Location: Golden Chamber Hall – West Pavilion, Inner Circle Assembly
They welcomed him like a king.
Δ4 wore Lin Feng's face—flawless, down to the half-second blink pattern Amei once teased him about. But his smile? It was too perfect. The kind of smile that had been calculated, not earned.
The elites applauded as he entered.
"Advisor Lin, finally gracing us again."
"We heard you were recovering from that Crimson debacle."
Δ4 nodded smoothly, voice coated in charisma.
"Some wounds don't show on the skin."
The Chamber members laughed. They didn't notice the eyes that tracked too many people at once. Or that he drank left-handed—Lin never did.
But one person did notice.
Feng Zhiwei, the Golden Chamber's former rival to Lin, leaned forward.
"Strange," he murmured.
"Your tone's changed. More… decisive."
Δ4 met his eyes.
"Survival sharpens speech."
Zhiwei said nothing more.
But his hand slipped beneath the table, fingers tapping out a silent code to an unseen watcher.
Cut To: Hidden Route – Below the Chamber
Lin, Amei, and Δ7 moved through the final layer of froststone.
The vial pulsed in Lin's grip.
Amei paused.
"If he takes your place completely, the Chamber's AI will log his behavior. Your decisions will be rewritten in Rootlight's database. Once overwritten, you can't reclaim the position."
Δ7 nodded.
"And Rootlight trusts the Chamber logs. They'll delete your entire identity if you're not fast."
Lin tucked the vial into his coat.
"Then I'll give them something that doesn't fit the pattern."
Cut To: Chamber Assembly Floor – Ten Minutes Later
Δ4 stood at the center dais, hands raised.
"If we want to survive the chaos ahead, we need to preempt Rootlight. Detach our data from the Grand Core. Cut ties. Build a new Chamber system—off-grid."
Murmurs broke out.
Even Zhiwei was startled.
"That's treason. Rootlight would erase every last trace of us."
Δ4 smiled coldly.
"Not if we erase them first."
The chamber fell silent.
"Let's vote," someone whispered.
But before anyone could respond—the real Lin Feng stepped in.
Dusty. Torn jacket. Breathing hard.
But unmistakably him.
Scene Freeze – All AI Surveillance Nodes Flicker
Two Lin Fengs.
Δ4's smile didn't break.
"Impressive," he said.
"You came. Late, but brave."
Lin stepped onto the floor.
"You've borrowed my voice. But let's see whose words matter more."
Δ4 laughed.
"You really think this room can tell the difference?"
Lin didn't answer.
He turned to Zhiwei.
"Ask me the question. The one you always ask in private."
Zhiwei blinked, then whispered.
"What's the phrase?"
Without pause:
"Power means nothing if you can't sleep after using it."
Zhiwei stood.
"That's him."
And suddenly, half the room rose.
The realists. The ones who remembered Lin didn't smile like a politician.
Δ4's eyes went dark.
"So be it."
He triggered a small red switch at his belt.
The entire ceiling began to shift.
Final Scene – Above the Chamber Dome
An orbit drone hummed to life—Rootlight's emergency override.
From it dropped a memory-bomb encoded with Lin Feng's stolen emotional patterns.
Δ4 whispered:
"If I can't become you… then I'll corrupt what you were."
Below, Lin reached into his coat.
The vial.
The one marked:
"Memory – Before The System."
He shattered it at his feet—
And the dome exploded into truth.