Chapter Five: The Unpriced Thing

The preliminary table had four voters: Zhou Lin, Zhou Jiming, Bai Wei, and Shen Guoan, who had plainly been brought by force. His daughter's surgical confirmation lay before him. The rules appeared on the table. They would decide whether the WQ-0 payment went to “the patient” or “the creditor.” The majority shared twenty million. The minority assumed every debt attached to the girl's treatment. “You made a child into an option,” Zhou Lin said. “I priced desires that already existed,” Gu Chenzhou replied. Jiming would vote creditor. Bai remained under Mingchuan's control. Zhou Lin and Shen seemed certain to lose. The coin offered: [Bai Wei will obey Zhou Jiming or betray him.]