Chapter Two: One Black Badge for One Fallen Genius

They settled on twenty-five percent for Jiming, plus ten percent in performance options. Using the noodle shop owner's printer, he drafted an agreement. They signed at 3:47 a.m. Their first task was evidence, not financing. Jiming opened his Hengchuan due-diligence files. Page nineteen had come from a document-services firm. Its servers had been wiped, but the printer-leasing billing system retained a hash for every output. Meanwhile, Yanqiu messaged Zhou Yuheng, claiming she wished to discuss his compensation, and arranged to meet at the hotel café. He came quickly, probably believing she had learned to bow her head. “This card contains one million.” He slid it toward her. “Enough to finish school abroad. Stop investigating the Shen family.”