Ren's group would be treated differently because they were indeed different…
The difference was power, which was a currency the wall used with the precision of something that had real consequences attached to it. People with sufficient power could be repositioned when defensive needs allowed, their positions covered by reassignments that the relevant authorities had pre-calculated for exactly those cases, the planning done in advance because the power level involved was worth doing the planning for.
That meant the separation weeks existed at the start, as the protocol required. And that after those weeks, reunification was possible, because someone had planned with enough advance notice to make it possible.
They hadn't complained about it.
Zhao had been the one to frame it, in the direct language he used when he wanted something to be clear without it looking like a lesson.
