Chapter One: The Number After Two Hundred Million

[Wealth exceeding life value shall be paid from the remaining flame. Signature constitutes consent. Ledger closes at midnight.] Midnight. The wall clock read 11:47. “I need to finish the appendices.” Lu Chen closed the contract. “It's the standard league filing,” Zhao Chi said. “Thirteen minutes to read a two-hundred-million-yuan contract isn't unreasonable.” Xu Boyan's finger paused on his lighter. Then he smiled. “Of course.” For thirteen minutes, Lu Chen turned every page. He absorbed none of the legal language; he watched the number. At 11:53, nineteen years and six months became nineteen years and seven. At 11:57, it changed back. It did not simply decline with time. It fluctuated with the clauses.