Chapter Three: One Crate of Medicine Buys a City

The money in his accounts was burning away. His public influence rose from 1 to 9,704. For the first time, the System gave him a private prompt. [INFLUENCE MAY BE CONVERTED INTO VOTING WEIGHT. ACCEPT?] [IF ACCEPTED, YOUR CHOICE WILL REPRESENT 9,704 PEOPLE.] Lin selected DECLINE. The number did not vanish. It became a gray line of text: [UNALLOCATED PUBLIC TRUST.] He smiled. The System said influence could be converted. It never said it must be. Perhaps weight could be returned to the people who had given their trust. Gu Tingchuan came to the warehouse in person on the sixth day. Bodyguards formed two rows in the rain, but Gu entered alone, as though inspecting property he already owned. “Lin Yan. Twenty-seven. Parents deceased.