The Registry reply arrived in a sealed packet just before noon. Luo opened it under the survey tent and read the order without sitting down.
“Structurally sound,” he said. “The examination is to proceed on schedule.”
Gu looked up from the two maps. “Which survey number?”
Luo checked the bottom of the message. “Seven-fourteen-B.”
“That doesn’t match the old plan or the copy we received.”
Luo turned the page over. There was no explanation, only a blue office seal where a name should be.
Bai set the reply beside Zhao’s copied shipment order. “The seals share a crescent nick.”
He pointed to a small break in the rim, the same shape on both impressions. “The paper and dates differ. The mark says they passed through a related office. It does not say Zhao ordered the alteration.”
