The Apex Council Summit is convened inside the glass-paneled Hall of Nations, its steel frames towering over the evening skyline like the bones of a new order. Lin Feng stood silently by the open terrace, watching the dusky orange sun descend behind rows of corporate banners fluttering with ambition. A quiet pride stirred in his chest, but it was tempered by wariness. He knew too well that the true war wasn't fought in boardrooms or on social media, but in whispered conversations and unspoken alliances.
Inside, in representatives of twenty-eight member coalitions murmured among themselves, the air rich with the scent of aged oak and the tension of unspoken agendas. Lin Feng, now recognized as the de facto anchor of the council, stepped forward. His arrival silenced the room without need for gesture.
"We begin tonight not with speeches, but with purpose," Lin said. "Our collective future depends on more than just mutual interest. It depends on mutual leverage."
