Chapter Five: The Shortest Route, the Loudest Slap

The foundation reinstated Lin. To rescue its reputation, its chairman announced Lin as the highest-scoring finalist and granted him access to the underground vault. During the applause, Gu approached him without moving his lips. “Do not go to Basement Three tonight.” “A warning, or a plea?” Gu looked into the camera and slapped himself across the face. “I owed you that,” he said loudly. Then, softly: “You may not survive the one waiting below.” At midnight, Lin used his winner's access to enter the climate vault. The elevator had no button below B2. Qi Xia found an erased fingerprint on its mirrored wall. Lin pressed the blank metal where it pointed. The elevator descended. Its doors opened on thousands of portraits shrouded in white.