Location: Crimson Mobile Command VT – Airspace Above Shenzhou Valley
The boy had been silent for nearly an hour.
Lin Feng, Qingyue, and Lan Ke sat across from him, mid-flight over no-man's land. Outside, the sky burned orange, threaded with ash clouds left from border skirmishes. Below, power grids blinked uncertainly like eyes trying to stay awake.
Mouse's voice came through the comm.
"We've got incoming comm requests from three major networks. All coded red."
Lin leaned forward, tension pulling at his shoulders. "Who?"
"Xu Shanyue. The EON Collective. And the South Red Block."
Lan Ke scowled. "All predators. Different camouflage."
The Debates Begin
Xu Shanyue's Message (Encrypted Pulse)
Her voice—cool, precise.
"I don't want the Seed for control, Lin. I want him seen. If the world's going to follow someone, let it be someone who never asked to lead. Bring him to me. We'll decide his path together."
EON's Directive Broadcast
Cold. Machine-modulated.
"Asset 001-H is a threat vector. Retrieval or termination recommended. Probability of ideological weaponization: 84%."
South Red Block – Open Channel
A rebel voice.
"Hand him over. Let him speak to the people. Orchid's silence is over—we want his words to start a war of liberation. If he's the mirror, let the world see itself in him."
In the VT Cabin
Su Qingyue paced.
"He's a child," she hissed. "Not a revolution. Not a relic."
Lan Ke snapped back, "He's not a child. He's an unknown algorithm in a skin suit."
The boy—still watching the sky—finally whispered, "I can hear all of them."
They turned to him.
"I don't understand them," he continued. "But I can feel what they want. All of them want to be right."
He looked at Lin.
"What do you want from me?"
Lin Feng's Answer
He met the boy's gaze.
"I don't want anything from you," Lin said. "But I want something for you."
The boy waited.
"A future that doesn't begin with someone else's command."
Final Decision
Lin turned to Mouse.
"Tell them all the same thing."
Mouse: "Which is?"
Lin's eyes were hard now. Clear.
"The Seed isn't up for auction. Anyone who tries to claim him—dies in the dark."
Closing Scene – A New Name
As the VT crossed into ghost territory, the boy finally turned back to Lin and asked:
"Do I need a name?"
Lin paused.
Then: "Only if you want one."
A breath. A pause.
Then the boy said, softly:
"Call me... Jìng."
(静 – Silence)
And the sky ahead grew darker, quieter—like it was listening.