sub-district upside down. I’m up to my neck with these bloody doctors.’

  Shing listened to Yutai and Aunt Tong talk about another scientist from the late Dr Chinh’s team, who had recently vanished from her witness protection.

  ‘Aunt, I recall you telling me she was the scientist who went completely mad during the expedition. Maybe she just ran away.’

  ‘No, something tells me the Yang got to her, Yutai. Chinh went missing the exact same way until we found him in… that state.’

  ‘Well, I found some of Dr Jode’s research notes that Chinh reviewed. Notes from their expedition. He crossed out half her work. I get the feeling it wasn’t just Jode’s calculations he disliked?’

  ‘Dr Jode was Chinh’s harshest critic during their time at the dam. Recall how I mentioned he thought the dam might fail within a few annui-cycles? Well, Dr Jode’s calculations made her believe they had at least a hundred annui-cycles. This difference led her to sway many others in the expedition against Chinh. In the end, only Chinh believed his own calculations, while the rest of the camp rallied behind Jode. But there was another problem: Jode stopped taking her medication during the expedition. It kept her schizophrenia in check. God knows why she did that. By the time she returned, she was on the brink of stage five No Man’s Paranoia, and her mind has been resistant to therapy since. When Chinh died shortly after their return, she became convinced she was next, that my Black Jackets couldn’t protect her either. One of them said she screamed and shouted every day from her room about needing Kingmaker protection. Then, poof. Yesterday, she went missing during a guard change.’

  ‘Ask her if a Black Jacket could’ve helped her,’ Shing mouthed to Yutai.

  Nodding, Yutai fixed his gaze on Shing as he relayed over the line, ‘And you’re certain none of your Black Jacket’s helped her to escape?’

  ‘Yes. I’m not saying my ranks are immune to bribery, but if there’s someone Dr Jode wouldn’t trust, especially in her paranoid state, it would be one of her Black Jacket guards. She never hid how incompetent she thought they were. She practically hated them!’

  ‘I see…’ Yutai responded. Shing met his gaze briefly, shrugged non-committally, and then tilted his head back to release another plume of smoke into the air.

  ‘Aunty, I have one other question about Chinh. Did he have any connection to district Ho Man Ting? Or more specifically, Ho Man Ting University? A professor friend, a former student, or a colleague even?’

  ‘Chinh had connections to professors in his field from every major university. I can’t say who he specifically knew from HMTU.’

  Yutai sighed. I don’t think she will be of much help from here.

  ‘Very well, Aunt. Thank you. We’ll be back in Kam Shan soon to track down Dr Jode. If she’s alive, she may have the answers to some questions we have about the late doctor.’

  ‘My best bet is that she was headed towards District Yu to search for your tower. I really wasn’t joking about her demanding the Kingmakers,’ Aunt Tong said.

  ‘It’s been less than a work-cycle since she vanished, so I don’t think she could’ve gone too far. We’ll see you soon, Aunty.’

  ‘Lovely. Thank you, handsome.’

  The holographic image on his wrist flickered and compressed back into its small recess. Yutai’s arm dropped to rest on the table as he extended his other hand to receive the pipe from Shing. His partner passed it and Yutai took a deep pull, his lungs expanding with the fragrant smoke and his head momentarily spinning. He exhaled hefty plumes of smoke through his nostrils and mouth and leaned back as the buzz slowly receded.

  ‘So,’ Yutai began. ‘A group of scientists go into No Man’s Land to investigate Chuan Wan Dam. After some time, they return to Kowloon with fractured minds, everyone in conflict with Dr Chinh. Why? Because they all thought his calculations about the dam collapsing were crazy. Impossible. Scientist-turned-doomsday preacher. Does something sound familiar about this?’

  ‘No.’ Shing shook his head as he gestured with his fingers for the pipe.

  Yutai handed it to him, resting his head on his fist, deep in thought. ‘Prophet Dong’s mythical lost canon. What do you know about it?’

  Shing glanced at him with a raised brow and took a pull from the pipe. ‘Dong’s lost canon?’ He replied after a brief exhale. ‘I know it’s a myth. A legend that many adventurers have perished searching for. Supposedly, he wrote a new trilogy of Holy Texts before his death, in which he renounced everything he wrote in the original Holy Canon. Legend says his apostles hid the manuscripts deep in the Huang Wildlands, where the Yang apparently found them after the rebellions. Now, the lost canon is central to their ideologies.’

  ‘Precisely, my friend. People say this mythical canon is nothing like the Book of Lumen, the Book of the Redeemer, and the Book of Memory. The trilogy we know speaks of optimism and hope that God will one day forgive us and lift us back to the surface. It was his covenant with Dong. However, the mythical Lost Canon speaks of Dong’s hopelessness and God’s abandonment. Our fate is one of darkness until we venture to the surface ourselves and show God we’ve changed.’

  ‘Yeah, so what?’

  ‘Come on, Shing. Haven’t you figured it out?’

  Shing took another drag from the pipe, blowing the smoke straight into Yutai’s face. ‘Nope.’

  Yutai crinkled his nose, waved the smoke away, and leaned over the table.

  ‘Shing, you dumbass. These are the myths the Yang literally believe, that Kowloon’s destruction is inevitable. They see our city as a sinking boat, that Dong’s final commandment to save us was immediate exodus. No prayers, no spiritual enrichment, no waiting on God for forgiveness like he said originally. Straight action. That’s what the Yang have been preaching.’

  ‘Okay, I’m starting to see what you mean. The Yang believe we must escape to the surface to fulfil Dong’s true prophecy. Dr Chinh believed the dam will collapse and destroy Kowloon. I’ll bite, seems like there’s some overlap in agendas. But if that’s the case, why would the Yang kill him?’

  ‘Because maybe the Yang need the dam’s threat to be real.’ Yutai cracked his knuckles as he went on. ‘If Chinh could’ve warned everyone and fixed the dam, the biggest proof of their prophecy goes away. Maybe they’re waiting till the flood waters are at our door.’

  ‘But that’s even if the dam will fail. We still don’t know what happened down in Chuan Wan Dam. If it was Chinh or Dr Jode who was right about when it’ll collapse.’

  ‘Whatever’s the truth, I don’t think this will be as straightforward as we thought.’

  Shing stayed silent for a moment. ‘Remember the person who picked up your call back at Chinh’s place?’

  ‘That Ho Man Ting number?’ Yutai asked.

  ‘Yeah. Was it a man’s voice?’

  ‘The voice was digitally masked. I assumed it was a man, but I could be wrong.’

  ‘What if it was Dr Jode who picked up?’

  Yutai pursed his lips. ‘That’d be interesting. They could’ve been working together without the Aunt knowing.’

  The timer on Yutai’s holocommunicator rang. It was an hour from the dimming of the lamps for the day’s work-cycle.

  ‘All right, let’s go meet Keung,’ Yutai said as he stood up and stretched. ‘I hope he’s cooked up some strategy.’

  ‘If he has and it’s a good one, we’ll know it was Cheng’s idea.’

  ‘Shit! My finger!’ Tao shrieked for the fourth time.

  ‘You okay up there?’ Ushi asked. Tao stood on the top rung of the ladder, the top half of his body above the ceiling and inside the attic. The tile panel Tao had removed to gain access to the space above the ceiling stood leaning against the bottom of the ladder.

  ‘Oh, thank the Light for you two beautiful souls!’ the young store owner gushed. ‘It’s been so hot since the cooling systems stopped working! I am glad you Kingmakers passed by when you did. I thought I’d start melting.’ She clasped her hands together as she stood beside Ushi, watching Tao’s lower half standing on the ladder. Sounds of metallic banging came from the darkness.

  ‘FUCK! My finger!’ Tao shrieked again, his voice echoing from within the attic.

  ‘Quit your squawking and get on with it, Tao!’ Ushi reprimanded. ‘If it weren’t for the fact I’d probably get stuck climbing through that hole, I’d be up there myself.’ He tossed a sideways glance at the young woman to see her reaction, his muscles flexing in a somewhat exaggerated display of strength. However, the store owner missed his theatrics as her eyes remained on Tao.

  ‘Whatever, brother,’ came Tao’s muffled retort from above, punctuated by clanging noises. ‘I doubt you have the cognitive capacity to comprehend, let alone repair, a G53 cooling system. These machines are ancient! No offence, miss.’

  ‘Actually, the Emperor has offered all the shops free upgraded cooling systems. But since we’re on the eighth floor, the terrace above needs to be taken apart to install the new one. The cooling company quoted me 100,000 Hongs for the installation. I can’t afford that!’

  ‘Bastard cooling companies…’ Ushi muttered, just loud enough to make sure it was within earshot.

  ‘AH!’ Tao shrieked again. Ushi rolled his eyes. ‘What is it this time?’

  ‘I touched something fuzzy! I-I think there’s a nest of sewer rodents up here!’

  ‘Yeah, right! We’re not in East Kowloon, fool. You probably just found a mirror.’

  The young shopkeeper couldn’t help but stifle a giggle, her eyes gleaming with amusement. Seizing the moment, Ushi turned his charm to full throttle. ‘Apologies, ma’am. I have no clue how my friend here sees sewer rodents in the cleanest shop in the district. I swear, the only sewer around here is his mouth, and the bullshit factory inside it!’ His words were met with a chorus of laughter from the shopkeeper.

  ‘Bullshit factory inside his mouth.’ Hah, good one Ushi, he thought to himself with a grin.

  However, their momentary mirth was abruptly cut short. A strangled cry from Tao filled the room, this time tinged with genuine fear. Ushi’s heart leapt as he watched Tao snatch his holstered hand cannon and hop into the inky blackness of the attic.

  Ushi’s brows pressed together as the store became quiet. ‘Tao?’

  The shopkeeper took a step back. ‘Is your friend okay?’

  As they both stared into the void of the removed tile panel, bursts of white light erupted and pulsed from above. Ushi grabbed for his hand cannon and lunged for the ladder, his free hand seeking purchase on the cold rungs. ‘Tao! What’s going on?! What the fuck are you shooting?!’

  Ushi had one foot on the ladder when Tao’s head emerged from the darkness above, looking down at Ushi with a mischievous smile. The light from the visor of his cap shone into Ushi’s eyes, blinding him. ‘Fuck, man! Turn those floodlights off!’

  ‘Oh, sorry.’ Tao tapped on the side of his cap. ‘Sorry about that, brother, but there really were sewer rodents. Freaking huge ones, too! Here, look,’ Tao dragged out a dead sewer rodent the size of two dusk-cats by the tail, waving it near Ushi’s face. Smoke trailed from the cauterised wound on its now almost non-existent head.

  The shopkeeper squealed and ran behind the counter.

  ‘Get that thing out of my face!’ Ushi recoiled, gagging. He stepped off the ladder as Tao laughed and teased Ushi with the rodent. At last, he stopped waving the massive rodent and studied it, his delight incongruous with the grim discovery.

  ‘Look at this thing; it’s huge!’ Tao’s voice dripped with morbid fascination. ‘I’ve never seen rodents even half its size in East Kowloon. Even in Tai Sheung, rodent central!’

  ‘But we’re not in Tai Sheung,’ Ushi responded warily. ‘We’re in Yu, the Emperor’s district, away from that shit. Those creatures aren’t meant to be here, Tao. Let alone ones that size. Yezu Christ, what have they been eating?!’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’ve worked out why the cooling system is busted.’ Tao vanished once again into the abyss, which was followed by the rhythmic pounding of his tools on metal.

  The young woman peaked cautiously over the countertop while Ushi stared up at the black void, ready to suggest calling an actual G53 technician. But then, the comforting sound of the cooling system turning on silenced him.

  kkkzt… MMMMM…

  A low, grumbling purr reverberated through the tiny shop as the cooling vent spluttered to life. Ushi expelled a sigh of relief, feeling the tension bleed from his shoulders. Tao’s head reappeared through the opening in the ceiling.

  ‘Rodent was jammed in one of the gears at the back,’ Tao explained to his partner as he descended the ladder. ‘I’ve cleared out the nest, but it’s too cramped for me to check for openings. I think it’s best to call a professional or else the shop may have more unwanted guests.’

  When his head was just below the ceiling, Tao gestured to Ushi for the ceiling tile and pushed it back into place. He hopped off the ladder and brushed the palms of his gloves, creating a small storm of dust in front of him.

  ‘Ma’am, it’s safe to come out now,’ Ushi announced. ‘Your cooling systems are working. And damn, are they loud! If you get a new system, try the Hiyazaki models. They don’t rumble as these do.’

  ‘Okay, calm down, you salesman,’ Tao said. ‘Look at the time, brother. We’re five minutes past the dimming. Let’s get to the tower before Tribune Cheng loses it.’

  He faced the counter, where the shopkeeper was still hiding. ‘Good luck with business, ma’am.’

  ‘I think I’m just going to sell the entire shop,’ came a quite voice from behind it.