CHAPTER 174 — WHEN THE CURRENT STOPS FLOWING NATURALLY
The system had always moved.
Even in its worst moments, there had been motion. Decisions clashed. Corrections followed. Resistance created friction. Friction created direction.
Movement meant something was still alive inside it.
That was why Elena noticed the change immediately.
Not because things stopped.
But because they moved too smoothly.
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Morning arrived without tension.
No spikes in disagreement. No sudden surges of conflicting decisions. No visible struggle between urgency and restraint.
Everything aligned.
Requests were answered faster than expected. Adjustments came before delays formed. Disputes resolved with minimal resistance, as if the arguments had already been settled somewhere unseen.
Marcus did not trust it.
He stood at the console, scanning the flow, not for errors, but for absence.
"It is too clean," he said.
Adrian glanced over. "You said that before."
Marcus shook his head. "Not like this."
