Chapter Four: The Price of Losing

With 7:12 left in the second, the substitution horn sounded. Xinglan looked at Du. His hand was still on the board. He had not called it. A staff member held up number four. The team administrator beside Luo said, “The system says she's at her limit.” “She has played nine minutes!” Du shouted. “Warmups count.” Passing the scorer's table, Xinglan saw the tablet. Her pregame load read 380. Yanqiu's source file said 142. The number had been altered again. She did not grab the device. “Record the time and film the whole area,” she told Yanqiu. “Not the screen.” A picture of a number could be dismissed as a glitch. Footage showing who ordered a substitution based on that number created a chain of responsibility.