Chapter Five: A Dead Man's Safe-Deposit Box

Every point is a debit; every cheer, a witness. Three auxiliary keys open the entrance on All-Star Night. Trust no one who brings you a key. Not even me.” Another voice interrupted: “Mr. Qin, your time is up.” It was a younger Xu Boyan, unchanged from today. Qin's final words were: “They don't fear losing. They fear proof that victory never belonged to the owners.” Reporters surrounded them outside. An anonymous source claimed Lu Chen had visited a banned-drug exchange. League officials served him with a test order naming Balance Covenant Sports Hospital as the collection site. He refused the car. Within minutes, headlines declared that the Two-Hundred-Million Man had resisted testing. Sponsors suspended deals. The Whales held him out.