Yan returned to the western gate corridor with the signed meeting notes in his case. Wuchen waited beside the map room door, the anchor contract rolled beneath his arm. Two capital guards stood at a distance, leaving the passage clear.
“The offer remains open,” Wuchen said. “I can give the engineers more access to the outer readings. The sealed regulators stay under my control until I see the test results.”
Yan nodded. “I will help hold the central line temporarily while the crews install independent nodes. The Registry must publish the danger and suspend population-binding orders.”
“I will not suspend the orders. The old authority keeps people from abandoning barriers before replacements are ready.”
“Keeping them uninformed will undermine their trust too.”
Wuchen rested the rolled contract on a bench. “I don’t want to bind people for its own sake. If a village disconnects in the middle of a surge, neighboring districts may fail.”
“Then show the readings and let the local keepers see the risk. They can decide with the same information you have.”
“A storm is not a committee meeting.”
