Chapter One: Seven Rules and the Eighth Chair

Camera Six flickered back to life. Eight chairs stood around Table Eight. Between the young couple sat a little girl with her back to the lens. She wore an old-fashioned red dress. Her feet did not reach the floor, and she was cutting empty air with a plastic knife. The unnumbered television snapped on. A red number filled its screen: 13. The girl turned. Her face was pale as an overexposed photograph. Her lips formed a warning. “Zhou Ran, don't answer the lion.” Heavy footsteps sounded behind him. Thud. Thud. Each step made the keys jump on the desk. Zhou Ran did not turn. The black monitor reflected the silhouette behind him: a metal mane scraping the doorframe, an enormous lion's head bending low, glass eyes glistening with disturbingly