Chapter Five: Beyond the Price Tag

“You told me nothing.” “And?” “For the first time, the save was mine.” In the dressing room, Luo folded Silvervault's contract into a paper boat and placed it in the ice bath. “They'll pay eight hundred thousand for my silence,” he said as it sank. “I'll stay and discover what my voice is worth.” Amid the cheers, Old Lighthouse sent Gu another message: Your valuation model was never deleted. It is deciding whom they inflate—and whom they erase.