Chapter Five: The Perfect Counterfeit

Oxidized leather, adhesive fluorescence, and stitch placement all showed twenty-eight years of plausible aging. Su's microscope and portable spectrometer found nothing wrong. Lin pressed the box. [Collectible: Skyvault One—Championship Colorway.] [Composite verdict: 12.5% original, 87.5% replacement components.] [Outsoles genuine. Lace locks genuine. Four square centimeters of right-heel leather genuine. All other components are molecular reproductions.] [Provenance deliberately overwritten.] Its price curve imitated a genuine pair's perfectly until an anonymous disclosure destroyed its value three months later. It had nearly deceived the Ledger itself. “Six minutes,” He said.