Chapter Three: Admission to the Evernight Court

“The ten missing minutes of Obsidian Capital,” announced a host in a silver fish mask. “Opening bid: twenty million.” The displayed chain showed Obsidian's 104 billion yuan cycling through seventeen shells, then entering four century-old trusts. The beneficiaries were concealed. Shen had only three million. Yet he saw the flaw: Obsidian recorded trades in microseconds; the exhibit used milliseconds. The seller knew the result but lacked the original matching logs. He tapped the rail. “Candle Nine offers three million and one fact: SeaGravel's nickel warehouse will face a sixty-thousand-ton delivery shortage at nine tomorrow.” Laughter fell from the boxes, but the host asked, “Proof?” “Display Gu Commodities' overnight margin.”