The Public Hearing Hall was a basin of quiet tension. Tiered benches rose in semicircles, filled with silent disciples. The docket board glistened: Proc-Sub2 Review — Public Session. Wax seals cooled on official documents. A panel of three sat at the high bench: a scribe, a rules-officer, and the hearing judge. The air was thick with the smell of ink and anticipation.
Qin Ye stood at the presentation lectern. His goal was simple: present the chain without delay.
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His fingers brushed the official seal on the docket pillar.
[Daily Sign-In available.]
[Location: Docket Seal.]
[Sign-In? Yes / No]
Yes.
[Ding! Sign-In successful!]
[Reward: Hearing Thread (Lv.1, 25 breaths — boost recall & clause-citation timing) + Record Echo (1 use — auto-play the most relevant Device Witness/Chain-Seal clip upon objection).]
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Presentation — Chain Without Pause.
He began. No preamble. He placed the first evidence bag on the light-table. "Exhibit one. Micro-weight. Recovered from faulty metronome."
The scribe stamped the log.
"Exhibit two. Device Witness log entry: apparatus contact during elimination trial." The clerk read the timestamp.
"Exhibit three. Badge programmer, serial 7B-42. Vendor mark present."
Stamps fell like measured heartbeats. He activated the Hearing Thread. The clauses surfaced in his mind, sharp and ready.
"Clause 9.7. Chain-of-custody protocol followed at all stages."
"Clause 5.2. Reporting conducted while maintaining audit run motion."
He presented the requisition chit. "Procurement Sub-Unit 2. Code: Proc-Sub2 / Lot M—."
The unfinished die impression followed. "Strike vector matches hidden stamp on chit."
Finally, the link to the stamp press. "Source apparatus confirmed."
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Obstruction — Jurisdiction & Sealing Gambits.
The Procurement Sub-Unit 2 representative, a thin man in austere robes, stood. "I move to switch to a closed session. This concerns internal supply integrity."
"The public interest clause regarding apparatus integrity supersedes," Qin Ye countered, his voice even. "Posted clause 3.1."
The representative tried again. "I move to strike the Device Witness logs. Improper format. Contaminated by runner interaction."
"Device Witness and Evidence Seal are approved methods. Clause 7.4." As the representative opened his mouth to object again, Qin Ye triggered Record Echo.
The hall filled with the flat, mechanical voice from the elimination lane: "Contact logged. Lane apparatus touched during active trial."
The objection died unspoken.
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Live Wedge — Log Cycle Risk.
Clerk #47, pale and sweating, spoke up. "The log rotation cycle for the Device Witness may have… compromised the timestamps. We should recess to verify."
The scribe looked up, checking the master log.
Qin Ye didn't allow the pause. "Clause 8.12. Presentation of a live chain cannot be delayed by potential archival rotation. The exhibits are present and verified."
The hearing judge nodded. "Proceed."
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Present Without Pause."]
[Reward: +200,000 Spirit Stones; Procedural Presence +1 (situational).]
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Issuer Trail — Concrete Clue.
The judge ordered a live comparison. Under supervision, the unfinished die was pressed onto a fresh lead sheet. The resulting impression was placed beside the image from the hidden corner of the requisition chit.
The match was perfect. The angular serif, the partial arc—identical.
A quiet, collective intake of breath came from the gallery. The chain was now irrefutably linked to Procurement Sub-Unit 2.
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Counterplay — Technical Quibble.
"The symbol is unknown," the Sub-Unit representative argued, a last, desperate gambit. "It is not a registered vendor mark. This is outside the audit's scope."
"The scope," Qin Ye stated, "covers all issuer tools used to produce or alter trial apparatus, regardless of the mark's origin. Clause 2.8."
The scribe stamped the log in agreement.
The hearing judge spoke. "Interim order issued. All activities of Procurement Sub-Unit 2 are suspended pending full audit. All associated supply rooms are to be secured immediately."
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Hook — Deeper Issuer Shadow.
As the judge finished speaking, a messenger hurried in and handed a slip of paper to the rules-officer. The officer's eyes widened slightly. He showed it to the judge.
It was a clean, full stamp of the unknown symbol—the completed version of the half-die—impressed on internal delivery paper. Dated yesterday.
The stamp had not come from the unfinished die in evidence. A second, finished die existed. A murmur rippled through the hall.
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[Ding! Side Quest updated: Trace the Hand (Hearing accepted — issuer under audit; second die suspected).]
[Ding! Optional Objective completed: Present chain-of-custody without delay.]
[Reward: Technique Cache (procedural, unlocked).]
[Ding! Main Quest updated — Inner Gate Trial: 1 day.]
Wax on the suspension order dripped once, a single, dark tear. In its reflection on the polished floor, the unknown symbol seemed to curve like a knife.