Chapter Two: A Million Is Not the Finish Line

Inspection stamps covered the reverse. The latest, dated two months earlier, read: “Exhibition-room property transferred to Cabinet Three.” The provenance chain was complete. “The coin was a factory-history asset,” Su said. “You bought it for twenty yuan, but it may never have belonged to the seller.” Zhou groaned. “So all of this was for nothing?” Shen looked at the mechanical watch hanging from the cabinet door. “Continue the inventory.” Its movement had been removed. Beneath the back cover was a memory card no larger than a fingernail. Haiyue’s lawyer reached for it, but Su sealed it in an evidence pouch first. Qiu turned toward the exit. Police sirens sounded outside.