Chapter Five: Believers Share the Weight

“You left us in the records room,” Xu said. “Had I followed, the gray uniforms would have known the card was genuine,” Lu replied. “Besides, you survived.” Lin pointed to the lock. “What happened to the seven?” Lu’s silence made it heavier. Finally, he admitted designing Hengyuan’s liability barrier. The dead were registered as employees who had resigned. Their families received money but were told the workers had caused the accident; challenging that account would void their compensation. They knew their relatives were dead, but not that management had ordered the exit chained. They had never been allowed to choose whether to settle.