At twelve-forty-two in the afternoon, eighteen minutes remained before the final clearinghouse liquidation deadline.
The grand golden gates of Vault #1 swung open with a slow, mournful groan.
Ancestor Jin Suanpan stepped out onto the sunlit marble steps of his headquarters.
Behind him walked Ancestor Du Gu, his skeletal hands twitching nervously, and Ancestor Tun Ri, who was still pressing a dripping bag of ice against his hairless forehead.
[Ancestor Jin Suanpan. Master of Vault #1. Goodness Score: -97 / 100.]
[Ancestor Du Gu. Master of Vault #5. Goodness Score: -96 / 100.]
[Ancestor Tun Ri. Master of Vault #3. Goodness Score: -95 / 100.]
For forty thousand years, Ancestor Jin Suanpan had never crossed the central plaza on foot.
