The formal assembly dissolved. Li Wei (Michael) stepped down from the flowerbed. The unified crowd fractured back into over a thousand individuals, huddling in small, self-protective groups.
Li Mingyuan (Martin) stood with the alumni, his fingers mechanically loosening and tightening his tie. Beside him, Zhou Jiaxin (Linda)'s grip on his sleeve was painful. "We're nobodies now," she whispered. Her Cartier watch still showed Shanghai time. "We're fucked."
Mingyuan looked at her and saw thirteen years of shared compromise. The nights at street food stalls complaining about "Red Sequoia"; the hotel rooms when deals fell through. This stays between us, right? They were partners in the dirty business of modern survival.
"If we don't prove our use, we're nothing," Mingyuan said, the realization cold in his stomach. "We aren't 'elites' here. We're just mouths to feed."
They turned to their classmates, where the panic was already curdling into opportunism.
"Information Asymmetry," Liang Pingzhi (Paul), an old academic rival, was arguing to the circle. He pushed up his glasses, his eyes manic. "That's our leverage. We assess resources before sharing what we know. We trade data for status."
"Stop playing games, Pingzhi," Mingyuan cut in, disgusted. "Look at the students building that board. Transparency. If we try to hoard info now, we look like villains. We need to be indispensable, not secretive."
"Mingyuan is right," Jiaxin added, finding her spine. "We offer professional skills. We integrate."
"We integrate," a smooth voice corrected, "but we guide."
Wang Lei (Leon)—Vice President of a State-Owned Enterprise branch—stepped forward. He smoothed his shirt over his belly, his expression shifting from 'colleague' to 'manager' in a heartbeat.
"Don't ask them if we can help," Lei said, watching the chaotic student groups like he was inspecting a factory floor. "Manage them. They're panicked children. They want an adult to tell them they're doing well, and then... correct them."
Wang Lei didn't walk into the student plaza; he inspected it. He stopped ten meters away, letting his presence verify the chaos, before he made his move.
"Students!" His voice projected perfectly—the practiced baritone of a thousand ribbon-cutting ceremonies. "You're working hard. But you have a bottleneck."
Lu Qingshan (Lucas), the student leader, bristled. "And you are?"
"Wang Lei. Logistics." He didn't ask for permission. He just pointed, assigning tasks with a confidence that bypassed the students' defenses. "Move those three to inventory. You keep the ledger. We have project managers here who can handle the runner teams."
Qingshan hesitated. He wanted to fight, but his panic wanted a savior. But the reflex of rebellion was strong.
"We don't need 'guidance' from the old world," Qingshan snapped, his voice wavering but stubborn. "Old rules don't apply here."
Wang Lei paused. The direct approach had hit a wall. He maintained his smile, but the connection was failing.
"Let them help," Emily's voice cut through the tension. She stepped forward from the student group, looking tired but practical. "Lu, he's right. We need the manpower."
She glanced at Wang Lei, then back at the students. "And if they try to take over..." she shrugged, "There are more of us than them."
It was the permission structure Qingshan needed. "Fine," he grunted. "But we set the policy."
"Of course," Wang Lei smiled, signaling his alumni group to move in. Policy is nothing without execution, he thought. And we will own the execution.
Fifty meters away, on the edge of the construction site, the conversation was less civilized.
"Fuck me," Liu Laoshi (Larry), a wire-thin electrician, sat on a rock, spitting into the dirt. "I squat down to strip a wire, stand up, and the city is gone. Ghost tricks."
Beside him, Wu Yiming (Wilson, mechanic) and Xu San (Sam, carpenter) were shaking. The silence of the jungle was too heavy.
"We need a shed," Sam muttered. "Before dark."
"Shed?" Laoshi sneered, lighting a cheap cigarette to hide the tremor in his hands. He needed to sound tough. If he showed fear, these two idiots would panic. "We're on a university campus. I'm sleeping in a dorm."
He leered, forcing a dirty, performative laugh. "Specifically the girls' dorms. Think about it. One room, four little college students... soft skin..."
Yiming's eyes widened. "Brother Liu... the police..."
"Police?" Laoshi scoffed. "Emperor is far away, boys. Who's going to stop us? Those glasses-wearing nerds?"
It was just talk—vulgar trash talk to fill the terrifying silence. Laoshi knew he wouldn't actually do it—not yet, anyway. But saying it made him feel powerful again. It made him feel like a man, not a lost animal.
"Don't be stupid," Xu San said, looking at the guns of the distant police patrol. "Let's just... find food."
"Food..." Laoshi's eyes narrowed. He saw Wang Lei across the plaza, organizing the students. "You see that fat guy in the suit? Wang Lei. Big shot. I shook his hand once."
Laoshi stood up, dusting off his pants. The predatory glint remained, but it shifted from lust to survival. "We stick to him. He's a patron. We act like his loyal dogs, get food, get protection."
"And the girls?" Yiming asked.
"First we eat," Laoshi said. "Then we see what the new world allows."
The officials weren't sitting in their chairs so much as clinging to them. Deputy Mayor Li Wei's hand trembled slightly as he reached for his empty thermos. Around him, fifteen civil servants from different cities sat frozen in shock.
They were all looking at him. Michael knew why—Vice Mayor of Shanghai, highest rank present. The math was simple and terrifying. A mass disappearance event. All these people. I'm the senior cadre on site. His throat constricted. Accountability protocols. Responsibility for mass incidents.
His wife's face flashed in his mind. Wanting. Her last text: "Speech going well? Don't forget to eat something." He'd never replied. Xiaoxue at Cambridge. Would they detain Wanting for questioning? Use her as leverage?
He forced himself to breathe. Four counts in, hold, four counts out. His meditation training, now a lifeline against panic.
"We—" His voice cracked. He cleared his throat, tried again. "Let's take stock."
Zheng Yifan (Ethan) wet his lips. "Understanding our situation is... we have to figure out which era—Christ, I'm even saying this—"
"Era?" Liu Jinkao (Gordon)'s laugh had a hysterical edge. "We could be on another planet! We could be dead!"
Yifan's knee kept bouncing. "Regardless, none of us... I mean, the students are already..."
Michael gripped his pen hard enough his knuckles went white. Focus. If you fall apart, they all will.
"We need organization," he managed. "Personnel. Resources. Information."
Jinkao pulled out a hand-drawn map from Wu Dui's patrol. "Water sources. We need... if we're staying here, we need water."
"I can coordinate students for exploration," Weng Jianxi (William) blurted out. "The students, they're already moving. I can work with them."
Michael looked at the younger man's pale face. "Are you able to take that on, Jianxi?"
"Yes. Yes, I need to—I mean, I can do it."
Yifan spoke quickly: "The other civil servants from different cities—we should coordinate. Share information."
"Good," Michael said. "Yifan, that's on you."
Michael stood, legs unsteady. "Let's... those who are taking on tasks, let's stay in communication. We'll reconvene when we have more information."
As Michael's group broke, another cluster of officials nearby, led by Tong Jingwen (Tony) from Rare Earth Management, was having a more heated debate.
"Fanfan, did your group reach any conclusions?" Jingwen called out.
Yifan, walking past, groaned. "Senior, for fuck's sake, please don't call me Fanfan. We're nearly forty."
Jingwen laughed. "You never minded at university!"
Yifan gave up. "The city bureau is mobilizing students to explore the area. Trying to figure out where the hell we are."
"We should get moving too," Zhou Lijun (Linda) from Education said anxiously.
Qian Xingyang (Quincy) from Finance frowned. "Do you have a plan? Blind action could make things worse."
"Enough hand-wringing!" Zhan Junfei (Jeffrey) from Transportation snapped.
"Stop fucking arguing!" Lijun cut them off. "We'll follow Mayor Li's lead. He's right, we need to know what resources we have. Let's join the students. Show our expertise."
Yifan played peacemaker. "Everyone has strengths. Director Qian Xingyang knows numbers. Chief Zhou Lijun works with students. Director Zhan Junfei knows geography."
The group settled. Junfei proposed: "Director Xingyang handles supplies, Chief Lijun liaises with students, I'll join exploration."
Xingyang still looked troubled: "We don't even know what supplies we have."
"That's why we move now!" Lijun said impatiently.
"Fuck it," Xingyang finally said. "Let's go."
In Storage Room B-103, Wang Lixin (Wilson) from Engineering was counting rice bags with manic precision. "You're helping? Thank god. Just—just count. Count everything."
Lijun's group folded into the student teams. Xingyang began obsessively double-checking their logs. They developed a rhythm—call, log, verify—mechanical actions to avoid thinking.
An engineering student named Chen Mei (Nancy) pulled at a green tarp in the back, coughing from dust. She pulled harder. When it gave way, dust exploded into the air, and beneath—
Three matte gray crates. Military precise. Stenciled codes visible: "PLA-QBZ-03-2022-07-15."
The room went silent.
"This might be military stuff," Xingyang whispered, his eyes wide.
Director Lijun's brow furrowed tightly. "This... is a big deal." She looked at the other officials, who exchanged glances, all realizing the strategic importance. "We have to find someone who can operate this equipment. If this can be used, it's a huge guarantee for our safety."
After a moment of charged silence, Yifan spoke, his voice firm. "I'll go. I'll go find the military people. They're with Deputy Mayor Li. They need to see this. Right now."