The Society had already infiltrated PO’s supply chain, but every attempt to extract the algorithm’s source code had been thwarted by a new, impenetrable barrier. The only clue left in the corporate logs was a single phrase repeated across every security audit: It was a taunt, a warning, and a promise. Chapter 2: Rowlii In the back‑alley of a derelict market, a woman with copper‑braided hair and eyes that seemed to flicker between human and synthetic leaned over a battered terminal. She was Rowlii , a former bio‑engineer turned rogue sweet‑synthesist. Her specialty? Designing flavor molecules that could trigger neuro‑chemical responses far beyond ordinary taste.