Chapter One: The Bankrupt Manager's Lunar Hotel

Twelve black columns supported a vaulted ceiling. The floor was not metal but smooth, warm white stone. Behind reception hung a dark silver ring like a hollowed moon. Dust lay thick everywhere, yet there were no scars where equipment had been removed. Seamless doors dotted the walls, their numbers beginning at 001 and vanishing into darkness. Professional instinct took over. “Where are the fire exits? The room-control terminals? The guest elevators?” Old Chen shrugged. “Ask me, I ask the ghosts. Humans didn't build this place.” Zhou stopped. “A prospecting team dug it out six years ago. The Helios Consortium secured the site and marketed it as a resort. We installed the airlock and generators. Nothing else can be dismantled.