Chapter Three: Admission to the Evernight Court

The Evernight Court had no sign. Hidden beneath Langang's old stock exchange, it admitted only those who could prove three million in assets. Here wealth was not a number. It was identity. At midnight, a blind attendant inspected Shen's account. “Three million seventy thousand. Code: Candle Nine. Welcome back.” Back. Shen had never been there. Su entered as his adviser, a recorder hidden in her earring. Beyond two bronze doors, the ring grew cold for the first time. The hall resembled an inverted opera house. Guests occupied descending boxes around a stage where companies, debts, and human secrets were auctioned. The third lot rose inside a transparent data case.