The city did not wake all at once.It came back in pieces.A train line flickered green before sunrise. A hospital terminal cleared a backlog of approvals. Pension accounts that had been frozen for days began to release in careful, verified waves. No announcement marked the moment. No speech. Just systems that started working again without asking for anything hidden in return.From the rooftop of an old municipal building, Nolan watched it happen.Behind him, Vera adjusted the tablet in her hands. “Transit queue is stabilizing,” she said. “Not fast, but clean. No hidden priority spikes.”Timo’s voice came through the speaker on her wrist. “Financial rails are behaving the same. Every transaction is visible. Every delay is logged. I feel like I’m looking at a system that isn’t lying to me.”Boris leaned against the ledge, arms folded. “So this is it? We won?”Nolan didn’t answer immediately. He kept watching the city.“No,” he said after a moment. “We stopped them.”Boris snorted. “Tha