The dusk light dripped like oil across the skyline of Shenzhen as Lin Feng sat alone in the high-rise office of the Apex Circle headquarters. The normally quiet air between his thoughts was now disrupted by Cassandra's words from earlier in the week, her smile laced with veiled meaning.
"Sometimes, people don't need to be enemies to become obstacles."
He had replayed that line a dozen times since she'd said it—part charm, part warning, and entirely strategic. Cassandra had not made a single overt move, but her influence had rippled quietly through several of Lin Feng's extended networks. Soft influence—anonymous invites, subtle donations, whispered promises. She wasn't here to confront. She was here to make others waver.
And she was doing it well.
