When the client information lit up the tablet screen, Guo Wei immediately recognized that face.
Ah Lun. His junior from university who slept on the bunk below him. Now twenty-five but looking weathered as forty. The paint stains embedded in his fingernails and the frayed collar of his shirt silently told the truth of his "occasional odd jobs."
"Senior, you have to help me." The smile Ah Lun forced looked like crumpled paper. "My Class B construction license… I… I got caught cheating. I can't take the exam again, ever."
His hand trembled as he pulled out a wad of crumpled bills. "I borrowed the down payment from a gang… They said if I don't get work soon, they'll take my mom's dialysis machine as payment."
Guo Wei was silent. A notification from his sister popped up on his tablet:
*"Forged license + database cleanup package. Market rate 250,000. However, client's debts trigger risk alert—Father just intercepted a warning. That gang is involved in organ trafficking. Three debtors already missing."*
"One hundred seventy thousand," Guo Wei said. "Brother's price. You can pay in eight monthly installments. First payment forty thousand."
Guo Wei stood up. "One hundred seventy thousand… that's the price for introducing me to Hui Hui. I'm married to her now."
Ah Lun hurriedly said yes, absolutely, and agreed to sign the contract.
After paying the 6,600 NTD contract fee, he handed over the first installment of forty thousand.
"Deal," Guo Wei said.