With Kaito's integration into her court, Mo Chen gained an unprecedented view of the global board. His knowledge wasn't just about who held power, but about the hidden levers—the black sites, the secret treaties, the off-the-books budgets.
He confirmed a suspicion she had long held: the consortium was not the top of the food chain. They were merely the most visible tendril of something older, colder, and far more patient. He called it "The Directory." A group of individuals, not families, whose wealth and influence were so ancient and diffuse they were effectively invisible. They didn't wage war; they nudged history.
"The Directory viewed Kraken as a useful, if messy, tool," Kaito explained, his fingers flying across a holographic display in the Spire's situation room. "Your destruction of it was… an unexpected pruning. The consortium's conflict with you was their attempt to reassert control. The ceasefire? That was The Directory stepping in. They see you now not as a nuisance, but as a new, stable variable. A sovereign state is easier to model than a rogue actor."
" So they're just… watching?" Mo Chen asked, a familiar coldness settling in her gut.
" They are assessing," Kaito corrected. "They will not attack. They will probe. They will test your systems, your resolve, your laws. They will send puzzles, not assassins."
The first puzzle arrived a week later. A seemingly benign trade offer from a Swiss agricultural firm, offering a massive shipment of genetically modified seeds designed to thrive in harsh, saline soil—perfect for The Aerie. The deal was too good, too perfectly tailored.
It was a test. Would she accept help? Would she show dependency?
Mo Chen's response was to burn the offer. She didn't reject it; she had Kaito launch a counter-operation that bankrupted the Swiss firm through a series of fabricated scandals and market manipulations. She then used the funds to have Dr. Aris develop his own, superior salt-tolerant crops from scratch.
The message to The Directory was clear: We do not accept gifts. We create what we need.
The silent war of posturing had begun.