Chapter Two: Memory Is the Commission

Zhiwei tried eleven ways to prove the page existed. Screenshots showed an empty home page. Screen recordings showed her tapping nothing. When Wanqing took the phone, she saw an ordinary advertisement. Only Zhiwei could read the line below the brooch. MEMORY DEDUCTION IS RANDOM. TRANSACTION CANNOT BE REVERSED. “Don't buy it,” Wanqing said. “We can solve a debt. We can't restore your mind.” Zhiwei agreed—until Obsidian's legal notice arrived at nine. It accused her of holding forged securities and extorting the chairman, claiming thirty million in damages. The bank froze the studio account. The landlord ordered them out that afternoon. At ten, Gu Linchuan arrived.