Chapter Three: Seven Hunters

Lu Chen had once watched Pei Du die. Three months earlier, a fire had consumed Prism Technologies’ supply-chain warehouse. Security footage showed a man in Pei’s coat crushed beneath a falling beam. The body was burned beyond recognition, but dental records confirmed the identity. At the funeral, they had even displayed Pei’s favorite vinyl record. Now the dead man sat in 2A aboard Northstar NX017, wearing dark glasses and pretending to be a blind old gentleman named Gu. Lu returned to business class without confronting him. He changed his shirt and held an ice pack to his scalded hand, treating the million-credit transaction as if it had been an inconvenience between meal services. Prophet’s offer had four minutes and seventeen seconds left.