Chapter One: A Dead Man Accepted the Order

The penthouse elevator had no buttons. A guard saw the order number and opened the private lift without asking Jibai's name. Mirrored walls reflected his cheap, soaked raincoat and the collection alerts flashing across his phone. MR. ZHOU, FAILURE TO PAY TODAY WILL RESULT IN CONTACT WITH THE GUARANTOR'S FAMILY. His father had been dead for three years. Jibai was the only family left. He dismissed the alert. At the forty-ninth floor, the time changed to 11:59:48. The doors opened at midnight. The apartment was dark. Lightning beyond the windows pinned the silhouette of a man in the center of the room. He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a thin leather glove on his left hand. “Put it down,” he said. Jibai did not move.