Chapter One: Midnight, and Tomorrow Opens

At 12:15, another message arrived from the collector. “Ten minutes. If the money isn't here, we're coming upstairs.” Lin pressed CONFIRM. Every last yuan went into Haiyue puts. The future-price column flickered. 12.06 became 12.40, then returned to 12.06. A new notification appeared. [FIRST PRICE DIFFERENTIAL SUCCESSFULLY EXPLOITED. FUTURE DEVIATION: 0.3%.] [WARNING: THE PROFIT HAS OCCURRED. ITS CAUSE HAS NOT.] At 12:21, someone uploaded a deleted trial appendix to an overseas medical forum. Three lines were enough for Lin: Haiyue had classified four severe adverse reactions as unrelated events. At 12:23, the file went viral.