Bai and Gu were waiting at the corridor turn when Yan came out of Zhao’s banquet room. He held the refusal copy inside his robe. Bai had brought a honey cake wrapped for Ning, but he put it away when two attendants stepped through the laboratory door.
“Did Zhao change the support clause?” Gu asked.
“No. I refused. Shen marked the contract and gave me a copy.”
Gu looked at the attendants. “Then we should leave.”
They moved toward the outer corridor. One attendant stepped in front of Yan. The other took the space behind him. Their robes were plain, but each wore a seal ring from the experimental wing.
Zhao came to the door. “A short diagnostic measurement. I want to understand the unusual result in the ruin.”
“I refused the research contract,” Yan said. “I don’t consent to a measurement.”
“Your examination exposed your methods to the sect. A limited test is a reasonable follow-up.”
