Chapter One: Rejection Settled

history cache. It was real. A key turned outside. Cheng Ye walked in carrying two cups of instant noodles, his hair as if recently struck by lightning. “Still here? The landlord changes the locks tomorrow. Planning to be seized with the furniture?” Jiming turned the screen toward him. Cheng Ye had been Refraction's last engineer and the only employee who had not demanded his unpaid wages. His grin disappeared as he read the code. “Where did you get this?” “A rejection email.” “Poverty has finally broken your brain.” Jiming described it as an anonymous lead from an old supplier. Cheng Ye built a simulation in thirty minutes and lowered the battery to nine percent.