With The Forge operational and The Unburnt ready to sail, Mo Chen decided it was time to send a message. Not a declaration of war, but a statement of fact.
She targeted the consortium.
She didn't attack their assets. She didn't threaten their members. Instead, she published a single, encrypted data packet on the dark web. It was addressed to Isolde.
The packet contained only two things. The first was the proof of her betrayal, the communiques she had recovered from the Kraken data center. The second was a live feed from a camera drone, currently hovering over Isolde's private villa in the South of France.
The message was clear: I know what you did. I know where you live. I am watching you.
There was no demand, no threat. Just the cold, hard fact of her knowledge and her reach.
An hour later, the drone feed showed Isolde walking out onto her terrace, looking up directly at the drone. She didn't look angry or scared. She looked… thoughtful. Then, she gave a slow, deliberate nod, as if acknowledging a worthy opponent.
The message had been received. The game between them was not over, but the rules had changed. They were no longer hunter and pawn. They were rival queens on a global chessboard.
Mo Chen had the data drone self-destruct, raining molten plastic and metal into the sea below Isolde's villa. A final, petty burn to punctuate her point.
She had carved out her territory. She had declared her sovereignty. The world of shadows now had a new, permanent resident, one who answered to no one and whose currency was fire.