Chapter Five: The Cheapest Life

The case held no archive files, only waterlogged blank paper and a brass key. As the paper absorbed the room's humidity, an index appeared: PREVIOUS PROFIT ACCEPTANCES; YONGPING FIRE CASUALTIES; SHEN MAN—TERMINATED. The final line named the retrieval site: OLD HARBOR VAULT, LOWER NORTH GATE. The key was marked seven and four. “Who ordered you to retrieve this?” Gu Yan asked. Chen Shao looked at Bai Yi. Brakes sounded outside. Two police officers entered and presented an order to detain Zhou Ye. The alleged hit-and-run victim had supposedly died ten minutes earlier, and hospital footage showed Zhou Ye threatening a witness in the parking garage.