Qi Jin Night-Shift Drummer / 祁烬夜班鼓手线

Storyline promise

祁烬 is the character who makes black-screen audio playable. When the official image breaks but the rhythm continues, he can become a recruitable proof carrier, a suppressed noise source, a hostile witness, or the missing link that lets another claimant own the blackout.

The storyline is observed through 祁烬夜班鼓手, 夜班鼓点羁押, 鼓点链断裂, and 夜班鼓点羁押机制.

Entry: state, not clock

This storyline opens only when the board already contains a live backbeat dispute:

entry_state:
  trigger_kind: state_pressure
  live_audio_residue: true
  image_or_official_feed_unreliable: true
  backbeat_can_change_future_route: true
  claimant_families_min: 2
  no_fixed_turn_trigger: true

Valid source surfaces include Blackout Incidents, Counter-Broadcast Custody Fork Storyline, 播出资产来源后生线, memorial custody, fan oxygen pressure, editor continuity, pirate relay, sponsor package, or archive seizure.

Character pressure

祁烬 starts from one of these postures:

• uncontacted: the player hears the beat but has not identified the carrier.
• recruitable: he can be protected, credited, paid, or assigned.
• suppression_target: factions want the rhythm muted before it proves liveness.
• public_leak_risk: the beat can move to fans, historian, or pirate relay.
• captured_by_claimant: a sponsor, editor, archive, or pirate claimant has taken custody first.
• hostile_witness: he can contradict the player’s official version.

Encounter beats

1. The click under black

The official image fails, but a steady count continues under the emergency bed. The player receives 祁烬夜班鼓手 only if the trace can change future route acceptance.

Required evidence:

encounter:
  backbeat_packet_created: true
  qi_jin_identified_or_absent: true
  source_surface_recorded: true
  competing_claimants_min: 2

2. Custody offer

夜班鼓点羁押 must offer at least three live branch families unless blocked reasons are recorded.

Expected families:

• recruit carrier;
• official seal;
• editor mix;
• sponsor sync;
• public release;
• pirate release;
• mute or quarantine;
• no handler default.

3. Future route pressure

The chosen branch must change at least one future action: blackout recovery, liveness proof, public receipt, editor continuity, sponsor package, pirate counterbroadcast, archive admission, or quarantine.

Branches

Branch A — Recruit the beat carrier

祁烬 receives credit, payment, protection, or a formal route-asset role.

Expected result:

result:
  qi_jin_posture: recruited
  relief_any:
    - backbeat_custody_clarity_up
    - liveness_trace_admissibility_up
    - audience_stability_up
  cost_any:
    - performer_retaliation_risk_up
    - witness_payroll_due
    - fan_or_pirate_attention_up
  future_route_effect: blackout_recovery_or_liveness_proof_unblocked_or_costlier

This exact recruit result is also the only parent gate for Backbeat Crowd-Sync Ledger. It writes backbeat_crowd_sync.parent.recruit_carrier_source_ready and materializes the five child docket rows; the child then decides one synchronization use without recruiting Qi Jin again.

Branch B — Suppress or mute the drummer

The player lowers immediate panic or sponsor risk by silencing the beat.

Expected result:

result:
  qi_jin_posture: suppressed
  relief_any:
    - crowd_sync_pressure_down
    - sponsor_stop_loss_pressure_down
    - schedule_pressure_down
  cost_any:
    - hostile_witness_risk_up
    - false_owner_pressure_up
    - future_blackout_recovery_cost_up
  future_route_effect: liveness_proof_blocked_or_recovery_only

Branch C — Editor continuity mix

The cutroom uses the beat as a bridge over broken footage.

Expected result:

result:
  qi_jin_posture: masked_by_edit
  relief_any:
    - continuity_hazard_down
    - broadcast_legibility_up
  cost_any:
    - edit_debt_up
    - source_ambiguity_up
    - future_raw_proof_cost_up
  future_route_effect: editor_continuity_accepted_but_public_receipt_costlier

Branch D — Sponsor sync capture

The beat becomes branded recovery music or sponsor-safe evidence.

Expected result:

result:
  qi_jin_posture: captured_or_retained
  relief_any:
    - budget_pressure_down
    - sponsor_stop_loss_pressure_down
  cost_any:
    - contract_capture_up
    - fan_oxygen_resentment_up
    - public_receipt_distrust_up
  future_route_effect: sponsor_package_unblocked_but_public_or_artist_route_costlier

Branch E — Public / pirate release

The beat becomes public receipt, fan sync, historian proof, or pirate counterbroadcast.

Expected result:

result:
  qi_jin_posture: public_or_pirate_carrier
  relief_any:
    - public_copy_legitimacy_up
    - false_owner_pressure_down
    - fan_oxygen_balance_up
  cost_any:
    - pirate_echo_heat_up
    - performer_retaliation_risk_up
    - crowd_sync_pressure_up
  future_route_effect: public_receipt_or_counterbroadcast_unblocked_but_lawful_route_costlier

Branch F — Miss / no handler / hidden trace

The player does not identify the carrier, assign custody, or protect the proof chain.

Expected result:

result:
  event: storyteller.event.backbeat_chain_break.v1
  qi_jin_posture: missing | hostile | captured | recovery_only
  durable_failure_any:
    - backbeat_false_owner_hardened
    - backbeat_panic_loop
    - beat_carrier_hostile
    - blackout_room_recovery_only
  future_route_effect: blocked | costlier | hostile | recovery_only

Character specificity

祁烬 is not interchangeable with a generic witness. His branch value comes from the beat itself:

• he can steady an audience without appearing on camera;
• he can prove liveness when footage is contested;
• he can be erased by continuity editing;
• he can be captured by sponsor sync because rhythm is commercially packageable;
• he can defect to fan or pirate channels because rhythm travels without official image.

Replay evidence shape

storyline_id: storyteller.storyline.qi_jin_night_shift_drummer.v1
session_id: qi-jin-night-shift-drummer-v1-<timestamp>
seed: <deterministic-seed>
entry_state:
  live_audio_residue: true
  image_or_official_feed_unreliable: true
  source_surface: <source>
  claimant_families: []
offered:
  card: storyteller.card.qi_jin_night_shift_drummer.v1
  rite: storyteller.rite.night_shift_backbeat_custody.v1
branch_run:
  selected_posture: recruit_carrier | official_seal | editor_mix | sponsor_sync | public_release | pirate_release | mute_trace | quarantine | explicit_absence
  handler: <actor_or_explicit_absence>
  payment_or_protection: <cost_or_absence>
  result_state: <state>
  relief_delta: {}
  cost_delta: {}
  future_route_effect: <effect>
event_record:
  event: storyteller.event.backbeat_chain_break.v1 | explicit_absence
assertions:
  - state_triggered_not_clock_triggered
  - qi_jin_posture_changes_machine_state
  - backbeat_packet_has_custodian_legality_liveness_claim
  - recruit_suppress_hostile_miss_do_not_collapse
  - future_route_acceptance_changes

Non-goals

• Not a generic bard, bandmate, or flavor NPC.
• Not a fixed-turn underground music beat.
• Not a free audio-proof card.
• Not a pure witness-reprisal branch; the sonic trace itself must change custody and future route acceptance.
• Not bulk character growth without replay-verifiable branch deltas.