The wind howled across the old industrial district—a barren place where factories once roared, now nothing but hollow skeletons and rusted beams.Dust swirled like ghosts rising from the dead structures.
Lin Wei stood at the edge of the cracked concrete courtyard.
Liu Fang stood beside him, wrapped in her scarf, eyes sharp despite the cold.
Master Yu, Director Li, and two trusted inspectors formed a loose perimeter behind them—far enough not to provoke the man in the long coat, close enough to intervene if something went wrong.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Liu Fang whispered:
"This… is where your first collapse happened?"
Lin Wei nodded.
The ruined building ahead of them—once a small assembly workshop—had collapsed two years ago when he was just an apprentice.
A beam had snapped.Workers had been inside.
Lin Wei had noticed the structural anomaly, shouted a warning—
And saved all five workers.
But afterward, he'd been plagued by a strange feeling:that the collapse had been too perfect, too controlled.
Now he knew why.
Liu Fang touched his arm gently.
"Stay close."
He nodded.
And walked forward.
The Man Arrives
A slow clap echoed through the ruins.
Lin Wei froze.
From the dark skeleton of the collapsed factory, a figure emerged—tall, slim, coat fluttering in the bitter wind.
His presence filled the air with something electric.Not malice.Not hostility.
Expectation.
"Lin Wei," the man said, almost warmly."You came."
Lin Wei steadied himself.
"I'm not here to join you."
The man smiled faintly.
"You're not ready yet. I understand."
Liu Fang stepped forward sharply.
"You endangered him. You endangered me. You sabotaged bureau structures. You risk lives!"
The man's eyes softened—surprisingly.
"I never intended harm to come to you, Miss Liu.But pressure creates clarity.And clarity reveals the soul of an engineer."
Lin Wei stepped between them.
"Enough. Say what you want."
The man nodded, amused.
"Very well."
A Test of Judgment
He pointed to the remains of the collapsed factory.
"This was the first time I noticed you," he said."When you spotted the micro-crack before anyone else.When you pushed those workers out in time."
Lin Wei tensed.
"You caused that collapse."
The man didn't deny it.
"I engineered it. To see who would notice."
Liu Fang inhaled sharply.
"You're insane."
"No," the man replied quietly."I am an examiner. And Lin Wei… is my most promising result."
Lin Wei clenched his fists.
"I don't want your tests. Or your approval."
"You misunderstand," the man said."I didn't come to recruit you today."
He lifted something from his coat.
A blueprint—rolled, weathered, but intact.
He handed it to Lin Wei.
Lin Wei hesitated…then took it.
Inside was a structural diagram of a nearby bridge—detailed, precise, annotated with risk zones.
Each marked with red ink.
And at the bottom:
"Expected Collapse Window: 72 hours."
Lin Wei's stomach dropped.
"What is this?"
"A test," the man said."But not for you."
Confusion rippled across the group.
The man tapped the blueprint.
"This collapse is already set in motion.I triggered it days ago.But you, Lin Wei…"He pointed at Lin Wei's chest."…you can stop it."
Liu Fang's voice broke.
"You're threatening civilians to force him—?!"
But the man shook his head.
"No, Miss Liu. This isn't about forcing him. This is about proving something."
He stepped closer.
"Lin Wei is already an engineer of great potential.I want to see if he can lead—if he can unify a fractured bureau, confront political interference, and stand against cowardice."
He pointed at the inspectors behind them.
"This blueprint is your chance.If you succeed, you will rise.If you fail—"
He gestured to the ruins around them.
"—others will die."
Lin Wei's voice trembled with fury.
"You're playing with lives."
"Everyone plays with lives," the man murmured."Most just don't admit it."
Liu Fang stepped forward, trembling with anger.
"You're a criminal. A murderer. A saboteur."
The man turned to her—eyes surprisingly gentle.
"No. I am simply a catalyst."
The System Reacts
Suddenly—
[System Alert][High-risk structural event detected][Imminent bridge collapse scenario][Probability of civilian casualties: 89%][Override Suggestion: Accept Blueprint & Neutralize Threat][Host must act within 72 hours]
Lin Wei felt his pulse hammer against his ribs.
The system wasn't rejecting the blueprint.
It was validating it.
The man in the long coat spoke again, softer now.
"Lin Wei.You can stop the collapse.You can save lives.And you can show your bureau—and your nation—who you truly are."
He stepped back into the shadows.
"But understand this:I will not be your enemy.Nor your ally.I will be your mirror."
He began to walk away.
His final words echoed through the broken factory:
"When the bridge stands, I will return."
After He Leaves
Silence.
Only the biting wind remained.
Liu Fang clutched Lin Wei's sleeve.
"Lin Wei… what do we do?"
He stared at the blueprint—at the red-labeled stress fractures, the projected timelines, the impossible calculations.
Then he looked back at the ruined factory where he once saved five workers.
Finally, he exhaled.
"We save that bridge."
Master Yu nodded fiercely.
"I'll gather the senior engineers."
Director Li clenched his jaw.
"I'll handle the political officers."
Liu Fang touched the blueprint, steadying her breath.
"And I'll work by your side."
Lin Wei stood tall.
For the first time, he wasn't reacting to the man's tests.
He was choosing his own path.
System or not.Shadow or not.
He would protect the city.
He would protect the people he cared about.
And this time—
no collapse would happen.