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

“You think common ownership protects everyone,” Xu said. “People are greedy. One defection among twelve will collapse your structure.” That afternoon, the starting center withdrew from the trust after a sponsor privately promised him three million. Two more players followed. Beneficiaries fell from thirty-six to twenty-one, and Lu Chen's price rose. Gao led the remaining players through practice while Lu Chen diagrammed possessions behind the glass. The Whales won an upset on the road. Afterward, the team refused solo interviews and said in one line, “Victory belongs to everyone still standing.” The three defectors watched, then quietly signed again. When the center touched his private offer, it showed [2 years, 7 months]. Pale, he tore it up.