Jade Shatters, Swan Takes Flight: A Grand Councilor's Cross-Era Stratagem

Huang Meier stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows in a meeting room on the 68th floor of Shanghai Tower, her fingertips absently tracing the cold glass as she looked down at the endless stream of traffic below. Her reflection showed her in a sharply tailored dark gray suit, her long hair meticulously pinned into a low bun that revealed the clean lines of her jaw. Only the fading redness in her eyes betrayed her exhaustion after thirty-six hours of continuous work.

“Director Huang, the tunneling parameters for Phase Three of the East China underground utility corridor are in,” said project manager Chen Mo as he came through the door. The tablet in his hand was still lit with rows upon rows of data. “Tunnel Boring Machine Three's torque suddenly spiked to 2,800 kN·m while crossing the fault zone beneath the Huangpu River, exceeding the safety threshold by 15%. The advance rate had to be reduced to 2 cm per minute. The construction team has stopped work and is waiting for your decision.”

Huang Meier turned and took the tablet. Her fingers were perfectly steady. As one of the country's leading chief municipal engineers, she had overseen more than twenty massive projects, from cross-sea bridges to urban underground transit hubs. The more difficult the technical challenge, the more it brought out the grit in her.

“Bring up the geological radar scans and the tunneling data from the past twelve hours. Compare them with the report on the fault zone's rock compressive strength.” Her voice was calm, yet brooked no argument. “Notify the geology team, the mechanical engineers, and the tunnel boring machine's lead operator. We’ll hold an emergency meeting in the command center on the third floor in ten minutes.”