Chapter 29: No, You Didn’t
The temperature fell by four degrees before they reached the first underground level.
Temporary lighting extended through the parking area, casting white circles across unfinished concrete. Beyond those circles, support columns disappeared into shadow. Water had collected near the southern wall, where a clogged construction drain released a slow, irregular drip.
Shichen crouched beside it. "The groundwater report classified this section as dry," he grumbled under his breath.
"The report was prepared before excavation reached the granite seam," Zhiyi replied with a shrug.
He ran two fingers through the water and studied the sediment left on his glove. "This isn’t groundwater."
Qinghe directed his flashlight toward the ceiling. A dark line travelled along the joint between two concrete panels.
"That’s probably because rain entered somewhere above us," he said.
"The water came from the central courtyard," Zhiyi answered.
She directed her flashlight toward the dark line travelling along the ceiling joint. "The temporary drainage channels outside empty into the southern foundation trench. Rain entered the trench and followed the gap between the concrete panels."
Shichen turned away from the water and studied her. Until that moment, he had been checking each of her conclusions against the plans. This one wasn’t recorded anywhere for him to verify.
"Did you see where the channels ended while we were outside?" he asked.
"I saw the channels."
"And from that, you determined where the water would enter the foundation?"
"They angled south," Zhiyi replied with a shrug. The direction had established the destination. She didn’t understand which part of the conclusion required further explanation.
Zeyu swept his flashlight across the unfinished parking level before pointing it toward Shichen. "Is this what travelling with her is going to be like? She looks at something for three seconds, and then informs us that the building is leaking forty meters away?"
"Yes," Hanchuan answered from beside Zhiyi.
Zeyu looked past Shichen to him. "I was asking the architect."
Shichen continued studying the ceiling joint Zhiyi had identified. "The architect’s answer is also yes."
Their agreement didn’t help Zhiyi determine whether the exchange was criticism.
Hanchuan’s voice had contained certainty, Shichen appeared professionally unsettled, and Zeyu was smiling as though he had discovered something entertaining.
None of those reactions shared an obvious meaning.
Zeyu’s mouth curved when he saw her looking at him. "It was admiration, Professor. I’m beginning to suspect the rest of us have been walking through life with our eyes closed."
His statement was factually improbable. A person walking with closed eyes would collide with nearby obstacles within several seconds.
However, he had identified it as admiration.
Zhiyi accepted the provided meaning and continued toward the southern wall.
Behind her, Zeyu’s smile faded into something quieter.
Shichen marked the leak for immediate repair, then took them through the first two levels.
The upper parking area could hold vehicles and equipment during the heat, although every exterior ramp required a double barrier and insulated airlock. The loading level contained enough open floor space for food storage, workshops and replacement machinery.
The third underground level presented more problems.
Half the ventilation ducts had been installed before construction stopped, but several terminated inside unfinished walls. The main electrical room had no drainage barrier, and the planned kitchen exhaust shared a shaft with two generator rooms.
Qinghe stopped beneath the open ductwork. "If exhaust enters the air intake, everyone below develops carbon-monoxide poisoning before the system detects the source."
"The sensor should detect it," Shichen said.
"One sensor?"
"The design calls for three."
"All installed in the same control loop. If the loop fails, we lose all three readings together."
"We’ll separate them."
"And install manual alarms," Zhiyi continued. "Electronic monitoring failed repeatedly during the first heat. Some sensors drifted without reporting an error."
Qinghe looked at her. "What symptoms did you use instead?"
"Headaches, nausea, confusion, altered breathing and skin color. But heat exposure causes several of the same symptoms," she listed, looking off into space.
"Which makes recognition slower," replied Qinghe, nodding his head.
"Yes."
He walked the full length of the mechanical room, photographing each duct and noting where independent monitors would be required.
Unlike Shichen, he didn’t study the building itself. He studied what the building could do to the bodies trapped inside it.
"The medical area can’t be on this level," he decided. "Not beside the generators, kitchen systems and main electrical room."
"There’s a private refuge below us," Shichen said.
"It’s also the lowest occupied point. If water enters, anyone unable to move independently becomes the hardest person to evacuate."
His eyes went briefly to Hanchuan’s legs.
The movement was so quick that Hanchuan might not have seen it.
Zhiyi did.
Hanchuan’s legs worked now. He had walked down three flights of stairs without hesitation and would walk back up them when the inspection ended.
The remembered weight of his body remained against her shoulders anyway.
She examined the floor plan. "The medical area should be divided."
Qinghe’s attention returned to her.
"Primary treatment on the first underground level, near the protected vehicle exit. Long-term care on the third, inside an independent air zone. Emergency supplies in both locations."
"That duplicates equipment."
"Yes."
"Good."
Qinghe entered the change into his tablet.
There was no accusation in his voice when he agreed with her. No attempt to make the decision for her. He simply accepted the reason and changed the plan.
Zhiyi looked at him for a second longer than necessary.
Then she followed Shichen toward the final stairwell.
The steel door leading to the fourth level had warped inside its frame. Rust surrounded the bottom hinge, and dried mud covered the threshold.
Jingwei stopped everyone before they reached it.
"Stay behind me."
He tested the floor, checked the ceiling and wedged a portable light against the wall. Only after confirming that the landing was stable did he examine the door.
Zeyu moved beside him. "Do you want help?"
"No," Jingwei replied, his voice devoid of emotions.
"Are you refusing because you don’t need help or because asking for it would damage your personality?" asked Zeyu with a playful smile.
Jingwei gave him the pry bar.
Zeyu accepted it with a grin. "See? That’s growth."
The two men forced the door open together.
A rush of stale air escaped through the gap, heavy with mold and stagnant water. Qinghe immediately pulled his mask over his face and turned toward Zhiyi.
"Mask."
Zhiyi reached into her jacket pocket.
It was empty.
Hanchuan removed a sealed respirator from his own bag and fitted it over her nose and mouth. His fingers adjusted the strap behind her head before he put on his own.
Qinghe watched the process.
This time, his expression held something more complicated than disapproval.
"You could have let her do that herself," he said after a moment.
"I could," Hanchuan agreed.
Zhiyi tested the seal. "He does it faster."
Qinghe’s gaze shifted to her. "That doesn’t mean you’re incapable."
"I didn’t say I was incapable," replied Zhiyi.
"No. You didn’t."