Chapter Five: A Thirty-Million-Yuan Ticket

Six hours after your report, the Helix board approved a retrieval order. They were not going to kill you. They intended to connect your brain to Project Cradle again. I made you a disgraced, useless failure so the project would abandon you.” “Was the orbital shot protection too?” “No. Three years ago, I could change your risk rating. Once Zero contacted you, you became a priority asset again.” Han opened an offline file created three years earlier. It appeared to be Lin’s confession, but an Obsidian audit signature was hidden at the end. Decoded backward, it revealed a Helix retrieval list. Lin’s name came first. Disposition: live reconnection. The evidence held. It could not return three stolen years. “Is the Sea Swallow a trap?” Lin asked.