Chapter One: No One in the World Could Pay—Except Me

Silence swallowed the laughter. Above the corruption on Old Qin’s merchant screen appeared green text: SETTLEMENT CREDIT ¥19.00—GUARANTEED BY ORIGIN PROTOCOL. Lin Mo’s phone vibrated. FIRST VALID TRANSACTION COMPLETE. TENFOLD RETURN CREDITED: ¥190.00. ORIGIN BALANCE: ¥190.00. CONSENSUS: 1. He stared. Spending had made his balance grow tenfold. A man wearing a gold chain shoved forward. “Buy my ring for a hundred thousand. I’ll give you fifty thousand cash.” A red warning appeared before Lin Mo answered. FALSE VALUATION. ARBITRAGE INTENT. TRANSACTION DENIED. ORIGIN REWARDS CIRCULATION, NOT LIES. His excitement cooled. This was not a machine that printed money without limits. It could see the product—and the greed behind it.