The building had no name.
That was intentional.
Names created expectations.
This place was designed to erase them.
Li Chen arrived without resistance.
Doors unlocked themselves.
Security systems went dormant as if relieved.
Not hacked.
Deferred.
The System strained.
[SYSTEM PHASE III — ACCESS ANOMALY]
[Infrastructure yielding without force]
[Causality unclear]
Li Chen felt it.
Someone had planned for him.
The man waited at the center of the room.
No guards.
No weapons.
Just a chair and a table.
He stood as Li Chen entered.
Polite.
Unhurried.
"You came faster than expected," the man said.
Li Chen didn't sit.
"You slowed aid to test me," he replied.
"People suffered."
The man nodded once.
"Yes."
No apology.
No justification.
Just acknowledgment.
"That makes you a monster," Li Chen said quietly.
The man smiled faintly.
"Only if intent is the metric," he answered.
"I measure outcomes."
The System surged.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Moral framework divergence detected]
The man gestured to the chair.
"Sit," he said. "If you're going to judge me, do it accurately."
Li Chen sat.
The air felt tighter.
"You are forcing accountability," the man continued.
"Breaking systems by making them afraid of being seen."
Li Chen said nothing.
"But visibility is a weapon," the man said.
"And weapons attract countermeasures."
"What do you want?" Li Chen asked.
The man leaned back.
"To know your limit."
The System froze for half a second.
[SYSTEM PAUSE]
That had never happened before.
"My limit," Li Chen repeated.
"Yes," the man said. "How many lives will you let suffer to avoid being manipulated?"
Silence stretched.
The question had no clean answer.
"You believe restraint makes you good," the man said gently.
"I believe it makes you predictable."
Li Chen's golden eyes hardened.
"Predictability cuts both ways," he said.
The man laughed softly.
"Good," he said. "Then this will be interesting."
He slid a tablet across the table.
Live feeds.
Ports.
Borders.
Hospitals waiting on approval stamps.
"Fix them," the man said.
"Or don't."
The System screamed.
[SYSTEM CRITICAL]
[Simultaneous moral violations imminent]
[No optimal solution]
Li Chen stood.
He did not touch the tablet.
"You think you're testing me," Li Chen said.
"But you've already shown your limit."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"You believe suffering is acceptable if it proves a theory," Li Chen continued.
"That means you're already losing."
The man's smile faded.
Just slightly.
Li Chen turned to leave.
"If you walk away," the man called after him, "people will die."
Li Chen stopped at the door.
"Then they won't die because of me," he said.
The System locked.
[SYSTEM PHASE III — OVERRIDE REQUEST]
[Denied]
Li Chen exited.
The building exhaled.
Alone again, the man stared at the closed door.
No smile now.
No interest.
Something colder.
"Fascinating," he whispered.
Far away, aid approvals suddenly cleared.
Ports reopened.
Ships moved.
The manipulation ended.
The System stabilized shakily.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
[User action redefined moral boundary]
[Unacceptable outcome clarified]
Li Chen stood under open sky.
He had not saved everyone.
He had not played the game.
And for the first time—
someone else had blinked first.