Chapter One: A Borrowed Life

Chenghai was an old jewelry and commercial-property empire. Yesterday it had announced a charity auction for the family treasure, the Heart of Blue Flame. How could a forty-billion-yuan group collapse before the next evening? A red prompt appeared. [ACCOUNT HOLDER REQUESTING RESCUE. ACCEPT ORDER?] [ORDER: RECOVER THE TRUE HEART OF BLUE FLAME.] [DEADLINE: 20:00 TOMORROW.] [FAILURE: COLLATERAL DEFAULT; LOSS OF CHENGHAI CONTROL; 31,604 JOBS AT RISK.] [REWARD: CLAIM 0.01% OF VALUE RECOVERED, OR ONE RELATED SKILL.] Fine print prohibited harm, forgery, coercion, or theft from the innocent. Lin Yan checked the network, running processes, and permissions. Zhou connected the phone to a computer.