Feb 21–Mar 10, 2016
"Whispers in the Capital"
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A Nation Begins to Notice
By late February, snow still blanketed the peaks of Arunachal Pradesh, but far away in Delhi, the story was already spreading like wildfire.
The first tunnel segment had been declared complete. Official numbers said "280 kilometers in 14 days," a figure that already seemed impossible.
Yet what reporters didn't know was that the real distance exceeded 900 kilometers. That truth was buried in Aarya's encrypted servers.
For the public, the miracle was enough.
The Times of India headline read:
"Bharat InfraWorks Achieves Record-Breaking Tunnel Speed in North-East."
On TV, anchors leaned forward, excitement barely concealed.
> "Ladies and gentlemen, if these numbers are accurate, India may have just entered a new era of infrastructure."
But not everyone was celebrating.
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Political Ripples
On February 25th, inside the marbled halls of Parliament, murmurs grew louder.
Opposition MPs rose during Zero Hour, waving printed articles.
> "How can a company no one has heard of suddenly build tunnels at this speed? What technology is being used? Who is funding this? We demand an investigation!"
The ruling party benches shifted uncomfortably. Even PM Modi's allies exchanged glances. While they privately welcomed rapid development, they too wondered: Who really stood behind Bharat InfraWorks?
The MC, watching from his estate via encrypted news feeds, sipped chai calmly.
> MC (to Aarya): "They'll bark. Let them. But never bite hard without evidence."
> Aarya: "And we have erased all trails. To them, Arjun Rao is the sole mind."
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Media Frenzy
By March 1st, reporters had descended on the villages near the tunnel site.
Local TV footage showed villagers standing in snow, eyes bright with excitement.
> "Before, in winter, we were cut off for months. Now trucks pass, even in heavy snow. This Rao-ji, whoever he is, may the gods bless him!"
That clip went viral.
Within days, hashtags trended on Twitter:
#TunnelRevolution
#WhoIsArjunRao
Some painted Arjun Rao as a patriotic genius. Others whispered of corporate corruption and foreign influence.
The MC, hidden in his control chamber, reviewed all clips dispassionately. His face remained calm, but his eyes gleamed.
> "This is good. Attention means resistance. Resistance means they can no longer ignore me."
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Side POV – The Student
March 3rd, Kanpur.
Rohit Mehra, a third-year civil engineering student, sat in the dim glow of his hostel room, watching YouTube replays of the tunnel coverage.
His textbooks lay forgotten. His heart pounded as he saw images of smooth, glowing tunnel walls and the massive steel machine chewing through mountains.
> If this is real… India won't just catch up. We'll leap forward.
Rohit opened LinkedIn for the first time in months, typing:
"Looking for internships at Bharat InfraWorks."
When his roommate scoffed — "Yaar, they won't even see your CV" — Rohit smiled faintly.
> "Maybe not. But if they can build tunnels like this, I want to be there. Not here, dreaming."
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Side POV – A Journalist's Notebook
In Delhi, Priya Menon, a mid-level investigative reporter, sat in a cramped pressroom, jotting notes furiously.
Her editor had given her a challenge: "Find out who really owns Bharat InfraWorks. This Arjun Rao doesn't appear in any old records. No college, no companies before 2014. It's like he just appeared out of thin air."
Priya tapped her pen. Appeared out of thin air… The phrase nagged at her.
That night, she drafted an article:
"The Phantom CEO: Who is Arjun Rao?"
It was published online at 11:43 PM, and within hours, it exploded across social media.
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The MC's Quiet Response
At the estate, under lantern-lit trees, the MC dined with his parents. His mother, unaware of the storm brewing, happily served more dal.
> "Beta, eat more. You work too much."
He smiled softly, accepting. Family time grounded him, a quiet contrast to the roaring outside world.
Later that night, he returned to his underground control room.
> MC: "Aarya, prepare a background for Arjun Rao. Education records, early jobs, patents filed. Let them dig — but only what we want them to find."
> Aarya: "Shall I insert photographs of him in IIT batches?"
> MC: "Yes. Make him ordinary, not extraordinary. A man easily overlooked. That is the perfect camouflage."
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Foreign Eyes
By March 7th, the whispers had crossed oceans.
At the US Embassy in Delhi, a cable was drafted:
"Unprecedented tunnel construction speed raises questions. Possible undisclosed foreign tech? Monitoring recommended."
Meanwhile, in Beijing, a senior analyst frowned at the reports.
> "If true, these tunnels will link India's borders faster than our own infrastructure can adapt. Watch closely. Send men to apply as workers."
The MC had anticipated this. Cameras hidden inside the TBM camps flagged unusual patterns in job applications. Aarya marked them in red.
> MC: "So, the shadows arrive. Let them. They'll find only steel, nothing more."
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Closing Scene – A Name on Every Lip
By March 10th, the frenzy reached its peak.
News panels screamed:
> "Is Bharat InfraWorks India's miracle or a fraud?"
"Who controls this shadow company?"
On the streets, chai-stall conversations buzzed:
> "If he builds tunnels, maybe he can fix our city roads too!"
"No, no, he's hiding something. Nobody builds like that without black magic!"
For the first time, the MC's creation — Arjun Rao — had become a household name.
But in the quiet of his estate balcony, snow still clinging to the pines, the real master stood unseen, smiling faintly.
> "The stage is ready. Let them look for the phantom. They will never see the hand behind the curtain."