Chapter One: The Bankrupt Manager's Lunar Hotel

The main structure clung to the wall of a crater, its exterior smothered in lunar dust. Only a crooked metal plaque remained visible: THE HOMECOMING HOTEL. The surface technician who met him was Chen Qiming, a bearded man in his fifties whose suit had been patched at one knee with tape. “Call me Old Chen. The base has been without power for three months, and oxygen cycling is down to twelve percent. Two days earlier, I could've made you coffee. Today, all I can offer is recycled urine.” “Purified?” “Spoken like a manager.” They crossed the airlock. Emergency lamps woke one after another, revealing a lobby far larger than it had any reason to be.